Go Cornwall Bus

[I'm here now]

It would really help if St Ives Buses had joined the TfC partnership, so their timetables would be on the app and journey planner as well as in the big timetable booklet. That would help shift some of the demand between St Ives & Hayle off the 14.

I've been using the 87 recently, another route formerly operated by First that Go Ahead started operating in February. My main observation is that timekeeping is pretty much impossible with all of the tourist traffic. 15 minutes late seems to be the standard at the moment, as traffic in Newquay and Perranporth is terrible and the narrow roads near Cubert and Crantock only make matters worse. That's without all of the Boardmasters traffic as well! The timetable not being adjusted for the summer holidays to counter the busier roads is madness.

Or at least have consistent bus tracking - who knows if it’s going to arrive (for both ops but definitely more st Ives buses)

 

[YorkRailFan]

Or at least have consistent bus tracking - who knows if it’s going to arrive (for both ops but definitely more st Ives buses)

I think most people in Cornwall use the TfC app rather than Bustimes, and because St Ives Buses aren't part of the TfC partnership their buses won't track on the TfC app.

 

[MotCO]

Does TfC ever ask Go SouthWest for loadings data? If so, why are the timetable frequencies not tweaked to reflect the demand that commentators on this forum observe? Likewise, why are not double deckers specified, where suitable, for routes with heavy loadings? I assume that GSW commercial routes are tweaked by GSW management to reflect demand.

 

[GBM]

Interesting that.
In my days with First, apart from Mousehole services, everything into the evenings were supposed to be deckers.
Even runs with one or two people on!
The evening drivers used to try and swap deckers for single deckers.
We were frequently told off for using singles because "The Council are paying for deckers, so they expect to see deckers".
We never knew the truth (as drivers).

 

[YorkRailFan]

I assume that GSW commercial routes are tweaked by GSW management to reflect demand.

Well yes, we saw the last minute adjustment to the Sunday Timetable on the 6 (a commercial route that Go Ahead took on in February following First's exit) for the summer holidays.

 

[Goldfish62]

Well yes, we saw the last minute adjustment to the Sunday Timetable on the 6 (a commercial route that Go Ahead took on in February following First's exit) for the summer holidays.

It was registered in June so still had plenty of time to be added to the advance publicity for the summer enhancements, but no, not a word!

 

[YorkRailFan]

It was registered in June so still had plenty of time to be added to the advance publicity for the summer enhancements, but no, not a word!

I'm not surprised, there would have been outrage had this been First with the M6. I just can't understand the reason to not publicise the enhanced Sunday service, genuinely mind-boggling!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I know it's very fashionable to have a pop at Go Cornwall Bus so let's take the 6...

It's said "not a word" has been mentioned about the upgraded Sunday service. It's mentioned here and it's mentioned here. Now I'll obviously have to take it from those based locally... what do the timetable cases in Penzance and on route say? Have those been updated?

I'll try and be balanced about Go Cornwall Bus/Plymouth Citybus.

They are a conservative bus company in that they aren't flashy, aren't big on marketing and promotion, and that's been evident for many years. Therefore, I'm not surprised and not disappointed that they are being rather conservative and boring in their approach. Hence why any expectation of marketing or extended seasonal ops was misguided; the 6 week high season uplift using resources freed from college and schools was the most likely outcome.

They took on First's empire - an empire that had been recording losses for several years. There can be all types of discussion on the level of central recharge and that the operations were actually profitable but that's a moot point and isn't what the accounts showed. It would seem strange if they replicated the services that had been losing money. Also, from a peak in 2022, tourist numbers are way down; down by c.20% in that time. Maybe they'll take stock on this year and look to expand things in 2027. Possibly but I wouldn't expect anything markedly different. Taking a cold hearted view, if you have high load factors and a minimal additional cost, that's good business.

