Transdev Blazefield

[duncombec]

One of the strangest campaigns to get people on the bus is coming up in August...

@AlexTransdev Twitter says...

It may seem strange, but concessionary pass holders have not bounced back as strongly as any other group - and are perhaps the major reason why patronage has not reached 100% of pre-Covid levels.

Another operator in the north-west is also considering a campaign focusing on ENCTS passholders and associated activities (It was an oral presentation, and even though openly discussed with those attending, that doesn't mean the operator wants it plastered all over the internet so I'm opting for discretionary caution), as any fare is better than no fare. This previously semi-captive audience has stayed away the longest, whether out of continued concern/precaution or they've found 'modern ways', or the social events (OAP clubs, etc.) simply haven't restarted.

 

[SCH117X]

Now has a video

 

[JetBlast]

One of the strangest campaigns to get people on the bus is coming up in August...

@AlexTransdev Twitter says...

People are talking about it, so something is working.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It may seem strange, but concessionary pass holders have not bounced back as strongly as any other group - and are perhaps the major reason why patronage has not reached 100% of pre-Covid levels.

Another operator in the north-west is also considering a campaign focusing on ENCTS passholders and associated activities (It was an oral presentation, and even though openly discussed with those attending, that doesn't mean the operator wants it plastered all over the internet so I'm opting for discretionary caution), as any fare is better than no fare. This previously semi-captive audience has stayed away the longest, whether out of continued concern/precaution or they've found 'modern ways', or the social events (OAP clubs, etc.) simply haven't restarted.

Exactly. It makes total sense when you think about it. You have a demographic in pensioners who have a) got out of the habit of using their pass or b) are still Covid hesitant and so ENCTS usage is down. You have kids who are breaking up from school and at a loose end (and indeed, granny may be providing some childcare) so it's a logical thing to do to use them as a means of generating pensioner travel.

Notably, in my neck of the woods, First Bus are using TV advertising around the regional news bulletins to specifically target those ENCTS users who have got out of the habit.

 

[Securoserve]

Right, so completely off topic here. I've got a Transdev privilege pass, courtesy of a driver I know. Is this valid for use on any other operators? So far it seems to work with Stagecoach south Lancashire, but not with Stagecoach north Lancashire. Any one have any experience with this sort pass?

 

[nesw]

It’s customary for operators to be very specific about eligibility for staff discounts with the prospect of disciplinary action for non-compliance. I don’t know what the terms are for Transdev however, passes are usually restricted to partners and eligible family members.

 

[Simon75]

Inde

I hope this latest initiative doesn't lead to increased incidences of "Other Grannies" being ejected from these services

Indeed a friend she is 44 and Granny!!

Exactly. It makes total sense when you think about it. You have a demographic in pensioners who have a) got out of the habit of using their pass or b) are still Covid hesitant and so ENCTS usage is down. You have kids who are breaking up from school and at a loose end (and indeed, granny may be providing some childcare) so it's a logical thing to do to use them as a means of generating pensioner travel.

Notably, in my neck of the woods, First Bus are using TV advertising around the regional news bulletins to specifically target those ENCTS users who have got out of the habit.

And its most of that age group you do see wear masks still too

 

[Securoserve]

It’s customary for operators to be very specific about eligibility for staff discounts with the prospect of disciplinary action for non-compliance. I don’t know what the terms are for Transdev however, passes are usually restricted to partners and eligible family members.

Sorry, should have mentioned the driver is a family member.

 

[RustySpoons]

Interesting reading from those posting about the 'Go with Granny' promos. Have to admit I didn't actually think of it that way, so yes, quite a clever idea and hopefully lure ENTCS users back to the bus.

Also good to see that the uniform policy has been relaxed this last couple of days to, I assume, make things easier and more comfortable for drivers being stuck behind the wheel during this latest heat wave. Even with air conditioning it hasn't been pleasant!

 

[90sWereBetter]

I'm spending a week around Manchester and West Yorkshire in August, I was wondering what would be the best routes to find one of the Y-HRN batch of Volvo B7/Presidents, if they're still used in normal service?

Transdev must really like these B7s given they're now 21 years old and still going strong. I noticed on Flickr that some newer B7/Geminis have already been dispatched for scrap earlier this year.

