Exciting Expedition IN Eastbourne (4)

From at least 1911 Eastbourne Corporation ran a motor bus service to St Phillips Avenue ...

... later extended into a growing housing development.

Estate names Roselands and Bridgemere came into use. In 1993 the Corporation celebrated its 90th anniversary and Middleton Press produced an excellent history by way of commermoration.

Pasted in the back of the book is a timetable from that celebratory year.

Service 2 (BROWN) still runs to St Phillips Avenue and more of Bridgemere ...

... returning to the main road and operating via the new-ish Lottbridge Drove (note the wiggle via the Birch Road depot) ...

... to link with service 1 at Shinewater. It ran, as today, every 30 minutes.

It later became service 5 and was sent on its merry way to Sovereign Harbour.

fbb's ride round Bridgemere was uneventful; until, that is, hee linked the bus route to the long-gone big railway branch (maybe more correctly a siding) that ran to the Crumbles.

fbb will return to this particular topic in due course but, for the time being, he will simply enjoy trundling around the estate ...

... noting the changes in housing design as the estate (and its bus route) developed. Sovereign Harbour South (for real) is reached at the end of Ramsey Way with Martello Tower No 66 at Langney point standing sentinel to guard against a future Napoleonic invasion! (Well you never know what may happen after Brexit!). We lurch left into Atlantic Drive ...

... and continue thereupon to the terminus.

The Stagecoach map was not helpful, offering no guidance as to how (or even whether) the two chunks of estate were linked.

If there were a "way through" a dotted black line and a "walking man" would help. fbb's A to Z of Eastbourne looked hopeful but cartograpghically all links came to dead ends!

Other on-line street maps were even more discouraging.

The continuation of Atlantic Drive past the roundabout bus terminus was decidedly off-putting, with barrier poles and a notice warning that there was no through road for vehicles.

Through the foliage (left) was a back entrance to some retail units (gym, cinema and ASDA) accessed via bits of car parking ...

... but the cycle track and footpath proved more fruitful as it came out on another bit of road unvisited by Streetview!

Here were boat yards and the massive Yacht Club building ...

... also guarded by barriers. fbb was beginning to think that people were not welcome, unless, of course, they came by expensive boat!

Indeed, apart from a couple of folk mending expensive cabin cruisers, the whole place was deserted at 1230.

But there, also, was the blue bridge as seen on Streetview which appeared to offer a route through to the service 5.

Too much excitement and thus time for a break. Lo and behold there be a gastro-pub.

Upon fbb's arrival it, too, was deserted; but a Barista appeared and fbb tentatively ordered a toastie and a pot of tea (for £10.05 - yep, it was that sort of pub!). The toastie was well filled and accompanied by heaps of yummy stuff ...

... but fbb eschewed a jug of Pimms ...

... in the interests of remaining upright and awake for the completion of his expedition. By the time fbb had moved on, six of the outdoor tables were occupied with real live people, mostly "bright young things", some accompanied by elderly relatives. None of them ordered a jug of Pimms.

Refreshed, replete and ready for the challenge ahead, fbb set off on the yellow brick road blue bridge. The route appeared to be straight ahead between two big blocks of flats ...

... but yet again it was bolted and barred and available only to residents in possession of the secret codes. The route, with not a signpost to guide the newcomer, was round the back of the block to the left which led, swiftly, to the roundabout at the end of Pacific Drive.

Again, apart from a couple of cars disappearing into some underground abyss which led to who knows where, there was no sign of life. But there was a bus stop and tell-tale signs of oil drips in the layby.

There was a departure list in the shelter ...

... and, in due course, three other passengers arrived as did the service 5.

It was good to see a double deck to handle the crowds!

The return on the 5 was uneventful, passing firstly just a little bit of the pre-Sovereign Crumbles ...

... and the front of the ASDA.

But fbb found the whole experience surreal. It was as if he had stumbled on to some vast film set just sitting there waiting for a director to shout "action". But there was none!

fbb saw no "community buildings" ("village hall", church etc.), no post office, no real shops ("I'll just jog to ASDA for a pint of milk"), in fact nothing like a real lived-in community. In a way it was quite sad.

But utterly fascinating and, oh so different from Harbour Road in Seaton!

Next week, The Crumbles branch in more detail; but for tomorrow ...

... the mayor has drawn a map!

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STOP PRESS  - BREAKING NEWS

Yellow Buses (Bournemouth) was sold by Paris City Transport (RATP) to its Management on Monday 1st July "for an undisclosed sum". Yet another "big group" is "rationalising its portfolio of bus businesses", i.e. getting out quick!

How long will it be before the new directors sell the business on to a different "big group". A nice picking for Stagecoach OR First, especially as neither like GoAhead (Wilts and Dorset/More/Salisbury Reds) very much and might relish the opportunity of giving then a thrashing!

