Transdev Blazefield

[SCH117X]

Noticed this week the Merc Electrics are being used on the 21 which was meant to be a working for one of the two remaining B7RLEs but had been typically a hybrid. Saw 1017 on it yesterday and the rear destination display was blank; wonder if thats deliberate as their no opportunity to top the battery up.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Noticed this week the Merc Electrics are being used on the 21 which was meant to be a working for one of the two remaining B7RLEs but had been typically a hybrid. Saw 1017 on it yesterday and the rear destination display was blank; wonder if thats deliberate as their no opportunity to top the battery up.

It looks like Hybrids have been filling in for E400EVs on the 36. The two B7RLEs seems to have been out a lot the last few days on trips around Harrogate.

 

[SCH117X]

It looks like Hybrids have been filling in for E400EVs on the 36. The two B7RLEs seems to have been out a lot the last few days on trips around Harrogate.

The 36 has been hammered by roadworks on the A61 both en route to and from Leeds and to and from Ripon so its possble some use of the hybrids has been to regain the timetable.
No reason why one of the B7RLEs couldn't be on the 21; maybe its more economical to use an electric on it. The hybrids visibly are the best for it as their livery disgiuses the extent the muck acquired on the route

 

[YorkRailFan]

No reason why one of the B7RLEs couldn't be on the 21; maybe its more economical to use an electric on it. The hybrids visibly are the best for it as their livery disgiuses the extent the muck acquired on the route.

I wonder if Electrics are being used to stretch their legs and not limit them to the Harrogate Local routes as to not exhaust their batteries with frequent charges. That was one of the reasons why the Electrics don't have route branding after all, as they were to operate on all routes (except the 36) to vary trip lengths.

 

[SCH117X]

I wonder if Electrics are being used to stretch their legs and not limit them to the Harrogate Local routes as to not exhaust their batteries with frequent charges. That was one of the reasons why the Electrics don't have route branding after all, as they were to operate on all routes (except the 36) to vary trip lengths.

Certainly thats why they get used on the 24. They were always intended to be used on the 7. Quite common to see one with a cable plugged in below the windscreen at Harrogate Bus Station.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Team Pennine changes from 22 February:

Changes to our buses around Huddersfield from 22 Feb

www.transdevbus.co.uk

When did the large village of Kirkburton get renamed to "North Road"?
Have Transdev used AI here, I wonder?

 

[YorkRailFan]

2421 has returned to York following 2410's return to service at Flyer.

 

[SCH117X]

When did the large village of Kirkburton get renamed to "North Road"?
Have Transdev used AI here, I wonder?

Online the stop is given as North Road Liberal Club Kirkburton but all of that will not fit the column width of the "printed" timetable.

 

[kewal_7770]

Today 1513 was working on the 36

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Online the stop is given as North Road Liberal Club Kirkburton but all of that will not fit the column width of the "printed" timetable.

This seems to be a widespread problem. It's like you would write an address (house number, street, town) but doesn't make sense for a bus or train timetable.

 

[Steve440]

This seems to be a widespread problem. It's like you would write an address (house number, street, town) but doesn't make sense for a bus or train timetable.

It would make more sense to show the timing point as Kirkburton (North Road Liberal Club) but presumably that would take up too much space.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Today 1513 was working on the 36

Its become quite common over the last few days for Hybrids to appear on the 36, seems to be Transdev trying to keep the headway stable with the ongoing roadworks along the route.

 

[SCH117X]

Its become quite common over the last few days for Hybrids to appear on the 36, seems to be Transdev trying to keep the headway stable with the ongoing roadworks along the route.

