Poor experience on Trawscymru T1A service

[johntrawscymru]

Had a first journey on the new Yutong T1A route from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen on Saturday 24th June.

Chronology

9.41 T1A departed with 5 passengers.

For some reason the T1C was sitting at the opposite side of the bus station at 9.32 but did not move to pick up passengers until the T1A left the stand (Approx 20 passengers waiting – advertised departure time 9.30).

9.46 1 prospective passenger at Rheidol Retail Park wishing to go to BlaenPlwf told bus went via Tregaron and therefore could not use the T1A.

9.48 2 passengers off at Penparcau leaving 3 onboard

9.51 2 passengers on at Rhydefelin leaving 5 onboard. All 5 went the full distance to Carmarthen and would have done so on the T1 route. T1C passed the T1A

9.54 T1A diverts off the T1 route at Llanfarian to go to Lampeter via Tregaron. No passengers off or on in Tregaron.

10.36 1 passenger on (to Lampeter)

10.38 1 passenger on (to Lampeter)

10.46 Arrive Lampeter 2 passengers off / 6 passengers on.

10.50 Depart Lampeter with 11 passengers onboard

The T1A diversion between Llanfarian and Lampeter provided 2 very short distance passengers. The T1 would have picked up the prospective passenger at Rheidol Retail Park along with a minimum of 20 passengers along the coast.

On the way back I used the 14.05 T1 from Carmarthen breaking my journey in Lampeter. I went to the bus stop in Lampeter at 16.00 to continue my journey to find the 10.36 T1A passenger sitting in the bus shelter with shopping bags and bemoaning the fact that her bus had not arrived. She was waiting for the 15.30 585. I had to explain that the 585 no longer ran on Saturday and the T1A would not be back until 20.10. Luckily she was carrying her son's phone number and could use my phone to pick her up. She assured me she would not use the T1A again.

The T1A is a “dead duck” and the route between Llanfarian and Lampeter will provide no passengers. Most passengers want a return journey and for passengers between Llanfarian and Lampeter on Saturday they can depart around 10am in the morning and return at 9pm at night. Not exactly a flexible service.

 

[markymark2000]

Had a first journey on the new Yutong T1A route from Aberystwyth to Carmarthen on Saturday 24th June.

Chronology

9.41 T1A departed with 5 passengers.

For some reason the T1C was sitting at the opposite side of the bus station at 9.32 but did not move to pick up passengers until the T1A left the stand (Approx 20 passengers waiting – advertised departure time 9.30).

9.46 1 prospective passenger at Rheidol Retail Park wishing to go to BlaenPlwf told bus went via Tregaron and therefore could not use the T1A.

9.48 2 passengers off at Penparcau leaving 3 onboard

9.51 2 passengers on at Rhydefelin leaving 5 onboard. All 5 went the full distance to Carmarthen and would have done so on the T1 route. T1C passed the T1A

9.54 T1A diverts off the T1 route at Llanfarian to go to Lampeter via Tregaron. No passengers off or on in Tregaron.

10.36 1 passenger on (to Lampeter)

10.38 1 passenger on (to Lampeter)

10.46 Arrive Lampeter 2 passengers off / 6 passengers on.

10.50 Depart Lampeter with 11 passengers onboard

The T1A diversion between Llanfarian and Lampeter provided 2 very short distance passengers. The T1 would have picked up the prospective passenger at Rheidol Retail Park along with a minimum of 20 passengers along the coast.

On the way back I used the 14.05 T1 from Carmarthen breaking my journey in Lampeter. I went to the bus stop in Lampeter at 16.00 to continue my journey to find the 10.36 T1A passenger sitting in the bus shelter with shopping bags and bemoaning the fact that her bus had not arrived. She was waiting for the 15.30 585. I had to explain that the 585 no longer ran on Saturday and the T1A would not be back until 20.10. Luckily she was carrying her son's phone number and could use my phone to pick her up. She assured me she would not use the T1A again.

The T1A is a “dead duck” and the route between Llanfarian and Lampeter will provide no passengers. Most passengers want a return journey and for passengers between Llanfarian and Lampeter on Saturday they can depart around 10am in the morning and return at 9pm at night. Not exactly a flexible service.

Have you not learnt yet in the past goodness knows how many years you've been reporting on TrawsCymru? Stop questioning what they do. It will never change. They are always right and no one will tell them otherwise. Common sense doesn't come into things when they plan their bus timetables. They just throw stuff together and hope it all works. A group of people sat in offices who are there because of who they know, not what they know. If you saw the new TC timetables that went out for tender, it's clear as day that is the case. Common theme in Welsh Transport.


