tram21
Member
The news article said the bus was empty- very unusual for a Skylink Derby bus I must say!
Has anyone been on night buses on trentbarton/ Skylink Derby? Are they ever busy?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leicestershire-68772829
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Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus News
- Thread starter GusB
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Has anyone been on night buses on trentbarton/ Skylink Derby? Are they ever busy?
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MCR247
Established Member
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The article says it was parked, so maybe the driver was on a break?
Andy Pacer
Established Member
They often change the buses on the overnight trips when they do a driver change at "3M Roundabout", otherwise some buses would never get fuelled and cleaned as they would keep going forever, so I wonder if it was one of these instances.
Trainman40083
Member
An ongoing concern at yet another drink driver. Throw in some drug drivers too, and it is amazing the law abiding motorists get home in one piece
joieman
Member
And people on phones - I spotted two in just minutes this afternoon!
Trainman40083
Member
You can't be looking hard enough. They think they can't be seen.. Can always spot them in a queue, because they don't move up with the traffic. They must fancy the idea of a fine, points and increased insurance premiums.
Some Derbyshire news, I'm told by the DCC Twitter team that they have changed to having nominated days throughout the year where timetables are changed. The next one is the 11th / 12th of May, which coincides with Hulleys ceasing to operate the 80. What other changes, if any, are unknown at this stage and going by past experience probably won't be communicated until the 10th of May...
The 80 is being taken over by Stagecoach again, on a 2-bus contract which from what I've read will only go to Killamarsh. Exact details of the route are unknown at this stage, but I'd expect changes. Based on the current timetable (with only a single loop of Killamarsh) you'd only have around 5 minutes recovery time, but I think it's pretty much a given the Hulleys timings are too tight to be accepted by an operator like Stagecoach.
It sounds like 7 options were put up for tender, ranging from a single bus to four.
The 80 is being taken over by Stagecoach again, on a 2-bus contract which from what I've read will only go to Killamarsh. Exact details of the route are unknown at this stage, but I'd expect changes. Based on the current timetable (with only a single loop of Killamarsh) you'd only have around 5 minutes recovery time, but I think it's pretty much a given the Hulleys timings are too tight to be accepted by an operator like Stagecoach.
It sounds like 7 options were put up for tender, ranging from a single bus to four.
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Could we return to the subject of Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire bus news? If anyone wishes to continue having a general moan about other road users, please take it elsewhere. Thanks!
EnviroExplorer
Member
Something which I don’t think has been mentioned here is this year’s itinerary for the Peak Sightseer, which is due to return on the 11th May aligning with the nominated days for changes. It will operate daily through to October.
Registration data on bustimes.org details there will be two routes:
RED Chatsworth House to Chatsworth House via Bakewell with Chesterfield extensions, presumably a similar one way loop to last years service, although shortening the overall distance seems possible as timekeeping was an issue from my experience.
RED service registration:
BLUE Chatsworth House to Blue John Cavern, again with Chesterfield extensions. No via points are listed but one would assume, and hope, this will be similar to the Hulleys Breezer route which does not look to be returning.
BLUE service registration:
Minimal information is available on the Stagecoach website as of yet but I’m sure this will become clearer soon with a month until the service resumes.
This also explains the additional open top vehicles Stagecoach have sourced recently, former Manchester bridge victim E400 19336, and surplus former Lincoln Tour B7TL/Gemini 16943.
tram21
Member
There are licence changes to the following licence groups (Hulleys have licenced them in groups so it's hard to see the exact changes)
55/A
275 / 277 / 276 / 257 (so only 257 as this is the only one that exists)
170 / 171 / 80A
174 / 272 / 271
This is for the 12 May
Interesting how it'll only run to October this year- I suppose the loadings on November/ December weekends didn't cut it, although there were a few.
I rode it in -3°C on 2nd December- that was certainly an experience!
Blimey, it's almost as if I'm psychic! I was just saying it's a shame they didn't go to the more scenic parts of the Peak District such as up Winnats, and what appears!
I had seen a comment about one service running via Lowedges on the first and last runs, presumably that's to link better with Sheffield customers.
The route between Chatsworth and Castleton could be interesting to see what they choose. The 257 route is out I'd imagine due to low trees between Grindleford and Hathersage, although via Surprise View as per the Breezer is more scenic anyway. Via Stoney Middleton and Bradwell is another possibility as there is a big new development of holiday lets up there, but again low trees might scupper that option. A third, and very scenic, option would be to Bakewell then Ashford, up to Monsal Head then via Bradwell.
No matter which way they choose that's either a two bus operation, or will be less than hourly. In some ways via Bakewell might make sense with the third bus looping back to Chatsworth so there is still a half-hourly link on the 'core'.
