Colchester Cut Backs
Thankfully, for fbb's brain power (or lack of) Colchester is must simpler han Chelmsford in that the rout networks is almost totally unchanged. So to save a lot of repetition, fbb will not bore his readers with before and after maps in every case. fbb will start with Highwoods, due north of the centre and to the left of the A1232 label on the above map; and will proceed anti-clockwise.
HIGHWOODS
61 becomes S1 and 65 becomes S2. Currently each running every 15 minutes. From the changes this weekend each will now run every 20 minutes. This is a reduction from eight buses an hour over the common sections to six buses and hour - a 25% cut.
STANWAY - As with the current 65, this remains a cross-town route S2 from Highwoods, so reduced to every 20 minutes.
SHRUB END - currently 64 and 64A running cross town to Greenstead the new numbers are S6 and S7 NOT cross town. The combined 10 minute headway is redcuced to every 15, 30 mins on each.
fbb will miss out Berechurh for reasons that will become obvious in due course and move one tick further round.
ROWHEDGE - The 66 becomes a simple S9 with 66B journeys no longer happening. Cut from every 30 to every hour. The 173 and 1745 to Fingringhoe still exist but do not appear on the new map.
You probably have to guess where the bus stops in Fingringhoe ...
... but back in the good old days, First would let you have a printed timetable!
WIVENHOE : Exceptionally, fbb will show both maps, because the current version is complex ...
The 61 cross-town from Highwoods becomes S1 (reduced from every 15 to every 20) ...
... and th 62 bcomes the S10, loses its appendages, but remains every 30 minutes. In a sense, this is an improvement. From next week, Brightlingsea becomes route 87 ...
but remains every 30.
GREENSTEAD - It was a cross town servicer 64 from Shrub End, but now stands independently as S4.
Needless to say, it has a reduced service, from every 10 to every 12 minutes.
BERECHURCH - Which leaves fbb with a mystery, The current service southbound along the Mersea Road is every 30 minutes to West Mersea.
There are evening journeys numbered 68.
It would appear that these are being replaced by an S8 every 15 minutes (!!!) ...
... as far as Berechurch ...
... and an 86 on to West Mersea but reduced from every 30 to hourly!
From 2 buses every hour to FIVE - is fbb missing something?
Or has somebody made a ghastly mistake?
Bother At Basildon
As well as major changes to the small Basildon "local" network, buses further afield get the chop. Generally a 15 minute frequency is reduced to every 20. Here is a simple summary of the cuts.
FREQUENCY REDUCTIONS
Route 9 (Basildon to Brentwood) from every 30 to hourly
Route 20 (Hullbridge to Southend) – from every 15 to every 20
Route 22 (Canvey Island to Basildon) – from every 15 to every 20
Route 25 (Basildon to Southend) – from every 15 to every 20
Route 26 (currently EVERY 20 min!!) is withdrawn
Route 27 (Canvey Island to Southend) – from every 15 to every 20
The two current "local" routes become much more local. The 8/8A and the 5/5A/5B are chopped into little bits ...
The ramifications of this change were beyond the daily brain allowance for fbb. All being well, the old man will return to Basildon in a later blog. But, as a taster, what is coming is set against what ends tomorrow!.
West of Town Centre:-
East of Town Centre:-
Looks fun - NOT!
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The hardest thing for a non-believer to understand is why we Christians still make such a fuss about being "saved" by the death of Jesus. Without grasping the principles at stake, it seems that a good, innocent man died a cruel and illegal death. Sad but so what? Many good, innocent people have died cruel and illegal deaths throughout history.
The difference is simple, yet disturbingly profound.
It is all about eternity.
Trying to describe heaven never works. How can a human being describe something that is divine and outside of any human experience?
Likewise we fail when we try to describe hell.
Perhaps an "easier" view of hell is simply an eternity of endless darkness, anguish and guilt with no relief. Heaven then becomes the opposite, an eternity of joy, delight, peace, beauty, forgiveness - just add your own adjectives.
But it is sort of logical to understand that God cannot allow anything that is soiled or impure into his perfect realm. So we have to be cleaned up!
We cannot make ourselves free of dirt (free of sin); only God can do it. Logically there is a price to pay. The Bible says, "The wages if sin is death!"
Jesus paid that price by being innocently punished for all humanity.
We may not know, we cannot tell
what pains he had to bear;
but we believe it was for us
he hung and suffered there.
He died that we might be forgiven,
he died to make us good,
that we might go at last to heaven,
saved by his precious blood.
There was no other good enough,
to pay the price of sin;
he, only, could unlock the gate
of heaven and let us in.
Lord Jesus, dearly you have loved,
and we must love you too;
and trust in your redeeming blood,
and live our lives for you.
It is VERY easy to say "I don't believe", but quite a lot harder, but realistic, to accept that we need God's answer to life's problems. But having accepted it, and then accepted the forgiveness of Jesus, millions of Christians world wide attest to a genuine new life, a genuine rebirth - and a meaningful eternity.
That is the real Easter, the Good that is Good Friday!
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Next Variety blog : Saturday 16th April
Colchester is also served by Arriva
ReplyDeleteMonkwick is served by Arriva 8 every 10 mins.
So competition time.