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 Next Manchester blog : Thursday 4th July 

Exciting Expedition IN Eastbourne (3)

The plan, then, was to take a bus to Sovereign Harbour, there to investigate how the deserted wastes of the Crumbles had been turned into a vast Marina and residential area.

A quick gander at the Stagecoachbus web site revealed that fbb needed service 5 or 5A ...

... remembering, of course, that there is no road joining the two "halves" of the estate. The added bonus, on a stiflingly hot day, was that the 5s are the closest routes to No 3 son's pad ...

... just under the 5A blob, bottom left. So up smartly and into the centre of Eastbourne to forage for bus timetables. Eastbourne Corporation Transport had a travel shop in the Arndale Centre (now rebranded as The Beacon), but Stagecoach offers no such luxury.

First call, then, was to Eastbourne railway station.

Nowt.

Like Brighton, a very nice spacious booking and enquiry office near the main entrance from the town ...

... has been moved to a dark and poky corner, leaving the Southern Railway wellington boot hire service summarily withdrawn.

There is now no room for anything as revolutionary as printed timetables for trains, let alone anything for buses.

Next, off to the Tourist Information Office ...

... where there is oodles of display space and plenty of stuff on display; but no public transport information anywhere to be seen. 

Bravely, fbb asked the young lady behind the counter if she had any bus timetables. "Which one?" came back the prompt riposte.

"All of them", said fbb, "I am visiting and I want to explore." This concept was obviously totally alien to the staff and fbb was regarded with "polite suspicion" as she collated a set of Stagecoach leaflets. fbb left, clutching a small bundle, but obviously less than welcome.

Information on view and accessible at  a Tourist Information office - what a quaint idea.

A bench in the shade was located and the 5/5A leaflet perused. Many of the leaflets include groups of services (e.g. everything that runs via Hailsham) but the 5 stands on its own. Each excellent leaflet has an appropriate network map, either town services or the longer distance routes.

And so to the timetable itself.

The plan was to take the 1158 service 5A to Harbour South then, hopefully find a way through to Harbour North and catch a 5 back to No 3's noble residence. Town terminus was, as you can see, shown as Terminus Road.

Only it wasn't. Terminus Road, still being fettled, was utterly bereft of bus stops.

There were plenty of buses, but neither Stagecoach nor Eastbourne town council were prepared to tell you where they might be stopping. Fortunately for fbb, his Eastbourne host had told him that an "urban improvement scheme" was happening - so the old man was forewarned.

Once upon a time, buses stopped on Terminus Road in both directions; it was, effectively, Eastbourne's central bus station. Until quite recently, even after part of the road was pedestrianised, buses still served stops and shelters on both sides of the carriageway as per these slightly clunky Google streetview images. North side ...

... and south side ...

... and here on a map.

GREEN - pedestrianised, YELLOW - bus stops.

The grand plan has removed through traffic from much of the town centre and directed it via a mini Ring Road shown below in RED ... 

No doubt some of the planners would have liked to make the whole of Terminus Road into a traffic free zone, but common sense has prevailed with a buses only section (GREEN DASHED) but the bus stops for destinations south and east have been pushed further away from the Station.

There appears to be no good reason why the stops could not have been retained on Terminus Road, at least in one direction.

While work is in progress things are even worse with temporary stops near the roundabout at the far end of Cornfield Road (bottom centre on the view above).

They will move back along the road when it is all finished; as per the row of raised kerbs.

But the incompleteness meant that fbb would have to trudge even further for his service 5A. For cross-town routes, the situation is a little better as there is a new stop at the station (square blob on the map) ...

... which is more convenient for interchange. But the 5A is not a cross-town service.

Or is it?

There is a beguiling blue blob at the head of the 5A journeys on the printed timetable.

This explains that the bus "starts" from Eastbourne District Hospital and thus calls at the station stop before Cornfield Road. It is a service 56 that becomes a 5A.

Of course, the electronic sign at the station (could not be photographed properly) doesn't mention service 5A ...

... and just shows the 56 as terminating at "Eastbourne Town Centre". Other services are shown as running to "Town Centre" or even "Eastbourne". They are, obviously, all the same place! Isn't technology wonderful?

Likewise the departure lists make no mention of the 5A, merely showing the 56 as running on for just one stop. And again, journey planners ignore this useful link.

As the interworking is for operational reasons only, and only incidentally might help a few customers, (there being no 5A working the other way) it may be too much to ask to include the "facility" in electronic systems; but ...

... yet another strong argument in favour of printed timetable leaflets because ...

It is NOT all on line.

And before Mr Picky Anonymous makes a snide comment; the Stagecoach timetable as printed is on line in this case - but that is not always so.

This operational oddity probably has its origins in a past life when service 51 journeys from Hailsham ran through (as 51) alternately to Sovereign South and North.

After a short breather at the station stop, enhanced by a can of cold fizzy pop from a nearby emporium ...

