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First Greater Glasgow

PaulMc7

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The X4 could service Partick and join the Expressway from the bottom of Byres Road. It really could use sone more passengers. Usually very lightly loaded.
Even Broomhill then down to Thornwood so they link with the 4/4A would help to be honest. The route in Knightswood probably doesn't help either being a circle instead of the previous route.
 
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A good solution would be Faifley, expressway to City. Then M8 to Shettrleston and Baillieston.

With the X4 going via Partick then back on the Expressway.
If you open a new route like Faifley - Expressway - City Centre, you may as well launch it as a competing alternative against the G/Citybus-17 instead of simple distributing your revenue across more services using most of the same roads plus First Glasgow doesn’t know what a peak time express service is.

Potentially, Faifley - Bearsden - Switchback Road - Anniesland X - Crow Rd - Expressway and so on.

Opening a new service in bearsden and also you’d miss the traffic along Dumbarton Rd/Scostoun, that may mean tackling traffic on Crow Rd before the Clyde Tunnel.

Even Broomhill then down to Thornwood so they link with the 4/4A would help to be honest. The route in Knightswood probably doesn't help either being a circle instead of the previous route.
I’m not familiar with the way the 44 used to operate.

By removing the x4 and Reinstating it with the 4/4A to knightswood what is the increase in driver requirements if any?
 

PaulMc7

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If you open a new route like Faifley - Expressway - City Centre, you may as well launch it as a competing alternative against the G/Citybus-17 instead of simple distributing your revenue across more services using most of the same roads plus First Glasgow doesn’t know what a peak time express service is.

Potentially, Faifley - Bearsden - Switchback Road - Anniesland X - Crow Rd - Expressway and so on.

Opening a new service in bearsden and also you’d miss the traffic along Dumbarton Rd/Scostoun, that may mean tackling traffic on Crow Rd before the Clyde Tunnel.


I’m not familiar with the way the 44 used to operate.

By removing the x4 and Reinstating it with the 4/4A to knightswood what is the increase in driver requirements if any?
If you want something reliable don't put it anywhere near Switchback Road/Crow Road. The 16 at peak times is rather awful for getting caught in daily traffic.

It depends on the frequency I guess but if you got rid of the X4 and brought the 4 back into Knightswood it wouldn't require more drivers. I think the X4 is currently 3 or 4 with it being every 30 mins but happy to be corrected on that. It would probably add an extra 20/25 mins to the route from Broomhill plus you'd need to factor in recovery time at Knightswood.

I will say though that the 4 outside of peak time was far busier than the X4 is and I used it a fair bit actually as it was handy for Sauchiehall St and a less disruptive journey than the 3 from Lincoln Avenue.

First do need to try new things with their routes because it's also a potential way they could get around the driver shortages.
 

92002

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If you open a new route like Faifley - Expressway - City Centre, you may as well launch it as a competing alternative against the G/Citybus-17 instead of simple distributing your revenue across more services using most of the same roads plus First Glasgow doesn’t know what a peak time express service is.

Potentially, Faifley - Bearsden - Switchback Road - Anniesland X - Crow Rd - Expressway and so on.

Opening a new service in bearsden and also you’d miss the traffic along Dumbarton Rd/Scostoun, that may mean tackling traffic on Crow Rd before the Clyde Tunnel.


I’m not familiar with the way the 44 used to operate.

By removing the x4 and Reinstating it with the 4/4A to knightswood what is the increase in driver requirements if any?
For that matter the 60A could be extended from Milngavie to Faifley and Duntocher. Just like the 17 too.
 

JumpinTrainz

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Just passed a 75 branded E400MMC on the 60 - didn’t get the number but it sound horrendous. Making a really loud hoover like noise even when idle.
 

PaulMc7

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Just passed a 75 branded E400MMC on the 60 - didn’t get the number but it sound horrendous. Making a really loud hoover like noise even when idle.
There's a couple of them that sound horrendous. Forget which ones but there's at least 2 that are far louder than the rest. Not healthy at all.
 

