MetroBus

[whole diary]

[Red Squirrel]

Don't mind me; I'm just trying to remember where I buried me nuts...

[Bmblbzzz]

They're in the topic; one in every bite.

[GBM]

Don't mind me; I'm just trying to remember where I buried me nuts...

Waaay off topic Gentlemen, BUT.
Very many thanks for so many chuckles in any thread on the forum.
A move to the "The Lighter Side" (only in jest before someone shoots me)
Good to have a giggle in a serious life

[JayMac]

They're in the topic; one in every bite.

I remember that advert.

🎶What has a hazelnut in every bite?🎵

Squirrel s**t "Topic!"

[chuffed]

I think you were right first time !

[martyjon]

Talking of ;-

Squirrel s**t

The tops of the MetroBus I-points (ticket machines for normal people) in the City Centre are seemingly providing a very handy roosting place for pigeons and seagulls who have no qualms about leaving their trade mark white streaks all down the departure screens and the touch screens for purchasing tickets. One of the MetroBus Ambassadors, you know the student types positioned at some of the MetroBus stops wearing either or both of a red sweatshirt and/or a grey showerproof fleece sporting the m MetroBus logo told me this morning that one day last week he had the task of removing all the defficated material from the touch screen but needed steps or a ladder to remove such matter from higher up on the timetable screen. So a tip to anyone purchasing a ticket from these contraptions, always look up before you make your purchase to ensure there is no rear end of a pigeon of a seagull overhanging when making your purchase or else your credit card might get christened with a white splog whilst you are inserting ir or removing it from the keypad.

[chuffed]

I bet the ticket machine designers didn't consider that for a nano second. Cue nasty grey spikes being inserted on top of said machines just like the ones designed to put off the pigeons in the bus station. I think it would a more salutary lesson for the designers of the hideous concraptions would be  to shin up a ladder with a bucket and sponge,in their designer suits, rather than inflict the onerous  task on studenty ambassaors who are probably being paid a pittance anyway.

[Bmblbzzz]

That's quite a good point. I expect many of the pigeons and gulls are actually in trees and on buildings above the machines, but it's quite predictable that birds congregate in such areas (used to be starlings but they seem to have become quite rare now) and so it should be a consideration for the designers. Maybe recessed screens?

[broadgage]

According to last nights TV news, another £200,000 of public money is to be spent on metrobust correcting some sections of the guided bus way that have been built to the wrong dimensions.
Further delay is expected before the whole system opens.

[martyjon]

According to last nights TV news, another £200,000 of public money is to be spent on metrobust correcting some sections of the guided bus way that have been built to the wrong dimensions.
Further delay is expected before the whole system opens.

Not as simple as that, I was at the meeting and I'll prepare and post a L-O-N-G report when my time permits but in a nutshell, £30,000 was shaved off the guided bit as cost savings during build and then the engineers tried to blame the bus manufacturers and First Buses maintenance regime for the buses not fitting the guided bit, "scuffing", was the word used to describe the non-compliance. This seemed to confirm what my "MetroBus insider" who had previously informed me and I had previously reported on this forum, that the project promoters were blaming the depth of tread left on the bus vehicles tyres and that to remain in the tolerances of the guided bit "as built" the buses would have to have their tyres renewed after about 2500 miles. The design engineers were also blissfully unaware that the ORR^» (Office of Rail and Road formerly Office of Rail Regulation - about) (Office of Road and Rail) would have have to sign off the project before it could be used by the public and thus had not involved the ORR in the project until after "hand over". "Not to worry", said the lead engineer, "the cost will be met by cost contingencies built into the budget". My words now, "F***ing H***, the projects already been reported as being £30 million over budget, years late now and your still talking of cost contingencies being built into the budget, TOSH".

My worry now is that the longest route, Hengrove to Cribbs, is to be operated by a registered charity / community interest company who currently run a few council tendered services in Bristol with frequencies of well hourly and are taking on a high frequency service on what may be the longest continuous bus route through the city !!!!

