First Midlands

[anthony263]

Seeing as we have a thread for First Groups operations across south wales as well as Bristol, Somerset and Devon etc I thought I would set up a seperate thread which comes the operations around the midlands area's including Hereford.

As I stated in the other First Group thread Worcester and Aberdeen have been chosen to trial First's new mobile ticketing system before the system goes active across the uk.

Some of the old school drivers dont seem to have a good opinion on this whereas the younger drivers like myself all seem pretty keen on the idea since as I have pointed out in the staff room at Crowngate bus station in Worcester if people buy tickets on their phones we wont have to worry about change etc so reducing dwell times.

There is likely to be some major cuts to a number of bus routes across Worcestshire from September when the council starts their cuts although First have been looking at some routes being operated commercially such as the 31a & 31c's.

The 31B from Monarch drive in Worcester to Worcester city centre and the Royal hospital via the university is currently funded by the university themselves some wont be affected although the 50p difference in fares does cause some issues when students board the services wanting to go into town. While at the top stand at Crowngate bus station ready to work a services to Dines green I noticed we used to have a N31 service to the university although I have no idea why it no longer operates.

 

[34D]

Any more info on the mobile tickets? Are they also looking to trial ITSO?

 

[sonic2009]

I use the 144 sometimes, and i must say they need to sort out the fares north of Bromsgrove.

It's £4.00 single or £5.00 return to Rubery, Longbridge, Northfield or Birmingham.

Why can't there be a lower fare to Rubery? Say £3.50?

 

[anthony263]

We are having a fare review in Worcester soon come september since we could be taking on some additional routes commercially.

The Abbey Brige in Evesham is supposed to be opening next week which will cause some confusion for some drivers like myself who have not been shown the original route around Evesham and route 551.

Service 144A is expected to bue further improved in the future with some peak hour services from Catshill into Bromsgrove and Worcester.Anyway if you use the 144 or any other services in Worcester you may have me driving of course I wont be that hard to recognise with my welsh acent.

Further information on the mobile tickets wil be put in the press over the next week or two and information cards will be available fro us drivers from monday. Anyway I am off on holiday next week although I am working next friday

 

[WestCoast]

I occasionally catch the 144 as an express service along Bristol Road into Birmingham City Centre. I've heard rumours that First are leaving the Nnetwork scheme, any truth in those rumours?

 

[anthony263]

We dont aceept the N-network tickets on the 144 anymore due to issues with Centro due to problems getting the money back from them I believe

 

[sonic2009]

Wow, First not accepting n-network tickets thats new, used one last Sunday as far as Rubery.

First need to look at the 144 north of Bromsgrove, I'm quite surprised Diamond haven't launched an attack on it between Bromsgrove & Birmingham.

 

[winston270twm]

Wow, First not accepting n-network tickets thats new, used one last Sunday as far as Rubery.

First need to look at the 144 north of Bromsgrove, I'm quite surprised Diamond haven't launched an attack on it between Bromsgrove & Birmingham.

Diamond have competed on the 144 between Birmingham & Bromsgrove previously, it started as the 64 back in BCC & continued in Go Ahead ownership. It went through to Bromsgrove then was cut back to Rubery before eventually being withdrawn. I don't think the 144 has had competition under Rotala ownership, but it's always a possibility for expansion

http://www.oxford-chiltern-bus-page...ond Bus N902PFC r64 BHX Ben Morroll sep05.jpg

http://onthisdaywmuk.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/l206yag-5-may-06.jpg

https://www.flickr.com/photos/24759744@N02/3195093598/in/set-72157628983460325

 

[Jeni]

Diamond have competed on the 144 between Birmingham & Bromsgrove previously, it started as the 64 back in BCC & continued in Go Ahead ownership. It went through to Bromsgrove then was cut back to Rubery before eventually being withdrawn. I don't think the 144 has had competition under Rotala ownership, but it's always a possibility for expansion

It wasn't that long ago that Diamond renumbered the 64 to 144 and re-routed it to follow suit. It was mostly running between Bromsgrove and Birmingham with a few early and late services from Worcester (or it may have been just Droitwich). Eventually it was cut down to run only between Bromsgrove and Rubery, then withdrawn all together. I believe all that happened under Rotala ownership.

 

[winston270twm]

It wasn't that long ago that Diamond renumbered the 64 to 144 and re-routed it to follow suit. It was mostly running between Bromsgrove and Birmingham with a few early and late services from Worcester (or it may have been just Droitwich). Eventually it was cut down to run only between Bromsgrove and Rubery, then withdrawn all together. I believe all that happened under Rotala ownership.

Thanks Jeni,

I loose track of what happened when.... Rotala have cut back on so many competing commercial services against NXWM in recent years, I very much doubt they'd consider striking against First on the 144 again.

Cutting the Diamond 144 to operate between Rubery & Bromsgrove only sealed the fate of that service....