There are however a number of missing Envrio 400Es. Aside from accident damaged 2217 (hence the contiunued use of demonstrator), 2214 was taken off a Ripon working at Harrogate on the 18th and hasn't worked since going by the Bustimes tracking. This week ended with the demonstrator, 2207, 2208 and 2213 all going out of use meaning all three hybrids were on the 36 yesterday.
1516 however ended its workings with a 59 to Skipton and back in leiu of the normally reliable Scania 2105. That appears to have expired on the 1545 from Skipton, thankfully once it had reached the A61 and presumably passengers rescued by the 1555 36 from Ripon

 

[Ballyheigue]

There are however a number of missing Envrio 400Es. Aside from accident damaged 2217 (hence the contiunued use of demonstrator), 2214 was taken off a Ripon working at Harrogate on the 18th and hasn't worked since going by the Bustimes tracking. This week ended with the demonstrator, 2207, 2208 and 2213 all going out of use meaning all three hybrids were on the 36 yesterday.
1516 however ended its workings with a 59 to Skipton and back in leiu of the normally reliable Scania 2105. That appears to have expired on the 1545 fronm Skipton, thankfully once it had reached the A61 and presumably passengers rescued by the 1555 36 from Ripon

I think some of the issues surround heating on the E400Es as one was blowing cold air out yesterday so assuming that was taken out of service at Harrogate.

 

[Shaw S Hunter]

1516 however ended its workings with a 59 to Skipton and back in leiu of the normally reliable Scania 2105. That appears to have expired on the 1545 from Skipton, thankfully once it had reached the A61 and presumably passengers rescued by the 1555 36 from Ripon

I gather 2105 broke down either on or very close to the roundabout at the A59/A61 junction: anyone familiar with that part of Harrogate will realise the sort of traffic delays that caused! I wonder whether 1516 was able to show anything at all on its destination displays.

 

[LucyP]

It is to cover the frequent breakdowns of the E400Es on the 36 route. It is nothing to do with "stretching the legs" of the eCitaros. They operate the 7 route exclusively and the longest journey there is 1 hour 30 minutes. The longest 21 route journey is 49 minutes. The 7 route is a higher speed route and uses much more power.

 

[Steve440]

Team Pennine changes from 22 February:

Changes to our buses around Huddersfield from 22 Feb

www.transdevbus.co.uk

Looking at the new timetables it seems as though the D1 and 360 will interwork at Huddersfield Bus Station. I do wonder if the D1/2/3 will get renumbered with the forthcoming franchising.

 

[SCH117X]

It is to cover the frequent breakdowns of the E400Es on the 36 route. It is nothing to do with "stretching the legs" of the eCitaros. They operate the 7 route exclusively and the longest journey there is 1 hour 30 minutes. The longest 21 route journey is 49 minutes. The 7 route is a higher speed route and uses much more power.

Its the hybrid citaros not the eCitaros that have filled in on the 36 nor are the E400E breaking down "frequently", the hrybrids have often filled gaps in the timetable arising from delays due to roadworks. The longest 21 route might be 49 minutes but the booked eCitaro is having to work it all day without any charging facilities while those on the 7 can get a top up approx every 3 hours, and it is longer than the 2,3,4, and 6.

 

[stevieinselby]

Its the hybrid citaros not the eCitaros that have filled in on the 36 nor are the E400E breaking down "frequently", the hrybrids have often filled gaps in the timetable arising from delays due to roadworks. The longest 21 route might be 49 minutes but the booked eCitaro is having to work it all day without any charging facilities while those on the 7 can get a top up approx every 3 hours, and it is longer than the 2,3,4, and 6.

As far as I'm aware, the eCitaros are not fitted with pantographs and so can't recharge at Harrogate bus station – they are specced to cope with a full day's running on the 7 on a single charge. It's only the E400EVs that need the top-ups because a full day's service powering a double-decker up and down the 36 is more demanding.

 

[SCH117X]

As far as I'm aware, the eCitaros are not fitted with pantographs and so can't recharge at Harrogate bus station – they are specced to cope with a full day's running on the 7 on a single charge. It's only the E400EVs that need the top-ups because a full day's service powering a double-decker up and down the 36 is more demanding.

The eCitaros are charged by a cable connected below the windscreen at the bus station as neccessary.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Transdev is introducing a "Young Learners" ticket for Under 16s starting from 9 February in Lancashire only for this academic year:

We are launching a new ‘School Return’ ticket in February 2026, designed to make school transport simpler and more affordable for Under-16s.​

From Primary School pupils to Secondary School students, our buses are the main route to education for thousands of young learners across the North of England.

And this month, we are introducing a brand-new way for Under-16s to travel – the School Return ticket – which offers term-time journeys only £1.50 each way!