Now the balance... They've taken on Cornwall and engineered the demise of First. They have a level of local knowledge so why that isn't reflected in things like putting in sufficient recovery time on routes, I don't know. Is it that they're ignoring that knowledge or that they are overly ambitious in sweating assets? Don't know but service unreliability is no good for passengers. They'll have a bit of a pass on the fleet age as they've had to source additional vehicles BUT they'll soon have to upgrade the fleet; 2006-2008 e400s might be ok on a twice a day college run but not in all day service so they'll have to sort that. In addition, the condition of the fleet is variable and that's being kind. Six year old e200s looking battered and bashed is not a good look - again, they might have a "slight pass" as they were reliant on vehicles being cycled through Milehouse (though that slight pass was their choice) but now they have their own local facilities, the bodging of repairs and presentation of the fleet has to be resolved.

I'm not surprised, there would have been outrage had this been First with the M6. I just can't understand the reason to not publicise the enhanced Sunday service, genuinely mind-boggling!

I actually think First Kernow got away with a lot. For instance, when they introduced the Lizard network with the open tops. There was a theoretical hub of connecting services... service reliability was so bad, that never worked. As for the open tops... very few times that two were out and often not even one. Then we had DayTripper - again, the hub concept was wildly optimistic. Then there was Sunseeker that many days, didn't operate fully because of the 2021 driver shortages.

I think we forget that post Covid, it wasn't all good with First.

It does seem strange that when First is often castigated by many on this forum, it's Go Ahead who get the most brickbats west of Yeovil!

 

[YorkRailFan]

I actually think First Kernow got away with a lot. For instance, when they introduced the Lizard network with the open tops. There was a theoretical hub of connecting services... service reliability was so bad, that never worked. As for the open tops... very few times that two were out and often not even one. Then we had DayTripper - again, the hub concept was wildly optimistic. Then there was Sunseeker that many days, didn't operate fully because of the 2021 driver shortages.

I think we forget that post Covid, it wasn't all good with First.

Oh I agree that things were far from perfect with First. Credit where credits due, they knew how to promote a service although they went quite a bit overboard with the various brands. Go Ahead are the other extreme, little to no promotion of services and no sort of branding for special services.

They took on First's empire - an empire that had been recording losses for several years. There can be all types of discussion on the level of central recharge and that the operations were actually profitable but that's a moot point and isn't what the accounts showed. It would seem strange if they replicated the services that had been losing money. Also, from a peak in 2022, tourist numbers are way down; down by c.20% in that time. Maybe they'll take stock on this year and look to expand things in 2027. Possibly but I wouldn't expect anything markedly different. Taking a cold hearted view, if you have high load factors and a minimal additional cost, that's good business.

I hope that after this summer, they'll readjust timetables for next summer (especially on commercial services they took on in February) including more recovery time as the roads get much busier during the summer holidays.

Now the balance... They've taken on Cornwall and engineered the demise of First. They have a level of local knowledge so why that isn't reflected in things like putting in sufficient recovery time on routes, I don't know. Is it that they're ignoring that knowledge or that they are overly ambitious in sweating assets? Don't know but service unreliability is no good for passengers. They'll have a bit of a pass on the fleet age as they've had to source additional vehicles BUT they'll soon have to upgrade the fleet; 2006-2008 e400s might be ok on a twice a day college run but not in all day service so they'll have to sort that. In addition, the condition of the fleet is variable and that's being kind. Six year old e200s looking battered and bashed is not a good look - again, they might have a "slight pass" as they were reliant on vehicles being cycled through Milehouse (though that slight pass was their choice) but now they have their own local facilities, the bodging of repairs and presentation of the fleet has to be resolved.

In fairness about the state of the E200s, they operate on narrow roads that can be quite busy in certain cases. Scrapes and scratches are inevitable on some services and pretty much impossible to prevent. The nature of the network means that Go Ahead needs as many vehicles in service as possible, buses being out of service because of scratched panelling is far from ideal for them. Cycling buses through Milehouse didn't help in getting a quick fix for these buses but hopefully now with depots in Cornwall this might change.

