Amazing Pompey

Surely not?

Surely the fat bus bloke hasn't become a footy enthusiast in a late-in-life character change?

Absolutely not.

Mark Reddy, regional director for First tells us that, from November 18th in Portsmouth (and Fareham) ...

Services 4/4A/X4,15, 19/19A, 26, 52, 145, 649, 651/ 652, X40, X41 and E1/E2 will remain as they are but the following services will all change: 1/1A/1C, 3, 4, 5/5A, 6/6A, 8, 9, 11/11A, 12, 13, 14, 16A, 17/18, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 41, 45/45A, 53, 63, 83, 85, 87/87A, 88, 93/93A, 94/94A, 95/95A, X42, X88.

The press release announcing these changes was distributed yesterday (September 26th) and at the same time all the timetables were published on-line. The boss gives the caveat that minor changes may yet take place before new booklets are reddy (ouch!) in mid October. Neverthless it is a remarkable effort by First, and totally different from fbb's experience as blogged yesterday!

The changes are so substantial that even the agile mind of fbb (?) cannot entirely take it all in at a first reading. The old bloke desperately needs a "before and after" set of maps. Mark Reddy writes thus:-

The current bus network in Portsmouth and the wider East Hampshire area has evolved bit by bit over several years largely since buses were deregulated in the 1980s. While it works to an extent, we feel that our network is overly complicated with buses running, in some places, at irregular frequencies, and following complicated routes.

To address these issues we're taking what we would consider to be quite a bold step. Instead of continually tweaking individual routes, we have instead taken a step back, wiped the slate clean and developed something which we think will offer people what they need and which better matches the demand for travel overall. 

If we were to liken this approach to household DIY, instead of just painting over the cracks in an old house to make it a bit better, we're creating something new that we think will address our needs and last well into the future, delivering against our hopes and aspirations for years to come.

Followed by the thunderous tones of "I vow to thee my country"? It brings a lump to your throat!

And, to show our sense of humour and make traditional bus people squirm on their top decks, we are going to have a route 0 (zero). [that's fbb writing, not Marc Reddy!]

In advance of a more detailed assessment of what has happened and where, this blog will recognise (probably) the first ever use of a zero as an official route number for a normal and hopefully long-term service. Kings Cross Station ...

... has its Platform 0, and Sheffield Transport ran a bus service 000 for part of one day on 8th October 1960.

That illustrious date marked the end of Sheffield's original tram service. There was a grand parade of trams on the Saturday afternoon so bus route 000 ran from Tinsley to Beauchief until the new services took over on Sunday 9th. 

But this is different. As the boss suggests, this may be one timetable that is perhaps not (yet) presented in the best possible way. So fbb has made an attempt to unravel it all with a full timetable to download (here) or a visual to look at. [click to on the image to enlarge it.]

And here is a simple map of the route (hopefully correct).

The fbb cartographical composition also shows the ancestry of this zero route. The 6 and 6A from Tipner and Hilsea originally ran to Portsmouth centre. The 3 continued beyond Hilsea to Paulsgrove.

If our readers wish to beat fbb's brains (not difficult), the whole caboodle collection of timetables can be enjoyed on First's web site (here).

A few minor niggles with the Service 0 timetable, corrected in fbb's version.

"The Strand" is Clarendon Road, "Hanway Road" is just off  Milton Road, and "Outram Road" is (possibly?) Campbell Road. Maybe First should choose point time names that are more familiar to Portsmothian passengers?

The Southampton revision was "interesting" and, apparently, commercially successful whilst the Norwich re-jig is less "interesting", and time will tell if it makes good business sense; but this Pompey scheme is a truly amazing effort. First will needs lots of knowledgeable staff on hand to explain; lots of good publicity and (if fbb dares suggest in response to yesterday's debacle) a dedicated local phone line for enquiries. Lets hope the company's bravery and commercial acumen pays off!

Please, please, Mr Reddy and Mr Fearnley

don't leave this in the hands of Traveline

Maybe, as a special treat, First will only be charging 0p fares on Route 0? Maybe not!
.
Fat Bus Blokes Bible Blog is "Discovering Darwin's Designs" (read here)
.

 Next Bus Blog : Friday 28th September 

Interesting Ivybridge Information

Frustration from First (surprise, surprise!)

First continues the battle for passengers at Ivybridge with a special fares offer, starting one week before Plymouth Citybus begins its onslaught into First's traditional territory.

 10 journey offer 

For a limited period only you can buy a 10 journey ticket for only £10!

Simply ask your driver for a 10 journey ticket available on Service X80, Service 180 (and new Service 88 which serves Ivybridge from 8th October!)

