(04/08/2018 00:13)MTL0201 Wrote: [ -> ]Is there anything replacing the 82A section in Runcorn?
It is the X1 replacing the Greenway Road section. But no evening or Sunday service. Will Halton council now step in to provide a replacement?
(03/08/2018 12:30)iMarkeh Wrote: [ -> ]I'm just going to leave this here
500 timetable:
https://www3.halton.gov.uk/Pages/publict...ble500.pdf
Also, I notice the busways are going down to every 12 giving 4 mins layover on every trip.
The busway circles currently terminate and double back at Shopping City, alternating between trips on 1 and 2.
Will this still be the case? If they revert to going round in the same direction all the time that four minute layover could be problematic, especially on the North side.
Has anyone noticed that the Stagecoach X5 undercuts the 500 by 30 minutes between Widnes and Liverpool 1?
It sets off the same way via Chesnut Lodge and Hale Road but goes straight down to Route 7, non-stop to Evans Medical and limited stop from the old airport to Liverpool. 45 minutes from Green Oaks, beating the 14 and 79C by 15 minutes too.
https://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/getting-...02018).pdf
Arriva on their site state how they are proud of their new link from Halton to South Parkway... given the time they are going to take getting there you might as well use one of the three railway stations in Halton which are under 10 minutes away!
(31/07/2018 12:03)MTL0201 Wrote: [ -> ]The busway is quite annoying for the low bridges they have over them, most of which are pedestrian bridges, i've counted 4 between Halton Hospital & Murdishaw, 3 of which at bus stops which have also a crossing over the roadway, the pedestrian bridges could well be demolished & replaced by crossings over the roadway, there is only one under the Halton Link Road which could be tricky, another on on the Southern busway towards the Arriva garage that crosses the expressway that could be tricky as well.
Double deckers are fine between the Shopping City and Arriva depot. The footbridge at Halton Lodge is high enough.
You can also get from the Shopping City as far as Palace Fields bus stop but have to turn off at the lights before Parkside as there is a low footbridge where a number of deckers came to grief in North Western days.
Going the third way from Shopping City towards Castlefields there is a road bridge which prevents any access to double deckers, immediately after the T-junction following the triangle. Traffic joining from Castlefields Avenue cannot pass in either direction without encountering low road bridges.
On the spur from Murdishaw to Whitehouse there is a footbridge which was the location of a lucky escape for a VR load of school children in the mid 90s when a child raised the alarm in time and all the upper deck passengers were able to hide behind seats and escape serious injury as the roof was torn off.
I have been puzzled for many years that, despite the risk of another bridge strike in so many locations, and pedestrian crossings now being cut across central reservations at road level, nobody has raised the issue of making the busway safe for all buses! There are just two road bridges where the busway would need an excavation to pass underneath [one was mentioned above, the other is between Tyrrell Way and The Park stop]. The rest would just need dismantling and road-level crossings installed.
(16/08/2018 13:04)cfm146g Wrote: [ -> ]The busway circles currently terminate and double back at Shopping City, alternating between trips on 1 and 2.
Will this still be the case? If they revert to going round in the same direction all the time that four minute layover could be problematic, especially on the North side.
Has anyone noticed that the Stagecoach X5 undercuts the 500 by 30 minutes between Widnes and Liverpool 1?
It sets off the same way via Chesnut Lodge and Hale Road but goes straight down to Route 7, non-stop to Evans Medical and limited stop from the old airport to Liverpool. 45 minutes from Green Oaks, beating the 14 and 79C by 15 minutes too.
https://www.merseytravel.gov.uk/getting-...02018).pdf
Arriva on their site state how they are proud of their new link from Halton to South Parkway... given the time they are going to take getting there you might as well use one of the three railway stations in Halton which are under 10 minutes away!
I like to think the 500 is more of a commuter/stopper bus, similar way to East Midland Trains fast between Widnes - Liverpool with Northern rail stopper.
(16/08/2018 13:51)TheShire Wrote: [ -> ]I like to think the 500 is more of a commuter/stopper bus, similar way to East Midland Trains fast between Widnes - Liverpool with Northern rail stopper.
Perhaps, but with this kind of competition it starts to seem an unattractive option unless you are doing short hops or travelling to or from the route between Halebank and Speke. Currently you see people going from say Coronation Drive into Liverpool and they may well find it worth walking to Ditton Deli or St Mikes... can Arriva stand losing those passengers and more when they are already messing about with passengers from Runcorn travelling beyond Widnes on the 79/79C, presumably forcing anyone travelling between Hough Green and Runcorn to buy a day ticket when they are used to having a single through fare? Experience tells that when you make big changes for your own convenience you upset more of your regular passengers than you attract new ones. Time will tell...
Plus, no sign of a move from Halton yet? I'd be surprised if they don't move to plug the gaps.
(16/08/2018 16:22)cfm146g Wrote: [ -> ]Perhaps, but with this kind of competition it starts to seem an unattractive option unless you are doing short hops or travelling to or from the route between Halebank and Speke. Currently you see people going from say Coronation Drive into Liverpool and they may well find it worth walking to Ditton Deli or St Mikes... can Arriva stand losing those passengers and more when they are already messing about with passengers from Runcorn travelling beyond Widnes on the 79/79C, presumably forcing anyone travelling between Hough Green and Runcorn to buy a day ticket when they are used to having a single through fare? Experience tells that when you make big changes for your own convenience you upset more of your regular passengers than you attract new ones. Time will tell...
Plus, no sign of a move from Halton yet? I'd be surprised if they don't move to plug the gaps.
What gaps? Hough Green to Runcorn can still be done using the 14s. The only other gap is a fast bus down Halton Spur Road. That is all. No area is going unserved.
(16/08/2018 17:25)iMarkeh Wrote: [ -> ]What gaps? Hough Green to Runcorn can still be done using the 14s. The only other gap is a fast bus down Halton Spur Road. That is all. No area is going unserved.
Of course there are 14As but many passengers would not previously have taken the option because Arriva always had superior frequencies and later services than Halton. Now they will have to change at increased expense with Arriva or go Halton. What about passengers from Hough Green or beyond to the Old Town? No direct service from September.
Will be interesting to see whether Halton improve the evening service to fill the void some. Running speculative evening services would be extremely risky.
What service operates fast via Spur Road? Loftys did in the 80s and Crosville before that...
5014 is the first gas bus with luggage racks.
(16/08/2018 19:00)cfm146g Wrote: [ -> ]Now they will have to change at increased expense with Arriva or go Halton.
How much is a single fare, then? The above would imply that it's under £2, which I'm struggling to believe considering that no Arriva single fare in Liverpool is less than £2.30. (Unless of course you are referring only to the small minority of passengers who don't want to return the same day.)
(16/08/2018 19:00)cfm146g Wrote: [ -> ]Of course there are 14As but many passengers would not previously have taken the option because Arriva always had superior frequencies and later services than Halton. Now they will have to change at increased expense with Arriva or go Halton. What about passengers from Hough Green or beyond to the Old Town? No direct service from September.
Will be interesting to see whether Halton improve the evening service to fill the void some. Running speculative evening services would be extremely risky.
What service operates fast via Spur Road? Loftys did in the 80s and Crosville before that...
Are there that many people who travel between Hough Green and the Old Town?
I thought the X1 went down the spur road but it doesn't does it, It goes via Castlefield lol. Sorry. My mistake there.