Bus Lightyear

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Perhaps a 1 should have been re-routed to replace some of the missing 2s. Preferably a double decker. Assuming the Dumbarton driver knew the route. Even turning it short in the city centre is better than none at all
I think rerouting a service at short notice to fill the gaps left by another service may cause a breach of their operating licence.

For that matter the 60A could be extended from Milngavie to Faifley and Duntocher. Just like the 17 too.
The old 68 used to do part of that years ago but I can only assume the reason it no longer of exists was due to a lack of passengers.

I think a good shout would be to change the 81 to deckers and extend it to expressway to glasgow
There was a service that once did this but I cant remember the number and it didn't last long. This journey can be made quite easily by transferring at Chalmers Street from the 81 onto of one the many 1 group of routes.
 
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PaulMc7

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I think rerouting a service at short notice to fill the gaps left by another service may cause a breach of their operating licence.


The old 68 used to do part of that years ago but I can only assume the reason it no longer of exists was due to a lack of passengers.
First have had a few goes at Baljaffray/Faifley/Bearsden corridors to be fair. The 51, 59, 118 and even the peak 6B have been tried and tested.

I do think they need to look at areas and where they could readjust things to save buses and drivers but still not absolutely decimate services. It's needed and fast to be fair and it'll probably take another Simplicity style set of changes to fix.
 

Bus Lightyear

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There's a couple of them that sound horrendous. Forget which ones but there's at least 2 that are far louder than the rest. Not healthy at all.
Leyland Olympians and Volvo B7tls also did this. It means that the cooling system is doing it's job properly.
 

PaulMc7

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Leyland Olympians and Volvo B7tls also did this. It means that the cooling system is doing it's job properly.
It's just so weird how so few of them are so loud. I've not really noticed it too much on other types of buses either to be fair
 

Bus Lightyear

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First have had a few goes at Baljaffray/Faifley/Bearsden corridors to be fair. The 51, 59, 118 and even the peak 6B have been tried and tested.

I do think they need to look at areas and where they could readjust things to save buses and drivers but still not absolutely decimate services. It's needed and fast to be fair and it'll probably take another Simplicity style set of changes to fix.
I remember the 51 going to Drumchapel then through to South Drumry, Clydebank and Linnvale for many years but not Bearsden and Duntocher.
 

PaulMc7

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I remember the 51 going to Drumchapel then through to South Drumry, Clydebank and Linnvale for many years but not Bearsden and Duntocher.
I don't think it was for very long to be fair. I was pretty young at the time too so not sure on the exact year but I do want to say very early 2000s.

In fact it ran later into the 2000s than I thought. I found this on Flickr of the old timetable pictured at Bearsden.

 
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92002

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All hypothetical of course.

The 15 I presume is what your talking about via baljaffrey?
Extending the 60A from Milngavie to Faifley would take in a bit of the 15 route. However the majority would be the 17 route. The 15 goes to the city by the Switchback and Anniesland Cross.

I think a good shout would be to change the 81 to deckers and extend it to expressway to glasgow
Believe that was thought about for the new housing development on the river at Partick. However didn't see the light of Day.
 
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Stan Drews

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Extending the 60A from Milngavie to Faifley would take in a bit of the 15 route. However the majority would be the 17 route. The 15 goes to the city by the Switchback and Anniesland Cross.


Believe that was thought about for the new housing development on the river at Partick. However didn't see the light of Day.
The 15 is a SPT tender between Milngavie and Anniesland. Citybus extend it commercially to the city centre.
 

92002

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The 15 is a SPT tender between Milngavie and Anniesland. Citybus extend it commercially to the city centre.
An extended 60A would follow the 15 route to Baljaffrey then turn right to Faifley. It could of course operate along the area at Windyhill golf course and join the road to Faifley at the roundabout. Giving a service to new customers that currently have none.
 

PaulMc7

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The problem with routes like the 60A is that there's still buses missing each day on them even with the every 30 min frequency.

