tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post197308674228740223..comments2024-03-29T08:14:43.839+00:00Comments on Public Transport Experience: It's All On-Line (Episode 341)fatbusblokehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833340546527596517noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-55980750452569834152019-09-04T08:39:40.669+01:002019-09-04T08:39:40.669+01:00The question is how much of the issue is the opera...The question is how much of the issue is the operator and how much is the local economy. There does seem to be an issue with Sheffield with the City Centre stagnating, I did read somewhere the suggestion that more people visit the Meadowhall than Sheffield City Centre which if accurate would indicate a source of the issue for an historic network built around serving the city centre (though Sheffield resident relatives, little brother & partner, made the comment about the changes to the 95 of "who wants to go to Meadowhall" which does raise questions) and the city centre does seem a little rundown. In comparison visits to Birmingham City Centre look much more vibrant and there is no large out of town shopping mall of the same scale as Meadowhall (Merry Hill is much smaller and more like a local shopping centre than a regional draw with big name brands) so the traditional network can still serve more of the remaining demand.dwarfer1979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-59150077625410007752019-09-03T10:13:11.265+01:002019-09-03T10:13:11.265+01:00I don't think fbb is suugesting that First are...I don't think fbb is suugesting that First are rapacious- even if some of the local politicians are. <br />As a local resident and regular bus user,and having spent a long period digesting the changes, I was similarly taken aback by the change to the 95. While waiting for another route on West Street yesterday, I was astonished to see a bus emerging from a side road; only when I looked up at the list of routes on the stop above my head did I realise that the 95 was missing. This is on aroute which followed since the trams came off in 1956. Nowhere, in print,on stops, or online is there a shred of an anaouncement of this fact, except for the changes booklet which only appeared yesterday. This is a failure of marketing which treats one's customers as mugs and reinforces the common idea that bus travel is just too difficult. <br />The changes include yet another revamp of services in the less affluent suburbs of North Sheffield- the fourth, I believe, in the last decade. The same comment applies -it is disturbing that services like this, in what traditionally is good bus territory, are being cut fastest.While the well-known problems facing the industry are nationwide, it is worrying that First in this area in particular seem to be on a relentless downward spiral of cuts and falling patronage whci is not apparent to the same xtent elsewhere- National Express West Midlands, for instance, is avoiding cuts on this scale, is investing in its fleet at a higher rate, and is maintainig its customer base. Something somewhere is going badly wrong.Dennis Dratnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7432323264902617108.post-57392447145404573622019-09-03T08:38:22.127+01:002019-09-03T08:38:22.127+01:00Based on last year's accounts, First South Yor...Based on last year's accounts, First South Yorkshire is losing nearly £30,000 a week. And if it was a stand alone company, would be bust - it has net liabilities of £20m. Fortunately the good shareholders of Firstgroup plc are propping it up, in return for no reward at all. Not exactly rapicious private sector behaviour, is it?Realistnoreply@blogger.com