Stagecoach MCSL - Chester & Wirral Depots

[YN05 WKE]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(07/09/2015 19:22)R879 HRF Wrote:  And another dart on the 41 with blank purple branding

Ex 22 branded I presume?

[R557 ABA]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(07/09/2015 19:22)R879 HRF Wrote:  And another dart on the 41 with blank purple branding

Ah yes, that was indeed 34742.

[WhiteVanMan]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(03/09/2015 10:20)gka472l Wrote:  I hear a whisper it's leaving imminently, to Manchester (Sharston)?

Cheers

80027 is currently at Millbrook Testing Centre in Bedfordshire.

[Myllenium2453]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
I think darts on the 41/41A/42 as well as the 38/38A would be better as they have better facilities for Prams & Wheelchairs. Add to that better acceleration over 5 gears instead of 3 and you have a recipe for a better service in my opinion.

[R879 HRF]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(08/09/2015 00:09)Myllenium2453 Wrote:  I think darts on the 41/41A/42 as well as the 38/38A would be better as they have better facilities for Prams & Wheelchairs. Add to that better acceleration over 5 gears instead of 3 and you have a recipe for a better service in my opinion.

Those Enviro200s are absolutely awful trying to pull away with a full load. They sound painful anyway but even more so when they're struggling up whetstone lane and greenbank road on the 38 with a full load. some of them struggle past 15mph up there.

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
Its called profit , they will only move up the vehicle size if the route can still make a profit with the new size , one problem with the 38/38A is the first part of the route is concessionary passes , that was a problem in First's time , its only really when the route reaches Birkenhead and is en route to West Kirby that the route is as commercial as it should be .

Im not sure of the 41/41A/42 route .

[R879 HRF]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral

(08/09/2015 09:25)wirralbus Wrote:  Its called profit , they will only move up the vehicle size if the route can still make a profit with the new size , one problem with the 38/38A is the first part of the route is concessionary passes , that was a problem in First's time , its only really when the route reaches Birkenhead and is en route to West Kirby that the route is as commercial as it should be .

Im not sure of the 41/41A/42 route .

The 38 is also very rarely overcrowded, and those journeys which have suffered have been addressed by using deckers on certain diagrams as mentioned previously

[wirralbus]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
Which part of the 41/2 suffers , is it the section Mill Park to Birkenhead or Birkenhead - Woodchurch .

[R879 HRF]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
I wouldn't say any part on the 41/2 route suffers overcrouding, often full loads in peak times but never too full.

Usually quite busy and usually running late around the 0930 mark when the concessionary passes become valid.

The 41/2 route would benefit from additional running time, there is not enough running time to stop at every stop. Its particularly tight around the Mill Park loop if you have to stop for people, and the woodchurch loop can be just as bad as although the speed limit is 20, you have to crawl over every hump. The sluggishness of the Enviro200s when pulling away doesn't help matters on this route.

Lets not even start on the evening 41As running time!

[Myllenium2453]

RE: Stagecoach Chester & Wirral
As a bus driver myself though currently unemployed I find them passes a pain in the butt because while they are handy for elderly and disabled passengers, this nonsense of scanning them slows services down and frequently results in late running.

I think we should get rid of this scanning rubbish and go back to machines where the drivers actually pressed buttons to log in the passes as that was much quicker.

I was down by the rock ferry depot a few nights ago and there were 2 enviro200s in the garage receiving attention and another which I believe is 36811 awaiting attention but they do in my opinion need better vehicles for the services I mentioned in post #3945 and send the enviro200s elsewhere