Arriva Buses (including Greenline)

[A0]

Didn't Uno also give it a try - they couldn't make it viable either.

No - Uno tried the 797 Stevenage - Hatfield - London and couldn't make it work.

 

[A0]

Could the Green Line 758 service ever come back? I think more people would use it in future, as rail fares are going through the roof in the next few years. Also Hemel Hempstead has lost a lot of it's National Express services. I think Hemel is only on 1 coach route now?

No - in short.

The 758 was mainly used by commuters and since commuting numbers are down, so's the demand for the 758.

Most of the old satellite towns north of London have lost their coach services into London - Luton's the exception, but that's got the airport which underpins the demand.

 

[danielcanning]

Was that after Arriva? Presumably so.

Didn't Uno also give it a try - they couldn't make it viable either.

It was the 797 (London-Stevenage) that UNO tried to run after Arriva gave up, I think it only lasted a year though before the route was withdrawn completely.

 

[Deerfold]

It was the 797 (London-Stevenage) that UNO tried to run after Arriva gave up, I think it only lasted a year though before the route was withdrawn completely.

And had been reduced to just one daily journey for some time before that.

The Northern section of the 797 (Hitchin - Hatfield) is now covered by Uno's 635 10 times a day.

 

[A0]

And had been reduced to just one daily journey for some time before that.

The Northern section of the 797 (Hitchin - Hatfield) is now covered by Uno's 635 10 times a day.

Uno have been running a Hitchin / Stevenage - Hatfield (via the A1) service for a longer time than that - it was in parallel to the 797 for several years.

 

[busesrusuk]

The UNO 797 was introduced in March 2015 and, as stated, lasted about 12 months. UNO actually used Green Line branding similar to that used by Arriva on a handful of its Mercedes Citaro's on the route - see here:

UNO Bus 315 Jun15

Queen mums gate, Jun 2015

www.flickr.com

 

[Andy Pacer]

So Uno's service bears no connection to the Arriva 758?

 

[A0]

So Uno's service bears no connection to the Arriva 758?

Only in that the 797 had been a Green Line route as was the 758 and they both ran to London Victoria.

Beyond that, no.

 

[Deerfold]

Uno have been running a Hitchin / Stevenage - Hatfield (via the A1) service for a longer time than that - it was in parallel to the 797 for several years.

Though I think they ran one years ago (they flirted with a service when I lived between Stevenage and Hitchin in the mid 2000s), a twice a day each way service to/from Hitchin was reintroduced in Sumner 2018 - I think it may have run continuously between Hatfield and Stevenage for much longer.

The 625 and 635 as in 2015 from Hatfield to Letchworth and Baldock didn't last very long at all.

 

[A0]

Though I think they ran one years ago (they flirted with a service when I lived between Stevenage and Hitchin in the mid 2000s), a twice a day each way service to/from Hitchin was reintroduced in Sumner 2018 - I think it may have run continuously between Hatfield and Stevenage for much longer.

The 625 and 635 as in 2015 from Hatfield to Letchworth and Baldock didn't last very long at all.

I'm pretty sure they've maintained a Stevenage - Hatfield link, which makes sense because UoH does an amount of medical teaching and Lister at Stevenage is now the nearest hospital following the downgrading of the QE2 in Welwyn Garden City.

 

[RELL6L]

Arriva are changing the 800 between Henley and Reading from 8 January to miss out a couple of villages in Oxfordshire and head into Reading on the main road instead. It saves no time at all according to the timetable. There are two routes between Henley and Reading, the 800 and 850. The 850 takes four minutes longer but an 850 in to Reading comes straight back as an 850 - you'd expect the routes to swap over as the 850 gets significantly more delayed than the 800 with less recovery time and this will slightly increased that (it must be a bit quicker).

Are there really no passengers from Binfield Heath and Dunsden Green? It costs nothing to serve them. I can't believe a minute or two saved will attract more passengers from further afield. Once upon a time Oxfordshire made a small contribution to these routes but no more - is it spite or a search for a subsidy?

Just possible it is to allow deckers on the route - some journeys are quite busy - but Wycombe depot is not a stronghold of deckers and they would have to come from elsewhere. At the moment the routes are genuinely 100% Citaro operated.

 

[A0]

Arriva are changing the 800 between Henley and Reading from 8 January to miss out a couple of villages in Oxfordshire and head into Reading on the main road instead. It saves no time at all according to the timetable. There are two routes between Henley and Reading, the 800 and 850. The 850 takes four minutes longer but an 850 in to Reading comes straight back as an 850 - you'd expect the routes to swap over as the 850 gets significantly more delayed than the 800 with less recovery time and this will slightly increased that (it must be a bit quicker).

Are there really no passengers from Binfield Heath and Dunsden Green? It costs nothing to serve them. I can't believe a minute or two saved will attract more passengers from further afield. Once upon a time Oxfordshire made a small contribution to these routes but no more - is it spite or a search for a subsidy?

Just possible it is to allow deckers on the route - some journeys are quite busy - but Wycombe depot is not a stronghold of deckers and they would have to come from elsewhere. At the moment the routes are genuinely 100% Citaro operated.