New ‘School Return’ ticket for Under-16s​

In response to valuable feedback from our customers and drivers, we’re introducing a new School Return ticket on February 9.

The School Return ticket has been designed for students who do not already qualify for free school transport in Lancashire and will run until the end of the 2025/26 academic year.

There will be two slightly different ways to purchase this new cost-effective ticket, although both still represent the same low price of £1.50 per single journey:

• 10 single journeys for £15 – buy on the Transdev Go app
• £3 Day Return – buy from your driver with cash or contactless

The app-only option launches for purchase Sunday, February 8, while the on-bus option will be available from the start of the school week on Monday, February 9.

‘School Return’ tickets are valid from 7 am to 7 pm​

The School Return ticket will be available to school children up to 16 years old (including those over 16 years until the end of Year 11) and valid between 7 am – 7 pm (07:00-19:00) from Monday to Friday, during term time.

This new ticket is also only accepted on services within Lancashire, and excludes journeys to/from Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire, and West Yorkshire.



The added benefit of the app-only option is that progress is saved after each use, meaning that if you don’t go one day, you can still use the ticket as normal in the future. Also, if you only use it one-way, it will only deduct one journey.

‘School Return’ is valid from the date of purchase until the end of the academic year.

School Return will be its own standalone product and will not replace our 7-Day ticket, which remains a good value option if you’re also using our buses in evenings, at weekends, or for multiple journeys.

New bus ticket for young learners - ‘School Return’ launches in Lancashire

www.transdevbus.co.uk

 

[Deerfold]

Today I've discovered that the Keighley day ticket is no longer sold in bundles of 10 with a discount, so that's a 25% fare increase, too.

I discovered this when the app, which told me I had two tickets left, wouldn't open them.

Ringing Transdev, apparently they've all been used.
I don't know whether I've been conned out of 2 tickets or if the app is just even worse than I thought it was.

It also removes any advantage for buying before boarding.

 

[YorkRailFan]

Keighley B7TLs 2701, 2707, 2735 & 2785 all withdrawn per latest Paul Turner update. Team Pennine B7TL 2718 also withdrawn.

 

[Ballyheigue]

I must say that Coastliner has gone right downhill in terms of vehicle quality. Having a 62 plate B9 with ordinary bus seating on long distance routes like the 840 to Whitby just isn't on. I only took it from Leeds to Pickering, but I found the seating just awfully uncomfortable for a 2 to 3 hour journey (I say 2 to 3 hours as given traffic conditions as well as roadworks it varies) and it's so obvious these were used on school routes as well given the burn marks on seats. I think someone else thought the seats were awful as they etched JESUS onto one of the seat backs lol. A number of tourists who boarded at Leeds seemed to be continuing on to Whitby as they were still sat at the front upstairs when I got off, you'll never catch me travelling all the way to Whitby by bus so I bet they'll feel the same after today lol.

 

[YorkRailFan]

I must say that Coastliner has gone right downhill in terms of vehicle quality. Having a 62 plate B9 with ordinary bus seating on long distance routes like the 840 to Whitby just isn't on. I only took it from Leeds to Pickering, but I found the seating just awfully uncomfortable for a 2 to 3 hour journey (I say 2 to 3 hours as given traffic conditions as well as roadworks it varies) and it's so obvious these were used on school routes as well given the burn marks on seats. I think someone else thought the seats were awful as they etched JESUS onto one of the seat backs lol. A number of tourists who boarded at Leeds seemed to be continuing on to Whitby as they were still sat at the front upstairs when I got off, you'll never catch me travelling all the way to Whitby by bus so I bet they'll feel the same after today lol.

Coastliner has been struggling for a while now. 62 plates with ordinary seating isn't even the worst offering on the longer stretches, it's not uncommon for B7RLEs (and also the odd B8RLE) to run from Leeds all the way to Scarborough/Thornton-le-Dale, resulting in full and standing buses from York Stonebow heading east.

