It's Now No More, The X84 (Part 4 - mini)

 Baseball Bat Network Design

The idea is to bash everything contained in a group of bus routes with a baseball bat and hope something acceptable emerges. Usually a great deal of bashing is needed to "save a bus" or to remove a few kilometres of badly performing mileage.

The danger is, however, that the wholesale rejig loses more passengers and the resultant scheme performs worse that the set-up it replaces.

Take a look at the old MID BLUE Headingley group ...

... and look at the new ORANGE network,

At first glance, at second glance; even at third glance it all looks unchanged apart from the route numbers. Astute readers will however, notice that the X84 (not numbered) on the MID BLUE map becomes ORANGE 25 and 26.

fbb could add the First Bus list of any changes apart from the X84, but the detail is not important. There will have been timetable changes (reductions?) but the big change is bringing the Otley service fully into the "Headingley Line".

Effectively the Otley services 25 and 26 lose their X status, serve all stops between City and Weetwood where previously the X84 ran limited stop; thus buses will be slower within the Leeds conurbation.

But the two journeys each hour will offset some of the pruning of other routes along the Headingley section.

Here is First's timetable ...

... and here the PTE's version.

Note that running time on the 25/26 between City and Weetwood is approx 20 minutes on Firsts incomprehensible variable running time. The old X84 table did not mention Weetwood.

But the old (2013) X84 managed all the way to Otley in 40 minutes; the new 26 running the same roads as X84 takes about 50 minutes. Most of that extra ten will apply between Leeds and Weetwood.

But if you are unfortunate enough to grab a 25 via Pool village ...

... the whole journey will take you an hour! Some versions of First's new timetable quote the 26 (not via Pool village) as "fast"; but it is, as we see, 10 minutes slower than it's predecessor!

This is a typical and misplaced ruse by First to present a reduction in service as something better than it is. The 26 is fastER than the 25 but both of them are either slower or MUCH slower than the X84.

You might expect some passenger protest ...

... and you would he right.

More tomorrow.

PTO -Peterville Terraforming Operation

The Bill Bodge and Fred Fudge Quick Guide to Scenery

Next, cover the foam blocks with a chunk of Mrs fbb's bedspread provided by her parents in 1963! The patterned surface helps add texture to the land form.

A thin coat of plaster begins to add stability to the ground.

The second coat has some track ballast added to slightly darken the plaster. Grass will be added, but Peterville Quarry was a chalk quarry so it shouldn't look too pristine where bits show through the scrub.

Then comes the grass!

The colours are somewhat garish, but there is more "treatment" to come.

The on-going work will involve this!

 More X84 Replacement blog : Sunday 24 Nov