Routes like the 7A, 60A etc should be cut to the city centre to save buses but it appears First aren't changing anything else for a while given by the inaction occuring regarding running a service that they actually have the drivers for.
 

route101

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I don't think it was for very long to be fair. I was pretty young at the time too so not sure on the exact year but I do want to say very early 2000s.

In fact it ran later into the 2000s than I thought. I found this on Flickr of the old timetable pictured at Bearsden.

There used to be a route to Duntocher using the expressway. It may of been the X17.
 

Strathclyder

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There used to be a route to Duntocher using the expressway. It may of been the X17.
The X17 ran via (from the City Centre), Great Western Road, Anniesland Cross, Bearsden/Switchback Road, Canniesburn Toll, Bearsden, Baljaffray & Faifley and used appropriately branded step-entrance Pointer Darts (in the same style as the 'Express Yourself' branding First used south of the border and ofc the Cumbernauld expresses at the time). It was later renumbered the 40D, then the 118 (I think) and finally the 6B in May 2013 when SimpliCITY came in. Was withdrawn in October 2015; it had been a peak-hours only service from it's days as the X17 through to it's last days as the 6B IIRC.

It may be the 217 you're thinking of as @PaulMc7 notes.
 

Tom Gallacher

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With energy bills as they are and expected to rise a lot again in October it's cheaper to work in the office so I wouldn't be so sure. It's also something that suits some people but not others. Leisure travel is also something that needs to still be provided and if you can encourage that by making journeys quicker then it'll happen.

I guess I'm just sick of the attitude of doing nothing to fix something we all know is a massive problem although that's more diverted at politicians than anyone else. Even the reimbursement rates for the under 22 passes are a bit of a joke and probably not helping First at all at the minute.

The fact they're a thing though is key because you can essentially build the next generation of bus users and with the drive towards electric cars ramping up in the next few years they're not cheap either currently so it's not all doom and gloom but only if First and the council/government get things right.
In my opinion the rise in energy bills will be more likely to encourage employers to get employees to work from home than the other way around. Get your employees to pay for the electricity whilst reducing your office footprint.

In respect of leisure travel most of this is done out-with peak periods so this sector of the travelling public don't suffer as much. Certainly not enough to encourage greater bus lanes usage.

Getting the public to make more use of buses and trains and get them out of cars will take a lot more than bus lanes though. I don't have the answers but just because I don't know how to solve a problem doesn't mean that the problem is insurmountable - but it will take a generation to change mindsets. By and large, politicians work in the here and now. Trying to get them to agree to a 25 year plan is nigh on impossible.

So basically citizens are biding time until such times as people may have far little choice but to cycle, walk or take a bus through extra charges.

I realised buses need to be cheaper to use, however, that process has clearly already begun with the GOV offering free travel to the younger people.
In a nutshell, yes. I don't think that it necessarily comes down to "citizens biding their time" but I can't see the city administration putting in bus lanes for such a poor return. At this point in time one bus service uses Crow Rd every 30 minutes. That, in itself, is not enough to justify a bus lane. I'm not saying that I like it but that is the reality we face.
 

GusB

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We are getting away from the main thread topic here. If anyone wishes to continue discussing the introduction of bus lanes in Glasgow, please start a separate bthread. Thanks.
 

Jordan Adam

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The X17 ran via (from the City Centre), Great Western Road, Anniesland Cross, Bearsden/Switchback Road, Canniesburn Toll, Bearsden, Baljaffray & Faifley and used appropriately branded step-entrance Pointer Darts (in the same style as the 'Express Yourself' branding First used south of the border and ofc the Cumbernauld expresses at the time). It was later renumbered the 40D, then the 118 (I think) and finally the 6B in May 2013 when SimpliCITY came in. Was withdrawn in October 2015; it had been a peak-hours only service from it's days as the X17 through to it's last days as the 6B IIRC.

It may be the 217 you're thinking of as @PaulMc7 notes.
The X17 became a peak only service from January 2009, prior to then it had been operating half hourly. In addition to the Cumbernauld Express within Scotland First also used the 'Express Yourself' branding on the Service 43 between Edinburgh and South Queensferry.
 

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