But hurry!

This special offer is only available for a limited time:

From 23 Sep to 20 Oct on the X80 and 180 and from 8 Oct to 20 Oct on our new Service 88, for journeys between Plymouth and Ivybridge.

 day ticket offer 

First Devon is launching a new value day ticket for unlimited travel anywhere between Plymouth and Ivybridge.

Only £4.00 adult or £3.50 child.  fbb comments  Poor value for a child and not much help if you've got several; children, that is!

This great value new ticket is available to buy on bus from Sunday 23rd September 2012.

Simply ask your driver for a FirstDay Ivybridge ticket.

Anxious to avail himself of the full information in the interests of accurate blogging, fbb immediately emails First asking for a copy of a leaflet as published on Plymothian Transit Blog on Thursday 20th September.

click on the image to enlarge

 fbb's email 

Please send a copy of the leaflet for the new service 88 to Ivybridge to:- (home address supplied).

 fbb comments 

This was on an e-mail form provided on First's "Devon and Cornwall" website as the company does not permit "direct" internet access; so much for the benefits of modern communications. At least fbb could, just about, cope with the tricky "security" question.

fbb thinks he is a "person"; others might not be so sure. Two replies from First, received on Friday 21st September.

 Sandy replies 
Thank you for your email, We do not have any leaflets in stock for the 88 service as yet. You can find all the details on the web site at www.firstgroup.com/cornwall. All our time tables are available for you.
 fbb comments  But I didn't ask for the timetable!
Kind regards
Sandy Glyn
Customer Services
First and Greyhound
283 Empress Road
Southampton
SO14 0JW

 Melanie replies
Good Morning Mr White,
Please find a link to the relevant timetable:

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/devon_cornwall/journey_planning/timetables/timetable.php/day=1&source_id=2&service=88/88A/88B&routeid=5484911&operator=6&source=sp

I hope this assists you with your enquiry.

 fbb comments  a nice simple internet link to use! And, again, I didn't ask for the timetable.

Kind Regards
Melanie Cole
Customer Services
First and Greyhound
283 Empress Road
Southampton
SO14 0JW

 fbb comments 

Note that these replies do not come from First in Devon and Cornwall but (apparently) from Southampton. Two replies from (ostensibly) two different people? Clearly various bits of First's scattered empire do not communicate with each other. This is fbb's emailed response to the above (with the leaflet image attached)

 fbb's email 
Really?
Please see attached! It is only a screen shot.
Please send a non-existent leaflet as soon as they are available.
An emailed PDF copy will do.

 Melanie replies again 

Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your comments regarding one of our services. 
Please call the local travel shop for more information 01872 271682

 fbb comments  Presumably this is in Plymouth? Or is it?
Kind regards
Melanie Cole

This is the only picture of the enquiry office in Plymouth's Bretonside bus station that fbb could find. It dates from Christmas 1965!

Very Festive!

 fbb comments  That code didn't feel right, so checked on-line with a dialling code decoder ...

... which suggests an office at the bus station in Truro.

Possibly!

Can an office in Truro help with Plymouth enquiries or even a Plymouth leaflet? Try phoning (Monday 24th September).

1020 : no reply

1200 : no reply
Gave up. Life's too short.

Just in case of biased blogging, fbb despatched a similar e-mail on a similar form (but without a brain curdling security question) on Monday 24th September to Plymouth Citybus.

 Plymouth auto reply 
Thank you for your recent communication to Plymouth Citybus. A member of our customer services team will be dealing with your enquiry as soon as possible.

And, just 20 minutes later:-

 Belinda replies  
Thank you for your email. The timetable has been sent in today's post.
Kind Regards
Belinda Punter
Customer Services
Plymouth Citybus Limited
direct line : 01752 264 206
email : customer.services@plymouthbus.co.uk

 fbb comments 
Which company understands the "service" part of "customer service"? We will keep all our bemused readers informed about any postal arrivals in the next few days (Plymouth Citybus), weeks / years / never (First Devon and Cornwall).

And, in case you were wondering (you were wondering, weren't you? Of course you were.), the leaflet that fbb has requested from First Bus is available on-line, as this blog is being written (Monday 24th September), at ...

http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/new_service_updates/attach_1348158765_12941_First_88-X80_Leaflet-WEB.pdf

 ... which is a very long and unnecessarily cumbersome link and thus could be difficult to copy over accurately into a web browser. It is not the timetable link that First sent as above. If you would like a copy of something that First cannot supply (!!) please feel free to download it (here).

Still there'll be a copy in the post any day now.