It really does gladden me they are being more adventurous this time, it was disappointing that their MD thought I wanted them to fail when actually I wanted them to think bigger and take better advantage of the natural beauty of the area.
I believe 19336 was a tree victim, not bridge.
When they withdrew from the 80 Hulleys did mention they were going to make some tweaks to the 55 so I'm not expecting anything major there. The 80 appeared to be registered as a variation of the 170 so I'd expect that is the major one to be altered, although from what has been said it is just returning to how it was a couple of years back. The 257 and 272 I'd imagine will just be tweaks but who knows. The 171 doesn't actually exist any more, but I'm not sure if the 172 is part of that registration or separate.
There is also a big list of Stagecoach changes but these seem mainly to be timetable tweaks for punctuality. That said, last time they said in advance there would only be minor changes to the 90 and the cut half our buses so who knows...
The Sightseer beyond October last year was funded using BSIP money. Hopefully they've realised that's a waste of money and are using it to expand the range this time which seems a much more useful idea. I saw it a few times when we were out and about with only 1 or 2 people on. I'd imagine a nice comfortable bus with panoramic windows would be appealing at that time of year, an open topper not so much...
That said, I was thinking a while back that they could take a leaf out of Asian culture and run Sunrise / Sunset services. Catching the sun coming up and setting is a big thing in Taiwan and Japan and we get some stunning views in the Peak District. They could run the open topper out to a suitable vantage point then have an arrangement with a local cafe to provide hot drinks and snacks afterwards. Would only be viable for a handful of weekends through the year so cost would be minimal to try it out and I believe wouldn't need a formal registration.
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RED and BLUE route on the Peak Sightseer sounds like a good improvement on last year.
Just looked on bustimes, it appears some X17s will be diverted via Matlock Farm Park, they have been running a campaign for a bus to go by them for some time now so I am sure they will be pleased and hopefully all goes well.
Just looked on bustimes, it appears some X17s will be diverted via Matlock Farm Park, they have been running a campaign for a bus to go by them for some time now so I am sure they will be pleased and hopefully all goes well.
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tram21
Member
It now says this on the Derbyshire County Council website- a bit mysterious 
Not sure how helpful it is to say this without any detail- I suppose it reminds people to plan ahead.
https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/trans...nges/forthcoming-changes-to-bus-services.aspx
Not sure how helpful it is to say this without any detail- I suppose it reminds people to plan ahead.
https://www.derbyshire.gov.uk/trans...nges/forthcoming-changes-to-bus-services.aspx
m79900
Member
What does ‘wirksworth to matlock section will be moved to a new registration’ mean?
Sounds like a return to the original 17 where occasional trips extended to Uppertown. I wonder if they are going past Darwin Forest Park and actually past Matlock Farm Park, or are just turning down Wirestone Lane. It doesn't actually make sense to have 2x fast buses per hour from Chesterfield to Matlock so something like this makes sense in a way, although the council might have been better looking at doing something with the 63 as it currently runs something like every 2.5 hours so needs improving.
I do wonder if this means an extra bus allocating to the X17. There doesn't seem to be enough padding to allow this as it stands and indeed the times get a couple of minutes later each hour as otherwise things would be a bit too tight. It suffers badly from delays during the peaks and at weekends as well, so adding a bit more slack wouldn't be a bad thing.
Of course, that's another idea for the Sightseer next year - assuming a double decker can get over the hump bridge by Chatsworth Garden Centre you could run a link to Peak Village, Rowsley for the railway then up Sydnope Hill to Darwin Village and Matlock Farm Park and on to Matlock. That would link in much better with various attractions and more frequent Stagecoach services. Indeed, running such a link with a normal bus on weekends wouldn't be a bad thing to provide better connectivity.
It's currently tacked on to the Sheffield to Matlock registration. Possibly with the diversion via Matlock Farm Park the overall length would now become too much for a single registration? Also, should there be an eventual intention to extend beyond Wirksworth it makes that easier.
m79900
Member
Where beyond Wirksworth might they want to extend?
Just as an aside to this, I'm assuming of course that the Blue route to Blue John Cavern is actually running via Castleton. It could be Chatsworth to Bakewell to Buxton to Blue John. Indeed, something I advocated a long while back is a bus from Buxton to Chatsworth that provides good connections in to trains from Manchester.
Hopefully more detail will be forthcoming soon.
There was talk of an extension to Derby. There are already fast-ish buses in the form of the Comet and Transpeak though, and the obvious route via Wirksworth doesn't pass many large places to seem worth it.
Ashbourne is another possibility - that is the way the Hulleys X10 would have gone (omitting Wirksworth) on the way to Alton Towers. The current services are incredible slow for the relatively short distance. Hulleys did mention they put a plan to the council for a fast option years ago but it was rejected, presumably this would have been 'closing the circle' with the X57 and X1...
m79900
Member
I hope it’s the Matlock terminating services that extend to the farm park, because that wouldn’t have an effect on the existing route. If the Wirksworth ones went that way, it’d take a lot longer to get to get through, and make it not worth the bother. The route in Matlock is already complicated enough!
