What makes a good bus service?

[GusB]

I think most of us would probably agree that getting the basics right is the key aspect of providing a good service.

1) Buses run as advertised and on time
2) Buses are clean and tidy internally
3) Drivers are presentable and don't drive like lunatics
4) Timetable information is properly presented at bus stations and stops - and kept up-to-date
5) Bus companies have a transparent process for making complaints should any of the above not meet expectations.

If a company cannot get any of this right, the addition of any other bells and whistles is utterly pointless.

 

[PG]

It is the NaPTAN database that holds the details of every bus stop in the UK.

National Public Transport Access Nodes (NaPTAN) - National Data Library

data.gov.uk

The official name is generally the name of the road the stop is on with the nearest side road (on the same side as the stop) as the unique identifier. However these official names can be too long to display appropriately in digital based publications, apps etc, although they all have a unique numeric code which is what is translated across to software used within the industry for timetables, scheduling, mapping etc. This software also allows for alternative names to be used, which companies can make use of for drivers duty boards, printed publicity etc.
In the Strathclyde area, where I live, the standard SPT bus stop flag includes the unique numeric code, which can also be included on driver duty boards, to help identify particular timing points.

I've attempted to access that list, without success, though I think it is a temporary IT issue... anyway where I live (rural area) the nearest actual bus stops (metal pole and flag) are 4 miles away. No matter since road ends are recognised stopping places and show up on the operators online tracking/fare system - except [*]wee-village road-end is used for two locations 3 miles apart! Both are served by the same operator by two separate routes which share a common core. I'm sure they'll have different codes but they both appear the same online. Not a great problem for me as the journey time/fare difference highlights when I've picked the wrong one. But typing the name in to be presented with four (2 locations with stops in 2 directions) identical choices does make for an ambivalent experience.

[*] Not actually called wee-village road-end​

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Services should be numbered or lettered. No colours (nobody will say "catch the magenta bus from town") and absolutely no stupid names instead of numbers (to me, Spira is a sadly discontinued chocolate bar, not a way of getting from Mansfield to Chesterfield).

My partner's family come from that area and they do say (as do many local people) "you can get the Pronto bus", though I have to say I personally think numbers are better for identifying bus routes.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Reliability and seat availability.

Not bothered about any other gimmicks.

 

[py_megapixel]

Reliability and seat availability.

Not bothered about any other gimmicks.

Do you mean to say you don't really mind prices, or the presentation of the bus? Personally I would rather be standing on a clean bus than have a seat on a dirty one though I may be in a minority there!

 

[Andy Pacer]

Do you mean to say you don't really mind prices, or the presentation of the bus? Personally I would rather be standing on a clean bus than have a seat on a dirty one though I may be in a minority there!

Not particularly. There is rarely much in the way of choice for bus services (except in big towns and cities), so price is a case of pay it or don't.

 

[Ianno87]

Do you mean to say you don't really mind prices, or the presentation of the bus? Personally I would rather be standing on a clean bus than have a seat on a dirty one though I may be in a minority there!

I think a lot of causal use can be put off by poor cleanliness of the bus.

I think Stagecoach put a lot of effort into this, and I think it shows in terms of their popularity and patronage amongst the car demographic (from my observations) on their services.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I think a lot of causal use can be put off by poor cleanliness of the bus.

I think Stagecoach put a lot of effort into this, and I think it shows in terms of their popularity and patronage amongst the car demographic (from my observations) on their services.

That's true. Perhaps I'm lucky that my local buses are generally clean and tidy.

 

[Robertj21a]

Do you mean to say you don't really mind prices, or the presentation of the bus? Personally I would rather be standing on a clean bus than have a seat on a dirty one though I may be in a minority there!

Agree about a generally well presented bus, plus driven sensibly.

 

[Thomas31]

Cleanliness for me, for example National Express West Midlands buses always seem to be poorly maintained, with rubbish strewn all over the top deck and they also seem to have a real graffiti problem...

 

[Pat1105]

Cleanliness for me, for example National Express West Midlands buses always seem to be poorly maintained, with rubbish strewn all over the top deck and they also seem to have a real graffiti problem...

Poorly maintained or poorly presented? NX maintenance is top class, and i’ve never been on an NX vehicle that has broken down. They do have issues with graffiti, but I’m seeing less of that now. NX have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy in that no vehicle can be in service with damage to it.

 

[Thomas31]

Poorly maintained or poorly presented? NX maintenance is top class, and i’ve never been on an NX vehicle that has broken down. They do have issues with graffiti, but I’m seeing less of that now. NX have a ‘zero tolerance’ policy in that no vehicle can be in service with damage to it.

Poorly presented. I don’t know why, but I always have a sense of unease when using buses in Birmingham, I’ve used buses in Los Angeles before and the whole vibe feels similar.

 

[WM Bus]

Poorly presented. I don’t know why, but I always have a sense of unease when using buses in Birmingham, I’ve used buses in Los Angeles before and the whole vibe feels similar.

Occasionally you get a few strange people onboard, but not all the time. Most of the time I've not felt "unease" using buses in Birmingham
Graffiti seems to have reduced over the past 5 years or so, I don't see as much of it anymore.
Only thing i've noticed that was never corrected is one of the USB plugs on 6886 had been ripped out (not sure if its been corrected by now), never seemed to be corrected when I went on it every time over a period of several months and a few of the buses have non working rear displays.

 

[cnjb8]

They indeed do, though I was referring to the "Spira" brand noted in the post I was referring to, also stuff like the old Rainbow 5 and "indigo".

Regarding "French names" I was referring to things like the way Orange mobile phones used to randomly name tariffs after animals, or things like "inOui" etc. The French do like "silly" brand names, generally.

To be fair, these names have been around for about a decade, so are pretty memorable to locals.

It's about 18months since I was in that neck of the woods, but if I recall correctly the "Spira" wasn't a Trent Barton service- don't remember who it was if it wasn't though. The "nines" (9.1, 9.3) was though, and I just thought the decimal was a pointless complication for the sake of it. Had those services been 91 and 93 they could still have been branded or promoted together, but they'd have stuck to the convention that's been established for decades.

It is a bit mad with the decimals.

Was Spira a TM Travel rather than TrentBarton?

Yeah, Spira transferred to TM a few years ago. It was also shortened from Mansfield to Sutton, which effectively killed the service.