 Next Bus Blog : Thursday 27th September 

What's at Windsor? [2]

---------------------------------------------------------------

Bluestar versus First : Latest News : a PS
An omission from yesterday's blog (read again)
Fare Wars
First Southampton has TWO fare zones for its "season ticket" prices. The inner zone, shown here in pink ...

... had been extended from 23rd September to include Townhill Park where the Bluestar incursion into First's traditional "city" operating area has taken place.

This will, effectively, reduce prices on First's already more frequent services to the area. What price a fairly quick retreat by the Boys from Blue? This change was only announced on-line last Thursday (20th), so it will be interesting to see how many know about it this week.

 ---------------------------------------------------------------

Back to Windsor for ...
Good News and Bad News

Can you read this? Probably not, but it's what is posted at one of the main bus stops in Windsor.

It is for the prestigious "7s" (actually 70s) that form the mainstay of First's service in the royal and historic borough. They are operated by smart blue vehicles in a decidedly non-First livery ...

... which is all spoiled by the appalling bus stop publicity. When you can ride on a bus that is ...

... "ioned", it would be good not to need a magnifying glass to tell when it was leaving. Later on, by the way, fbb spotted a vehicle that was "air condit"; so somebody, or something, is clouting the glass panels!

But, via a trip into what was the "porte cochère" of Central Station, ...

... once used as a sort of bus terminal, you will arrive at a splendid Tourist Information Centre, created out of the former station ticket office.

On display in the various racks around the walls was ...

... a leaflet for the relatively new service 100 "circular" tour bus; but nothing else for prospective bus passengers!

For the record, and exceptionally, old fogey's passes are valid on the 100, so, had the fbb's had more time, they could have had an hour's spiffing tour of the district for absolutely nothing. For map and other info, click (here), but if you are reading this blog well after its publication date, the link may have gone.

According to the full leaflet, this is a red London bus!

But back to the TiC. Undaunted by the lack of visible information, and expecting the usual "they never send us anything" answer, fbb asked for local bus information. Much to his near ecstatic surprise, he was given and Slough and Windsor timetable book.

And it's absolutely superb - near perfect in fact. A blog review will be along in a day or so.

What an amazing contrast with the same company's offerings in Northampton!

Perhaps that's why the Northampton operation is for sale and Berkshire isn't. But, on the downside, why did fbb have to ask for a free timetable book? Lacking the time for a debate, fbb did not pursue this one; but suspects that the answer would be, "if we put them out there, people keep taking them."

Now that simply isn't acceptable, is it? People taking bus information. Why, they might even start using buses, and we wouldn't want that, would we?

Today, a reasonably positive First; tomorrow, the exact opposite!

Fat Bus Bloke's Bible Blog is back today and we have our first contact with Charles Darwin (read here)

 Next Bus Blog : Wednesday 26th September 

Bluestar versus First : Latest News

=======================================

Firstly, warm congratulations to Peter Shelley and Christine, to whose Silver Wedding "do" the fbbs were invited yesterday; and a good "do" it was too. As an avid bus ticket machine collector, Peter had appointed his daughters as Paris-style "poinçonneuses" to clip appropriate admission tickets.

Here is the happy couple in earnest and reminiscent mood!

Peter is head honcho at Hampshire County Council public transport section and was formerly a colleague of fbb. Appropriately, but co-incidentally, today's blog is from his "patch".

 =======================================

You may remember the story so far ...

First introduces a new network in Southampton including the X2 which effectively doubles the frequency of First's service to the Millbrook Estate. Solent Blue Line also operates to Millbrook and they are very much not chuffed. So they attempt to nibble away at First's traditional city network with a 20 minute frequency to Townhill Park.

A rather small (A6 size) and feeble leaflet dropped through fbb's letterbox on Thursday last.

It contains details of Bluestar's new trendy "App" ...

... whatever one of those is. The "Key Card" is  also featured.

Of course, there is a timetable, of which this is an extract.

And there is simple and adequate diagrammatic map. But therein lies a snag; and it's a snag which is not at all uncommon in public transport information. The timetable and the map don't match. Four of the time points on the table are simply not shown on the map. fbb has added them to make the (time?) point.

Why the difference? fbb guesses that the people who draw the map never get to see the timetables (and vice versa).  Surely the map and the timetable should show the same detail?

The next phase of the story, however, is that  First starts a competitive service to Hythe, as previously blogged (read again). Publicity is beginning to appear and we are promised trendy "First" branding as below:-

At the same time, it is rumoured that First have won the tender for the Hythe local services, although details are not yet published. So, the next move passes to Bluestar.