 

[Deerfold]

I'm spending a week around Manchester and West Yorkshire in August, I was wondering what would be the best routes to find one of the Y-HRN batch of Volvo B7/Presidents, if they're still used in normal service?

Transdev must really like these B7s given they're now 21 years old and still going strong. I noticed on Flickr that some newer B7/Geminis have already been dispatched for scrap earlier this year.

Can't guarantee anything, but the K9 and 62 have them reasonably often (note alternate 62s that become 64s at Ilkley rarely do (when they do, they have to miss out a stop on the 64 due to a low bridge)). Bear in mind I've been away nearly a month so anything could have happened in my absence!

 

[Andyh82]

I'm spending a week around Manchester and West Yorkshire in August, I was wondering what would be the best routes to find one of the Y-HRN batch of Volvo B7/Presidents, if they're still used in normal service?

Transdev must really like these B7s given they're now 21 years old and still going strong. I noticed on Flickr that some newer B7/Geminis have already been dispatched for scrap earlier this year.

If you were there today, there is one on the K9 (Keighley local) and one on the 66 (Keighley to Skipton)

 

[RustySpoons]

A preview of the branding and vehicles that are to be branded for the 'Great Northern Line' between Keighley and Halifax.



@AlexTransdev says...

Coming down the line... @TeamPennine

There have been some grumblings that TfGM* won't be happy as they apparently paid towards the Euro 6 upgrades for these, only for them now to be sent across the Pennines. Was it actually TfGM paying towards the upgrades though or was it government grants? Really can't see Transdev falling foul of TfGM!

*TfGM - Transport for Greater Manchester

 

[Andyh82]

A preview of the branding and vehicles that are to be branded for the 'Great Northern Line' between Keighley and Halifax.

View attachment 118422

@AlexTransdev says...


There have been some grumblings that TfGM* won't be happy as they apparently paid towards the Euro 6 upgrades for these, only for them now to be sent across the Pennines. Was it actually TfGM paying towards the upgrades though or was it government grants? Really can't see Transdev falling foul of TfGM!

*TfGM - Transport for Greater Manchester

But what are Rosso supposed to use them on in Greater Manchester if they are surplus to requirements following contract changes or frequency changes?

 

[RustySpoons]

But what are Rosso supposed to use them on in Greater Manchester if they are surplus to requirements following contract changes or frequency changes?

Indeed. I'm sure if they'd paid for the upgrades for them to specifically run on TfGM tenders and then they'd sent them elsewhere I can see there'd be an issue, as it is I'm not sure there's much of a problem.

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

I'm spending a week around Manchester and West Yorkshire in August, I was wondering what would be the best routes to find one of the Y-HRN batch of Volvo B7/Presidents, if they're still used in normal service?

Transdev must really like these B7s given they're now 21 years old and still going strong. I noticed on Flickr that some newer B7/Geminis have already been dispatched for scrap earlier this year.

It's a few weeks since I've been in Keighley, but they pop up on all sorts of local routes throughout the day. Just hang around Keighley bus station and you WILL see a few.

 

[rishtonlad]

I notice that Transdev Burnley are making changes to the Mainline and Witchway from September, including the late night ones. I wonder if they will be more reliable then last time.

 

[Deerfold]

I notice that Transdev Burnley are making changes to the Mainline and Witchway from September, including the late night ones. I wonder if they will be more reliable then last time.

And a doubling of the Sunday service to Keighley - that's very welcome for me. Just a shame that the timetable links they've provided are to the Huddersfiel to Kirkheaton 262...

 

[158756]

And a doubling of the Sunday service to Keighley - that's very welcome for me. Just a shame that the timetable links they've provided are to the Huddersfiel to Kirkheaton 262...

Doubling the Sunday service to Keighley and Trawden but reducing the core Burnley-Colne section from every 15 to every 20 minutes. Probably uses the same number of buses.

I assume the £1 after 7pm offer is coming to an end if the late Witchway journeys are coming back.

 

[RustySpoons]

Doubling the Sunday service to Keighley and Trawden but reducing the core Burnley-Colne section from every 15 to every 20 minutes. Probably uses the same number of buses.

