TM Travel news

[JD2168]

This is a thread to discuss things happening with TM Travel who operate in Derbyshire & South Yorkshire.

Ex Lothian Enviro 400’s SN61 BBO & SN61 BCK are now painted in the new mostly black livery.

Are TM now being fined in Sheffield City Centre due to a large number of vehicles being non compliant with Clean Air Zone or do they still have an exemption for this?

 

[Russel]

I used TM Travel last Monday, I caught the 218 to Bakewell from Sheffield, I was surprised how late were were into Bakewell, over 30 minutes, yet there was very little traffic or delays on route, it was heavily loaded, stopping at nearly every stop, but one would have assumed stopping time to pick up passengers would have been built into a bus timetable...

 

[JD2168]

In the latest service changes from end of July TM lose 29 to South Pennine, 8 & 9a evening & Sunday. TM gain 26,26a, 76a, X74 & reintroduced 32. There is also an improved evening service on 218 between Sheffield & Bakewell.

 

[JD2168]

Additional E400 in mostly black livery in SN61 BCE.

From this weekend certain services will see reduced operating on Saturday due to driver shortages. These are:
117 Rotherham to Bramley - no Saturday service.
M17 Dore to Jordanthorpe - no Saturday service.
8/8a - removal of first Saturday journey & last couple of journeys.
31 Sheffield to Loxley - last journey from Sheffield at 3pm, las 4 return trips removed.

 

[markymark2000]

Additional E400 in mostly black livery in SN61 BCE.

From this weekend certain services will see reduced operating on Saturday due to driver shortages. These are:
117 Rotherham to Bramley - no Saturday service.
M17 Dore to Jordanthorpe - no Saturday service.
8/8a - removal of first Saturday journey & last couple of journeys.
31 Sheffield to Loxley - last journey from Sheffield at 3pm, las 4 return trips removed.

Vectare is operating a temporary timetable Monday-Friday on the 81 as well.

 

[GusB]

Thread reopened

 

[syjunkie]

Tm travel have some enviro200 mmcs on loan but have not entered service as of yet

 

[Hyebone]

Tm travel have some enviro200 mmcs on loan but have not entered service as of yet

Do you have the identities of said vehicles perchance?

 

[AWK]

Do you have the identities of said vehicles perchance?

They are listed on the fleetlist on the Sheffield Omnibus Enthusiasts Society - http://www.sheffieldomnibus.uk/fleet-lists.html

 

[Teapot42]

I used TM Travel last Monday, I caught the 218 to Bakewell from Sheffield, I was surprised how late were were into Bakewell, over 30 minutes, yet there was very little traffic or delays on route, it was heavily loaded, stopping at nearly every stop, but one would have assumed stopping time to pick up passengers would have been built into a bus timetable...

I've thought for a while that the timetable is a bit optimistic. For example, looking at Google Maps at the moment it is saying 43 minutes for as close to the route as you can get by car, yet the timetable only allows 52 minutes (for the runs which avoid Chatsworth). Factoring in a fairly significant climb up to Owler Bar I'd imagine even at fairly quiet times it won't be easy to maintain the timetable. They also only allow 8 minutes for the Chatsworth diversion which seems very optimistic. It's no wonder at busier times they aren't close to keeping time.

I wonder how much of this is to try and maximise services run per vehicle but also to keep the 'headline' times down for the benefit of the timetables and online journey planners.

 

[JD2168]

The 218 times do seem a bit optimistic. The performance of the ex Lothian Enviro 400’s uphill is not the best & you have a long uphill section from Baslow to Owler Bar. It also partially serves Ecclesall Road which is bad at times with traffic, in fact the run from Sheffield Moorfoot to Totley via Ecclesall & Whirlow can be terrible for traffic at peak times. Also with it being a touristy route a number of passengers will be confused about fares which will cause more delays.