(Purely as a disclaimer because I know what this forum is like, the first sentence is a joke and probing fun at the fact John (and myself) always have disagreements with how TrawsCymru is ran. I shouldn't have to explain a joke but it feels like you do have to these days on this forum)

 

[johntrawscymru]

Have you not learnt yet in the past goodness knows how many years you've been reporting on TrawsCymru?

Purely as a disclaimer because I know what this forum is like, the first sentence is a joke

Thanks . Life is tough at the "coal face" and it is refreshing to have a laugh now and then.

The T1A is an interesting case and probably is a "poor experience".

The T1A departing at 9.40am from Aberystwyth replaces 2 services, (the 585 9.35am departure and the T1 9.40am departure). Replacing a successful T1 service and an unsuccessful 585 service with a T1A along the unsuccessful 585 route has only one benefit – an extra route on the Trawscymru Network map. It definitely results in a reduction in Trawscymru passengers.

https://www.traveline.cymru/uploads...berystwyth_(LLCO_&_BJMS_&_MWLM)-4/585MGZ4.pdf

What should have happened is that the 585 departure time in Aberystwyth should have been brought forward to 9.20 to allow connection in Lampeter between the 585 and the 9.40 T1 Aberystwyth departure .
Removal of the 9.40 Aberystwyth T1 departure was totally unnecessary and has removed passengers from the Trawscymru network. The same reasoning applies to the T1A return journey from Carmarthen at 19.05 which removes a busy evening T1 service along the coast route.

Hopefully someone in authority will recognise that the T1A is "joke" and after they stop laughing will do the right thing and restore the 2 missing T1 services. That is a joke by the way.

Onwards and upwards. Plenty of improvements to be made on the Trawscymru network.

 

[Rhydgaled]

The T1A is a “dead duck” and the route between Llanfarian and Lampeter will provide no passengers. Most passengers want a return journey and for passengers between Llanfarian and Lampeter on Saturday they can depart around 10am in the morning and return at 9pm at night. Not exactly a flexible service.

Are there no other buses to Tregaron anymore? No 585 and no T??s (I forget the numbers, but when I was at university in Aberystwyth I'm 99% sure there was at least one service, possibly two or three, operated by Evans Coaches of Tregaron and numbered with a T prefix* (I think the numbers were in the 20s)). One service at 10am with just a single return at 9pm is certainly not very useful.

* these were not TrawsCymru services - that's one of the reasons I think TrawsCymru should have either used a 'TC' prefix (rather than just 'T') or not bothered with branded service numbers at all (instead keeping the old TrawsCambria service numbers eg. X50, X40 etc.) - think there is/was a non-Traws T1 service up around Chester-Flint as well.

Removal of the 9.40 Aberystwyth T1 departure was totally unnecessary and has removed passengers from the Trawscymru network. The same reasoning applies to the T1A return journey from Carmarthen at 19.05 which removes a busy evening T1 service along the coast route.

Sadly there still seem to be post-COVID funding cuts and driver shortages elsewhere (for example the T5 has been only every 2hrs between Cardigan and Aberystwyth on Saturdays for a year now and the 430 between Cardigan and Narberth is having a journey cut from 24th July). Presumably the T1 and/or 585 aren't immune from that, so perhaps cutting one of the T1 journeys was necessary in which case the 09:40 from Aberystwyth seems to be one of the least-harmful ones to cut since at least there is the T1C at a similar time for Llanrhystud, Llanon and Aberaeron passengers.

 

[markymark2000]

Are there no other buses to Tregaron anymore? No 585 and no T??s (I forget the numbers, but when I was at university in Aberystwyth I'm 99% sure there was at least one service, possibly two or three, operated by Evans Coaches of Tregaron and numbered with a T prefix* (I think the numbers were in the 20s)). One service at 10am with just a single return at 9pm is certainly not very useful.

T21 you're thinking of.

Tregaron still has the 585 but it's reduced due to issues finding operators to do it. We await September to see if the service gets expanded again as it's been retendered.

* these were not TrawsCymru services - that's one of the reasons I think TrawsCymru should have either used a 'TC' prefix (rather than just 'T') or not bothered with branded service numbers at all (instead keeping the old TrawsCambria service numbers eg. X50, X40 etc.) - think there is/was a non-Traws T1 service up around Chester-Flint as well.

T1 was a commercial route by Townlynx.