The Secret Seven At Carterton (1)

 It sounds like a book by Enid Blyton ...

... and in many ways it might form a good plot. The Secret Seven go in search of a ghostly bus service which runs from Carterton to Oxford.

Or does it?

It first appears in 2010 as a semi-ghostly Monday to Friday only service from Witneyto Oxford's mega-Hospital.

In 2014 it materialises on a posh Stagecoach Gold leaflet ...

... which suggests that this "new route" has just been extended from Witney to Carterton. It provoked some controversy because at first it didn't serve the Hospital grounds and left passengers with a bit of a walk.

Apparently, after the victory, it now went into the Hospital itself but in one direction only - well, you wouldn't want those pesky passengers to upset your careful scheduling, would you?

Headley Way (below, far left) is hardly convenient for the Hospital.

In 2014 the extended service was still running Monday to Friday only.

The main services on the leaflet were the S1 ...

... and S2.

Also in 2014 you had a very good map showing detail in the Carterton area ...

... confirming that the S2 is the faster route via the A40, the S1 serves two significant villages and the S7 wanders over a wider territory. In Oxford the differences are again clear.

The S2 is very much a slower route into the city, and, as expected, the S7 doesn't touch the city centre at all.

In 2017 fbb has only found a leaflet cover ...

... with the S7 being an obviously subsidiary concept when set again the "Gold" S1 and S2.

Now correspondent Keith takes over the narrative.

I have just spent a few days in Carterton, Oxfordshire visiting relatives. On previous visits the Stagecoach Gold S1 & S2 routes provided a combined x15 frequency to Witney and Oxford and very good it was too.

But idly watching these new buses pass through Carterton Town Centre I was puzzled to see an S7 going to Brookes University.

Intrigued on seeing this I made my way to the main Town Centre bus stop to check the roadside information – see photograph of the roadside case below. There was the half-hourly S1 ...

... and the half hourly S2 as expected.

The display was dated 3 September 2017.

There was no reference to the S7 – just the S1 & S2 as I had always known them.

So I asked the driver of the S7 if he had a timetable leaflet and the reply was that there were none available as they (Stagecoach) hadn’t printed any.

Still confused I checked on line when I got back to the house and discovered that the S7 had replaced one of the S2s per hour.

Previously the S1 took 1h08 to get to Oxford and the S2 53 minutes so the S2 was always the quickest choice to get to Oxford. Now one of the S2s per hour has become an S7 ...

... and doesn’t go to Oxford City Centre, doing instead an northern orbital route via John Radcliffe Hospital to Brookes University.

It does now appear to enter the hospital grounds.

Follow the  PUCE  line for the S7; which now runs Monday to Saturday hourly (fbb comment)

So, Carterton has lost one bus per hour to Oxford City Centre. I haven’t got a problem with this network change as Stagecoach no doubt had good reasons for it. But I do have a problem of it not being communicated to its customers.

I checked every bus stop in Carterton (they are to a high standard) and every one was showing a 3 year old timetable display with no reference to the new hourly S7.

Utterly hopeless and beyond belief!

To add to the discombobulation, The current on-line Carteron and Witney map says the S7 continues to "Oxford" ...

... which may be geographically correct (the Hospital is in Oxford!), but is not helpful!

By contrast independent operator Pulhams have recently (1 Sep) won the tender for the 19, Carterton via the villages to Witney from Stagecoach.

Every bus stop in Carterton has been updated with a smart new Pulhams timetable display ...

... and their drivers were happily handing out timetable leaflets.

Full marks (and a chocolate peanut) to Pullhams.

No marks at all to Stagecoach.

But, of course ...

IT IS ALL ON LINE

 Next Barnet blog : Wednesday 4th November 

Barnet Fair Or Barnet Frustration

 U No The Problem!

Uno tweeted the above picture of a nice red bus all prepared, so the tweet said, for the extension of their route 383. The operator was proud of the route summary above the windows, and even prouder of the route diagram on the back.

These two luxuries have been a rare sight on Transport for London (TfL) buses in the past, but the publicity revolution is beginning to creep in; although whether the "initiative" stems from The Wombles at TfL or from the bus operator is unclear.

On line information (all unofficial) reported that this extension had been suggested by the Mayor's Office in 2017, so following a typically London snappy process, the extension was scheduled to start earlier in the year. In fact the revised revised start date was to be Saturday 31st October.

Most London bus changes are quite complicated, involving jiggling several routes in one particular area. Such proposals are beyond fbb's brain and often too involved for a simple (?) blog.

But the 383 seems simple - just a stand-alone extension of the route from its former Terminus at Woodside Park Station ...

... to Finchley Memorial Hospital.

The hospital was originally established as the Finchley Cottage Hospital and opened with 20 beds on 28 May 1908.

An extension financed by public subscription which would form a lasting memorial for the Finchley dead of the First World War was opened by General Sir Ian Hamilton in 1922 when the hospital was given its present name.

