Entertaining Possibilities via the Eden Project
A few weeks ago we were treated to a twittered tease from First Kernow ...
... later supplemented by a rear end view.
First Kernow's web site has a PDF version of the "day tripper" leaflet - which is less than ideal because it really needs to be followed in order.
OK? It is a ten-quid bus trip with additional passengers in the group (presumably of any age?) travelling at half price. So possibly a good deal for a group of adults?
So what next. The leaflet explains ...
Confused.com? And slightly more confused.com when you look for the times of these trips on this very leaflet.
And there's more ...
... but no mention of D6 and D7 and only times for trips to the Domes of Eden?
The implication seems to be that all the above routes will take you to The Eden Project where, if you are clever enough to understand the leaflet, you can change to another mysterious bus and get to all the other wonderful places.
fbb was, frankly, both bemused and disappointed with this, the last of First Kernow's spectacular offerings to this season's staycation tourists. The leaflet is simply NOT easy to understand.
The company's timetable book may offer some further help. Here we get the list as above but, on the following pages, there are more Ds (including the missing D6 and D7).
And even more Ds.
A close examination reveals that these are timings FROM the Eden Project to other destinations on the "day tripper" list, timings which are missing from the leaflet.
So we can now see how it works - far better than it is(n't) explained on the leaflet. But we need to be persistent!
You are resident in Fowey and you wish to be a brave day tripper to Newquay.
Step 1 : At 1005 Catch a D8 to Eden Project (which is near St Austell).
You will arrive at about 1030 whereupon a First Bus Customer Service person will guide you to ...
Step 2 : At 1035 Catch a D1 to Newquay.
You are scheduled to arrive at 1129.
You then have just under three hours to enjoy Newquay (?)
before ...
Step 3 : at 1420 catch a D1 to Eden Project
... where you will guided to your bus "home".
Step 4 : at some unspecified connecting time, D8 to Fowey
So that's how it works!
Nothing is said about whether old fogey's passes are valid, but fbb expects they are not. The decision as to whether to fund such "free" journeys rests with Cornwall Council and it seems unlikely that they will be looking favourably at services which may well eat into their Transport for Cornwall network.
Whilst a few hours at Newquay might be more than enough for a passing visitor, fbb thinks that a similar brief time at Lanhydrock ...
Or maybe the Gardens are so scary that three hours plus will be too much?
The day trip by bus is not too fearful price-wise but add it to Eden Project ...
Maybe an ice cream and a sunbathe on Newquay Beach ...
These day tripper (less than half a day tripper!) are largely operated by college buses which would otherwise be doing nowt.
So costs are low.
It will be interesting to see if the shorter time at the "second stage" destinations is too short to make them attractive.
But well done to First Kernow for inventiveness. There should be more "selling of bus rides" rather than whinging about declining passenger numbers.
It was jolly Jack Cohen, founder of Tesco, whose philosophy was "pile it high and sell it cheap".
First are metaphorically "piling it high" with 30 extra open top buses and sweating a bit more work from college buses.
Maybe they should be cheaper?
For the record, all these routes are scheduled and registered which means they should serve all stops en route. fbb is not sure how easy it might be to flag one down in some of the more remote communities.
Next Variety blog : Saturday 22nd May
I too found the offer confusing at first - you need to change your mindset from thinking of it as a bus service to thinking in terms of an excursion.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately the timings given in FBB's example are wrong and the time a "Day tripper" gets in Newquay is even more limited than FBB suggests. Pick-up (Fowey) 10:05 --> arrive Newquay 11:29 | free time to explore Newquay | Depart Newquay 13:33 --> drop-off (Fowey) 15:00.
Eden acts as a hub for all services.
So roughly three hours travelling on a bus for two hours in Newquay. The need to fit around school/college services does give too short a time at any destination (perhaps except Eden), especially if you factor in lunch. Newquay is the most limited, but generally your time at each destination is three hours or less (four for Eden).
It seems that Cornwall Council have only very recently agreed that ENCTS passes ARE valid on these services . . . as they are essentially leisure routes, then they could've denied admittance to their concessionary scheme, which they are entitled to, and which will cost them money in reimbursement claims from the operator.
ReplyDeleteI quite like the concept of "a different destination every day" . . . the Eden project isn't the huge draw it once was, and if it keeps cars away from the tourist hotspots, then it deserves to succeed. It will also spread the "tourism pound" around the County.
FK have said that this isn't a one-off; they expect to return with someething similar in future years . . . IMHO it is very brave of them to invest in this way; much different from the First of years past . . .
Presumably during the school and college holidays in the peak summer months, these timings could be relaxed, allowing more time to explore Newquay, Padstow etc, making them more attractive to day=trippers, and at a time when it could be expected there will be more of them.
ReplyDeleteOr would this make the timetabling/rostering even more complicated?
Glad it's not just me. I don't understand the Daytripper leaflet either. It seems to make no sense omitting the routes that start from Eden, meaning that you cannot plan a day out using the leaflet alone. Only on the Adventures by Bus website do things become clear. Scroll down and click on the pick-up points and a bespoke timetable for all possible destinations pops up. Very neat, but it needs to be more obvious.
ReplyDeleteIn this first week of operation I and others have noted the usual somewhat lax vehicle allocation, with Daytripper liveried buses mostly appearing on any routes other than Daytripper routes!
I do wish it success, though.
The routes from Eden aren't omitted from the leaflet as such - there's a description and picture of all the places you can visit and each one has an arrival and departure time (giving to the time you can spend at each place/attraction). Then there are the pick-up and drop-off times - eg the times you'll leave home and get home. It's much more akin to an excursion (like you might book through your rep on a package holiday), rather than a bus service. Once you think in terms of an excursion the leaflet makes sense and tells you everything. That some people change at Eden I'd effectively an irrelevance for the leaflet - much like on excursions booked on foreign holidays vehicles from different resorts often meet at a hub and passengers are shuffled about. It's an offer very much aimed at the holiday maker.
DeleteWhich day trippers are the deckers and which just SDs....? Anyone know/found out yet please??!! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteDaytripper is similar in principle to the 'out & back' excursions to a different destination each day, that coach operators on Jersey offered. These plagued the incumbent bus operator, JMT for years in the 1950s/1960s.
ReplyDelete