Transdev Blazefield

[Fisherman80]

Coastliner have published the summer timetable........and I'm a bit underwhelmed.
Great news to have a bus every half hour to Scarborough,but the Whitby services are an utter joke.
No through buses from Leeds to Whitby, no express buses to either Scarborough or Whitby.
Just looking at a 2011 summer timetable for coastliner,there were 7 through buses from Leeds to Whitby,of which one of them was an express service.
Very disappointing.

 

[Andyh82]

Passengers can change at either York or Malton for Whitby

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 22 Apr 2021 ==

The connections at Malton are all 6-7 minutes, and I guess with Coastliner being based there they will arrange for them to work well

I've done some quick calculations, PVR looks to be 16 buses so on top of the 15 buses they've got allocated at the moment, they'd probably be needing another 3

One bus only shuttles between Malton and Thornton Le Dale so could probably get away with being a Pride of the North single deck

13 buses on the 843, 2 buses on the 840 to Whitby, both of which start and end the day at York, so could be allocated there?

 

[Fisherman80]

If I'm getting on a bus to Whitby from Leeds during the summer I would want a through service like the X40.
The North Yorkshire moors are very nice to look at on the way to Whitby but I'm afraid a 3 and a half hour journey going through Tadcaster and the small villages in between is too much to handle for some.

 

[Delenn]

Coastliner have published the summer timetable........and I'm a bit underwhelmed.
Great news to have a bus every half hour to Scarborough,but the Whitby services are an utter joke.
No through buses from Leeds to Whitby, no express buses to either Scarborough or Whitby.
Just looking at a 2011 summer timetable for coastliner,there were 7 through buses from Leeds to Whitby,of which one of them was an express service.
Very disappointing.

Sadly,with what was in the teaser tweets, this was totally predictable. I would agree - very disappointing.

 

[Fisherman80]

Sadly,with what was in the teaser tweets, this was totally predictable. I would agree - very disappointing.

Well it's made my plans to get to Whitby a bit clearer......train from Bradford to York,then a change of train to Scarborough,then the regular Arriva bus from Scarborough to Whitby.....quicker too.
Amazing.

 

[SCH117X]

There are two York-Whitby services Mon-Sat and one on Sundays; presumably are going being to worked from York given the lack of any 843 short balancing working.

 

[Fisherman80]

It seems the Whitby services have been sidelined to an extent.
On my own turf in Bradford,isn't it about time they gave the 662 Shuttle the same treatment as The Witch Way or CityZap?
Those single deckers are 16 years old now,plus this route should in my opinion be run with double deck vehicles.

 

[Redmike]

I'd imagine The Shuttle is near the top of the list for an upgrade.

 

[SCH117X]

It seems the Whitby services have been sidelined to an extent.

The associated blurb says "We’re going to run twice as many buses to Whitby as we do now, Monday to Saturday, with buses on Sundays running too." Is it really quicker by Scarborough as you said earlier
Trans Pennine York d -00 Scarboro a -51 Arriva d -20 Whitby a -20 (2hr 20) (or are you expected to make a -1 connection between train and bus at Scarborough?)
Coastliner 2hr 10

 

[Ashly_Jethro]

It seems the Whitby services have been sidelined to an extent.
On my own turf in Bradford,isn't it about time they gave the 662 Shuttle the same treatment as The Witch Way or CityZap?
Those single deckers are 16 years old now,plus this route should in my opinion be run with double deck vehicles.

It has been mentioned by Transdev that the next brand new fleet addition (after the mellors) would be a combination of the1 in Harrogate and the shuttle. Though it looks to suggest single deckers. They have also mentioned that they have been trialing the latest technologies of single and double deck buses from ADL. Someone made a good comment on the possibility of a mixed fleet.

 

[Andyh82]

Yes double deck E400MMCs on the 662 might be a tad extravagant

If you are looking at single decks, unless they go with something left field, it’d probably be E200MMCs like on the Blackburn 1.

The 662 will certainly be near the front of the queue, the current brand predates the Alex Hornby era.

 

[RustySpoons]

It seems the Whitby services have been sidelined to an extent.

Agree with the previous posts, it does seem a bit dissapointing Whitby hasn't been given similar treatment to the increased Scarborough services, especially considering the fuss they made about it when it won the Britiains best bus route award or whatever it was a few years back.

It has been mentioned by Transdev that the next brand new fleet addition (after the mellors) would be a combination of the1 in Harrogate and the shuttle. Though it looks to suggest single deckers. They have also mentioned that they have been trialing the latest technologies of single and double deck buses from ADL. Someone made a good comment on the possibility of a mixed fleet.

There's also been a few hints that it could be an electric fleet for the 662 too...

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

It seems the Whitby services have been sidelined to an extent.

The reality is that the Scarborough service IS the main route and they have felt the need to bolster it. I mean, what were you expecting?

 

[JRT]

On my own turf in Bradford,isn't it about time they gave the 662 Shuttle the same treatment as The Witch Way or CityZap?
Those single deckers are 16 years old now,plus this route should in my opinion be run with double deck vehicles.