A new three-storey hospital building was procured under a Private Finance Initiative contract in 2010 and was opened by the Duke of Gloucester in September 2013.

So it has been quite an achievement to get a bus service into the hospital grounds after seven years planning. Such are the delights of London's oft praised regulated bus system!

Hitherto, public transport had involved a noticeable trek from West Finchley Undergound (left) or a shorter toddle from North Finchley High Road (right).

There were no obvious signs from the bus stops ...

... when Streetview pottered by. You turn right at those traffic lights.

Well aware of TfL's limitations, fbb turned eagerly to the Uno web site ...

... with no mention of the 383. Apparently Uno does no run buses in L*nd*n - or, if they do, they are kept as a secret.

So, nothing ventured nothing won, fbb must tackle the TfL web site.

And, by Saturday afternoon 31st October (the start day, remember) there was absolutely no information about the extended 383; it was still shown as running from Barnet The Spires to Woodside Park Station.

Before Church yesterday, fbb decided to have another go. 

The TfL "map" did not admit to the extension, despite being "automatic" ...

... but the so-called "timetable" showed the new terminus.

But trying to get any times out of it was challenging in the extreme.

Live Updates

Live updates are not available for this location at the moment. Please see Timetables to check the frequency of your service.

First and last services, timetables and route details

API response: Could not find a matching ICS code for the Naptan Id 490002214Z. Argument name: from NaptanId.

Now fbb does actually know that the service does not run on Sundays - when most people might wish to visit in-patients - but the twaddle above seems an odd alternative for the simple "there is no Sunday service".

More frustration came when clicking on "Timetables":-

But with perseverance, departure times can be found ...

... although only as far as Woodside Park Station, apparently.

Then comes the test in mental arithmetic.

Of course, there is a simple way to overcome this convoluted and utterly unreliable information service.

It is simple to use, technically straightforward and readily downloadable.

You could publish the timetable!

Even the informative and reliable Robert Munster has not yet picked up this change. He has the right route ...

Barnet - Meadway - New Barnet - East Barnet - Oakleigh Park - Whetstone - Torrington Park - North Finchley - Woodside Park Station - North Finchley - Finchley Memorial Hospital

No late evening or Sunday service.

... but the wrong timetable - terminating at Woodside Park only. (click on the graphic below for a larger view)

fbb suggests that this dreadful omission (?) is not Mr Munster's fault, but yet another part of the TfL Wombles policy of timetable secrecy and obfuscation.

Your brave and exploratory author was intending to examine the 383 route in more detail tomorrow; but a correspondent has, purely by coincidence, forwarded another example of appalling information management, this time in Oxfordshire. The "383" blog will follow later in the week.

The informative e-mail from Keith was headed "It's All On Line", so you know what sort of thing to expect.

Fearnley Is Safe From Arrest

Correspondent John, who voiced the original concerns about legal lettering, has discovered that the smudge behind the rear wheel of the Fearnley/Snooker bus is a correct (ish) application of what is legally required.

It has been over-enlarged by fbb but you might doubt that it complies with the "contrasting colour" requirement.  WHITE  lettering would have been much better (and, arguably, more "legal") than   BLUE  on blue.

 Next Confusion In Carterton blog : Tuesday 3rd November 

Sunday Variety

CHURCH LINK

SERVICE STARTS AT 1030

Today's service is inside.
The fbbs will be attending.
A link can be obtained via the Church YouTube channel
(here) and clicking on the panel for today's date.

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

Fearnley Bus Or Snooker Bus?

The interior of the new-livery Sheffield Bus, named, or so fbb thought, Giles Fearnley on the inside only ...

... supports the view that the coloured bubbles dribbling down the vehicle's side ...

... might well be snooker balls. All Sheffielders will recognise the allusion straight away. (or not!)

"Ay oop, lad, what's them bubbles on 't 'bus?"

"Snooker, innit, luv? Sithee - s'not bubbles but a lowerd o' balls!"

Who Is The Owner?

fbb has previously reported that the new-livery Sheffield Bus (with Giles Fearnley named inside) had no name on the outside. It does. If you look at the darker blue stripe under the "Sheffield" you can read it there - if you have good eyesight!

It reads, "Giles Fearnley  Managing Director  First Bus  385 Guild Street  Aberdeen". 

A chum asks, "Is this the bus's LEGAL LETTERING", information which must be displayed by law?" Chum also says that he understands that this legal lettering MUST be the name of the company that holds the Operators' License (colloquially "O disc") which allows it to operate as a legal Passenger Carrying Vehicle on service, carrying fare paying passengers.

If the owner of the bus is NOT the holder of the "O disc", then the bus should carry a label "ON HIRE TO" and the name of the O disc company. That doesn't seem to happen any more - but should it?

Does First Bus of\Aberdeen have licences for bus services in Sheffield?