According to Google maps it saves about 4 minutes - but just looking at the road through the villages it's not particularly wide and I wonder if they've had a few 'near misses' or damage to vehicles along there ?

Add in I doubt there are many passengers using it - Binfield Heath's population is 700, Dunsden Green's even smaller.

If it had passengers using it, I doubt they'd be making this change - but looking at it, I suspect it's another of those where the bus simply picks nobody up.

 

[johntea]

Why is Arriva live bus information so…rubbish?

I found out today after at least 5, possibly 6 services in a row were cancelled luckily I live rather near the bus stop so just popped home in between to keep warm!

Google Maps it turns out is useless, it says the bus departed stops ‘on time’ despite the fact they never turned up at all, even though it suggests it is using live GPS tracking or similar!

WYMetro live stop information just showed scheduled services for a bit then they just…vanished

Not a sausage on the Arriva Yorkshire Twitter regarding why nothing was running on the route

Essentially I intended to start my journey at 2pm from outside my house but gave up by 3:45pm and walked into town for an alternative solution to get me where I needed to be!

 

[duncombec]

Why is Arriva live bus information so…rubbish?

I found out today after at least 5, possibly 6 services in a row were cancelled luckily I live rather near the bus stop so just popped home in between to keep warm!

Google Maps it turns out is useless, it says the bus departed stops ‘on time’ despite the fact they never turned up at all, even though it suggests it is using live GPS tracking or similar!

WYMetro live stop information just showed scheduled services for a bit then they just…vanished

Not a sausage on the Arriva Yorkshire Twitter regarding why nothing was running on the route

Essentially I intended to start my journey at 2pm from outside my house but gave up by 3:45pm and walked into town for an alternative solution to get me where I needed to be!

Even some of the bus drivers in my area suggest customers use bustimes rather than Arriva's own app, which perhaps says something...

Yes, you need to get used to it, but the map function is really quite helpful, and it's a rare occasion the ticket machine doesn't track. I've been caught out more often recently by not rushing from home for a bus that I think is too close (about 3-4 minutes away), only to find it's waiting time and I could have caught it after all!

 

[Robertj21a]

Why is Arriva live bus information so…rubbish?

I found out today after at least 5, possibly 6 services in a row were cancelled luckily I live rather near the bus stop so just popped home in between to keep warm!

Google Maps it turns out is useless, it says the bus departed stops ‘on time’ despite the fact they never turned up at all, even though it suggests it is using live GPS tracking or similar!

WYMetro live stop information just showed scheduled services for a bit then they just…vanished

Not a sausage on the Arriva Yorkshire Twitter regarding why nothing was running on the route

Essentially I intended to start my journey at 2pm from outside my house but gave up by 3:45pm and walked into town for an alternative solution to get me where I needed to be!

Did you try the Bus Times website ?

www.bustimes.org

 

[RELL6L]

Cumbria council have now formally stated that the 685 is to be all Stagecoach from 22 January.

Welcome to Cumberland | Cumberland Council

www.cumbria.gov.uk

"Stagecoach take over Arriva journeys
Most times stay the same bit changes to some early and late journeys"

Looking at the detailed timetable it looks like there is a slight shift to more working from the Carlisle end and one board appears to start and finish at Hexham. I wonder if this is to be outstationed at Go North East or is just an empty run from one end or the other.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Looking at the detailed timetable it looks like there is a slight shift to more working from the Carlisle end and one board appears to start and finish at Hexham. I wonder if this is to be outstationed at Go North East or is just an empty run from one end or the other

Before the "enhanced" timetable that came in with the Stenning rebrand, the later evening and Sunday services always were split at Hexham: Arriva ran Newcastle-Hexham and Stagecoach ran Hexham-Carlisle, with through ticketing available.

I'm assuming the Sunday service has simply reverted to that: Busways will do the Newcastle-Hexham run and Cumberland will do Hexham-Carlisle.

I imagine the early morning and late evening buses without a balancing move will simply run empty from one end.

 

[Soundwave]

Cumbria council have now formally stated that the 685 is to be all Stagecoach from 22 January.

Welcome to Cumberland | Cumberland Council

www.cumbria.gov.uk

"Stagecoach take over Arriva journeys
Most times stay the same bit changes to some early and late journeys"

Looking at the detailed timetable it looks like there is a slight shift to more working from the Carlisle end and one board appears to start and finish at Hexham. I wonder if this is to be outstationed at Go North East or is just an empty run from one end or the other.

Looks like a driving hours thing. The 0810 from Carlisle arrives 10 mins later back in Newcastle on the Stagecoach timetable compared to Arriva. That is bus which starts at Hexham first thing outbound. I assume the dead time to and from Eldon Square and Slatyford would be very right

 

[RELL6L]

Before the "enhanced" timetable that came in with the Stenning rebrand, the later evening and Sunday services always were split at Hexham: Arriva ran Newcastle-Hexham and Stagecoach ran Hexham-Carlisle, with through ticketing available.

I'm assuming the Sunday service has simply reverted to that: Busways will do the Newcastle-Hexham run and Cumberland will do Hexham-Carlisle.