The present 662 shuttle seems to be adequate with the single decker buses on a frequency of every 10 minutes. (They have double deckers sometimes at periods of expected high demand).

The alternative would be double deckers at a lower frequency, that wouldn't be acceptable.

 

[Ken H]

If I'm getting on a bus to Whitby from Leeds during the summer I would want a through service like the X40.
The North Yorkshire moors are very nice to look at on the way to Whitby but I'm afraid a 3 and a half hour journey going through Tadcaster and the small villages in between is too much to handle for some.

its all wrong. The Zap express buses should go through to Scarborough. A Leeds - York stopper to cover Seacroft & Tadcaster.

 

[Ashly_Jethro]

There's also been a few hints that it could be an electric fleet for the 662 too...

There was a post somewhere that I can’t seem to find...

This has been shared in another group though which does confirm the shuttle will be reviving electric vehicles

 

[Fisherman80]

The reality is that the Scarborough service IS the main route and they have felt the need to bolster it. I mean, what were you expecting?

It maybe the main route but the service to Whitby is a complete joke.
Transdev should be applauded for running a half hourly service from Leeds to Scarborough,but they should be criticised for the Whitby service.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Apr 2021 ==

The present 662 shuttle seems to be adequate with the single decker buses on a frequency of every 10 minutes. (They have double deckers sometimes at periods of expected high demand).

The alternative would be double deckers at a lower frequency, that wouldn't be acceptable.

Good point JRT. And while they are at it maybe they could have a look at the other Bradford to Keighley 67 and put it back to a respectable kind of service because at present it's not fit for purpose.

 

[JetBlast]

A Rosso E400 (LK07 AZR) has been converted to an open topper for the York sightseeing service.

 

[SCH117X]

WYIS report that 2817 is also being converted to an open top for York; they are both being renumbered - 2818 LK07AZR to 4005 and 2817 LK07AZP to 4006. They also confirm that former Hotline vehicles are being split between Keighley (2756-9) and Malton (2760-2)

 

[RustySpoons]

WYIS report that 2817 is also being converted to an open top for York; they are both being renumbered - 2818 LK07AZR to 4005 and 2817 LK07AZP to 4006. They also confirm that former Hotline vehicles are being split between Keighley (2756-9) and Malton (2760-2)

That's throwing them back out for some very intense service work!

 

[Andyh82]

2760-2 are a tad old for Coastliner work

Although having said that, they’ll presumably be used as bottom of the pile when nothing else is aviailable, over the summer only, and the lighter duties such as the Thornton Le Dale shorts

Will one be able to get up the bank from Whitby without going about 1mph?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

t maybe the main route but the service to Whitby is a complete joke.
Transdev should be applauded for running a half hourly service from Leeds to Scarborough,but they should be criticised for the Whitby service.

Ok, but what were you expecting?

Are you expecting an hourly Leeds to Whitby service? Two hourly?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Apr 2021 ==

2760-2 are a tad old for Coastliner work

Although having said that, they’ll presumably be used as bottom of the pile when nothing else is aviailable, over the summer only, and the lighter duties such as the Thornton Le Dale shorts

Will one be able to get up the bank from Whitby without going about 1mph?

I suspect you're probably right. 2005 B7TLs might be a bit wheezy and tired for front line but guess they can be used for those and for spares.

ps Are you talking about Blue Bank out of Ruswarp? That's tough enough but I'd be more concerned about the climb out of Goathland

 

[RustySpoons]

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Apr 2021 ==


I suspect you're probably right. 2005 B7TLs might be a bit wheezy and tired for front line but guess they can be used for those and for spares.

ps Are you talking about Blue Bank out of Ruswarp? That's tough enough but I'd be more concerned about the climb out of Goathland

Doing some quick sums it does look like the 840 Whitby services can be done with just two vehicles, very likely to be the ex Witches, and the B7TLs will do the short Thornton Le Dale runs which shouldn't be too taxing for them.

I can see some capacity issues with the Whitby services though, especially if we end up with decent weather this summer. I wonder what they've got planned in case dupes need to run?

 

[Megafuss]

The Summer timetable looks like a sensible use of resources to me.

Increasing the trunk service and having Whitby as a "Branch" of it looks like a winner if Scarborough is generating more passengers and revenue per bus from Leeds and York than Whitby does

 

[Fisherman80]

Ok, but what were you expecting?

Are you expecting an hourly Leeds to Whitby service? Two hourly?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Apr 2021 ==


I suspect you're probably right. 2005 B7TLs might be a bit wheezy and tired for front line but guess they can be used for those and for spares.

ps Are you talking about Blue Bank out of Ruswarp? That's tough enough but I'd be more concerned about the climb out of Goathland

I was expecting through buses from Leeds to Whitby,I was also expecting the X40 express to run,and also around 6 or 7 buses between Malton and Whitby,with around 4 through services between Whitby and Leeds.

Not too much to ask for don't you think instead of 4 buses between Whitby and Malton/York.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I was expecting through buses from Leeds to Whitby,I was also expecting the X40 express to run,and also around 6 or 7 buses between Malton and Whitby,with around 4 through services between Whitby and Leeds.