The 2006-2008 E400s seeing use on regular services isn't great, hopefully some newer buses are brought in but we may have to wait until the 2028 tenders.

 

[Andyh82]

You can always tell a Cornwall bus at first glance, even when operating in Plymouth, by how bashed up they are

Lower panels all bashed scraped and dented, with extra rivets or bits of metal holding them together, different shade of red corner panels that have been replaced, also being held on for dear life.

Obviously its because of how they are constantly forced into the verge due to the narrow lanes, but if these vehicles ever left Cornwall they'd need an awful lot of repaneling to make them look presentable

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

You can always tell a Cornwall bus at first glance, even when operating in Plymouth, by how bashed up they are

Lower panels all bashed scraped and dented, with extra rivets or bits of metal holding them together, different shade of red corner panels that have been replaced, also being held on for dear life.

Obviously its because of how they are constantly forced into the verge due to the narrow lanes, but if these vehicles ever left Cornwall they'd need an awful lot of repaneling to make them look presentable

I recounted seeing one in Plymouth just a few months ago and it looked like it had been in the South Atlantic. Now it was the worst example I'd seen and there were 63 and 65 plate e400s in much better shape, internally and externally. However, presentation has been an ongoing issue for years and whilst the need to cycle via Milehouse was a (partial) excuse, with local bases and resources, they should be better in future.

 

[I'm here now]

Y

I think most people in Cornwall use the TfC app rather than Bustimes, and because St Ives Buses aren't part of the TfC partnership their buses won't track on the TfC app.

Yeah… but on bustimes.org every route they run besides the 11 has consistent tracking

 

[YorkRailFan]

Y

Yeah… but on bustimes.org every route they run besides the 11 has consistent tracking

Of course it would be great if they tracked properly on Bustimes, but most people will use the TfC app so its not much use to them even then.

 

[Goldfish62]

I recounted seeing one in Plymouth just a few months ago and it looked like it had been in the South Atlantic. Now it was the worst example I'd seen and there were 63 and 65 plate e400s in much better shape, internally and externally. However, presentation has been an ongoing issue for years and whilst the need to cycle via Milehouse was a (partial) excuse, with local bases and resources, they should be better in future.

I suspect that damage is either left or patched up rather than being properly repaired because it's assumed that the same damage will quickly reoccur. That's not a great situation.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I suspect that damage is either left or patched up rather than being properly repaired because it's assumed that the same damage will quickly reoccur. That's not a great situation.

Whatever the reasoning, I agree that it's not a good look, literally and figuratively.

 

[Cheers Drive]

Does TfC ever ask Go SouthWest for loadings data? If so, why are the timetable frequencies not tweaked to reflect the demand that commentators on this forum observe? Likewise, why are not double deckers specified, where suitable, for routes with heavy loadings? I assume that GSW commercial routes are tweaked by GSW management to reflect demand.

TFC is go Cornwall I’ve spoken to the council about this a few times and they state they don’t have anything to do with TFC its all ran by go ahead the council Don’t care they passed the buck

 

[MotCO]

TFC is go Cornwall I’ve spoken to the council about this a few times and they state they don’t have anything to do with TFC its all ran by go ahead the council Don’t care they passed the buck

Surely TfC is the commissioner, and Go Cornwall the operator? The commissioner is responsible for setting the routes and frequencies. Unless Cornwall CC have delegated the commissioning role to Go Cornwall, in which case it will be up to Go Cornwall to flex the timetables within the overall cash envelope, but then can the Council fully delegate the commissioning role without some sort of oversight? Otherwise, Go Cornwall can deploy its resources on routes with maximum profit, and run minimal levels on other routes to meet the tender requirements, or is that what is actually happening?

 

[Cheers Drive]

Surely TfC is the commissioner, and Go Cornwall the operator? The commissioner is responsible for setting the routes and frequencies. Unless Cornwall CC have delegated the commissioning role to Go Cornwall, in which case it will be up to Go Cornwall to flex the timetables within the overall cash envelope, but then can the Council fully delegate the commissioning role without some sort of oversight? Otherwise, Go Cornwall can deploy its resources on routes with maximum profit, and run minimal levels on other routes to meet the tender requirements, or is that what is actually happening?