 

[Nikkos1977]

In my opinion Coastliner has very little going for it now - near impossible to run reliably due to chronic congestion (which according to many is Transdev’s fault!), passengers who have little respect for the operator or fellow passengers (see the mess some make, and the way they act when pushing to get on first.) Then to top it off because the bus is full of people who’ve paid £3 for a 3 hour trip to the coast, local users are impacted - and boy do they complain when there’s no room or the bus is late. Not disagreeing with the points made but I think Transdev deserve a lot of credit for their efforts. As the fleet is getting older (the newest DD’s now 7 years old!), with reimbursement that is likely way below what is reasonable, congestion, the take back control
brigade (will congestion magically disappear?) perhaps some tough decisions will be made soon - imagine what will happen when the £3 day trippers have to pay a reasonable rate - Transdev will again be the villains. I know I’m new to this Forum and there may be some who think I’m wide of the mark but as someone who has worked in the industry for many years (never for Transdev btw) I have some sympathy for the operator. Wow - it feels good getting that off my chest - thanks for reading!

 

[YorkRailFan]

In my opinion Coastliner has very little going for it now - near impossible to run reliably due to chronic congestion (which according to many is Transdev’s fault!), passengers who have little respect for the operator or fellow passengers (see the mess some make, and the way they act when pushing to get on first.) Then to top it off because the bus is full of people who’ve paid £3 for a 3 hour trip to the coast, local users are impacted - and boy do they complain when there’s no room or the bus is late. Not disagreeing with the points made but I think Transdev deserve a lot of credit for their efforts. As the fleet is getting older (the newest DD’s now 7 years old!), with reimbursement that is likely way below what is reasonable, congestion, the take back control
brigade (will congestion magically disappear?) perhaps some tough decisions will be made soon - imagine what will happen when the £3 day trippers have to pay a reasonable rate - Transdev will again be the villains. I know I’m new to this Forum and there may be some who think I’m wide of the mark but as someone who has worked in the industry for many years (never for Transdev btw) I have some sympathy for the operator. Wow - it feels good getting that off my chest - thanks for reading!

Agree with some points here, traffic congestion is horrendous, especially in York & Leeds, and also when there's roadworks on the A64. Additionally, lots of people bring luggage (I'm talking big suitcases) either for trips to the Coast or for Leeds and then presumably head to the Airport. Transdev has attempted to build in resilience to the timetable but obviously can't account for everything.

I would like to see Transdev introduce a half-hourly service on Sundays between York & Leeds, I don't think hourly cuts it with the congestion of services. The recent weekend engineering works haven't helped, with people turning to Coastliner. Wouldn't surprise me if driver shortages are a problem though.

It would be nice to see a return of the X40 & X43 during the Summer, as that would move the tourist traffic away from some of the more 'local' services, speeding up journeys to the Coast and freeing up services for locals.

I do wonder if a £3 cap would be enough to entice people onto a nonstop York-Leeds service, similar to CityZap but not using 'Sky Class' buses but instead some B9s or B7s to move end-to-end traffic off the Coastliner. I doubt people are using Coastliner for the amenities, but rather for the price so perhaps a nonstop service at the same price as Coastliner could move traffic away from it. This assumes that intermediate traffic through Tadcaster is enough to justify it, of course.

 

[Ballyheigue]

In my opinion Coastliner has very little going for it now - near impossible to run reliably due to chronic congestion (which according to many is Transdev’s fault!), passengers who have little respect for the operator or fellow passengers (see the mess some make, and the way they act when pushing to get on first.) Then to top it off because the bus is full of people who’ve paid £3 for a 3 hour trip to the coast, local users are impacted - and boy do they complain when there’s no room or the bus is late. Not disagreeing with the points made but I think Transdev deserve a lot of credit for their efforts. As the fleet is getting older (the newest DD’s now 7 years old!), with reimbursement that is likely way below what is reasonable, congestion, the take back control
brigade (will congestion magically disappear?) perhaps some tough decisions will be made soon - imagine what will happen when the £3 day trippers have to pay a reasonable rate - Transdev will again be the villains. I know I’m new to this Forum and there may be some who think I’m wide of the mark but as someone who has worked in the industry for many years (never for Transdev btw) I have some sympathy for the operator. Wow - it feels good getting that off my chest - thanks for reading!