I imagine the early morning and late evening buses without a balancing move will simply run empty from one end.

Yes the connections are just on Sundays plus one early journey.

I note that there is one more journey eastbound than westbound so I guess the Hexham starter runs empty from Newcastle and the Hexham finisher runs empty to Carlisle. Forget the suggestion of anything being based there.

 

[DunsBus]

I get the feeling that the 685 will be seeing a lot of activity on 21st January, both on board and at the roadside, as enthusiasts mark the final day of Arriva's involvement with the service.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I note that there is one more journey eastbound than westbound so I guess the Hexham starter runs empty from Newcastle and the Hexham finisher runs empty to Carlisle

The older pre-Stenning timetable had the last Carlisle-Newcastle and the last Newcastle-Carlisle both requiring a change of bus and operator in Hexham, so the buses ended up back at their home. The timetable doesn't indicate this except on a Sunday, so I'm guessing the terminators will run empty.

I've not looked in any detail at the running times, but my gut instinct is that they'll run empty to/from Slatyford, as it's a short blast down the A69.

That 1825 finishing in Hexham is annoying for through passengers though, I'm surprised they don't at least run it to Throckley so people can connect into the 22 or the X82.

 

[Soundwave]

That 1825 finishing in Hexham is annoying for through passengers though, I'm surprised they don't at least run it to Throckley so people can connect into the 22 or the X82.

Sadly, the downside of Stagecoach not having break facilities in Newcastle City Centre. I imagine it's the driver travel time from the depot at the start of the that trip which has killed the Hexham terminator running any further towards Newcastle.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I imagine it's the driver travel time from the depot at the start of the that trip which has killed the Hexham terminator running any further towards Newcastle.

Possibly, but by the looks of it they'll run the rest of it as an out-and-back and they can (and do!) swap drivers at Eldon Square or even at the bottom of Silver Lonnen. I can understand the early morning run going empty from Slatyford straight to Hexham, it's the evening one that's a bit more strange.

Working it through, the early Hexham starter is the late Hexham finisher, I suspect that will be a Busways board but who knows.

It's going to be odd to see Busways outside of the city though, they've not gone that far since they stopped running the 74 to Matfen many many moons ago.

 

[Soundwave]

Possibly, but by the looks of it they'll run the rest of it as an out-and-back and they can (and do!) swap drivers at Eldon Square or even at the bottom of Silver Lonnen. I can understand the early morning run going empty from Slatyford straight to Hexham, it's the evening one that's a bit more strange.

Working it through, the early Hexham starter is the late Hexham finisher, I suspect that will be a Busways board but who knows.

It's going to be odd to see Busways outside of the city though, they've not gone that far since they stopped running the 74 to Matfen many many moons ago.

I just hope Busways don't use a dodgy MAN!

 

[RELL6L]

Possibly, but by the looks of it they'll run the rest of it as an out-and-back and they can (and do!) swap drivers at Eldon Square or even at the bottom of Silver Lonnen. I can understand the early morning run going empty from Slatyford straight to Hexham, it's the evening one that's a bit more strange.

Working it through, the early Hexham starter is the late Hexham finisher, I suspect that will be a Busways board but who knows.

It's going to be odd to see Busways outside of the city though, they've not gone that far since they stopped running the 74 to Matfen many many moons ago.

I may be wrong but I think the Hexham finisher will run empty to Carlisle. In the morning the first eastbound is change at Hexham so the Carlisle bus runs to Hexham then back to Carlisle while another bus runs to Newcastle. This one I think probably runs empty from Newcastle. This way they all end up where they start but one board has shifted to Carlisle. That’s my take on it- could be totally wrong!

I wonder if Newcastle will run deckers to match Carlisle.

 

[2192]

Why do Arriva 8 and 8a bus engines in Derby frequently stall at bus stops where the wait is mostly brief, particularly on outward journeys, but never in traffic jams, where the wait is longer, and the air pollution created will be worse?

 

[Tetchytyke]

I just hope Busways don't use a dodgy MAN!

I'm sure they will!

It'll be back to the days when Stagecoach Cumberland had one board which was a coach and one which was a PS B10M. Comfortable it wasn't.

I think the Hexham finisher will run empty to Carlisle. In the morning the first eastbound is change at Hexham so the Carlisle bus runs to Hexham then back to Carlisle while another bus runs to Newcastle.

I'd noticed a code in the timetable for the first eastbound which isn't listed in the notes section, so is that what it means?

I'm surprised they're not doing the same in reverse then, they always used to on the last "through" service.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It'll be back to the days when Stagecoach Cumberland had one board which was a coach and one which was a PS B10M. Comfortable it wasn't.

Luxury compared to Willowbrook 003 Leopards that United/Northumbria had on there.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Luxury compared to Willowbrook 003 Leopards that United/Northumbria had on there.

Did they ever travel far enough between breakdowns to be uncomfortable?

 

[Andy Pacer]

Why do Arriva 8 and 8a bus engines in Derby frequently stall at bus stops where the wait is mostly brief, particularly on outward journeys, but never in traffic jams, where the wait is longer, and the air pollution created will be worse?

Stop start - probably down to whether or not the parking brake is applied.