Wow that's a surprise!Bustimes Kinchbus fleetlist now shows Skylink Notts E200MMC 128 in Skylink Derby livery which if true will help by releasing 107/108 onto other routes as they are normally on the Skylink.
Yep, I saw 906 in Loughborough town centre the other day.Wow that's a surprise!
I believe 906 is back as well hopefully aiding the bus shortage.
They still run coaches on Red Arrow. Okay maybe 3. When you look, several operators have taken coaches off such work. Go North East on Newcastle to Middlesbrough, possibly Stagecoach East on Oxford towards Cambridge. I would have thought high spec deckers were the answer, but it will never happen. Still, Red Arrow looks after most of the Derby based Mango single deckers. Maybe they will get new vehicles in 2026/2027It's a pity Trent are also allergic to deckers as well as they could be an alternative to coaches on the Red Arrow
I think you are lucky. Buses missing on X38, Swift, Mickleover, 6.1, 6.2, Red Arrow just for a start. I'd wager over time, potential passengers who have a choice of mode will make a change. And that won't end well. Maybe they will send more buses to Kinchbus.I appreciate I may have been very lucky, but I used 20+ Trent Barton services over the last four days and every single bus I wanted turned up with the longest delay of 10 minutes. I even managed a coach on the Red Arrow!
I'm in no doubt the are suffering issues, and certainly heard a grumble waiting for a Sixes. But I found them perfectly fine in the real world
I do wonder if the Red Arrow issues are being hidden by layover, at least at the Victoria end, as I noticed my departure arrived before the missing bus was supposed to go (which I didn't want anyway) So nothing looked missing
We will be making the following timetable changes from Sunday 31 March.
90 | Minor timetable changes to improve reliability.
the keyworth | Monday to Saturday frequency reduction to every 20 minutes to help improve reliability and punctuality.
my15 | Minor changes between DHL and East Midlands Airport Monday to Saturday, as well as reducing the number of journeys via Castle Donington Bus Station during peak times.
red arrow | Frequency increase to every 30 minutes Monday to Thurday evenings as well as some minor changes between Derby & QMC.
skylink Derby | Frequency increase to every 15 minutes as well as additional early morning and evening journeys to help with demand.
skylink express | Minor timetable changes to help improve reliability.
swift | Evening timetable changes to help improve reliability.
Full timetables will be available online in the coming days.
Spot on - the next phase of NottsBus On Demand will be replacing these.Marshall's, 7th April: Withdrawal of 91, 856, 857 (potentially introduction of DRT)
I wonder where the extra vehicles will come from...Kinchbus: As seen above, Skylink Derby will go every 15 minutes.
Do you have any information about this?Spot on - the next phase of NottsBus On Demand will be replacing these.
Yes interesting re Kinch Skylink Leicester. I think 2hrs 10 mins after leaving Derby, that bus leaves Leicester. 13 buses currently in yellow, inc recent 128. So, I'd have thought every 15 minutes would need, say 25% more buses. Maybe they will get 127 , off since June after a RTA. Maybe two from another route. But the issue remains, KB seems to struggle to run a full timetable on some town routes most weekdays. I guess that won't change. But then, Skylink makes the profit, and profit attracts investment. I would think several routes, maybe Keyworth makes less money, so goes less frequent to try and maintain the service.Do you have any information about this?
On the Trentbarton service changes side of things, it's an extremely odd set of changes. I'd be interested to see what 'minor changes' are, and the Keyworth reduction should hopefully improve the service to make it more reliable, however to make Skylink Derby every 15 minutes in a company that doesn't have enough buses to run its current service?
Its almost like the people making the decisions have never been to Kinchbus's depot? Unless some major bus transfers occur, the problems will get worse!
128 is going to Kinch following the PVR reduction on Skylink Nottingham a few months agoI wonder where the extra vehicles will come from...
I guess it's 3 or 4 needed.
Indeed you would of thought like I said above that 128 is used to release the unbranded buses for the town routes which are regularly cancelled. Now it seems need 3 more buses. Looking at bus times today one of the diagrams was also uncovered with both 107 and 108 out covering for the branded vehicles. The 5, 9 and 11 all seem to have missing buses as well!Do you have any information about this?
On the Trentbarton service changes side of things, it's an extremely odd set of changes. I'd be interested to see what 'minor changes' are, and the Keyworth reduction should hopefully improve the service to make it more reliable, however to make Skylink Derby every 15 minutes in a company that doesn't have enough buses to run its current service?
