Around The Block At Shelton Lock (4)

 Buses Going Everywhere!

Readers are advised to commit the above map to memory with appropriate periods of revision and self-testing because such knowledge WILL be need in this blog.

After a map without timetable in 2016 we can leap forward to a timetable without map in 2021. Derbyshire and Arriva should be congratulated for updating their maps for the most recent change (October 2022) but that left fbb with nothing mappy to assist his snappy judgement on what happened in 2022.

To add to fbb's mental discombobulation, Derbyshire's excellent timetable library has changed during the currency of these blogs. So what was there is now not there!

From somewhere, however, fbb discovered a timetable for service 2 from Derby to Swadlincote. It is dated from 12th April 2021.

It shows an hourly service to Swad with buses running more or less direct with just one loop at Chellaston, names that via Maple Drive. Seemples!

Not seemples!

On Sunday, buses do NOT run via Maple Drive but whizz straight down the main road.

But, until it changed AGAIN at the start of December (evening change only), the previous pre-October 2022 timetable was available and it is a right mess!

There is the hourly service 2 as shown in glorious isolation in the tables above. It now goes via Grafham Close with no mention of Maple Drive. Surely "Maple Drive" is the more helpful name as the bus runs along the fill length thereof.

The come 2A journeys, every 30 minutes via Sinfin Avenue and terminating at Snelsmoor Lane (just past the church, remember?

There is one 2B every hour which runs via Parkway and terminates (presumably) at the A50 roundabout at the far end of Infinity Park Way.

Then we have a 2C every 30 minutes which runs straight down the main road deviating neither left not right to terminate at Chellaston School -  but don't tell Derbyshire that it is called Chellaston Academy now.

To summarise:-

fbb guesses (with no empirical experience whatsoever) that the 2C buses were not used much as most people do not live along the main road. Also, he feels, the people of Maple Drive might be aggrieved that everybody gets at least a 30 minute frequency except them!

The presentation of the timetable leaves a lot to be desires, a huge lot! Why are Chellaston destinations separated by huge swathes of blank space? Blank space is cleverly designed to help people misread the timetable and thus catch the wrong bus.

Moving The Deck Chairs Bus Seats On The Titanic Service 2

Just in case you haven't revised well enough!

Needless to say, the revised service is a huge thrill to the staff at Arriva.

And there is (maybe "was"?) plenty to read!

Bus there was no timetable on evey occasion that fbb looked. There was a map, briefly, but it disappeared almost before fbb started researching this blog.

Arriva did announce (see above) that they were putting service 2 and 2A together. fbb didn't know they had been separate routes, but maybe they were shown split in some way on the Arriva site. Derbyshire generally put them together anyway, but badly, as we saw above!

Anyway, this time Derbyshire shows the services as two separate chunks.

First we have the 2 with three buses an hour.

All three serve Maple Drive (was hourly!)

All three then continue to the well hidden "Bonnie Prince" ...

... which us one stop (maybe a new stop) past Chellaston School now Academy) and much nearer the A50 roundabout. 

The pub used to be a private house.

One bus an hour continues to Swadlincote whilst the third journey nips up Infinity Park Way to the end of Parkway, a road which us now unserved. Just to confuse us all, Arriva now call its sort-of Parkway terminus Prestwick Way Prestwick Way, naming it twice in case you missed it the first time.

Which leaves three 2A journeys an hour.

These are the same as the previous 2A.

So really, really seemples AND as a Brucie Bonus, the buses now go where the people are.

Contrast and Compare.

As a further bonus, and if you could ever fin it, the Arriva PDF timetable does put the 2 and 2A together.

Of course, the time point names are, helpfully different from those used by Derbyshire - but it would never do to be consistent would it? Consistency_ and simplicity might attract more passengers but we don't want that, do we?

And the map!

fbb has no idea what is going on in the centre of the above.

... but it has to be wrong! fbb thinks the 2A runs along the Derby Road so that gap should be filled. Perhaps the 70 (which is an oddity) does  a weird woggle.

Overall, the 2022 version of the 2 and 2A is simpler and far more useful than it's immediate predecessor.

It would be even better if the publicity were better. But probably Arriva are not producing anything and their web site is undoubtedly utterly awful!

Correction : fbb referred to the ring road as "Raynesway!. Only part of the newly built (1930s) road was so called. The bit by the former "Mitre", crossed by trolleybuses to Shelton Lock, was Harvey Road.

Derby's trams closed in 1934. The equivalent route to Shelton Lock only got as far as Osmaston Road.

Here is a No 6 about to set off for its outer terminus.

Coming up next week, "A Mooch Around Munich".

 Next Variety blog : Saturday 26th November