Borders Railway has hit bus services

[Great_Western]

It amazes me how varied First's product can be. GWR, "Bus Kernow" (or whatever they are called this week) and First Bristol buses are, on the whole, fantastic, whereas areas where First are not interested are bloody awful. First Plymouth were pointless before they sold , First Cap Connect were pretty grim and their scottish bus operations are falling to pieces

 

[Robertj21a]

I think this just shows how pointles sit is having buses compete with trains. Bus services shoudl be run to connect into and out of the railheads, so that communities without their own railway or station, can still access the trains.

There are many people who would prefer a direct service (on a bus) to having to change/wait, or may live on the 'wrong' side of town, or can't afford train travel etc etc.

Fine in a perfect world but we don't live in one.

 

[Robertj21a]

It amazes me how varied First's product can be. GWR, "Bus Kernow" (or whatever they are called this week) and First Bristol buses are, on the whole, fantastic, whereas areas where First are not interested are bloody awful. First Plymouth were pointless before they sold , First Cap Connect were pretty grim and their scottish bus operations are falling to pieces

It's a horribly disjointed Group - buses from urban and rural backgrounds in the UK (due to the original mergers), some train operations, some coaches in Ireland, some USA student operations, USA Greyhound etc etc.

It would have solved a good many problems if they had split it up and sold off some chunks.

 

[Pinza-C55]

I think this just shows how pointles sit is having buses compete with trains. Bus services shoudl be run to connect into and out of the railheads, so that communities without their own railway or station, can still access the trains.

That would have worked pre Thatcher but now we have a glorious privatised free for all , so it will remain a dream.

 

[Busaholic]

It amazes me how varied First's product can be. GWR, "Bus Kernow" (or whatever they are called this week) and First Bristol buses are, on the whole, fantastic, whereas areas where First are not interested are bloody awful. First Plymouth were pointless before they sold , First Cap Connect were pretty grim and their scottish bus operations are falling to pieces

The better bits buswise seem to have grown out of the Badgerline operation rather than anything associated with a Scottish megalomaniac.

 

[radamfi]

That would have worked pre Thatcher but now we have a glorious privatised free for all , so it will remain a dream.

Privatisation is not the problem. For example, most local buses are run by private companies in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. Some local trains are too. But they don't have deregulation so a fully integrated network is still possible.

 

[Joe Paxton]

Privatisation is not the problem. For example, most local buses are run by private companies in the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark. Some local trains are too. But they don't have deregulation so a fully integrated network is still possible.

The Thatcherite ethos here however was that privatisation and deregulation of bus services went hand in hand.

 

[hassaanhc]

I use GWR's NDL and TV services a lot. Sometimes it goes wrong, most of the time it doesn't. Just like all TOCs.

Is there a problem that I've missed?

Many of the stations east of Reading feel unloved and could do with a bit of TLC. However, given that Crossrail are to take over the stations soon, and will refurbish/rebuild them (indeed they have already started at many), it isn't a surprise that GWR are only doing the very basics, as it wouldn't be worth spending loads of their own money on extras like repainting and new signs, especially as many are currently building sites. Most companies would do the same.

I certainly find their services to/from Southall reliable, only let down mainly by some services being difficult to board in the peaks, which is when I use an alternative line nearby. But off peak, especially with 6tph now, there is virtually nothing to complain about.

 

[HH]

The better bits buswise seem to have grown out of the Badgerline operation rather than anything associated with a Scottish megalomaniac.

He's not Scottish. He just likes to pretend he is.

 

[superalbs]

I'm not sure it has enormous significance, but when researching a journey a while back I found it interesting that First Borders (which is the Galashiels operation) has it's own website at www.firstborders.co.uk, compared to pretty much everywhere else where the local First operations just have their place on the First Group website. A small sign of being slightly aloof from HQ perhaps?

That's a school project or fan website without a doubt.

https://www.nominet.uk/whois/?query=firstborders.co.uk#whois-results

 

[Robertj21a]

He's not Scottish. He just likes to pretend he is.

If he was Scottish he would be far more astute with money - it's a great shame for First Group that he clearly missed most of those arithmetic lessons at school.

 

[al78]

I think this just shows how pointles sit is having buses compete with trains. Bus services shoudl be run to connect into and out of the railheads, so that communities without their own railway or station, can still access the trains.

I'm not sure it is pointless. For longer distance routes, it is good to give people a choice, the cheaper option of a bus but with the cost of extra journey time and less comfort (and no way to travel with a non-folding bicycle AFAIK).

 

[Tetchytyke]

The Scottish Government have power to do this but have chosen not to. In fact, the Buses Bill which potentially could lead to regulated buses in England does not apply in Scotland.

Apropos of nothing, a certain Sir Brian Souter is a significant donor to the Scottish National Party.

Just fancy that

 

[NotATrainspott]

Apropos of nothing, a certain Sir Brian Souter is a significant donor to the Scottish National Party.

Just fancy that

Not any more.

Speaking of which, there are plans for a new bus bill which will put it beyond doubt that local councils are able to set up municipal bus operations.

 

[Jonny]

The other problem is when busses then try to compete with rail in urban areas, this can have adverse effects. I would point to some, often major, "cycle" schemes that are, in fact, bus priority schemes in disguise that have significant flaws as cycle schemes. Most notable is when they send the cycleway through bus stop areas or even bus shelters. Often (many of) the busses run parallel to railway lines (especially metro systems) that could move many of the passengers equally well.

 

[Robertj21a]

Not any more.

Speaking of which, there are plans for a new bus bill which will put it beyond doubt that local councils are able to set up municipal bus operations.

Heaven help us.

 

[clc]

Speaking of which, there are plans for a new bus bill which will put it beyond doubt that local councils are able to set up municipal bus operations.

And allow councils to franchise bus services should they wish to do so.

 

[317 forever]

It's a horribly disjointed Group - buses from urban and rural backgrounds in the UK (due to the original mergers), some train operations, some coaches in Ireland, some USA student operations, USA Greyhound etc etc.

It would have solved a good many problems if they had split it up and sold off some chunks.

To some extent they have sold off some chunks. These are most notably East/Mid Lothian, Borders, Wigan, Chester & the Wirral, Redditch & Kidderminster, London and Devon. They have also closed operations in Hereford, Northampton, Bury St Edmunds and Bracknell.

There are also examples where they have reduced their networks.

 

[thedbdiboy]

That's how it would work in an ideal world. But this is Britain, and buses also have a useful purpose in serving those who have been priced off the railways as a result of privatisation.

Unlike British Rail, who of course never used pricing off as a mechanism to avoid investment