 

[Llandudno]

The 218 times do seem a bit optimistic. The performance of the ex Lothian Enviro 400’s uphill is not the best & you have a long uphill section from Baslow to Owler Bar. It also partially serves Ecclesall Road which is bad at times with traffic, in fact the run from Sheffield Moorfoot to Totley via Ecclesall & Whirlow can be terrible for traffic at peak times. Also with it being a touristy route a number of passengers will be confused about fares which will cause more delays.

The fares should be fairly simple at the moment though £2!

 

[Teapot42]

The 218 times do seem a bit optimistic. The performance of the ex Lothian Enviro 400’s uphill is not the best & you have a long uphill section from Baslow to Owler Bar. It also partially serves Ecclesall Road which is bad at times with traffic, in fact the run from Sheffield Moorfoot to Totley via Ecclesall & Whirlow can be terrible for traffic at peak times. Also with it being a touristy route a number of passengers will be confused about fares which will cause more delays.

And of course Sheffield Council in their wisdom convert bus lanes in to car parks at the weekend, so one of the most consistently busy days they can't take advantage of being able to bypass car traffic.

 

[Russel]

The 218 times do seem a bit optimistic. The performance of the ex Lothian Enviro 400’s uphill is not the best & you have a long uphill section from Baslow to Owler Bar. It also partially serves Ecclesall Road which is bad at times with traffic, in fact the run from Sheffield Moorfoot to Totley via Ecclesall & Whirlow can be terrible for traffic at peak times. Also with it being a touristy route a number of passengers will be confused about fares which will cause more delays.

The few times I've used the 218, it lost most of the time leaving Sheffield.

 

[Killingworth]

The 218 times do seem a bit optimistic. The performance of the ex Lothian Enviro 400’s uphill is not the best & you have a long uphill section from Baslow to Owler Bar. It also partially serves Ecclesall Road which is bad at times with traffic, in fact the run from Sheffield Moorfoot to Totley via Ecclesall & Whirlow can be terrible for traffic at peak times. Also with it being a touristy route a number of passengers will be confused about fares which will cause more delays.

I believe the change to run across Nether Edge was to provide a needed service that way in Sheffield and was hoped would avoid congestion on Abbeydale Road. A lot of other drivers now do the same so net result is just as bad!

Alternating Bakewell/Chatsworth and Chatsworth/Bakewell together with buses frequently 20 minutes or more late can confuse users. Chinese tourists from the Manchester area may get the train to Sheffield or Dore & Totley for Chatsworth. If I see them waiting I advise to take whichever comes first and enjoy the ride.

 

[Teapot42]

Alternating Bakewell/Chatsworth and Chatsworth/Bakewell together with buses frequently 20 minutes or more late can confuse users. Chinese tourists from the Manchester area may get the train to Sheffield or Dore & Totley for Chatsworth. If I see them waiting I advise to take whichever comes first and enjoy the ride.

Google Maps actually gives a route which is questionable for Manchester to Chatsworth. It takes you to Sheffield via TPE then Northern to Dore and Totley. I'm not sure if there is an easement which allows this doubling-back, as I'd imagine many would buy a Manchester to Dore return.

 

[zakky1.0]

Tm travel have some enviro200 mmcs on loan but have not entered service as of yet

Any idea why? Assuming so vehicles can go away to be euro 6 upgraded? From the rumours I’ve heard, 701-4/718-722 are due to transfer to TM once the new vehicle order have made it out onto the road.

Hopefully with a full repaint in between but I won’t hold my breath, shame wellglade have allowed the fleet to stray as much as it has, the fleet was pretty nice & organised at one point.

 

[Killingworth]

Google Maps actually gives a route which is questionable for Manchester to Chatsworth. It takes you to Sheffield via TPE then Northern to Dore and Totley. I'm not sure if there is an easement which allows this doubling-back, as I'd imagine many would buy a Manchester to Dore return.

Hourly Northern from MAN to Dore connects with 218 so no need to complicate with the double back. In theory the TPE or EMR fasts should give a connection to the 218 at Sheffield but the walk plus drag through the suburbs makes that unattractive.