 

[anthony263]

The 144/144 is one of First Midlands golden routes along with the 551 to Evesham and the 44/44C to Great Malvern so any operator trying to take on First is going to get a major fight on their hands.

9 new streetlites are due to arrive over the coming months at Worcester with a few of our Jersey darts heading to Hereford which is also expanding to include a few services to Hay On Wye and possibly on to Brecon

 

[Jeni]

Cutting the Diamond 144 to operate between Rubery & Bromsgrove only sealed the fate of that service....

Yes, the only people that travel between Rubery and Bromsgrove are OAP's and U16s, not exactly a money spinner!

The 144 is ripe for competition if done right. I used to be a daily user, but I still use it about 6 times a month - First do a terrible job on it, if they're not running 20 mins late, they're running 10 mins early - You just can't rely on it, most of the issue seems to be down to drivers that just couldn't care less.

Diamond would stand a better chance now that they have more of a local network to feed into it, but they would have to stick with it and not endlessly fiddle every couple of months like they did last time - who wants to travel a route that you're not sure if it's going to be the same one month to the next?

With the poor train service between Bromsgrove and Birmingham (for the next few years at least), there is a serious opportunity to market the 144 as an alternative to the train, especially since the station is so far out of town, it's not much slower once you factor in travel time to the station.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Yes, the only people that travel between Rubery and Bromsgrove are OAP's and U16s, not exactly a money spinner!

The 144 is ripe for competition if done right. I used to be a daily user, but I still use it about 6 times a month - First do a terrible job on it, if they're not running 20 mins late, they're running 10 mins early - You just can't rely on it, most of the issue seems to be down to drivers that just couldn't care less.

Diamond would stand a better chance now that they have more of a local network to feed into it, but they would have to stick with it and not endlessly fiddle every couple of months like they did last time - who wants to travel a route that you're not sure if it's going to be the same one month to the next?

With the poor train service between Bromsgrove and Birmingham (for the next few years at least), there is a serious opportunity to market the 144 as an alternative to the train, especially since the station is so far out of town, it's not much slower once you factor in travel time to the station.

I think that Rotala have had bigger fish to fry in sorting out Kiddie and Redditch. That said, I think you'll see First beginning to make some developments happen with the old MRW ops.

Interesting that Hereford is running, albeit on a short term contract, to Ross on Wye soon on the 44. That and the schools work that they won last year means the PVR has increased by about 20% (albeit from a low base)

 

[anthony263]

The problem with the 144 is the traffic especially between Bromsgrove and Birmingham.

Passengers may not know it but we drivers do our best to keep to times. We have had a large amount of new drivers at Worcester the past few months so we need time to get used to the routes. I do my best when I do the 144 and there are times during the day when you can run early so we do wait for times @ the various points along the route.

Rotala do have issues sorting out Redditch and Kidderminster including repainting the darts they had from us which are still in first livery. This does cause some confusion when they are used on routes into Worcester.

I have made a suggestion for improving the 144 and that is to put it up to every 20 minutes along with the 144A with buses have more ctime at Birmingham although the issue's with taxi's at the terminus in Birmingham needs to be looked at

 

[Jeni]

you can run early so we do wait for times @ the various points along the route.

Unfortunately, you are in the minority of drivers that wait time.

Catching a 144 is a problem, you have to arrive at the bus stop at least 15 mins before its due in case it's early. The last 144 from Brum is a terror for early running, have spotted it leave 10 mins early on a surprisingly large number of occasions now!

 

[Robertj21a]

Unfortunately, you are in the minority of drivers that wait time.

Catching a 144 is a problem, you have to arrive at the bus stop at least 15 mins before its due in case it's early. The last 144 from Brum is a terror for early running, have spotted it leave 10 mins early on a surprisingly large number of occasions now!

Suggest that you report any early, or consistently late, running to the Traffic Commissioner/VOSA who can then investigate First's operations.

Robert

 

[sonic2009]

So looking at the new m-ticket app seems you cannot buy a Wyvern ticket.

 

[Class172]

The Abbey Brige in Evesham is supposed to be opening next week which will cause some confusion for some drivers like myself who have not been shown the original route around Evesham and route 551.

As far as I am aware, the bridge has now been reopened much to everyone's relief. There was a big article in the Worcester News on it with people queuing to cross.

 

[anthony263]

So looking at the new m-ticket app seems you cannot buy a Wyvern ticket.

Yes Wyverns are not available at the moment. We are trying to build up demand and sort out any little faults before we introduce more tickets.

One new tickets avilable on the app is the group ticket which allows up to 4 people to travel together rather than purchasing seperate tickets. The price is the same as a family ticket and I think this is one of those that will be the most popular especially on our long distance routes to Birmingham with those going for a night out.

As for any early running please write down any obersvations such as the date and fleet number as wellas the time the bus went past as it would help the company if management/control know about this.