I assume the £1 after 7pm offer is coming to an end if the late Witchway journeys are coming back.

Looks like the Mainline has gone back to it's pre-2005 era frequency. Every 10 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes in the evenings and Sundays. In fact, even worse than 2005 as back then it used to be every 20 minutes until the last service. Now it's half hourly after about 8-9ish.

They've still not fixed the links, but here's the new timetables...
Mainline Timetable
WitchWay Timetable

 

[Deerfold]

Looks like the Mainline has gone back to it's pre-2005 era frequency. Every 10 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes in the evenings and Sundays. In fact, even worse than 2005 as back then it used to be every 20 minutes until the last service. Now it's half hourly after about 8-9ish.

They've still not fixed the links, but here's the new timetables...
Mainline Timetable
WitchWay Timetable

It does seem unfortunate that Keighley and Burnley seem unable to work together on timetabling. They did release a joint 66-M4 timetable a few years ago with sensible gaps between them on joint sections but they seem to have been getting away from that ever since. Between Cross Hills and Keighley (for most of the journey) there will be 2 buses an hour on a Sunday, but 5 minutes apart. Coming out of Keighley the 66 and M4 are nicely spaced, 25 minutes apart, but between Keighley and Steeton the M4 and 62 are just 1 minute apart for 8 of the 12 M4s.

 

[Andyh82]

Looks like the Mainline has gone back to it's pre-2005 era frequency. Every 10 minutes during the day and every 20 minutes in the evenings and Sundays. In fact, even worse than 2005 as back then it used to be every 20 minutes until the last service. Now it's half hourly after about 8-9ish.

They've still not fixed the links, but here's the new timetables...
Mainline Timetable
WitchWay Timetable

This sort of thing has happened across the country, where frequent services have dropped down a level

Every 10 now every 15, every 15 now every 20 etc etc, it’s not unique to Transdev

 

[northernchris]

It does seem unfortunate that Keighley and Burnley seem unable to work together on timetabling. They did release a joint 66-M4 timetable a few years ago with sensible gaps between them on joint sections but they seem to have been getting away from that ever since. Between Cross Hills and Keighley (for most of the journey) there will be 2 buses an hour on a Sunday, but 5 minutes apart. Coming out of Keighley the 66 and M4 are nicely spaced, 25 minutes apart, but between Keighley and Steeton the M4 and 62 are just 1 minute apart for 8 of the 12 M4s.

Transdev are quite poor at coordinating frequencies. The 60 currently departs Keighley at the same times as the 662 during the day, despite them both having a different timetable on a Saturday compared to Monday - Friday. There's many other examples where some minor tweaks could improve spacing, but it's either not been noticed by the schedulers or its not something Transdev are interested in.

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

Transdev are quite poor at coordinating frequencies. The 60 currently departs Keighley at the same times as the 662 during the day, despite them both having a different timetable on a Saturday compared to Monday - Friday. There's many other examples where some minor tweaks could improve spacing, but it's either not been noticed by the schedulers or its not something Transdev are interested in.

But surely by the time the 60 gets to Sandbeds it is ahead of the 662 it left with. When the 662 runs at the frequency it's meant to (every 10 mins) the I can't see an issue at all. If both routes ran at the same frequency then coordination would be more important.

 

[northernchris]

But surely by the time the 60 gets to Sandbeds it is ahead of the 662 it left with. When the 662 runs at the frequency it's meant to (every 10 mins) the I can't see an issue at all. If both routes ran at the same frequency then coordination would be more important.

That's the issue though - those travelling from Keighley to Crossflatts/Bingley/Saltaire have gone from 8 buses an hour to 6, but as the 60 leaves the same time as the 662 there's only 4 departures times. There's no obvious reason why the 662 has a different timetable on a Saturday, and looking at the new 60 timetable the running time between Bingley and Saltaire is identical to the 662, so running down the bypass is pointless. It just seems no thought is put in to the schedules, and as I mentioned in my last post there's many examples across the network where spacing could be improved.

