tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post8138286975146120457..comments2024-03-25T22:17:35.616+00:00Comments on Public Transport Experience: Surrey With The Fringe Cut Off (2)fatbusblokehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833340546527596517noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-91941494002658823902016-03-13T09:35:37.586+00:002016-03-13T09:35:37.586+00:00Arriva and co have been generally sub-par for year...Arriva and co have been generally sub-par for years. It seems to be part of the bus culture around Guildford and Woking. Fortunately, living next door in Stagecoachland, I can keep my experience of their dubious delights to a minimum.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-21318681965542255632016-03-11T12:25:58.004+00:002016-03-11T12:25:58.004+00:00Surrey have tried very hard to maintain services a...Surrey have tried very hard to maintain services and after the consultations so far West Surrey has actually ended up with I'd argue a better more robust service with very few cuts. These changes are more serious but so were the previous ones before they were watered down. Surrey's biggest issue is it's operators as apart from Stagecoach and Compass we have Abellio, Arriva, Carlone Dickson and Buses Etc all of whom are appalling with maintenance, reliability, driver friendliness and timekeeping and coupled with crazy high fares (£3.80 for 3 stops in Woking) they do the council no favours in driving passenger usage.<br />The 446 is an excellent link from Woking to Heathrow and sometimes can be quicker than waiting for the next Rail Air and it is also less than half the price. The problem is that it's run by Abellio Surrey and so has a bad habit of breaking down and running over 30 minutes late and so just isn't reliable enough. The 462/3 diversion through Ripley is nuts as it takes ages to do the U-turn and it's only around 10 minutes walk to the stop at the top of the road to Send Marsh. The problem with the 462/3 is again reliability and timekeeping. The 0735 is often cancelled or very late even though it comes direct from the depot. Yesterday it was 20 minutes late and the previous day the 1442 arrival in Woking broke down. The 520 is surprisingly busy with full seated loads on it's weekly Woking jaunt but it is almost all pensioners so is not economically viable.<br />Recently Arriva has converted the 34/35 to Arriva Max by just putting a new livery on 10-12 year old buses, replacing the comfy fabric seats with faux leather and adding wifi. This came after the recent frequency reduction and despite the incredibly poor reliability and punctuality. Add to that that half the time you end up on an unbranded 14 year old bus with no wifi and it's hardly Stagecoach Gold!Karlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-57358531610766642052016-03-11T10:12:41.782+00:002016-03-11T10:12:41.782+00:00A similar consultation is imminent in Kent followi...A similar consultation is imminent in Kent following a meeting at County Hall today. As usual some of the budget savings have been able to be made by helpful actions undertaken by the operators but some cuts remain. A UKIP councillor called for the County to be harder with operators!!!! <br /><br />The same one who has just pushed through a TRO to close part of Sittingbourne High Street to permit relocation of a small market. This only occurs on Fridays but the road is already closed on a Saturday when there are noticeable traffic delays on alternative roads. The suggested alternative route for buses is slightly longer, and in places may be difficult for larger buses to negotiate. The operators had consistently voiced their concerns and indicated that the only alternative would be for a standard all week pattern of services and bus stops which would mean the displaced buses using the limited bus stopping facility at the rear of the Forum Shopping Centre. These concerns were mirrored by objections from many bus passengers and groups but ignored. It was indeed claimed that the bus companies had not raised any objections until the last moment!!!!!!!<br /><br />There was an alternative site for the market in a council owned car park. Clive Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02059026405966912480noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-80069397407033038752016-03-11T09:53:58.174+00:002016-03-11T09:53:58.174+00:00Precisely. They also expect operators to invest in...Precisely. They also expect operators to invest in more environmentally friendly vehicles to meet air quality targets on their local patch and a host of other things ............but don't send an invoice, it can be paid for out of the unnecessarily large profits the bus industry is making!!!!!!!!!!Clive Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02059026405966912480noreply@blogger.com