Or is it? Read on!
Once again, fbb is forced to question to wisdom of bus companies who allow local authorities to advertise their products! Once again (yawn) fbb would expect the public to be exceedingly non-plussed if Tesco were to subcontract its publicity to a County Council.
There is an argument for standardising bus stop "flags" and regulating their location; there may be an argument for centralising the provision of information on the flag (if it can be kept up to date!!) but allowing the council to mess up your timetable information is just plain potty.
Of course, all residents of Bradway (in Sheffield) know where the buses go and where they stop.
They will know that First's 24 terminates at Lowedges while Stagecoach's 25 runs to Bradway.
They might know that in the evenings and on Sundays First's 24 also runs to Bradway and that Longford Rd/Longford Dr is not served in the evenings, early mornings or on Sundays.
They might know that, despite the timetable's insistence, you do not travel via Longford Rd/Londford Dr before getting off at Prospect Rd/Everard Av.
They will know that the buses don't actually terminate at Prospct Rd/Everard Ave, they terminate at Old Mother Redcap. It is the same place but the pub is easier to spot and the bus stops right outside its front door.
They might also know that, perversely and historically, 24s and 25s follow a slightly different route between Lowedges and Woodseats; but most will not care.
They will also know that the terminus is more correctly called Bradway Bank, NOT Bradway which is some distance away; although both are in the official district of Bradway.
They will also know that the terminus is more correctly called Bradway Bank, NOT Bradway which is some distance away; although both are in the official district of Bradway.
And they will expect to find an SYPTE departure list in a twiddly thing at the bus stop.
They might even possess a map which shows all this reasonably clearly, but not as clear as it could be! 25s do NOT run along Queen Victoria Road.
But the M17 does! This was once, fbb has been informed, a "Little Nipper".
In the expansive days of the original bus-operating SYPTE, the politicians were anxious to run a public service with cheap fares, frequent buses on the main routes and midi-bus services penetrating the areas where big buses did not reach.
Little Nippers followed intriguing and complex routes but provided a limited but useful service for the important and respected residents off the beaten track.
Thus it is that the M17 still remains, serving Greenhill Village (not mentioned on the non-leaflet map) ...
... but if we want newcomers to use public transport, they do need more help that operators (and SYPTE) give.
Consider this scenario. You have taken a pleasant stroll from Dore down into the valley and up through the woods to Bradway. You have had a jar or two of something nice c/o the Old Mother and you consider catching the M17 bus back.
Which stop do you use for the bus to Dore?
There is a 25 waiting outside the pub for its return up to Bradway and on to the city centre and from the same stop the M17 would take you to Jordanthorpe. So you might expect the M17 to Dore to be opposite, perhaps on Prospect Road.
We shall look tomorrow.
And Now For Something Completely Different!
How's this for a Twitter?
He might have done, but he didn't in this case. The pictures were from a heritage railtour on London's Metropolitan line. There was a maroon steam engine ...
Next bus stop blunder blog : Tuesday 25th June
Sorry, FBB, your 'private good v public bad' line doesn't stack up. Bradway lies about 2-3 miles from the boundary of Derbyshire, whose publicity and excellent website you have often extolled; compare that County's publicity with, for example, Arriva...Mercifully many of the few local authorities whose coffers have not been emptied by the awfulness of Austerity still produce some great publicity.
ReplyDeleteThe M17, unless I am much mistaken, is a post-deregulation service and wasn't one of the original Little Nippers of the 1983 era, which were worked by Bristol LHSs. Its survival long after most services of that era have bitten the dust seems to indicate that it provides a useful function. By the way, nobody will be staggering out of the Old Mother Redcap with a glass of anything, nice or otherwise, as it's closed.
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