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Is this really a productive thing to do? I doubt you will get far in life with this attitude.

As well as the increase in day-to-day operating costs there is also the issue of providing publicity for the additional journeys. In many cities this is done by the local authority or Passenger Transport Executive (as in Manchester and the West Midlands) and they charge operators for doing the...

I’d love to know why people think that bus operators would be remotely interested in ‘managed decline’ - what’s the point of that? If a service isn’t performing then it usually gets reduced, mainly as an exercise to attempt to stem losses while retaining the service. If that doesn’t work it may...

Service 100 between Hanley and Stone is part-funded by West Midlands Trains.

I find a bus easier to drive than a car most of the time. From the cab of a bus the view of the road is much better than a car, and other cars usually get out of the way. I have been known in the past to be driving my car then accidentally stick my fingers in the heaters when I’ve gone to...

I’m not sure many people realise quite how low BRG is either compared to the previous funding scheme. I imagine quite a few operators will struggle over the coming months.

Back before the route was split (many years ago now) Crosville’s (and subsequently Midland Red’s) C84 between Chester and Hanley on contracted journeys called at Chester Bus Station, Chester Bus Exchange, Nantwich Bus Station, Crewe Bus Station, Newcastle-under-Lyme Bus Station and Hanley Bus...

It is quite common for individuals or small groups of pass holders to ‘go for the ride round’ but this falls into the category of ‘no better or worse off’ where the reimbursement is reduced because if the passengers were paying the fare they would be unlikely to travel for more than their...

The bus operator received a percentage of the AVERAGE fare across the network, which will include all of the short distance fares combined with the long distance fares. In the case specified I’d be surprised if Stagecoach received more than three quid reimbursement. Note that the ENCTS scheme...

Unless a bus is early then timing points do not require the bus to physically stop. The only mid-route compulsory stops would generally be at bus stations, particularly those where the bus is required to reverse off the stand or those with doors separating the passengers from the vehicle apron.

The tracking feed to the RTI system is likely to be from the same source as Bustimes. What is more likely, and common in many areas, is that some elements of the TransXChange data that feeds the timetable data to the system is either wrong, incomplete or missing altogether.

It could be the X68 which runs non-stop between Waterloo and West Norwood.

I think several elements of the timetable are rather ambitious, especially given the traffic conditions between the Airport and Macclesfield, and the nature of the roads through Staffordshire. Not something that is going to aid the reliability on such a long journey, and which will ultimately...

The 37 is a commercial route that serves Lymedale Business Park and is open to the public. Also in the Potteries area is the E1 run by D&G for staff travelling to and from Alton Towers. This runs seven days a week from 5am until 2am with journeys timed around shifts.

There is little the driver can do on most modern buses as there are only usually three options on the gear selector - drive, reverse and neutral.

Unless anything major has changed in the last couple of years I reckon you can go from Holyhead to Chester (changing buses along the way) with Arriva (it’s been a while but I’m sure it was all VDL stuff on those routes). Once in Chester, over to Northwich on the D&G 82 (Versa), D&G 89/88 to...

Could it be the largest town with the fewest bus routes?

Wilmslow? 24,500 population and only served by D&G and Go Goodwins.

Buses currently being painted into the new Magic Bus livery seem to be predominantly hybrids that formerly had the green version of the beach ball livery. These days there is no hiding that they are Stagecoach buses as they are in a variation of the new livery with the new Stagecoach logo on the...

The stop on Wharf Road, Biddulph, in Staffordshire has a bus shelter immediately adjacent to the stop but there is also an enclosed ‘waiting room’ which is around 200ft away from the stop. Despite it being well maintained it is very rarely used as intending passengers who see the bus go past are...