There is the argument that the £3 rate doesn't pay well, but they didn't have to be part of it and if it is causing quality to decline then they should simply pull out. There is the argument that the £3 fare cap saved rural parts of the 840, but to be honest if it's not paying well why bother keeping it as it is? North Yorkshire Council can easily step in to keep some links going, such as Goathland to Whitby, but is there really a need to have a regular daily bus service from Whitby, Sleights and Gothland to Pickering, Malton etc? Pickering yesterday was practically dead, I suspect that's the case Monday to Friday during the off season except maybe on a market day. Maybe Transdev should pull out from the £3 fare cap, see how things go, then cut routes what don't bring in the money (e.g. run the 840 from Leeds to Thornton Dale extending to Whitby during busier times as Thornton Dale to Goathland outside of the peak season doesn't bring in trade so it's reliant on locals) and have local councils put together some links that are viable such as Gaothland to Whitby, but not all. Yes you will see the headlines saying links severed, Whitby cut off etc, but in reality it won't be because there is the bus/train via Middlesborough which is my preferred method, or via Scarborough.

 

[RustySpoons]

There is the argument that the £3 rate doesn't pay well, but they didn't have to be part of it and if it is causing quality to decline then they should simply pull out. There is the argument that the £3 fare cap saved rural parts of the 840, but to be honest if it's not paying well why bother keeping it as it is? North Yorkshire Council can easily step in to keep some links going, such as Goathland to Whitby, but is there really a need to have a regular daily bus service from Whitby, Sleights and Gothland to Pickering, Malton etc? Pickering yesterday was practically dead, I suspect that's the case Monday to Friday during the off season except maybe on a market day. Maybe Transdev should pull out from the £3 fare cap, see how things go, then cut routes what don't bring in the money (e.g. run the 840 from Leeds to Thornton Dale extending to Whitby during busier times as Thornton Dale to Goathland outside of the peak season doesn't bring in trade so it's reliant on locals) and have local councils put together some links that are viable such as Gaothland to Whitby, but not all. Yes you will see the headlines saying links severed, Whitby cut off etc, but in reality it won't be because there is the bus/train via Middlesborough which is my preferred method, or via Scarborough.

Stepping away from the £3 fare cap will likely have a negative effect, and again it'll be members of the public that will blame Transdev. They'll just see it as Transdev increasing fares when everyone else charges £3.

It's not just Coastliner, but across the whole network it must be increasingly difficult to run a reliable service these days. With subsidies - ENTCS repayments and fare caps - not covering costs along with horrific traffic congestion it seems like Transdev are fighting a losing battle.

Burnley is another area where it is getting almost impossible to run to timetable. As a result of the ridiculous Town2Turf redevelopment every bus is forced to sit in the same traffic to get to and from the bus station. It often takes upward of 10 minutes just to get 300 yards from the bus station. And it'll get worse as they're digging up Colne Road, used by all Mainline services east of town, and Manchester Rd which will affect every service coming from and going to the west of town.

 

[YorkRailFan]

There is the argument that the £3 rate doesn't pay well, but they didn't have to be part of it and if it is causing quality to decline then they should simply pull out. There is the argument that the £3 fare cap saved rural parts of the 840, but to be honest if it's not paying well why bother keeping it as it is? North Yorkshire Council can easily step in to keep some links going, such as Goathland to Whitby, but is there really a need to have a regular daily bus service from Whitby, Sleights and Gothland to Pickering, Malton etc? Pickering yesterday was practically dead, I suspect that's the case Monday to Friday during the off season except maybe on a market day. Maybe Transdev should pull out from the £3 fare cap, see how things go, then cut routes what don't bring in the money (e.g. run the 840 from Leeds to Thornton Dale extending to Whitby during busier times as Thornton Dale to Goathland outside of the peak season doesn't bring in trade so it's reliant on locals) and have local councils put together some links that are viable such as Gaothland to Whitby, but not all. Yes you will see the headlines saying links severed, Whitby cut off etc, but in reality it won't be because there is the bus/train via Middlesborough which is my preferred method, or via Scarborough.

I wouldn't be against the 840 running daily to Whitby from April through to October and then Weekends only through the Winter months. It was always surprises me how Transdev can sustain it running daily through the winter. I doubt many locals in Goathland use Coastliner at all, as the timetable is suited to tourists, not locals.