I often ponder how I've got this far in life without ever having received training in how to hail a bus......

 
Just as in Nuneham Viaduct days, Cotswold Line trains magically become more reliable when they don't have to run south of Oxford… 

 

If look at a photo, also appears the reading lights overhead, and the seat reserved indicators don't line up either.

My guess is seats have been moved, but no one bothered to alter the above window figments that apply to each pair of seats.  Sort of 3/10 score, looks nice, but basic errors and mistakes.

 
TBH 500 yards can in itself be an issue for anyone, not because people cannot walk 500 yards but because it introduces friction into what's meant to be a journey by bus. And then of course, for good measure, a few hundred of those yards facing the Cornish weather on that exposed coast. I hear Graham's point about bus routes sometimes needing to be changed, but when they're changed for reasons of traffic congestion, or in this case because the operator doesn't have suitable vehicles, that should ring alarm bells. The frequency's fallen too, is this route that ran every 20 minutes now stretched to every 30 minutes? That changes a service that was almost turn up and go to something rather less attractive.

Mark

 
Has there really been nothing to report since 24 January? Anyway, from earlier today:

 
I was just looking at old maps of the Melksham area, fascinating

 

Close....the trolley operator will get crushed knuckles if they aren't careful when passing down the train. The trolley fits however, just the knuckles that lack clearance.

 
More Irish OS maps can be found on the Ordnance Survey of Ireland (Tailte Eireann) website at:

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/d5bdc7daef3e4537b67caa31dfcc42d5

Although this version might be easier:

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/bdc13f643b68486c99e23abdaed0a98e

The National Library of Ireland brings you to the same place. As a copyright library they should a full set of mapping but presumably don't see any point in duplicating the digital offering.

 
Reopening on “16th February at the earliest” turns out to mean February 12th for the Okehampton line - the 09:25 from Okehampton being the first passenger train to run out of the town since the storm-enforced closure.

Just (!) the Barnstaple and Looe branches to get reopened now….

 
Having had a measured read of the article the thing that struck me most was that none of the "4 man" tables in First Class seem to line up with the windows.  Extra charge for a proper window seat ?

 
The real trick comes when two buses on different routes approach a stop and the second one is intent on overtaking the first...

 
Yesterday I read an article on another railway forum which suggested that the lovely new grab handles will actually prevent the refreshment trolleys being moved along the train! Fake news?

 
For those of us less mobile than we used to be, busses not serving the harbour is a massive problem.
Yes, the walk is 'only' around 500 or so yards, but it's very steep; encounter traffic each way. and will be soaking wet when it rains.
Three Sprinter 'vans' currently used by First will be replaced by a half hourly decker service, which will turn just pass the Old Coastguard Hotel.
That turn is tight, and can be problematic with traffic and pedestrian flow, especially when summer traffic comes in.

 
in addition to the benefit deductions he should be spending his every waking hour - I somehow doubt he is gainfully employed - engaged in unpaid 'Community Reparations' (e.g. litter picking, grafitti removal) with supervision if necessary.

 
A few WhatsApp groups when I was working for First bus.
One group set up by First (never used it personally); the other with Park & Ride drivers only.
We did have a local drivers only Faceache group, which slowly spread to encompass the County, but that faded out after a few years.
We have a family WhatsApp group, and an immediate family group.

 
The National Library of Scotland has put a set of 6" maps of the island of Ireland online. These are early, mind...

Mark

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=7.8&lat=53.24152&lon=-8.31153&layers=257&b=GoogleSat&o=100

 
Dilton Marsh made me think. There should probably be an entirely different thread on the subject of how to hail a bus, as this is often  another training issue (for the passenger) though bus companies could also help by ensuring that buses listed as stopping at a particular stop actually do call there - or having sufficient capacity that intending passengers don't experience full and standing services sailing past stops.

Often, for the driver, intending passengers seem to think that they're bidding in an auction - perhaps a slight touch of the nose - a small twitch of some possession in their hands - a head movement and blink.

The opposite being the over-gesticulation - a dash to the kerb edge, wild hand raising, both arms forward with shopping in both hands.