 

[syjunkie]

Any idea why? Assuming so vehicles can go away to be euro 6 upgraded? From the rumours I’ve heard, 701-4/718-722 are due to transfer to TM once the new vehicle order have made it out onto the road.

Hopefully with a full repaint in between but I won’t hold my breath, shame wellglade have allowed the fleet to stray as much as it has, the fleet was pretty nice & organised at one point.

Unsure at the moment but in regards to rumours apparently tm were meant to get some of the older mmcs so at the moment the rumours are rumours until the movements happen I guess

 

[Teapot42]

Hourly Northern from MAN to Dore connects with 218 so no need to complicate with the double back.

That sort of misses the point. Most won't read the timetables and the routeing guide, they'll just use what Google Maps tells them, and on many journeys it says to double back.

 

[Killingworth]

That sort of misses the point. Most won't read the timetables and the routeing guide, they'll just use what Google Maps tells them, and on many journeys it says to double back.

Indeed, and they do! The overwhelming power of Google.

Sadly no Northern stoppers have run so far today so the only option will be TPE or EMR fast to Sheffield and 218 from there.

 

[Teapot42]

Indeed, and they do! The overwhelming power of Google.

Sadly no Northern stoppers have run so far today so the only option will be TPE or EMR fast to Sheffield and 218 from there.

To be fair it's what I do when in another country or even a part of this country I'm not familiar with.

I'm not sure if the 'blame' falls on our fares system for being too complex, or transport companies for not recognising passenger flows and meeting the need.

 

[cnjb8]

Tm travel have some enviro200 mmcs on loan but have not entered service as of yet

SN69ZLK is tracking as 273

 

[Trainman40083]

SN69ZLK is tracking as 273

Logical if numbered 272 to 276 in registration order.

 

[231gm]

Does anyone know which font TM uses on the programme for its destination equipment?

 

[Trainman40083]

Notts and Derby Enviro 400 , fleet number 1404 (SN11 EES) seems to be tracking with TM Travel today. Does anyone know if it is actually there? Last I heard it had gone for painting into Notts and Derby fleet livery, so could just be a ticket machine on another loan bus.

 

[liamf656]

Notts and Derby Enviro 400 , fleet number 1404 (SN11 EES) seems to be tracking with TM Travel today. Does anyone know if it is actually there? Last I heard it had gone for painting into Notts and Derby fleet livery, so could just be a ticket machine on another loan bus.

Painting seems to be a bit slow for the E400s, for both N&D and TM. Only 5 of the 15 acquired vehicles are repainted, the rest are still in Lothian livery.

 

[Trainman40083]

Painting seems to be a bit slow for the E400s, for both N&D and TM. Only 5 of the 15 acquired vehicles are repainted, the rest are still in Lothian livery.

I was told by a manager that 1404 went away for painting about two weeks ago. Hence the question.

 

[py_megapixel]

A few days ago, TM Travel were running a "Notts and Derby" branded Enviro 400 in Sheffield with the destination sign just showing "On Hire to TM Travel". Any idea what this vehicle was there for? Presumably covering for

As an aside, I couldn't see a route number visible anywhere on this bus - I may have missed it of course, but if it wasn't there then it is not compliant with accessibility regs. Also clearly they've had to update the display software to get it to display the TM Travel name, so why not just program in the correct route numbers and destinations? All seems rather unprofessional.

 

[Trainman40083]

A few days ago, TM Travel were running a "Notts and Derby" branded Enviro 400 in Sheffield with the destination sign just showing "On Hire to TM Travel". Any idea what this vehicle was there for? Presumably covering for

As an aside, I couldn't see a route number visible anywhere on this bus - I may have missed it of course, but if it wasn't there then it is not compliant with accessibility regs. Also clearly they've had to update the display software to get it to display the TM Travel name, so why not just program in the correct route numbers and destinations? All seems rather unprofessional.

TM Travel have had 3 of the 4 Enviros 400s on hire from Notts and Derby; 11 to 14 batch, often working route 218. They will return to Derby in September.