A word of warning however is to check where the timing point is as we have one person who complaint before when in face the actual timing point was about a mile further down the road so the bus was actually running to time.

 

[dvboy]

We dont aceept the N-network tickets on the 144 anymore due to issues with Centro due to problems getting the money back from them I believe

Thought it was n-bus that First stopped accepting, not n-network (either way, why one and not the other)?

 

[anthony263]

Confirmation on this I did get the two mixed up. N-bus is the one we do not accept. N-Network is supposed to still be accepted.

Any problems please make a note and contact First's customer service department.

The problem has been caused by us struggling to get reinbursed by Centro each time we accepted an N-bus ticket.

 

[sonic2009]

I wonder if First have looked at other options for the 144? i.e a peak hours non stop journey from Catshill to Birmingham? via the M5 & A456?

 

[anthony263]

I have already brought up your suggestion. There used to be an express service which used to come up from Gloucester and Bristol.

I didnt suggest such a service using the Greyhound brand and perhaps have some services run from Hereford since we can get drivers from both depots

 

[sonic2009]

The 144 can be painfully slow during rush hour traffic along the A38, I don't use it all the time but I wonder if improvements in the Bromsgrove area wouldn't go a miss either.

Re-routing 1 bus an hour to avoid Catshill on the Birmingham route, sending the bus straight up the Birmingham Road as it used to ages ago.

Is there any major changes due to any of the First Network in Worcester?

 

[Class172]

TRe-routing 1 bus an hour to avoid Catshill on the Birmingham route, sending the bus straight up the Birmingham Road as it used to ages ago.

I would certainly agree with the Catshill situation; it does seem to add a good chunk onto the timings.

 

[Jeni]

The 144 can be painfully slow during rush hour traffic along the A38, I don't use it all the time but I wonder if improvements in the Bromsgrove area wouldn't go a miss either.

Re-routing 1 bus an hour to avoid Catshill on the Birmingham route, sending the bus straight up the Birmingham Road as it used to ages ago.

To be fair, the Birmingham Road can be a nightmare at peak times, especially queuing at the traffic lights to get onto the bypass and up the hill to the M42 island. I would argue that via Catshill is quicker at these times.

Outside of peak times, I'd estimate the difference is negligible, the difference in distance is less than half a mile (remember that the 144s through to Brum don't call in at the hospital). That said, if the council would make parking improvements on the Stourbridge Road, it would help to speed up journey times by not having to negotiate so many parked cars!

The other option would be to go via the old 143 route through Sidemoor, which is longer on distance, but always used to seem a lot quicker.

In my experience, the biggest source of delays on route is at the Saltway lights in Droitwich, and along the Worcester Road heading into Bromsgrove, neither of which can easily be avoided, but both can be helped if the council were to invest in the road network a bit!

Just out of interest, has anyone ever been on a 144A and actually seen anyone get on or off at the Princess of Wales hospita (or even Webbs for that matter)l?! Even back in the days of 318s, 90s, 91s and 94s I'd only rarely see that stop actually being used.

 

[sonic2009]

I've been on the 144a from Bromsgrove - Worcester, and saw around 4 people get on the bus at Webbs, this was around 1500 hours.

 

[Class172]

In my experience, the biggest source of delays on route is at the Saltway lights in Droitwich, and along the Worcester Road heading into Bromsgrove, neither of which can easily be avoided, but both can be helped if the council were to invest in the road network a bit!

Just out of interest, has anyone ever been on a 144A and actually seen anyone get on or off at the Princess of Wales hospita (or even Webbs for that matter)l?! Even back in the days of 318s, 90s, 91s and 94s I'd only rarely see that stop actually being used.

The traffic lights at the B4090 Saltway junction are certainly a source of traffic, but this only occurs for traffic from the Waitrose side of the junction. This could be avoided by leaving the town centre via St. Andrews St., then turning on to Worcester Rd/Queen St, allowing the bus to traverse the junction without turning.

I have certainly seen the Webbs stop used - I've seen aroung 10 people get off in the times I've seen buses stopping.

 

[anthony263]

I have seen the 144a being very busy dropping people off t Webbs as for teh hospital so far I have never actually seen anyone get on or off.

The parked vehicles and traffic lights along parts of the route are the major cause of delays as well as some passengers who seem to take ages trying to find their passes or change.

Anyway I have had a telling off in work today so I will be mindful what I say on here as it does seem like one of my bosses is a member of this forum

 

[sonic2009]

I have seen the 144a being very busy dropping people off t Webbs as for teh hospital so far I have never actually seen anyone get on or off.

The parked vehicles and traffic lights along parts of the route are the major cause of delays as well as some passengers who seem to take ages trying to find their passes or change.

Anyway I have had a telling off in work today so I will be mindful what I say on here as it does seem like one of my bosses is a member of this forum

A telling off for what?

Not like you have disclosed any private information.