Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

[M113 YKC]

RE: Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

(17/03/2013 20:36)MPTE1955 Wrote:  

(17/03/2013 20:31)3111 Wrote:  

(17/03/2013 20:06)MPTE1955 Wrote:  Well two less buses anyway, didnt know about the 59 but this really has been like a slow death of the old 61A, being reduced in route to Broadway, then having the route number change to the 59 and finally ending up in withdrawal.

I agree! I remember the days of Lances and Endurances travelling through Netherton on the 61A to Aigburth, then 'deckers were frequently on the 61A to Broadway when the service started interworking with the 61 (which is when Darts gradually started going onto the 61/61A - when the Lances and Endurances were slowly dispersing) and then when pretty-much anything apart from Pulsars (except on rare occasions) were on the 61A to Walton!

Avon Buses' 122 is usually busy during the day between Walton and Netherton and Arriva's 53A is also normally busy between Aintree and Netherton, so, if they did ever bring the old 61A back between Bootle and Walton (or even beyond), I doubt that there would be much market left for it. As for the 59 route between Netherton and Bootle, there are plenty of services from the Gorsey Lane side of Sterrix Lane for Linacre Road (55) and Bootle Strand Shopping Centre (52/52A/55) and there's the 159 on the Church Road side of Boundary Road which travels via Linacre Road to Bootle Strand Shopping Centre. Not really much of a loss - I pretty-much seen its withdrawal coming from the start! The service is frequently delayed and the two-minute turn-around time in Netherton doesn't exactly give much recovery time when delays on the 61 and Church Road during peak-hour have took effect.

Do you know if this is going to result in the 61 going back to its old route during the day as in Marsh Lane & Knowsley Road. Thanks in advance.

Doubt it - there are plenty of services from "the front of the strand" that travel via Knowsley Road, such as the 47/48/48A and the 54. One of the main problems with the 59 (and the old 61) is that it travels the wrong way on Knowsley Road compared to other Bootle-bound services, so its market is reduced (let's face it - the services for Bootle are more regular on one side of the road than the other side, so people are going to wait on the frequent side).