Whilst new vehicles are newsworthy, the steady drip of press releases gets a bit samey. "We are spending XX million on a fleet of brand new buses with leather seats (yawn), WiFi (yawn), charging points (yawn), stunning new livery (yawn), smartly dressed drivers (yawn), scantily clad hostesses (yawn) and free Pokemon toys for all the kiddies (yawn)."
And there are the inevitable sound bites from people the public have never heard of; plus occasionally, some poor mug dressed as an owl, badger, fox, banana or glis-glis. So here are the pictures for new buses on the X6 from Leeds to Bradford ...
... firstly in front of a rather ugly blue bus and then inside a rather ugly blue bus.
Does the ugly blue bus really have shock pink handrails? And look, the VIPs are clutching their devices. Wowsers.
X6 gives you Xtra between Leeds and Bradford
fbb thought that it was the "Halifax" that gave you extra.
Want to get between Bradford and Leeds as quickly as possible?
Then go by train - it takes just 21 or 23 minutes depending on route.
Xtra Regular
They do mean "frequent" not "regular". One bus a year is regular.
With buses every 10 minutes you can simply turn up and go – no waiting, just sit back and relax in comfortable seats all the way to Leeds.
Xtra Value
Great value day and week tickets: just £4.70 a day or £20 a week. Giving you more to spend in the shops or with friends in the bars and leisure attractions in Leeds and Bradford.
Now that's a bit more interesting, Train is more expensive ...
... and that is off-peak only.
Xtra Comfort
As well as plenty of comfy seats each X6 bus has FREE WiFI to help pass the time. We even provide USB ports so you can charge your device as you go.
Told you so!
Xtra Special mTicket
With an mTicket, you’ll never need to worry about having the right money or losing your ticket. All you need to purchase your great-value ticket anytime you like is your mobile. After that, there’s no need to carry cash and you’ll always have your ticket with you.
Another great Xtra
By using the Real Time Information on your mobile app you’ll know exactly when the next X6 is due.
Well, fbb is told that all these things do actually attract more people to travel by bus.
So inured to bus launches was fbb that he deleted the Press Release and intended to make a passing mention in one of his "Oddments" blogs. But a though struck then old man's brain; dangerous things these thoughts.
So back he delved to some old data for the Xephos system.
And there was the X6, every 20 minutes between Leeds, Bradford and Huddersfield. And here, indeed, is a bus showing X6 and going to |Huddersfield.
Clearly something more has happened than just a few new blue buses. fbb's investigations will conclude tomorrow.
The Numbers Game
fbb has never been very concerned about his blog statistics. It is encouraging to see steady growth in readership and a privilege to be enteraiting a few and infuriating the occasional bus manager! But odd things have been happening.
This is the graph within Blogger of all-time page reads. The spike is for June 2016 when, if we are to believe the graph, readership has suddenly more than doubled. More weirdly, a large portion of that June increase came from the USA.
No 3 sin has a Theory. He reckons that one of the lesser American Universities runs a course on English Eccentrics and fbb forms an ideal case study.
But move on to July. This month, after a significant dip in the first week or so, numbers have climbed back again. But now the readership is split three ways.
Russia is at the head of the list, with USA coming a close second and UK just in third place.
So there is now a possible explanation. It would appear that this man (in America) ...
... has a team scanning fbb's blog, suspecting that it is so far out man, just plain weird. that it must contain secret coded information. Meanwhile this man (in Russia) ...
... has an equally dedicated team of encryption experts doing the same thing, but with a red tinge! So, to keep the page-read numbers up ...
That should keep both sides busy.
But of course, this explanation of fbb's international success is pure speculation.
Next X6 blog : Monday 1st August
"No 3 sin has a Theory."
ReplyDeleteOh, come on fbb. It's not that bad having children, surely.
"Children are a heritage from the LORD" (Ps 127:3, NIV.)
And re-read Song of Solomon and remember the joy of human relationships.
Maybe that's why there are so many priff-rooding bludners?
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much the indelicate digits of the rotund old chap, but secret messages between Obama and Putin that are channelled via the blog of an aged bus-loving eccentric in Devon!
Should we tell MI5 and or MI6? Or maybe both?
Is fbb being lined up as the first geriatric James Bond?
Will Mrs fbb play the part of loveable Miss Moneypenny, with an unrequited crush on 007?
Can we expect blog reports from Washington DC and Moscow next?
Such an exciting life we have, waiting for pronouncements from Seaton!!
Personally, I'm awaiting the arrival of the men in white coats . . . not long now!!
Indeed!
ReplyDelete