Not too much to ask for don't you think instead of 4 buses between Whitby and Malton/York.

I doubt that they have the resources to run that sort of frequency, on top of the Scarborough enhancements.

 

[Fisherman80]

Point taken and a good one. I just think there are ways around it. Maybe have a Keighley bus running an X40,and start it from Bradford?

 

[M60lad]

Harrogate's new 59 Skipton-Harrogate service starts 22 May and will be running every Saturday and according to the following information on Harrogate Bus Company Website will be run with double deckers:

New scenic bus link from Harrogate to Skipton every Saturday from 22 May

www.transdevbus.co.uk

From 22 May we'll be running a new route in partnership with DalesBus between Harrogate and Skipton.​

Running every Saturday, the 59 will be a fantastic way to take a day out, whether you’re heading all the way to Skipton or somewhere in between.

There are plenty of things to do along the route, and convenient stops for circular walks in some beautiful surroundings – with nearby pubs for liquid refreshment too! Even the journey itself is special – we’ll be using a double deck bus and the scenic views along the A59 are Yorkshire at its best.

We’ll be stopping at The Millstones, Blubberhouses for Fewston Reservoir, The Devonshire Arms for Bolton Abbey, Bolton Abbey Station for the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway, and Skipton Bus Station for all the wonderful things this nice and busy market town has to offer.

There are four journeys each way leaving Harrogate at 9.45am, 11.45am, 2.45pm and 4.45pm and leaving Skipton at 10.40am, 12.40pm, 3.40pm and 5.40pm.

Not to sure whether deckers have actually ever been used on variations of this service in the past as I'm sure whenever a Skipton-Harrogate service has run its always been with single decks.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2021 ==

Interesting addition to Rosso's fleet 1901 BV21OOW Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, not to sure whether its another loan or a permanent addition to the fleet but its already been out on various School Services this week.

 

[Ken H]

Harrogate's new 59 Skipton-Harrogate service starts 22 May and will be running every Saturday and according to the following information on Harrogate Bus Company Website will be run with double deckers:

New scenic bus link from Harrogate to Skipton every Saturday from 22 May

www.transdevbus.co.uk

From 22 May we'll be running a new route in partnership with DalesBus between Harrogate and Skipton.​

Running every Saturday, the 59 will be a fantastic way to take a day out, whether you’re heading all the way to Skipton or somewhere in between.

There are plenty of things to do along the route, and convenient stops for circular walks in some beautiful surroundings – with nearby pubs for liquid refreshment too! Even the journey itself is special – we’ll be using a double deck bus and the scenic views along the A59 are Yorkshire at its best.

We’ll be stopping at The Millstones, Blubberhouses for Fewston Reservoir, The Devonshire Arms for Bolton Abbey, Bolton Abbey Station for the Embsay & Bolton Abbey Railway, and Skipton Bus Station for all the wonderful things this nice and busy market town has to offer.






Not to sure whether deckers have actually ever been used on variations of this service in the past as I'm sure whenever a Skipton-Harrogate service has run its always been with single decks.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 Apr 2021 ==

Interesting addition to Rosso's fleet 1901 BV21OOW Volvo B8RLE MCV Evora, not to sure whether its another loan or a permanent addition to the fleet but its already been out on various School Services this week.

2 return workings on a Sunday to connect with Dalesbus would be a good next step. Possibilities at Blubberhouses for the Keighley - Otley - Pateley Bridge (if it ever restarts), at Bolton Abbey and at Skipton.

Edit. Here is the 2011 service from the Dalesbus booklet on TimetableWorld.com, just in case anyone finds it interesting
(Link shows 2 services each way Mon-Sat).

https://timetableworld.com/ttw-viewer?token=d12c2b54-0bbd-4434-a128-d9c6d6a82ce8 Operated by Transdev Harrogate

 

[aswilliamsuk]

I doubt that they have the resources to run that sort of frequency, on top of the Scarborough enhancements.

Quite.

Serving Whitby must, for all operators, be an utter pain in the ar*e. The, er, taxing, terrain from all sides mean that the buses must get absolutely hammered on the long-distance routes, and let's be honest - there's little traffic other than Goathland and perhaps Ruswarp/Sleights on the 840 before Thornton-le-Dale/Pickering, and the X93 both toward Scarborough and Middlesbrough have similarly few regular stops (I've been on more than one X93 that hasn't stopped between the edges of Scarborough and Robin Hood's Bay).

As a result, the costs of running the routes must be high, and thus the profitability low. Didn't NYCC once partially support existing journeys on the 840? Obviously with that council barely interested in supporting public transport, I'm not surprised the 840 runs at a pretty much minimal level. At least they are 'deckers on the route these days - in the latter days of the B10BLEs/B7RLEs (prior to the route change at Goathland), I remember at least one journey with standees across the moors!

The 843 is, and always has been, the goldmine for Coastliner. Let's just hope that a good summer this year allows more investment in future years.