Having lost the tender for the Hythe local, a new registration has been lodged for Bluestar 8 (currently identical with Firsts's new 11 but at different times) ...

... increasing it to every 30 minutes and extending journeys every hour to Calshot, mirroring the H3, due to be taken over from Bluestar by First.

But the H3 is tendered (subsidised) by Hampshire County Council whilst the revised service 8 is run commercially without subsidy.

This is a real "spoiler" for First, because the council will not subsidise a route if it is being run commercially by another operator. So, in a likely "opt out" clause, First may well lose the H3; which in turn may make the whole of the Hythe local tender (H1, H2 and H3: see map) unviable.

To summarise:-

First starts  X2  upsetting Bluestar

Blustar starts  16  to challenge First

First starts  11   competing with Bluestar  8 .

First "pinches" tendered  H1 , H2  and  H3  from Bluestar.

Bluestar doubles the frequency of  8  extending it to mirror  H3 .

First loses  H3  ( probably) and ...

... finds revised Bluestar  8  running at similar times to  11 .

All this will reveal itself to Joe Public over the next month or so. It's getting silly and there will be tears before bedtime. Too many buses and too few passengers mean unhealthy financial losses. And what is at Calshot to bring about this "needle match"? A few beach huts ...

... and a view of the Needles! To be fair, there is a little village as well.

When an irresistible First
Such as you.
Meets an odd immovable object like Blue.
You can bet as sure as you live.
 Somethings gotta give
 Somethings gotta give
 Somethings gotta give

 Next Bus Blog : Tuesday 25th September 

What's at Windsor? [1]

===========================================

More from the Northamptonshire Bus Strategy (read again):-

We read on page 24 that bus stops need to be located where there is good street lighting. Northampton correspondent Alan reports thus:-
I have just walked from one end of Eldean Road along the 9 / 9A bus route via Firsview Drive, Harlestone Road, Quarry Road and Main Road to the other end of Eldean Road.

At seven of the fourteen stops I passed, the nearest street light is turned off as an economy measure. Perhaps we should ask Council members to check their local area? For example:-

Route 9 : And overhanging tree at stop at Woodland Close / Firsview Road. The street light is off.

Route 9 : The only light at the shelter at Port Road / Quarry Road is a feeble eerie glow from the next bus display screen.

Safety? Passenger confidence? D(r)aft public transport strategy!

STOP PRESS
An unverified report from a Union meeting at the First depot says that the sale of the Northampton operation will be announced in 5 or 6 weeks. We await further confirmation. You read it here first : probably?
[email from Northampton correspondent 1942 Saturday 22nd September.]

===========================================

So what is at Windsor?
It's more than the Castle; much, much more.

A little song for you to sing. You probably know the tune.

Way back then, Green Line hurrying,
Round the town, RTs scurrying

A beautiful sight;

Timetables right

Waiting in a Windsor wonderland.

Legoland; attraction beckoning,

Rainbow fares; careful reckoning.

Trav'lling with First,
Thrill till you burst
Waiting in a Windsor wonderland.

In the cafes we can spend our money,
£8.50 for a chilli wrap.
Tourist prices simply aren't that funny!
When the stuff you get is really -
poor

Which to choose, ain't it thrilling,
Stations two; with top billing.

Set off for Slough,

Or Waterloo now,
Escaping from a Windsor wonderland.

fbb and Mrs fbb are spending the weekend with No. 3 son in Watford. Sadly, and as a consequence of a lunch invitation in the unbussable hinterland of Eastleigh on Sunday at 12 noon, the trip is by motor car. A brief stop in Windsor on the way offered an ideal opportunity to give the Berkshire town's transport facilities the "once over". There is plenty of interest to be revealed in later blogs. For the time being, however, please note that the machines in the town centre car park have only limited coin receipt capability.

These coins were introduced in 1992 and it has been a long, hard, but sadly unsuccessful struggle to find the correct technology. Parking fees are a bit higher than on the Island.

And a little puzzle question for our readers. What is the function of this splendid little edifice (the two storey one in the background)?

It has outside steps to the first floor and a little balcony overlooking the road. Maybe the Windsor burgomeister's official residence? The home of H M Queen's official ostler? Actually it is a splendid two storey free public convenience; gents upstairs, disabled and ladies on the ground floor. fbb can't offer any comments on the quality of the decoration of the ladies, but the gents is adorned by splendid painted murals.

It makes you proud to pee British!

So orf we jolly-well go to seek out bus timetable information. And there's good news; and there's bad news. Coming soon to a blog near you.

 Next Blog - Monday 24th September