Differing workings on school and non-schooldays

[nw1]

One observation, which has been particularly prominent this past week due to half-term, is how the workings (diagrams) of some bus operators these days appear to be significantly different on schooldays and non-schooldays - and not just due to school and college services not operating.

For example on Bluestar, on non-schooldays, the 1710 service from Southampton-Winchester on the 1 is operated by an older double-decker which was on the 2 earlier in the day. This does not occur on schooldays with one of the dedicated newer Enviro400 MMCs working, which has been on the 1 all day.

On non-schooldays almost all vehicles on the 20 are double-deckers, on schooldays just one out of 5 off-peak workings are (plus, I think, a peak only working).

The explanation is, I am sure, differing driver shifts with the school services missing.

However it appears (IMX) to be a relatively new thing. On Alder Valley in the 80s (both NBC and post-deregulation) the non-schoolday workings seemed to be identical to the schoolday workings, with the only exception being that school/college services did not run.

Is this general, i.e. are significant revisions of workings/diagrams in school holidays a relatively new thing?

 

[LAIRA]

One observation, which has been particularly prominent this past week due to half-term, is how the workings (diagrams) of some bus operators these days appear to be significantly different on schooldays and non-schooldays - and not just due to school and college services not operating.

For example on Bluestar, on non-schooldays, the 1710 service from Southampton-Winchester on the 1 is operated by an older double-decker which was on the 2 earlier in the day. This does not occur on schooldays with one of the dedicated newer Enviro400 MMCs working, which has been on the 1 all day.

On non-schooldays almost all vehicles on the 20 are double-deckers, on schooldays just one out of 5 off-peak workings are (plus, I think, a peak only working).

The explanation is, I am sure, differing driver shifts with the school services missing.

However it appears (IMX) to be a relatively new thing. On Alder Valley in the 80s (both NBC and post-deregulation) the non-schoolday workings seemed to be identical to the schoolday workings, with the only exception being that school/college services did not run.

Is this general, i.e. are significant revisions of workings/diagrams in school holidays a relatively new thing?

In Plymouth one of our main services the 21 runs every 10 mins on schooldays but only every 15 mins during school holidays. There are also others routes with similar cuts.

 

[RT4038]

One observation, which has been particularly prominent this past week due to half-term, is how the workings (diagrams) of some bus operators these days appear to be significantly different on schooldays and non-schooldays - and not just due to school and college services not operating.

For example on Bluestar, on non-schooldays, the 1710 service from Southampton-Winchester on the 1 is operated by an older double-decker which was on the 2 earlier in the day. This does not occur on schooldays with one of the dedicated newer Enviro400 MMCs working, which has been on the 1 all day.

On non-schooldays almost all vehicles on the 20 are double-deckers, on schooldays just one out of 5 off-peak workings are (plus, I think, a peak only working).

The explanation is, I am sure, differing driver shifts with the school services missing.

However it appears (IMX) to be a relatively new thing. On Alder Valley in the 80s (both NBC and post-deregulation) the non-schoolday workings seemed to be identical to the schoolday workings, with the only exception being that school/college services did not run.

Is this general, i.e. are significant revisions of workings/diagrams in school holidays a relatively new thing?

I should imagine that the computerised scheduling systems introduced over the last 20 years can produce schedules of the remaining non-schoolday work with much less resource (and therefore time) than the manual systems of the 1980s.

 

[WibbleWobble]

A school holiday schedule can have a massive reduction in vehicle requirement, especially at a depot such as Bluestar's Southampton site. In this case, the reduction is down to the huge college network not operating. It does mean that some buses need to sit in different positions to fit around allocation and driver duty efficiencies; in this case it could be due to some buses starting or finishing at the Eastleigh outstation, and making sure they are in the right place so that an equal number of the right buses swap around each day.

 

[nw1]

In Plymouth one of our main services the 21 runs every 10 mins on schooldays but only every 15 mins during school holidays. There are also others routes with similar cuts.

That's an interesting one - does it pass a college where attendees come and go all day, and which accounts for a significant part of the traffic?

 

[LAIRA]

That's an interesting one - does it pass a college where attendees come and go all day, and which accounts for a significant part of the traffic?

No it is just the main service across the city. There is a nearby college but that has its own dedicated service term times only.

 

[greenline712]

Schoolday and School Holiday schedule compilation takes the same time, so a SH schedule might be preventing a new long-term MF schedule being compiled (I speak from bitter experience!!). Remember also that the rota (or maybe several rotas) may need to be re-compiled, but in such a way that rest day sequences and basic times aren't disrupted. If a driver is expecting a week of earlies, and a week of lates is dropped in, then uproar at the Garage will ensue!!

It is also the case that disrupting rosters at half-terms, for just a week, may be counter-productive, as may alterations over the Festive period (where different schedules are used on different days already). It may be that bus workings can be adjusted (SD versus DD) without changing the base schedule.

I agree that an SH schedule, where frequencies are slightly reduced and running times similarly slightly reduced, is a good idea, but only where the extra compiling work can be fitted in without compromising something else. It's also not always worthwhile where the schedule has a preponderence of non-urban routes . . . an hourly bus service may have differet run times, but the bus should never depart earlier on SH compared with SD. That way will soon lose regular passengers!!

Horses for Courses . . . !!

 

[43055]

Diamond East Midlands has some quite varying diagrams between term times and holidays. Term times normally sees most if not all the decker fleet out for the school journeys and covers service routes in the day whereas on the holidays the diagrams are such so there is less double decker working and interworking between routes can be different as well.

 

[neilmc]

When I was a conductor in Leeds in the 1970s the timetables were exactly the same during term time and holidays. This is because all the school "boards" ran in service as non-timetabled extras before or after the school run. The school boards had priority if there were staff or bus shortages, except of course during the holidays when you were on "show up" during the non-existent school run and might be sent out to shore up a service short of buses.

Now the opposite applies, in many places the scheduled service even in peak times is reduced to accommodate the bus being transferred to school duties so sometimes a huge yawning gap appears in the timetable just when the most people want to use it. This is very poor practice to say the least but presumably the school run pays the company better.