Bridget
Posts:19
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| 02 Aug 2005 21:56:50 |
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| Can anyone explain to me why some buses go all the way round Kingswells and some only go to the Park and Ride? I thought it might be that some were 40 and some 41, but I have seen both go round the village. I also looked at the First Bus website, and this doesn't seem to be the answer. Is it some kind of attempt by the council to promote walking (ie trick us onto a bus that doesn't take us home!)? :msn_confu |
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IanC
Posts:119
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| 03 Aug 2005 13:57:04 |
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| Bridget,
It is supposed to be the 41 that goes around the village. I suppose some drivers may not change the numbers.
The 41 does not run at peak times when there is not enough time to do the village run.
The times of the buses should be on the timetable.
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Bridget
Posts:19
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| 03 Aug 2005 19:34:08 |
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| Thanks for the reply. If the bus drivers don't change the number when in Union Street, how are we supposed to know which bus to get on?
I'm still confused though. I was sure the timetable at the bus stop outside my house says it is a number 40 - will check though.
I also looked up the Frist Bus timetables online - as clear as mud to me! http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/nescot/timetables/timetableindex.php
I can't even see a 41 listed, only a 40. However, when I clicked on the 40 timetable, it covers both 40 and 41, with no logical difference that I can see!
:msn_confu |
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IanC
Posts:119
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| 03 Aug 2005 20:22:37 |
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| The bus numbers appear to be wrong on the Monday to Friday timetable. Looking at Saturday is shows that 40 only goes to P&R and 41 goes around the village.
Looking at the timetable - Line 1 is Kingswells, and Line 2 is Kingswells P&R. Where there are dashes there is no bus around the village ie between 08:05 and 09:45 and between 16:25 and 16:45 and then roughly every third bus until 18:20 the buses do not go around the village. The buses on Thursday are shown with a H at the top.
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 04 Aug 2005 18:16:38 |
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| "The 41 does not run at peak times when there is not enough time to do the village run"
i.e. when there are people actualy wanting to use it to get to work!
I e-mailed Firstbus last week asking about this (no reply as yet)- there's a 41 at about 07:10 and the next is 09:55. I'm sure there's plenty people like myself who would like to use the bus to get to their workplaces along the Lang Stracht and Westburn Road e.g Aberdeen Journals, Aberdeenshire Council, ARI...
Seems like they're subsidised to provide this service, so they run the loop round Kingswells when there's less likelihood of being bothered by passengers. Anyway, I'm sure the drivers are hacked off as they're missing out on their rest break at the P&R.
Funnily enough, the service is fairly frequent during the evening rush hour.
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IanC
Posts:119
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| 04 Aug 2005 19:31:55 |
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| You have to remember that the service to the village is an extra one generated by using the slack time at the end of each circuit. At peak times the bus does not have as much ‘spare’ time due to traffic congestion increasing the time it takes to complete the run. There is therefore not enough time to complete the circuit around the village at peak times. |
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Bridget
Posts:19
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| 04 Aug 2005 20:01:24 |
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| Perhaps it's more clear as "grubby water" now than total mud! :msn_wink:
However, I think there is still a significant problem. My partner has tried phoning First Bus, but didn't get very far. I accept that the village circuit is an "extra", but it's not likely to attract regular passengers if it is unclear and inconsistent. I agree with "Guest" that it would seem logical for it to pick up in the village in the mornings. Does anyone know if there are many passengers at the P&R in the morning? Maybe fewer buses that do the circuit would help?
I also repeat my worry about how to know if a bus boarded in Union Street will take me home or not. I don't want to be dumped at the P&R. |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 04 Aug 2005 23:45:37 |
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| jusk ask the driver, he should know where he is going !!!! |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 05 Aug 2005 03:58:57 |
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| D'you think!!! |
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Bridget
Posts:19
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| 05 Aug 2005 11:14:40 |
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| Re asking the driver.