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It seems the intention is to just loop past it, I'd have thought carrying on to Two Dales and coming down the A6 would at least give two route options. They are fairly fast roads and Matlock-bound it's flatter than via Slack Hill so might not take that much longer.
The issue with having the Wirksworth ones being the 'fast' bus is that on a nice day they get badly delayed coming through Matlock Bath which would mess things up further.
Personally, I think they'd be better having one true express Chesterfield to Matlock (possible via Wellington Street to avoid the queues past Hall Leys Park) and one stopper. This could even divert in to Ashover - with 2000 in the parish it's not tiny, yet only has one bus every 2.5 hours.
I almost wonder if a separate service from Chesterfield wouldn't be more appropriate though. Weekends and School Holidays, Chesterfield, Matlock Farm Park, Matlock Bath, Cromford, Wirksworth, Carsington Water, Ashbourne, Tissington or Alton Towers.
But adding this extra destinations on to an existing long distance service just adds confusion and potential for delays elsewhere. While having a guaranteed connection is great, losing passengers on the core Chesterfield to Sheffield route because the buses are delayed elsewhere is potentially counter-productive.
Are they just asking too much from one very long route?
ChrisC
Established Member
I agree. I somewhat understand the reasoning for the X17 extension to Wirksworth as it does provide a through bus to the popular area around Matlock Bath from Sheffield and Chesterfield. Any further extensions beyond Wirksworth would just make the route too long and cause even more delays. Adapting the timetables for the 110/111 and the 63 may be a better solution to serving the tourist destinations in a more efficient way, without making the the X17 route too complicated and unreliable.
If I was in charge....
I'd run the 'core' X17 between Chesterfield and Sheffield 3x hourly. 1x hourly would extend to Wirksworth. 2x hourly to Barnsley. Whether you'd extend all 3 to Meadowhall or have a 10 minute pause in one at Sheffield to equalise the timetable I'm not sure. Certainly when I've seen the Sheffield to Barnsley buses they have been well filled so upping this to half-hourly seems sensible. I'd like to see at least 1 hourly extend further in to Sheffield. The interchange isn't very central to Sheffield and changing isn't ideal with different operators, traffic and timetable padding.
Then, I'd introduce an hourly Chesterfield to Matlock via Kelstedge, Ashover, Matlock Farm Park and Two Dales. Weekends and School Holidays that would extend alternately to Alton Towers and Tissington, possibly further in to Dovedale if practical.
I'd then revise the 55 and 63 to give a 30 minute frequency through Wingerworth. Beyond Clay Cross every 2 hours to Matlock on the 63 route seems the best you can justify these days, the other could turn at Clay Cross or even go fast to Alfreton depending on demand. A summer extension via Crich to Wirksworth would be nice, but I can't see that getting funded.
Trainman40083
Member
Mind the low bridge on the road to Middleton though.
Incoming for Notts and Derby are three Enviro 200s from Taf Valley. Two are 63 plated, the other 12 plated after the third 63 plated was sold elsewhere. Fleet numbers 51 to 53.
I'm sure they could get a bus up Hopton Lane - Hulleys deal with worse!
It would have to be either double back after Wirksworth, or a separate route that avoided Wirksworth. To be honest, if you are running at times that justify a direct service to Carsington Water then 2x hourly to Matlock Bath should also be viable.
m79900
Member
WHOAH! A decker up West End? That narrow? That steep? With cars parked on both sides? I’d like to see that! It used to be the B5035 to be fair, and buses used to use it, but I really doubt they would now. Probably send it up Porter Lane and miss Wirksworth out, or even down Millers Green via Kirk Ireton, but that could get tight.I'm sure they could get a bus up Hopton Lane - Hulleys deal with worse!
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It wasn't a massively serious suggestion to be fair... Too many places people have become used to parking even though it is obstructive. I'd not be surprised if our local service got cut or re-routed in the not too distant future as there seems to be at least once a month now that it struggles to get past.
Unfortunately, a quick service is going to have to omit Wirksworth, but if it's summer only then there is no reason you couldn't have 1x hourly to Wirksworth and 1x hourly to Carsington and beyond. Matlock Bath has enough demand for that from the Sheffield / Chesterfield direction when it's busy.
(Although digressing slightly, that is the big issue with bus provision in that area. Even the very slack timings the Wirksworth X17 has aren't slack enough on a summer Saturday, but on a rainy Wednesday in January there is barely any demand as it is, and a bus that takes twice as long as it could isn't that attractive)