Yesterday we saw that Rosso, as part of a swathe of timetable changes and some further route branding, has decided to compete with First Bus on a Rochdale "local" route. One comment writer complained that Rosso was showing the wrong route numbers on the two different "legs" of their routes 456 and 458.
fbb ended yesterday's blog with this comment ...
... but, at the time of writing, did not realise how much intellect was needed and how little he had used.
It is easier, perhaps, to grasp things if we split the services up into smaller more digestible chunks, helped (?) by the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) area map.
First Bus 454 and 457
Both these routes roll along the main Halifax Road from Rochdale and turn into a dinky little "interchange" at Littleborough Station.
All the "local" Rochdale routes call there ...
... and, in passing, note that Google Maps admits to the Sundays only 455 even if Rosso has no place for it on its maps. But, as we shall see below, it is not quite as straightforward as it might appear.
The 454 and 457 go alternate ways round a loop to an intermediate "terminus" at Frobisher Road.
The Sunday only Rosso 455 does the clockwise loop as for 454.
And we mustn't forget the double run to Shore ...
... at the beginning/end of the 454/455/457 loop. It has a dinky turning triangle.
Two longer distance services also follow the A58 to Littleborough but DON'T call at the station.
They leave the town via the Todmorden Road and stop in Church Street ...
... but a couple of early morning inbound journeys bumble up to the Frobisher Road terminus for the benefit of early risers.
Rosso 456, 457 & 458
Now TfGM's map reveals why there has been some confusion about which way these routes go.This is confirmed by examining timings in Littleborough (click on the graphic below to enlarge it).
The new competitive 457s arrive at the station at xx17 and xx47, departing back to Rochdale three minutes later. The 456 arrives at Littleborough Square via Stubley at xx12 and leaves at xx17 as service 458 via Hollingworth Lake.
To add to potential confusion the current timetable (last day today) shown 456 and 458 as both serving the station!
And, please remember, the map is wrong as well. Via Holligworth lake is 456 on the timetable but 458 on the map.
But it isn't.
Checking arrival and departures we can easily see (?) that things a very (?) different from tomorrow. Under the ancien regime (i.e.today) a 458 outbound via Stubley arrives at the station at 1102 and departs as a 458 inbound via Hollingworth Lake.The route numbers do NOT change.
But from tomorrow, as well as some journeys missing out the station, THE ROUTE NUMBERS DO CHANGE.
There could be some very confused passengers at Littleborough on Monday Morning. Will the amazing Rosso explain it? Will Rosso have an amazing new map? Will TfGM be out this weekend with their amazing kit of sticky-backed plastic changing the bus stop signs?
Guess!
Having sorted that all out (there will be a test later in the week) we can now complete our survey of Littleborough routes.
fbb ended yesterday's blog with this comment ...
It is easier, perhaps, to grasp things if we split the services up into smaller more digestible chunks, helped (?) by the Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) area map.
Both these routes roll along the main Halifax Road from Rochdale and turn into a dinky little "interchange" at Littleborough Station.
The 454 and 457 go alternate ways round a loop to an intermediate "terminus" at Frobisher Road.
And we mustn't forget the double run to Shore ...
Rosso 456, 457 & 458
Now TfGM's map reveals why there has been some confusion about which way these routes go.This is confirmed by examining timings in Littleborough (click on the graphic below to enlarge it).
To add to potential confusion the current timetable (last day today) shown 456 and 458 as both serving the station!
But from tomorrow, as well as some journeys missing out the station, THE ROUTE NUMBERS DO CHANGE.
There could be some very confused passengers at Littleborough on Monday Morning. Will the amazing Rosso explain it? Will Rosso have an amazing new map? Will TfGM be out this weekend with their amazing kit of sticky-backed plastic changing the bus stop signs?
Guess!
Having sorted that all out (there will be a test later in the week) we can now complete our survey of Littleborough routes.
On their way from Rochdale to Littleborough BOTH the 456 and the 458 run via Wardle ...
... with a terminus layby outside the splendid Wardle Village Church (ecumenical!). On the way up Wardle Road there is another little double run to Low Hill.