The regulations for LEGAL LETTERING are as follows:-

No vehicle in respect of which, by virtue of section 17(1) of the Transport Act 1980, a certificate of initial fitness, or a certificate under section 130 of the Road Traffic Act 1960, or a certificate under section 47 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 is required shall be used on a road unless the vehicle is marked with clearly legible characters:-

(i) not less than 25 millimetres tall,

(ii) in a conspicuous position on the nearside of the vehicle,

(iii) in colours which contrast with their background, and

(iv) indicating the name of the owner (as defined in section 44(1) of the said Act of 1980 in relation to a vehicle to which that definition applies) of the vehicle and the owner's principal place of business.

As an example of how this might be applied to a heritage vehicle, we can look to First Bus in Leicester.

It carries a historic legal lettering as applied to Leicester Tramways ...

... and, towards the rear of the vehicle, the correct legal lettering.

Daft, of course, that Leicester City Bus is based in Chelmsford; daft - but legal.

The same system was used on the Heritage Livery bus ...

... which remembered Giles' grandfather a much respected General Manager of Sheffield Corporation Tramways.

Would it be safer for the Giles Fearnley Bus to have proper legal lettering for:-

FIRST SOUTH YORKSHIRE

OLIVE GROVE

SHEFFIELD

S2 3GA

You would hate to see Giles' retirement marred by a fine for mis-use of an O Licence!

Problems With The Sunday X57

The Sheffield "Star" reports:-

The Snake X57 bus service, which runs between Sheffield and Manchester, experienced 20 minute delays at the weekend (October 25) due to half-mile queues for Fairholmes visitor centre car park on the A57, in spite of signs telling motorists it was already full.

Cars that had been unable to get into the car park were also queued up along the side of the road, parked on double yellow lines, making it difficult for buses to pass.

Alf Crofts, managing director of Hulleys said: “There were some issues on Sunday with poorly managed parking on the road to the Fairholmes visitor centre and we are liaising with Severn Trent about resolving this."

This was the first day of operation of the Snake X57 service, which runs along the A57 and attracted widespread praise from passengers in spite of the delays.

Responding to the traffic issues, a spokesman for the National Park Authority said: “When public car parks at Fairholmes in the Upper Derwent Valley are at full capacity, this is clearly stated with signage at the entrance to the site on the A57.

"We ask that visitors travelling by car do not attempt to access the site or wait in their vehicle on the road itself, when car parks are shown as full.

"Double yellow lines are in place on both the A57 ...

... and Derwent Lane

Fixed penalty notices are not issued by the National Park Authority, but patrols may be in place from the relevant enforcement bodies. The National Park strongly supports sustainable transport solutions such as the X57 Snake, and ask that car users respect highways access throughout the Peak District, to allow public transport to operate safely and efficiently, benefiting both visitors and local communities.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire County Council, which is responsible for the road, added: “We are liaising with partners to get the road swept as often as is possible so people can see the parking restrictions clearly. We also carry out parking enforcement in the area, which we have increased in several rural areas this year due to more people getting out and about in the countryside.”

Of course, Derbyshire might like to consider supporting extra bus services to discourage motorists.

Oh, yes; they stopped all that unnecessary expenditure a few years ago. 

Vandalism Can Be Fun!

It does remind fbb of a "single" performed by Mike Batt.

This revealed the location of the secret bunker (under the Windmill) ...

... on Wimbledon Common where Transport for London's PPE** is situated.

Tomorrow, fbb will be looking at a revised London bus service which changed yesterday. For now, the words of Mike Batt's song will provide a taster.

** PPE - Publicity Production Executive a k a The Wombles.

Sent To Coventry?

Coventry Bus Station known as Pool Valley is a huge affair in the shape of a letter W. Stands are well spaced out and there is plenty of room for both buses ...

... and people who enter through two classical porticos on Fairfax\Street.

National Express leave from bays A B C and D adjacent to Priory Street and on the opposite side of the W we have the splendid old fire station building ...

The whole place is so much better than it used to be in "the good old days" when lines of "basic" shelters were all that you got by way of protection.

But Coventry is 2021's City of Culture.

UK City of Culture is a competition run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. Every four years, cities compete to be awarded the prestigious title. The first UK City of Culture was Derry/Londonderry in 2013 followed by Hull in 2017. The title brings with it a huge amount of opportunity to place your city on a national and international stage.

Coventry was awarded the title in December 2017 after competing against eleven other cities. The bid was won on the strength of our city's diversity, its youthfulness and the opportunities that being so centrally located bring. Coventry's year in the spotlight will run from May 2021 - May 2022.

So Coventry bus station is to get a refurbish, an upgrade as below:-

There is a lot to do before May 2021! But the idea of a bus station as an illustration of a City's "culture" is, to say the least, "interesting"!!

Tomorrow, we examine the work of "The Wombles"

 Next London bus blog : Monday 2nd November