... and a necessitous sit on a chair by the railings, provided by said fizzy pop shop stop, fbb was ready to board his service 56, sit tight at Cornfield Road and then speed off to the mysteries of Sovereign Harbour south.

What excitements would follow? The expedition continues tomorrow.

Good News For Arthur Wanting a Seat
At least one of the links (from the First Group web site) to the new Edinburgh Tours pages is now working ...

... and you can book seats on-line IF you can find the link!

But the mysterious www.brightbustours.com site, as advertised on the press release, still does not exist.

 Next Eastbourne blog : Wednesday 3rd July 

Bric-à-Brac Blog (Continued)

==================================

This blog is getting as unreliable as some

parts of the GB public transport system.

Yesterday was "Sunday's Best", a monthly

Christian meeting for "the mature" and run

by the fbbs. In includes afternoon tea and

24 turned up yesterday - think Sunday

School for adults!

fbb had allowed insufficient time for

detailed planning for Eastbourne blogs;

Part 3 now postponed until tomorrow.

==================================

New Trains At Last

But which December? The item in Rail mag referred to December 2018 and, no surprise, things are running a bit late. The first 10 new trains start running today.

Thanks Manchester news - maybe you should write more plainly rather than holding back!

Only ten will not replace too many Pacers which will still be around until the end of 2020 - unless, if course, there are more delivery delays. But that scenario is most unlikely (Ha, jolly ha!).

But you have to suppose that this tiny bit of good news will excite Arriva (Northern's franchisee) after months of disruption, delay and industrial inaction.

Post-Launch Launch?

In the same way in which buildings, motorways and major development projects are "officially" opened well after they are opened, it appears that First Bus are introducing the same idea into the bus business. fbb is due to get an invite to the launch, on Friday 12th July, of the new RailAir service from Guildford to Heathrow.

It starts today!

Perhaps First are anxious to iron out any teething troubles before the press and company big-wigs get a look-see.

A glimpse of the coach branding is offered on line ...

... plus a copy of the leaflet.

The service runs every hour during the main part of the day, operating to a 24/7 timetable.

The fares seem about normal for an airport link.

Currently passengers from the Portsmouth line would use the National Express service from Woking ...

... also only hourly. First's offering will be a tad cheaper (shorter rail journey) ...

... but also somewhat longer in duration. The coach journey is twice as long. As well as a stop outside the station, there is a call near the University and at Wisley Gardens. fbb suspects that the latter is merely to allow the service to be registered as a bus and thus attract bus operators grant. He would be surprised if many folk travel to or from Wisely. Here is the TO Heathrow stop ...

... often hidden by HGVs laying by! And TO Guildford ...

... with the help of a footbridge - otherwise crossing the road would be perilous in the extreme.

This is an interesting and speculative development aimed at train travellers ...

... but fbb does wonder whether an hourly frequency will tempt flyers out of the their cars or their taxis.

One to watch. More, maybe, from the late launch?

Crackpot!

However, fbb might NOT get an invite to the above launch after this bit of bloggery lands on the desk of First Bus executives.

Wander into the Travel Centre above and you will notice something missing.

There is a slight lack of leaflets. A notice on the door explains:-

Great? An explanation is given nearby.

Points.

There are no bus timetables displayed at bus stops in Chelmsford. To check anything other than a very simple (near routine) journey, departure lists are useless.

In due course, fbb will check the web site, but at a quick glace yesterday evening, it, too, was difficult to use unless you really know what to look for.

Running two mobile phones to answer timetable queries is expensive for the enquirer and costly in staff time. Is there REALLY a saving?

Traveline is costly - even more so for a complex enquiry.

The first bus App did not have any timetables on it when fbb last looked; it may have changed and fbb will, of course, check again.

The whole idea of not printing timetables is, in a word, crackpot. Of course newer media can be of use, but to have a clear well designed timetable leaflet (area booklet is better) to include a route map and network map is by far the best way to generate new business.

And if printed material is no longer required, why are the staff of Bright Bus Tours in Edinburgh clutching a fan of leaflets?

To help the environment, to cut costs (etc.) surely NOTHING should be printed? After all - it's all on line.

Remember?

And ditch the orange T shirts - far too expensive; dress the staff in any old casual clobber. And think of the money you would save if you painted the buses one colour rather than the expensive and complicated scheme you appear to have hit upon.

After all ...

... think of the trees it will save.

Pardon? Speak up!

Oh dear; you want PASSENGERS to use your Bright Bus Tours service ...

What a surprise.

Are there printed leaflets from the new Guildford RailAir service?

What a surprise.

Ergo, you don't want passengers in Chelmsford?

As this was an old tweet you may have seen sense since.

What a surprise.

And Poppy Red?

Still gorgeous at this time of year. A couple of Twitterings ...

... and fbb forgot to note which preserved railway is seen in the distance. Severn Valley, if fbb's memory still works just a little bit?

 Next Eastbourne blog (it will be - honest) Tuesday 2nd July