Yesterday's Buxton blog did not appear until early afternoon due to either incompetence or a technical glitch - almost certainly the former! If you missed your daily fix of bus/rail stuff, you can click through to the latecomer (here).
The Buxton tale continues today and the (previously announced) jolly good timetable blog will appear tomorrow.
The Buxton tale continues today and the (previously announced) jolly good timetable blog will appear tomorrow.
Oh No They're Not - Oh Yes They Are
Yesterday fbb wrote that high Peak would have already cancelled their two commercial journeys on service 65 from Buxton to Sheffield.
But from an informed enthusiast source:-
"An interesting development is that Centrebus 'HQ' apparently insists that the High Peak journeys are not being cancelled but they are going to give Stagecoach a fight!"
Response from a contact at Derbyshire County Council
"At first High Peak said they wouldn’t want to run those two commercial journeys, but then they changed their mind! The 65 has been a very difficult service to finalise, for one reason or another."
How's The Publicity Going?
Stagecoach web site at 1530 yesterday:-
High Peak web site at 1530 yesterday:-
No mention of the lack of Sunday service on 22nd and the drastic reduction Monday to Saturday from Monday 23rd. Only 3 or 4 days to go.
Traveline at 1530 yesterday (for next week's service):-
High Peak - Old timetable
Or, daft though it may be, are High Peak intending to operate their whole (current) timetable in suicide mode? fbb is fairly sure that can't be done without a further registration.
A Wednesday Excursion to Buxton
Thanks to Sheffield resident, Alex, for the following; received on the evening of Wednesday 18th July.
Today I travelled the majority of the route (between my home near Eccelsall and Buxton), heading out on the first bus of the day and returning on the 1430 from Buxton.
Overall loads where modest and possibly better then I expected; there where around 15 people already on board when I joined with an around 50/50 mix of fair paying an concessionary pass holders.
A group of 4 hikers got off in Eyam but otherwise the majority of villages had around 1 person boarding and 1 alighting all the way through the Buxton.
For the return journey there where also around a dozen people onboard with a similar mixture of paying/oap passengers. However, far more were making the full journey; we let off 1 passenger in Tideswell but then it was non stop to Grindleford where another passenger boarded; then at fox house where 2 other children with Mega Travel passes (80p flat for for Sheffield area only) got on.
The only notice I saw of the proposed change to the 65 was poor and in my view too technical, most passengers won’t know which services are commercial and which are tender, and was found on the bus.
Some signs for other service changes were around in Buxton Market Place ...
... but not one for the 65. Some notices were for changes which had also already happened.
Interestingly a number of bus stops in Buxton have been decorated up with butterflies ...
... (and other symbols).
These were photographed on 18th July and referred to the Buxton Carnival.
A jolly fun-type idea, but perhaps a map would have been better? And the Buxton Carnival was on 7th July.
And A Correction!
fbb may have hinted that Travel South Yorkshire got it all wrong when their timetable showed different routes for High Peak's 65 and Stagecoach's 65.
The routes really are different in Buxton (although inadequately shown in the above timetable) and High Peak does not serve Litton ...
... a most agreeable little village. But routes in Great Hucklow and Ecclesall are identical.
Timetable Travesty Yet Again
A Sheffield correspondent is not at all happy with the PTE's timetable (under the disguise of Travel South Yorkshire - TSY) for the 65 as per a Saturday extract above. He has written to the PTE to point out the errors.
Description of the changes - Service 65a runs only on schooldays as stated, but also carries ordinary passengers. To omit these journeys is incorrect and misleading and therefore does not show the last journey from Buxton to Sheffield.
Timetable (Meadowhall - Buxton) -
Add 0733 from Tideswell to Buxton (Schooldays only). To omit this journey is illogical as the 0833 equivalent journey on School Holidays and Saturdays is shown. Both these journeys start from Calver Sough at 0712 and 0812 having started from Chesterfield as Service 66 journeys but should be shown on your timetable from Calver Sough.
Timetable (Buxton - Meadowhall) -
"SH" headnote should be over the 1603 journey from Buxton, not the 1733.
Add 1532 Schooldays only Service 65a Buxton to Sheffield journey. To omit this journey is illogical and misleading as it gives the impression that the last bus from Buxton to Sheffield on Schooldays is 1303, which is not the case.
The 1733 journey from Buxton which runs on Monday to Friday and Saturday should be shown to Calver Sough at which point it continues as Service 66. It in fact also continues to Chesterfield offering a connection and through fares to Sheffield arriving at 1930 by changing to Service X17. This offers a useful later journey opportunity for return travel from Buxton to Sheffield and should be advertised to intending passengers rather than showing the last journey as 1532 or 1603.
This detail is too complex and esoteric to show in full in a simple blog - but suffice it to say that Derbyshire's timetable does everything that is suggested above, giving the best possible information for intending passengers.
The Travel South Yorkshire version is simply incorrect and potentially misleading.
Why doesn't TSY simply copy and paste the Derbyshire version? It has been available for nearly three weeks.
Next Jolly Good Timetable blog : Saturday 21st July
Next Jolly Good Timetable blog : Saturday 21st July
I would be surprised if the Derbyshire version of the new 65 has been available to anyone outside DCC for nearly 3 weeks since the result of the tender was only publically notified on the 10th July which is less than 2 weeks ago. The new Stagecoach timetable doesn't directly cover 3 of the 4 remaining High Peak journeys which would both make it harder to get the services withdrawn under short-notice but means that the commercial traffic that meant those journeys were considered commercial may still remain sufficient for these journeys in particular.
ReplyDeleteActually the Buxton Carnival was a week later than normal on the 14th July so only a two and a bit working day before photographed not over a week. For the 65 timetable the current timetable is showing on the current timetable section as it is still current whilst the new timetable is shown in the forthcoming services section as it is forthcoming though that section could do with being a little more prominent on the site.
Thanks dwarfer for your Buxton info. I simply couldn't find the new 65 on HPs site and I have no idea where I picked up the early date for the Carnival. It was certainly on-line somewhere!
ReplyDeleteSuch are the joys of the information super-highway!