Must finish for now to drive to Lyde Green Park and Ride for my daily MetroBus ride into the Big City of Bristol.

[Phantom]

ITV West news this morning saying that over 25,000 people have used the new service in the first week !
That seems a lot of people in a first week of a new service!

I wonder how it will change once people have to start paying for the privelage?

[Phantom]

From https://travelwest.info/metrobus/metrobus-services-to-start-in-autumn-and-new-year

M2
The m2 and m3 services will be operated by First West of England.

We have recently been testing the Metrobus busway with First.  Our testing has identified a requirement for minor (20mm) adjustments to the road height at three of the bends along the 3km route. These adjustments are planned for mid-summer. This will be followed by a further round of bus testing and we are working together for the m2 service to start in Autumn this year.

[Red Squirrel]

Shows what I know - I sort of assumed that the guidewheel was attached to the body of the bus, in which case 20mm would be neither here nor there given how much the buses heave and roll on bends. (Can I just say: A tram would have given a much better ride. Just sayin.) Anyway this led me to read a Wikipedia article, and quite enlightening it was. The best bit was learning that this system is a kind of flangeway. Now I'm not going to explain why I find this term (a) very amusing, and (b) in this context extremely apposite, so I'll just move on to say that... omg it's also aka a KGB (Kerb-Guided Bus), which again seems about right given its provenance.

Anyway the guidewheels are on the suspension arm or thereabouts, so they go up and down with the wheel. So 20mm does matter.

_{Edit: corrected unfortunate typo}

[johnneyw]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) local news website reports that the corrections to the bus ways will cost the local taxpayers an additional £200,000. The authorities described these as fairly straightforward adjustments without mentioning the cost. They also claimed 5000 users a day while omitting to include that the service is free to users right now, presumably also being paid for by local taxpayers as First won't be doing it for free.

[martyjon]

BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page) local news website reports that the corrections to the bus ways will cost the local taxpayers an additional £200,000. The authorities described these as fairly straightforward adjustments without mentioning the cost. They also claimed 5000 users a day while omitting to include that the service is free to users right now, presumably also being paid for by local taxpayers as First won't be doing it for free.

I posted earlier on this thread "wait until they gotta pay". Next week will be the testing time and the real test will be IF pax are being left behind at stops as they are being at present in the morning peak inbound as I have observed.

The usage figures being quotes are also heavily distorted, by quoting users no account is being taken of persons using the free service just out of curiosity to see if there really is a Lyde Green and an Emersons Green so whilst figures are quoted the terms used are incorrect and figures quoted should in my opinion be cited as JOURNEYS as I have used the service today, inbound from Lyde Green P&R^▸ (Park and Ride) to The Centre at 06:40ish, 11:20ish Centre to Emersons Green for coffee and meet a colleague in Costa, finally Emersons Green to the P&R to drive home. 3 journeys by 1 user / person / individual so dont be taken in by those quoted figures.

WHAT the promoters of this need to get a grip with pretty damn quick too is to ensure people are not left at MetroBus calling points, bus stops to us normal folk, because the bus already has its permitted quota of standing pax. Incidentally, previously when we had an X service from where I live into Bristol, the X8, standing pax were not permitted because the service used the M32 Motorway. Why now, has there been a change in the regs in, well, the last 30 years ?

A simple short term solution, says I, would be to have a spare vehicle standing by at UWE to which pax on an inbound service, loaded to near seating capacity, travelling to Cabot Circus only would be requested to transfer to for a non-stop run, that vehicle returning to UWE empty but authorities seem delighted in being intransigent and obstructive to such short term fixes and make it weeks until shortcomings can be implemented, BUT, when it comes to a situation where an operator fails like Nippybus "all stops are pulled out" to ensure that services can continue THE VERY NEXT DAY, it makes me sick.