 

[JRT]

Co-ordination seems to vary in the Blazefield Keighley area.
Currently Bingley –Shipley buses 60 & 622 (First) are both half-hourly daytime, but run around the same time.
Keighley – Cross Roads buses (daytime) ARE better following a recent timetable change (,almost every 10 minutes apart from 35 past)

 

[Deerfold]

Co-ordination seems to vary in the Blazefield Keighley area.
Currently Bingley –Shipley buses 60 & 622 (First) are both half-hourly daytime, but run around the same time.
Keighley – Cross Roads buses (daytime) ARE better following a recent timetable change (,almost every 10 minutes apart from 35 past)

The 60 and First's 35 (760) often ran at very similar times between Leeds and Greengates before the 35 mysteriously disappeared during the heights of the pandemic.

I live on the 62/66/M4 routes. Co-ordination has varied widely over the years (I realise that my section is not the only one to consider so don't expect the 6 buses an hour to be every 10 minutes). When I moved here they managed to have 2 20 minute gaps every hour with 2 buses following one another for the first 2.5 miles of their route twice an hour. They're currently about as good as I'd expect with gaps of 15-5-10-15-5-10 with the 66 and M4 running every 15 minutes. Unfortunately in the peaks it breaks down, with all 3 routes departing within 5 minutes at one point. Sundays have never seen the M4 attempt to fit in. The other two buses have had minimal changes on a Sunday over the last 15 years and are 25-35. The M4 times have danced around being slightly before and slightly after the 62 every 2 hours.

 

[Ken H]

The 60 and First's 35 (760) often ran at very similar times between Leeds and Greengates before the 35 mysteriously disappeared during the heights of the pandemic.

I live on the 62/66/M4 routes. Co-ordination has varied widely over the years (I realise that my section is not the only one to consider so don't expect the 6 buses an hour to be every 10 minutes). When I moved here they managed to have 2 20 minute gaps every hour with 2 buses following one another for the first 2.5 miles of their route twice an hour. They're currently about as good as I'd expect with gaps of 15-5-10-15-5-10 with the 66 and M4 running every 15 minutes. Unfortunately in the peaks it breaks down, with all 3 routes departing within 5 minutes at one point. Sundays have never seen the M4 attempt to fit in. The other two buses have had minimal changes on a Sunday over the last 15 years and are 25-35. The M4 times have danced around being slightly before and slightly after the 62 every 2 hours.

Its an awkward one that. The M4 does a loop round the hospital, while the 66 goes round Sutton. So do you have regular interval through Utley, before the 3 routes diverge, between the hospital and the Sutton turnoff, or in the bit of Crosshills where the westbound Skipton buses are going eastwards!

 

[WY Bus Spotter]

The 60 and First's 35 (760) often ran at very similar times between Leeds and Greengates before the 35 mysteriously disappeared during the heights of the pandemic.

I live on the 62/66/M4 routes. Co-ordination has varied widely over the years (I realise that my section is not the only one to consider so don't expect the 6 buses an hour to be every 10 minutes). When I moved here they managed to have 2 20 minute gaps every hour with 2 buses following one another for the first 2.5 miles of their route twice an hour. They're currently about as good as I'd expect with gaps of 15-5-10-15-5-10 with the 66 and M4 running every 15 minutes. Unfortunately in the peaks it breaks down, with all 3 routes departing within 5 minutes at one point. Sundays have never seen the M4 attempt to fit in. The other two buses have had minimal changes on a Sunday over the last 15 years and are 25-35. The M4 times have danced around being slightly before and slightly after the 62 every 2 hours.

Coordination on the 760 and 670 used to be great. Timed at 15 minute intervals in both directions during the day. Once Bramley took it over, they ran 5 minutes behind the 760 and used totally different timing points than had been used for decades.

 

[RustySpoons]

On the topic of coordination, is there any reason why the M4 can't be better coordinated with the 66 between Keighley and Airedale Hospital? As @Deerfold metioned above there was a time when they had a decently coordinated timetable - I believe they promoted the fact there was a 15 minute service between Keighley and the hospital with both services.

With the Mainline terminating at Burnley and no real need to coordinate with any other services to the east surely it wouldn't take a lot to better coordinate with the 66 again? The only other service that runs east is the Wizz, but I think that runs as a standalone service anyway.

There may be many quite obvious reasons why it wouldn't work, but it's a billion degrees at the moment and my brain is struggling to brain and can't really think of any!