The Challenge Of Chelmsford's Changes (1)
We will start with an easy one! Service 42 currently starts from Broomfield Hospital ...
... due north of the town centre, runs down the B1008 (formerly A131 until a new A131 was built to the east) and on via a dog leg to Galleywood in the south. Currently its offers a bus every 15 minutes.
It's "Shuttle" successor is the C1 which is exactly the same in route and frequency.
So no cutback there. Currently the 42A and 42B are evening and Sunday (presumed) tendered journeys continuing northbound variously to Halstead and Stansted Airport. Such oddities do not feature on the C1.
Also from the Hospital we have the 54 which runs via the Melbourne estate and through the town centre and on to Beaulieu Park to the north-east. It looks all mixed up with a service 56 and lots of As and Bs.
Confused.com!!
It can be unknitted slightly by treating he 54 and the 56 as separate routes using a second colour. In fbb's version the core 56 is in BLUE and fbb leaves the 54 as ORANGE. It is only of academic interest as it all changes on Sunday ...
... but the A, B and C suffixes cover evening and Sunday variants and make the whole caboodle really complicated and unhelpful to the average passenger.
Thankfully, the Shuttle brand turns the 54 into the C2 (BROWN) and the 56 into the C3 (SALMON) ...
They no longer run cross town. We will look at frequencies after we have followed the 54 and 56 on the north-eastern side.
Once again, to aid comprehension, fbb has coloured the 56 in dark blue. You can safely ignore all the suffix letters as, on this side of town, it is currently quite simple. It is a big wiggly loop. buses show 56 to Beaulieu Park then change to 54 (and vice versa).
... with no variations.
The 54 becomes the C8 (MAROON) and the 56 is the new C11 (DULL BLUE). They no longer run cross town and they no longer interwork at Beaulieu Park ...
... as the C11 now continues to the Sainsburys store just off the main Colchester Road.
It seems odd that First should colour the 54 and 56 all in orange as there is very little commonality between the two routes. Here they are as timetables (in extract) separated out by fbb into the 54 which changes to 56 at Beaulieu Park ...
...and the 56 which does the reverse.
fbb's retelling of the tale also allows the passenger to travel right round the loop, particularly useful if they might wish to catch just one bus home from the hospital! Both routes run every 20 minutes.
From Monday the C2 to the hospital remains every 20 but the C3 is cut to every 30 minutes.
A similar pruning applies on the former cross town links. The C8 remains every 20 whilst the C11 drops to every 30.
But there's more!
Whilst in the Beaulieu Park Area we have three more services to unravel. Until the weekend they are 40 (BROWN), 75 (BLUE) and a slightly mysterious PALE GREEN route. The mystery will be revealed in tomorrow's blog.
For the time being, let us content ourselves with the knowledge that the 45 to Writtle and Great Oxney ...
... becomes unchanged in route as the C4. Frequency remains every 15 minutes and we will meet its "other half" in tomorrow's blog.
And the 56 to Galleywood via Great Baddow morphs ...
... again unchanged in route, into the C7. But instead of every 20 minutes, the frequency now drops to every 30. Again, we shall return to its cross town "other half" tomorrow.
Exciting, isn't it?
But, if there is poor publicity (printed leaflets and maps would seem to be essential) there will be a lot if confused and angry people on Sunday, Monday and especially Tuesday when the working week powers up.
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After escaping from slavery in Egypt, the Hebrews than set off for the "Promised Land", a good place "flowing with milk and honey"! But time and time again they disobeyed God's laws and suffer the unpleasant consequences; one of which is that their journey took 40 years!
They lived a nomadic life, but physically in the very centre of their camp, morally in the very centre of their lives and spiritually in the very centre of their worship was the Tabernacle. (complicated word for "tent"!)
Here we see more hints of Easter. For example ...
There was the seven branched candlestick, the Menora - and 1200 years later Jesus would say:-
There was a table with ceremonial bread for the Priests - and Jesus said:-
There was the "laver" - a place for ceremonial washing - and Jesus said:-
But most central of all was the whole system of sacrifices. Remember those red roses and/or chocolates? 
To say sorry for your disobedience or to thank God for looking after you, you gave something of yours, something costly. Sometimes it was grain, sometimes a pigeon, sometimes a lamb but it was not a fixed penalty (much in the news at the moment!). What you offered was directly related to what you owned - but it was designed to be costly - being truly sorry is always hard.
But Jesus said ...
... and THE WAY would be through a sacrifice on the cross on "Good Friday".
A whole string of Easter "hints"!
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Next TOWIE blog : Thursday 14th April
The long term problem with First Essex, as predecessor Eastern National, is their effective long term monopoly in mid-Essex. It's no accident. If they won't do so voluntarily, then a way has to be found to force them to divest the interurban network. Or the passengers will continue just being collateral damage.
ReplyDeleteIt's not being wicked, just business. Imagine if we had just one supermarket.
Perhaps what we need is deregulation?!
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