Its almost like the people making the decisions have never been to Kinchbus's depot? Unless some major bus transfers occur, the problems will get worse!
From looking at upcoming licence changes:
Upcoming service changes:
Nottingham City Transport, 31st March: Timetable Changes to 17, 30, 35, 36, 77, 78, 79. No details yet.
Trentbarton: Trentbarton Website
Kinchbus: As seen above, Skylink Derby will go every 15 minutes.
Marshall's, 7th April: Withdrawal of 91, 856, 857 (potentially introduction of DRT)
Maybe the group are chasing the money, leaving less profitable routes to others, or lesser frequency. But you mention shortages of vehicles and drivers. Add in mechanics..They don't seem to have stock of parts. Okay they talk of extended lead times, but the usual action is to hold safety stock to cover that. Maybe they have no money for that either. But one thought. I'm wondering what might happen to passenger numbers if and when the £2 fare ever ends? Maybe the repainting starts all over again.Given the often mentioned shortages of vehicles & drivers at Wellglade as a whole where are the extras going to be coming from for the Skylink Derby service?
Given the often mentioned shortages of vehicles & drivers at Wellglade as a whole where are the extras going to be coming from for the Skylink Derby service?
I think in the long run it won't have much of a difference, but in the short term it'll take a lot to get used to higher fares again!I'm wondering what might happen to passenger numbers if and when the £2 fare ever ends?
No wonder a Zig-Zag isn't valid on Skylink Derby!I think in the long run it won't have much of a difference, but in the short term it'll take a lot to get used to higher fares again!
Look at these Skylink Derby prices
But then again the caps are pretty low so if you're making two journeys it's still good value!
Its similar on the Skylink Express for a much shorter distance!No wonder a Zig-Zag isn't valid on Skylink Derby!
adult mango£6.75
adult single£7.50
adult zigzag£7.60
family return£23.80
student mango£6.00
travel contactless£7.50
young explorer£1.00
young mango£4.77
young single£5.30
young zigzag£5.30
Zig-Zag is for trentbarton routes only and Skyline Derby is a kinchbus route. To use Zig-Zag on both companies, it's the Zig-Zag Plus. trentbarton - fares & ticketsNo wonder a Zig-Zag isn't valid on Skylink Derby!
It's just not right to ignore the timetables on Kinch 9, 11, 12 etc because there aren't enough buses (or drivers) - and then increase the frequencies on Skylink.Yes interesting re Kinch Skylink Leicester. I think 2hrs 10 mins after leaving Derby, that bus leaves Leicester. 13 buses currently in yellow, inc recent 128. So, I'd have thought every 15 minutes would need, say 25% more buses. Maybe they will get 127 , off since June after a RTA. Maybe two from another route. But the issue remains, KB seems to struggle to run a full timetable on some town routes most weekdays. I guess that won't change. But then, Skylink makes the profit, and profit attracts investment. I would think several routes, maybe Keyworth makes less money, so goes less frequent to try and maintain the service.
Vectare would be a good shout for competition on the town routes 5/11/12 with those merc minis they have.It's just not right to ignore the timetables on Kinch 9, 11, 12 etc because there aren't enough buses (or drivers) - and then increase the frequencies on Skylink.
It's about time that someone like Centrebus or Vectare was asked to take over the Kinchbus local routes and let Trent run the Derby Skylink.
I wonder if Kinchbus is being gradually wound down anyway ? - with plans for new electrics on Skylink (yet to be finalised) isn't that likely to get operated from a new installation at the Derby end ?Vectare would be a good shout for competition on the town routes 5/11/12 with those merc minis they have.
I wonder if Kinchbus is being gradually wound down anyway ? - with plans for new electrics on Skylink (yet to be finalised) isn't that likely to get operated from a new installation at the Derby end ?
Oh believe me, it’ll be based from Loughborough with the plans that are in the works for the garage, limited on what I can say but kinchs’ depot will be having some upgrades…I wonder if Kinchbus is being gradually wound down anyway ? - with plans for new electrics on Skylink (yet to be finalised) isn't that likely to get operated from a new installation at the Derby end ?
I thought the proposal for Skylink was hydrogen buses.I wonder if Kinchbus is being gradually wound down anyway ? - with plans for new electrics on Skylink (yet to be finalised) isn't that likely to get operated from a new installation at the Derby end ?
Only because Derby could probably make better use of such facilities, now and in the future. Kinchbus has relatively little work other than their Skylink.Why is that more likely?