Mega Panic
O, this is the challenge of updates; it springs
All from Monday 1st June. O GoTimetable,
When pressures come, they come not single spies
But in battalions. First, from Stagecoachbus:
Second, from First; and both with violent changes
To improve the service: passengers muddied,
Thick and unwholesome in their thoughts and whispers!
Lovers of Shakespeare's "Hamlet" may well remember King Claudius' anguished speech in Act 4 Scene 5, where he was overcome with sadness at the tragedies the surrounded him.
On Wednesday last, fbb received details of Stagecoach's timetable uplift from Monday (1st June). There is a huge amount of stuff to wodge into GoTimetable. Then yesterday another heap arrived from First. There are over 40 services to update which means 80 sets of timetables, one for each direction. Ideally they should all be in place over the weekend.
Two working days, and the weekend? fbb will try, but will almost certainly fail.
Every month the fbb's distribute an A4 (folded to A5) leaflet to maintain contact with the 30 or so "seniors" that join them every month for Sunday's Best, a Christian get together with a yummy tea.
About 2 days work - to be ready for distribution in the middle of next week, recognising that the monthly meeting would have been on Sunday 7th June.
To assist this "batallion" of pressured process, fbb may well have to curtail his blogging activities for a few days.
Work on the model railway will have to stop.
Compass Bus Bus Stop
No 3 Son has photographed an "interesting" bus stop in Paddockhall Road Haywards Heath ...
... apparently served by Compass Bus.
According to Google Maps only their service 39 calls.
The stop is near Muster Green ...
... and is on one side of the road only - so it might be assumed that the 39 is on some sort of one way section. Compass have a local map of their services in the town ...
... which suggests that there are far more buses along Paddockhall Road than just the 39. Compass' key routes in Haywards Heath are 31, 33 and 39.
Fortunately No 3 Son was more diligent in his happy snapping and photographed the frame, almost engulfed in greenery.
Fortunately No 3 Son was more diligent in his happy snapping and photographed the frame, almost engulfed in greenery.
There is the 39 (Monday to Friday) at the bottom ...
... above which is the 31 (Monday to Friday) ...
... and above that is another 31 - possibly Saturday.
The picture is taken through less than pristine glass (plastic?) so is not too clear. Checking on Compass' own web site, there should be a Saturday 39 with a bright red header ...
... but nothing matches that inside the frame at Paddockhall Road. Maybe the Saturday 31 ...
... has just faded.
But there is another problem with the photographed stop. It is not mentioned anywhere on the Compass timetable. Checking Traveline's all-stops offering we find the buses travelling northbound that might use the Paddockhall stop ...
... don't. They use Perrymount Road, calling at the Jireh Court bus stop where No 3 Son omitted to get a picture of the Compass Bus frame (remember?) ...
... then stopping at the main Perrymount Road shelter ...
... opp Budgens before continuing to Sainsburys.
Check the map again.
In the opposite direction buses call at Perrymount Road (outside Budgens), Jireh Court and off to the Hospital along the full length of Perrymount Road.
fbb is pretty sure that NOTHING now stops at Paddockhall Road, certainly nothing operated by Compass.
Unless anyone out there known anything different.
In the meantime, fbb recommends that you don't try waiting at the stop! You could have an even longer wait than for a "full" virus "social distancing" bus!
Which brings fbb to a key question.
Why does the screen show "Bus" Full? What else might be full? What is wrong with "Sorry Full" - you could make it bigger.
Hey ho! Back to GoTimetable Sheffield.
Now what is the difference between a new 57 and a new 57a?
Next Variety blog : Saturday 30th May
I prefer "Bus Full". I don't like it when buses displays say, "Sorry, not in service" or "Sorry, bus full". On the one hand, a machine such as a bus doesn't have emotions. On the other, if it was truly sorry it would do something to rectify the situation: either stop and pick you up, or tell its friend to do so. Let's save "sorry" for proper apologies rather than factual announcements.
ReplyDeleteYou are trying to apply a map of 'normal non-Covid-19' bus services to the current emergency timetables. The 62 and 89 are currently suspended.
ReplyDeleteIIRC the only 31/33 group journeys that use Paddockhall Road are some school day extensions to and from Warden Park School in Cuckfield. These journeys are also currently suspended. Normally IIRC 62s and 89s go out of town to head west via Paddockhall Road. 31s and 33s come into town from the east and go down Perrymount Road to the station, a quick spin around the one way system to terminate outside Sainsburys (unless doing school day extensions up Paddockhall Road to WPS at Cuckfield).
I don't think any Compass buses use Muster Green South going west and I can't remember if the 62s and 89s use it going east or go down Paddockhall Road. Compass's timetables aren't detailed enough and Traveline only shows Compass's emergency timetables. Quite possibly only odd school journeys (31, 31C?) use this stretch of road to miss out the station. Yes, the map could be clearer.
Haywards Heath routes tend to do some odd things on occasions as every route from both Compass and Metrobus is designed to include both the station and the hospital, which are on different sides of the town. Metrobus's services are simpler* to follow in this respect but then there are only three of them. Compass's school day timetables complicate things greatly.
*Metrobus services heading west (271 and 272) simply do a double-run up and down Perrymount Road to call at the station.