First West Yorkshire & York discussion

[Volvodart]

First seems just to be rolling it out in smaller locations so far.

 

[J.C.]

I've noticed the tap on machines on all the 521/522/523 buses I've used in Halifax in the past couple of weeks.

 

[Kieran1990]

Do we know how long the reduced frequency will last across Leeds?
Cancellations are still rife so I fear we are looking long term reductions.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Do we know how long the reduced frequency will last across Leeds?
Cancellations are still rife so I fear we are looking long term reductions.

I personally think that all of the current (or suppose to be) every 10 minutes or better services should be cut to an every 15 minute frequency, this would not only avoid long term cancellations but it would free up some staff to allow for any cover should a driver be unavailable rather than cancelling a load of journeys and causing inconvinence.

The same could be said for Halifax and Huddersfield, which on a side note the works at Mythomroyd have been completed and the 590, 591 and 592 timetable could do with being revised which, if done correctly, could free up one bus - allowing it to be used on other services.

The 539 (Stainland to Halifax) was carting fresh air last Friday when I saw it on Market Street in Halifax which makes me wonder if it was worthwhile for First Halifax to bolt this on to the 541/542 Norton Tower to Siddal service by splitting the 541/542 in two with that running between Norton Tower and Halifax and creating a "543" for the Halifax to Siddal section and extending that during daytimes to Stainland via Elland, again freeing up one bus.

 

[Deerfold]

2 First routes in West Yorkshire are to be run by C T Plus from next month.

https://twitter.com/RhysHand/status/1448268547201830915?s=20

Delighted that from the 1st November we’ll be operating routes 539 between Halifax and Stainland and the 587 between Halifax and Rochdale in another partnership with our friends at First.

 

[markymark2000]

How does First have no drivers but CT Plus do? It surely has to be cheaper to pay their own drivers more rather than paying another firm.

 

[superkev]

Not long now to Bradfords clean air zone 1st Jan. Are First banking it to be postponed or do they have a plan?
K

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Not long now to Bradfords clean air zone 1st Jan. Are First banking it to be postponed or do they have a plan?
K

First has had a plan where a CAZ has been coming in (e.g. Bath, Southampton, Leicester) so what makes you think that they haven't got a plan for Bradford?

 

[Andyh82]

75% of buses in Bradford district, which will be predominantly First Bradford and The Keighley Bus Company vehicles are now Euro 6 so they are well on the way to meet the targets

 

[superkev]

75% of buses in Bradford district, which will be predominantly First Bradford and The Keighley Bus Company vehicles are now Euro 6 so they are well on the way to meet the targets

On the basis buses with ad blue fillers started appearing in 2009 a very rough estimate would be First Bradford have around 50 vehicles older than 2008 which will either require modifications or replacement. This would tie in with the reported 25% of the fleet.
I wonder if any of these have been done or if replacemnts going to be cascaded in before 1st Jan.
K

 

[Volvodart]

I thought that school buses were going to be exempted, so some may not need to be done so long as they are not used in service.

 

[Leeds1970]

One thing for certain First hasn't decided to roll out the Tap & Cap scheme in Leeds, as Leeds is usually the first place in West Yorkshire to introduce the scheme.

First Leeds are now advertising / advising people they want all passengers to either use their app or contactless.
Pretty much all the Leeds fleet are now fitted tap on tap off (toto) It is to start in Leeds on December 6th
persons buying tickets with contactless cards will be the TOTO - though the fares are a complete rip off if doing more than a single trip
if you TOTO a number of journeys on a single day you will be charged £5.20 (the only upside to this is that it will be all west yorks rather than just Leeds) however the Metroday saver is only 30p more and valid on all operators -
similar more expensive tickets will be available for week and month tickets again they will be all west yorks and are around £23 (week) and £75 (month) which is an increase of £12 on the over the counter paper ticket at £63 - first Leeds monthly
it is not yet clear if paying in cash if you will still be able to purchase a Leeds day rider at £4.70 and Leeds week £18ish from the driver
apparently the Mayor is fuming as First did not fore warn or consult on their plans

 

[61653 HTAFC]

TOTO?

I expect the new services to Africa will be starting next year...

 

[Leeds1970]

TOTO?

I expect the new services to Africa will be starting next year...

Africa ? they cant even manage Leeds

 

[GusB]

TOTO?

I expect the new services to Africa will be starting next year...

Well, we sure ain't in Kansas anymore...

 

[Stan Drews]

TOTO?

I expect the new services to Africa will be starting next year...

Which will be branded as the HoldThe Line!

...one for those that realise Toto weren’t one hit wonders!!