Here there is a lavish turning circle all provided to serve sheltered and "seniors" housing. The Sunday only 455 doesn't quite get that far, but turns near a hospital in a little loop used, fbb presumes, by school; buses to Wardle Academy.
TfGM is showing the non-changing route numbers ...
... calling at Smithy Bridge Station ...
... and skirting the wonderful Hollingworth Lake.
Likewise, 456 and 456 are "arrowed" same direction at Stubley ...
... but in this case the 456 is going to Rochdale and the 458 to Littleborough. For today's service, that is. But it doesn't matter as there do not appear to be any bus stop signs to bother the intending passengers.
By now, most of our readership will have lost the will to live, but the TfGM map shows one other longer distance service, namely the X58.It meets up with a 900 at Blackstone Edge.
This runs roughly every hour ...
... high up over the Moors.
Operated by Yorkshire Tiger, this will be a superb run.
And finally! The 900 at Buckstones is part of a group of walkers/tourist routes run by TLC from West Yorkshire and, once again ...
... with some superb moorland countryside.
To bring all this confusion together, here is a full map of the Rochdale to Littleborough corridor which will enlarge with a click.
But two questions arise.
Does all really have to be so complicated?
What does Rosso expect to achieve by competing with First Bus?
Answers, please,on a postcard to the usual address.
Next Sabbath Selection : Sunday 27th January
'Does it really have to be so complicated?' In this instance possibly yes, or almost. This is a difficult area to serve geographically as Shore and Wardle are both in effect cul-de-sacs with the
ReplyDeleteroads running up into the Pennine hills - the way in is the only way out again.
First's 454/457 are straightforward enough - main road from Rochdale to Littleborough then opposite ways round the Calderbrook loop, with a double-run to Shore. These services omit Wardle and Stubley (north of the A58) and Hollingworth Lake (to the south of it).
This is where the 456 and 458 come in. They are NOT there to compete with First; their function is to serve the other three communities but in doing so they offer a (much) slower alternative service between Littleborough and Rochdale. I imagine these services have been tendered in the past even if they are commercial today. The general pattern of operation is out one way, back the other, effectively creating a 'panhandle' service. This results in some confusion in terms of how to market the service(s) - as a 'circular' or as two distinct 'out and back' services? The former is more complex but offers more journey opportunities such as Stubley to Hollingworth Lake and twice the number of journeys from either community to Rochdale if passengers are prepared to take the 'scenic' route via Littleborough. Rosso need to decide which approach to take and then to be consistent with it, using appropriate numbers and not necessarily sticking to the 4xx series which harks back to SELNEC days.
The 455 really confuses the issue and would be better recast to more closely mirror the weekday pattern, but that would presumably be in TfGM's hands and is no doubt dependent on the available finances.
An anonymous correspondent yesterday explained that First have no Rochdale base as the previous owners of the business had closed it before selling to First. That certainly goes some way towards explaining Rosso's presence in the area but still doesn't account for Rosso running services such as the high-frequency 469 between Bury and Tottington.
It might perhaps be simpler to understand the current (i.e. pre-change) services in the same way that TfGM do, i.e as circulars, https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/5jupuZS54Wa8sQqWge4UOu/5269bdfbfc671b3c2b9ccf972a94f982/18-1076_Bus_Times_455_456_458.pdf.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the new versions, https://assets.ctfassets.net/nv7y93idf4jq/3RFkHi46nMIjyDQpgeyg5I/6954f669fa8da34b0be9abe1f4b4dcaa/18-1877_Bus_Times_455__456__458.pdf, may *operate* in the same fashion, but the route numbers are the same in both directions for the areas past Litleborough... so it is simplified.
Meanwhile, the extra 457 journeys, along the same route as First, merely introduce a 15 minute Rosso service between Rochdale and Littleborough (presumably useful for holders of Rosso-only tickets).
The map FBB is using I believe is the old one, minus arrows, and in any case will be correct for the new timetable. If FBB had used a snapshot of the service going TO Rochdale, it would be correct.
I don't understand what is so difficult...