Well whenever I tried to talk to the council regarding concerns I had over the company I was told it had to be addressed to Go Cornwall as they run all of TFC each time I was referred to Back that same answer

 

[Accelerator59]

I’ve just spotted on BLOTW that the new park and ride GB Kites have been re-registered to WL75 GJV/X/Y/Z/KA/C and D. And GOV.UK confirms this.

 

[83G/84D]

I’ve just spotted on BLOTW that the new park and ride GB Kites have been re-registered to WL75 GJV/X/Y/Z/KA/C and D. And GOV.UK confirms this.

And still no sign of them entering service. Presumably when they do it will be under the Dartline licence as the Citaro’s do currently.

 

[Accelerator59]

And still no sign of them entering service. Presumably when they do it will be under the Dartline licence as the Citaro’s do currently.

Can’t be much longer as they’re now taxed (don’t know if that makes a difference), and yeah it looks like it as the fleet numbers are 73001-73007

 

[satters]

assuming they are battery buses, is there the capacity on the electricity network to have charging supplies at the garage yet?

 

[Goldfish62]

assuming they are battery buses, is there the capacity on the electricity network to have charging supplies at the garage yet?

The charging equipment is at Langarth P&R site. No idea of the status re connection to the network.

 

[LAIRA]

138 139 140 141 144 172 181 202 5037 6007 all left Milehouse for the last time last week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Aug 2026 ==

Further departures from Milehouse today are 6002 6010 6015 6017.
Expected to go in the next few days are 168 1008 1282 1284 1285 1311 2464 4100 4101 6005 6012 6026

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Aug 2026 ==

138 139 140 141 144 172 181 202 5037 6007 all left Milehouse for the last time last week.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 17 Aug 2026 ==

Further departures from Milehouse today are 6002 6010 6015 6017.
Expected to go in the next few days are 168 1008 1282 1284 1285 1311 2464 4100 4101 6005 6012 6026

go

 

[Cheers Drive]

As a driver in Cornwall we had the 141 series up and wow as a driver of thirty years those things were like race cars so much fun so much power it was amazing to drive them I had some amazing thrashes on the a30 to Truro and these were so much fun around the lanes too great gearbox perfect braking and not even many rattles well looked after such a shame they’ll be scrapped.

 

[Sleepy]

As we are now rapidly nearing the end of August what is the general feeling about how services have coped with peak summer loadings this year with the reduced frequencies ?

 

[ArranArchie]

The ones I've been on have been alright. The 24/24B (St Austell/Fowey) have had plenty of space. The 1/1A (Penzance/St Ives) got a bit full at times but everyone had a seat.

 

[I'm here now]

As we are now rapidly nearing the end of August what is the general feeling about how services have coped with peak summer loadings this year with the reduced frequencies ?

The 17’s always struggling when there’s a single decker (as is the 14 but that’s a bit rarer)

 

[Goldfish62]

The 17’s always struggling when there’s a single decker (as is the 14 but that’s a bit rarer)

Yet single decks are very common on the 17.

I wonder how the 19 has done. Most times I've looked on Bustimes.org everything has been running 30-45 min late. A symptom of too tight running time, too long a route through too many summer traffic blackspots and insufficient recovery time. Can't see it coming back in its current form next year.

 

[GBM]

Yet single decks are very common on the 17.

I wonder how the 19 has done. Most times I've looked on Bustimes.org everything has been running 30-45 min late. A symptom of too tight running time, too long a route through too many summer traffic blackspots and insufficient recovery time. Can't see it coming back in its current form next year.

Always occurred when First did timetabling. Drivers always asked for extended running times in Summer, but never got them.
Reduced running times on Sundays and Bank Holidays even in Summer.
The computer knew best.
Unfortunately it didn't.