College Chaos
Way back on 8th inst, fbb reported that Stagecoach had trumped GoAhead and won the contract for a tranche of serviced to Callywith (6th Form) College in Bodmin. At the time he wondered, idly, what Stagecoach would do with a whole heap of buses and their drivers between 0900 and 1630.
The scene now moves to the other end of the County where First Bus has lost the contract to provide loadsa buses for Truro and Penwith colleges. Success at the auction came for, guess who, GoAhead.
It is the month by month consistency of public transport that gives its customers such confidence!
So, as we have come o expect, the First Bus out-of-date booklet is still available on line.
Good, innit?
The new versions are listed on a long, long page of changes for the autumn term ...
...
... so it does imply some alterations ...
... but it doesn't bother to tell you what the change is apart from a crude list of the main destinations. Surely you need the timetables on such a page of info. That would be only fair for the customers at Lay By!
A cursory glance from the slightly dodgy eyes of fbb suggests that the publicity for the GoAhead versions compares very unfavorably with the First Bus booklet.
But the same question applies; what do you do with a whole heap of College buses and their drivers while collegiate activity is in progress?
The problem was greater for Stagecoach at Callywith as there aren't a lot of other Stagecoach bus routes for buses or drivers to play with. But GoAhead has oodles of work in and around Truro, most of which the company inherited when Cornwall Council offered the whole county's tendered bus work to one operator. GoAhead won most of it from First Bus.
Surely the company would use the college buses and drivers to fill in on the other local routes that it operates?
Oh no, they won't.
See this enigmatic comment on another change note in the mega list of this months revised timetables.
GoAhead will use their drivers and buses to "support" the new college contract.
That bit of bus-operator-speak is either deliberately in the realm of obfuscation, OR, more likely, a plain downright lie.
GoAhead is now competing against First Bus commercial services.
And you thought things were all chummy in Cornwall with both operators in the one timetable book, both operators on the one map AND, joy of joys, fully inter-available fares where, for example, GoAhead run tendered evening journeys on First Bus routes.
All very lovely and really helpful for the harassed passenger.
Blog continues tomorrow.
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PLEASE NOTE
The fbbs are off on Saturday 20th for a few days' break; three nights at Penzance (Premier Inn) and three nights at Treviades Barton. [fbb will reveal where and why in die course]. Return to fbb mansions is on Friday 26th.
Internet at both sites is untried, so blog readers may find the usual fbb service interrupted or curtailed.
Apologies in advance!
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Go Ahead 477 Timetable
fbb is grateful to Richard, an occasional correspondent, who not only reported that the new timetable was already on Traveline, BUT sent a copy of the relevant info.
fbb rarely consults Traveline as its system insists on displaying services under one route number, ei9ven if other journeys with au differoeintp number are obvious part of the same me table.
The extract below shows a 477 bus every hour with much the same coverage and frequency as Arriva ...
... but no extension to Darent Valley Hospital.
Still nothing from GoAhead. Richard thinks they will ignore my email.
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Tank Wagon Taxonomy Worries
According to EBay this is a TEA tank wagon (not for tea - it is the British Rail TOPS code for a type tank wagon).
But it doesn't look right.
Investigations continue - but fbb bought one for his collection, being surprised that the elderly model had not previously caught his attention.
Next Cornwall blog : Saturday 20 Sept
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