(11/01/2014 13:59)Penny Return Wrote: [ -> ]Believe every other 38 from new ferry will be extended to the croft,this will be good for cross
wirral customers
To be honest it would have been a good idea and provided some new links if the 38 would have been extended to Croft Retail Park via Port Sunlight , Port Sunlight has been devoid of any bus links now for a while , for some reason the bus companies have left Port Sunlight to Merseyrail to provide the public transport link.
Another mention is that the southerly roundabout (Port Sunlight end ) of the A41 at the is to have the roundabout completely revamped . There is to be extra traffic lights put on this junction . There will be traffic lights put on the end of the bypass getting rid of that potential death trap of a zebra crossing , there will also be lights on Bolton Road making getting out of Port Sunlight much easier and correspondingly there will be lights on the roundabout allowing traffic from the bypass easier access towards Bolton Road and New Ferry .
There will also be a set of lights just up from Bolton Road on the turn off to the old golf
driving range site which is having houses built on
new service 6: Ellesmere Port - Regent Street - Sutton Way - Little Sutton - Glenwood Road
This new service operates Monday to Saturday, every 30 minutes between Ellesmere Port Bus Station and Glenwood Road. Even better news is that one bus per hour will continue to / from Chester as existing service X2 - there is no need to change buses in Ellesmere Port and through-fares will be available!
Don't forget our great value Chester and Ellesmere Port Day and Megarider tickets will be valid throughout service 6 and we have some great fares deals in the Port for less frequent travellers too.
new service X22: Chester - Little Neston - Neston - Parkgate - Heswall
This new service will operate Monday to Saturday, every hour. We will be the fastest route between Chester and both Neston and Heswall, as we will operate fast up the A540 from Chester to Hinderton Arms.
At Heswall, buses are timed to connect with extended service 38 (see details below) for through journey opportunities to West Kirkby, Meols, Moreton and beyond! Connections are also available for Arrowe Park Hospital on services 471 & 472.
Our great value Chester and Ellesmere Port Day and Megarider tickets will be valid for travel between Chester and A540 / Boathouse Lane on the southern edge of Gayton.
Day and Megarider Plus tickets will be valid throughout the whole service.
Im impressed with these changes Stagecoach have made, i I wonder if this will see the end of Avons 22 service with the 38 being extended to Heswall and the new X22 covering most of the route between Heswall and Chester, I'm happy that the 41/42 have been extended to Arrowe Park I can see this working well.
However it is sad that they have targeted Avon's services for example the 38 having an evening timetable which will cover Avon's 40 between Moreton, Birkenhead & Bromborough. And also it will cover Avons 86 between Moreton & Heswall.
Im glad that it is ousting some of Avon's market share to be honest. I am all for competition and maybe this will make both companies push to make their product better. Avon need better customer service both in a small proportion of their drivers and their head office (which in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired for!)
The stagecoach fleet is more modern and pleasant to travel on from joe bloggs' point of view, but some people from that part of the universe stick to what they know so it won't entirely knock the 22 out. Maybe some usp's that Avon could implement are free wifi, decent priced flexible tickets (a good example is following Stagecoach's idea with child weekly tickets on 38 including weekend travel) and friendly drivers. These all make the journey better for the passenger and may sway them to stick to Avon services.
On a separate note, I wonder what extra vehicles will be needed to account for these changes? My guess is darts from Gilmoss or some B10Ble's if they aren't too old. Hope the Enviro200's find a new home away from Rock Ferry soon.
Why on earth would virtually new Enviro200s be cascaded away from RF?
The B10BLEs won't be used, they're starting to move onto the disposal list anyway.
(15/01/2014 00:09)jtd508110 Wrote: [ -> ]Im glad that it is ousting some of Avon's market share to be honest. I am all for competition and maybe this will make both companies push to make their product better. Avon need better customer service both in a small proportion of their drivers and their head office (which in my opinion leaves a lot to be desired for!)
The stagecoach fleet is more modern and pleasant to travel on from joe bloggs' point of view, but some people from that part of the universe stick to what they know so it won't entirely knock the 22 out. Maybe some usp's that Avon could implement are free wifi, decent priced flexible tickets (a good example is following Stagecoach's idea with child weekly tickets on 38 including weekend travel) and friendly drivers. These all make the journey better for the passenger and may sway them to stick to Avon services.
On a separate note, I wonder what extra vehicles will be needed to account for these changes? My guess is darts from Gilmoss or some B10Ble's if they aren't too old. Hope the Enviro200's find a new home away from Rock Ferry soon.
The 22/25 have a limited target audience at the moment, generally school children in the morning as well as commuters, they offer a £5 return from West Kirby to Chester, which if you think about it is only £2.50 each way or a £6 all zone day ticket. The rest of the passengers as I and others have previously said are concessionary passengers. I do know that Avon aren't just going to sit back and watch, as there have already been a meeting or two regarding upcoming changes with staff.
The Avon fleet isn't all that old, especially when they are currently using buses from 2006-2008 on it which are only eight years old at the most, and in all fairness I'd prefer an Avon Buses ADL Dart with a 4 or 5 speed Allison gearbox over a Stagecoach Enviro 200 with 3 speed Voith on the 22 route but that's down to my own personal taste and opinion.
The reason that I would like the Enviro200's to go are because they are hapless, soulless whiney creatures. Its also based on capacity, especially around school time. Its almost as if its stepped back 6 years to the days of cramped pointer 1 step darts (P973/4/5 MBF)
In relation to travelling I would prefer a dart with an allison over a soulless Enviro200 (and I hate all voith gearboxes), but im referring to the opinion of the general public and not necessarily us enthusiasts.
Avon can sort things out to compete.
I think that RF will have some cast offs to accommodate this exodus of services. If its not the 02 SPD's or 06 (55 plate) dart, then wwhat will it be?