The former means that the driver needs to be clairvoyant. The latter means that that it's difficult for them to make the most of the interface between bus and kerb.

This could be addressed via dance and drama in schools if there is still such a thing as there's a tie-in with the basic art of expressing yourself appropriately using movement. It's non-verbal communication at a distance. In this case with the driver of a bus (or train) and it's a skill that's on a scale from being useful to being a lifesaver.

Mark

 
Apologies.
Re read before posting.
There are two or three managers in Cornwall who could run the outfit profitably.
They've never been promoted to any senior posts - it would be dangerous to have a senior manager who knew the business inside out!

 
He's done very well out of his crimes, hasn't he? Hardly a deterrent to others.

 
i read in a media report that he (us) will pay £20 a month..

 
There is a group chat facility. I am in one for Mapperton House where I volunteer as a guide. I believe one person sets up the chat and others join, possibly by invitation.

 

Looking at the poll ... LinkedIn is getting relatively few votes;  I use it, and continue to do so, for the industry contacts - to listen and occasionally talk the passenger view.  In some ways, I "work for transport" though in a voluntary capacity and it's a work connection.   Sure, I get job offers ...

I do have WhatsApp on my phone and in occasional use for 1 to 1 and occasional group chats.  All of these social media outlets are different in some ways.   I have not found (is it there?) a way of posting articles and getting a general "of interest" type feed on WhatsApp.   Is it there?   Is it used?

 
Poll completed - thank you for your responses.


You have confirmed that clockface - or near to it - does matter for most people.   The D1/D1x timings from the far end of Trowbridge into Bath - shown in the initial picture - caused some concern when introduced, even with the local management who felt it was imposed them from First HQ by a team who were looking at the theory of getting the most out of all their vehicles / assets and miming both layovers and late running.

Conclusion - "Yes, where practical" is probably the best answer; I remain (as an occasional user) critical of the D1 timetable show - too confusing / does not attract me.    I AM away that a spray of services will mean that different connections may make and break in each hour, and if a want a journey without a wait in the middle they will give me a couple of good opportunities during the day.

 
To my mind, the article was simplified to the extend of being misleading.    It suggested as I read it that I can get on the train in Melksham and, being GWR operated, that there's going to be catering.   I may have skim-read, but I know there won't be. 

Last Saturday, I rushed onto the 16:00 Bristol Temple Meads to London ... travelling as far as Chippenham.  Had there been a static coffee station (formerly known as a "buffet") I would have grabbed a coffee.  However, there was a mobile trolley which offered my a drink somewhere around Box / Corsham by which time it was too late.  Oh for the system that I've seen in Sweden, Norway and Denmark (just in 1st on the latter) where hot drinks are available from a machine / flask, not manned all the time and where a coffee can be had even on a short journey.

The whole "joined up for passengers" thing, and experience on that journey, went further - I digress.  Public Transport industry information systems suggested I had an hour to wait at Chippenham for the local train home.  But actually a bus from the new stations forecourt left for Melksham 10 minutes after my train arrived. It was Saturday afternoon so that worked ... Monday to Friday, the bus connection off the 16:00 from Bristol just fails, and of course the Lacock / Melksham / Semington / Hilperton bus only picks up at Chippenham Station from around 15:30 to 17:45 in the afternoon (and all day Sunday) and at other times of day during the week, it's from the bus station only.  You need a PhD or a travel agent to sort these things out.

 

Bus routes need to change at times ... and we have an example locally in Melksham too.  These are difficult calls.

Last September, the incoming 271 from Bath no longer calls at the Market Place on its way to Bowerhill.   At first glance a significant negative - however, this route used to double up and down the High Street.   The High Street has become a traffic jam zone for various reasons beyond the control of Faresaver and the time taken to reach and unreach the main stop was impacting reliability, to the extent that the timetable could not be maintained clockface without adding an extra vehicle ... and now the 271 in the Bowerhill direction misses out the main Town Centre stop. 

 
It's probably better if Coffee Shop forum member 'broadgage' doesn't read this topic.

CfN.