 

[superkev]

Re caz zone compliant buses.
Am I right that the CAZ zone compliant buses need the ad blue additive so should be able to be recognised by an ad blue filler somewhere. Its next to the normal filler on the side of the B9s. Not sure re B7TL deckers, B7 RLEs or others.
Bradford (and Sheffield) CAZ zones start soon.
Thanks.
K

 

[grangergranger]

Re caz zone compliant buses.
Am I right that the CAZ zone compliant buses need the ad blue additive so should be able to be recognised by an ad blue filler somewhere. Its next to the normal filler on the side of the B9s. Not sure re B7TL deckers, B7 RLEs or others.
Bradford (and Sheffield) CAZ zones start soon.
Thanks.
K

In Birmingham, there's a CAZ zone and don't West Midland Bus still operate B7TLs within that Zone??.
I maybe mistaken as the CAZ is much smaller than Bradford.

 

[noddingdonkey]

Any word on joined up thinking with other First depots that operate into West Yorkshire and interwork? For example will the 184 from Oldham depot always have TOTO readers or will it be the usual shambles?

 

[Leeds1970]

Any word on joined up thinking with other First depots that operate into West Yorkshire and interwork? For example will the 184 from Oldham depot always have TOTO readers or will it be the usual shambles?

as far as I'm aware they will be fitted to ALL buses operated by First Group regardless of region

 

[NorthernSpirit]

Any word on joined up thinking with other First depots that operate into West Yorkshire and interwork? For example will the 184 from Oldham depot always have TOTO readers or will it be the usual shambles?

Probably the latter, however with this TOTO (tap on tap off) thing I think it should be worked from Huddersfield rather than Oldham to avoid the clear-as-day problems i.e. one has the readers the other doesn't.

 

[Leeds1970]

On December 13 2021 First west Yorkshire are increasing their fares. In the Leeds area the fares will rise by 50p for a Dayrider £5 for a weekly ticket and £12 for a monthly ticket - that's roughly a 20% increase. Are any other Firstbus areas increasing their fares?
Are they milking West Yorkshire to pay to keep other areas afloat, or is it pure greed?

 

[Andyh82]

It’s actually a full revamp of fares across West Yorkshire with various different new options

Ticket easy

Ticket easy, with fairer fares for all! Our tickets are cheaper, simpler, fairer and more flexible to help you get where you want to be. See which ticket is best for you: %%TICKET_PRICING_TREE%%

www.firstbus.co.uk

 

[bluenoxid]

Simpler???

Not surprised to see the boundaries go but they’ve managed to create a bit of a monster there.

When are we going to see actual fare capping based on usage rather than having to run the arithmetic on the first day of a period of travel.

 

[Robertj21a]

On December 13 2021 First west Yorkshire are increasing their fares. In the Leeds area the fares will rise by 50p for a Dayrider £5 for a weekly ticket and £12 for a monthly ticket - that's roughly a 20% increase. Are any other Firstbus areas increasing their fares?
Are they milking West Yorkshire to pay to keep other areas afloat, or is it pure greed?

Other First areas are increasing fares - not surprising given the reduced numbers of passengers, and difficulties in having enough staff in many parts of the country.

 

[Andyh82]

The new fares are bizarre on every level

In Halifax, a FirstWeek is currently £12, in Huddersfield £14.50 and in Bradford or Leeds £17

If you use the new tap in, tap out system 5 days a week, it’ll now be £21.75

But if you decide upfront that you are travelling all week, a FirstWeek is now £20

So the new tapping system works out more expensive than carrying on with an old school FirstWeek

That’s not to mention the pretty extreme increases for people in Halifax and Huddersfield. They’ll get away with it as it isn’t Leeds.

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

£12 to £20 for a weekly is pretty shocking. Particularly given that Halifax/ Huddersfield aren't exactly high wage towns. An £8 increase per week could really be a struggle to some people already struggling to make ends meet.

 

[neilmc]

I suppose they're always looking to measure the gap between their own tickets and the WYPTE county-wide offering, which for a weekly bus-only is £24.50 and a day ticket £5.50. Losing the district boundaries for First tickets will cost those who only travel in their district but might entice more people to buy First-only tickets rather than PTE ones if they travel, say, Leeds-Bradford or Halifax-Huddersfield on a regular basis.

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

I suppose they're always looking to measure the gap between their own tickets and the WYPTE county-wide offering, which for a weekly bus-only is £24.50 and a day ticket £5.50. Losing the district boundaries for First tickets will cost those who only travel in their district but might entice more people to buy First-only tickets rather than PTE ones if they travel, say, Leeds-Bradford or Halifax-Huddersfield on a regular basis.

But aren't First West Yorkshire weekly tickets already cheaper than an Mcard? No one's buying a Metro product if they're only using First buses everyday, surely?

 

[superkev]

With Bradford (and Sheffield's) CAZ zones scheduled for 1st Jan next is there a list or means of identifying compliant/ non compliant buses.
Not long now.
Thanks
K