I hope you are just trying (emphasis on the "trying") to be funny. I was (mistakenly?) under the impression that the numbers and destinations on the front of buses was for more than decorative reasons! Perhaps we should just do away with them altogether and just jump on and off buses, asking where they are going! Okay, so I'm being silly now, but it's a frustrating and needless situation. |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 05 Aug 2005 11:15:43 |
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| Ask the Driver ? Fat chance. I was on a number 40 to which the driver said "I only go as far as the park and ride." Yet A number forty passes our house daily at all times AND the bus stops only have the number forty listed. laziness I would call it. A phone call to FirstBus to investigate this only confirmed to me their lack of interest in this matter as I could hear them closing ranks as I was passed from pillar to post. Bad management and poor discipline of their staff. |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 06 Aug 2005 16:54:36 |
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| The published procedure when the extended service first started was that the buses coming from Bridge of Don displaying 40 would only go to the P&R at 10 minute intervals,the 41 would go round the village at 15 minute intervals. The 41 changes
its display to 40 at Derbeth so that passengers between there and Bridge of Don know
that its a P&R service .
Just to excite you even more,I have heard from a driver recently that First plans to scrap the 41 service and increase the 14 to a 20 minute service! |
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Bridget
Posts:19
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| 07 Aug 2005 11:38:06 |
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| FINALLY! I now can make sense of the published timetable! Not quite as straightforward as the regular intervals suggested in the above post, but I can now see that every bus (starting at Derbeth or the P%R) is a 40 (at least, if the driver remembers to change it). This explains why I have a 40 timetable outside my house! Number 41 from town should go round the village and 40 to the P&R. Ok so far! Just a pity, as already pointed out, that there is such a big gap in the morning weekday service!
Will be interesting to hear how the proposed changes go! |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 09 Aug 2005 17:35:32 |
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| Have now received a letter and a phone call(!)from First in response to my query - good to see them getting their customer service in order.
The chap who phoned could only say that the suggestion had been logged - he did say that the more people who conatcted them requesting this service, the more likley that this would be passed up the chain to those who make the decisions.
You can email First Aberdeen at: http://www.firstgroup.com/ukbus/scotland/nescot/contact/contactindex.php
I'll also put the question to Councillor Stephen, as I suspect there's public subsidy involved here somewhere - this would surely be better spent on improving rush-hour services if the aim is to reduce traffic on the roads? |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 09 Aug 2005 20:56:17 |
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| there is only one [b]GOD[/b]
it's
Hail the [b]'BUS'[/b]
:msn_confu :msn_cool: :msn_cry: :msn_grin: :msn_hmm: :msn_mad: :msn_redfa :msn_sad: :msn_sick: :msn_smile :msn_surpr :msn_toung :msn_wink: |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 11 Aug 2005 20:18:41 |
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| I was wondering when the topic of First bus's lame services to kingswells would show up in the forums again since the web page revamp. After a typical troublesome journey on the park and ride i decide to check and hear i am to give my tuppence worth.
Firstly i would like sympathies with the person who started the thread and any other in his or her situation. The two bus services, (if you can call them that) which serve kingswells are the most cryptic in both Aberdeen and Shire, if not the whole of Scotland. The fact that you catch a 15 you take you into town from kingswells but cannot return on the same service is shear nonsense and will catch any first time user out that has not been thoroughly briefed. (Being dumped at woodend terminus is not a very pleasant first time experience on public transport??? is it First Group ???) Like wise with the 40/41
As anyone who uses first bus service in Kingswells knows the company provides a half hearted effort around here. The two services provided to kingswells are the only two in the city that are truncated at times to suit the company. e.g. The 14/15 runs at 15 mins frequency between the city centre and woodend however only every 30 minutes to Kingswells. Aditionally the park and ride only goes via the village off peak.
This would not be so bad if the drivers and controllers were trustworthy however it is common practice to take advantage of the numbering to cut short publicised services. In case of the controllers to get services running late, back on schedule and drivers so they get their fag break
You thought this caper was confined to the park and ride ???
On several occasions i have been standing at union street on a Sunday or local holiday waiting excessively long for a 14 to Kingswells. And hey presto a 15 to Woodend appears. Anyone who has looked at the timetable in any detail will know there is no such service on these days. All 14/15 buses go to kingswells on sundays and local holidays
No other bus service in Aberdeen can be truncated in this way except the two that serve Kingswells. By screening a 41 as a 40. the average village passenger will not board the bus in union street, therefore it will be empty at the park and ride. Consequently as there is no passengers for kingswells village on board to ensure that the service operates as scheduled and any dishonest driver can take advantage of this so he can get his fag and coffee break. The net result is passengers on union street waiting 15 minutes for the next bus, and the passengers in kings wells village waiting 15 minutes for a bus that did not show. This practice totally undermining any confidence in public transport for new and first time users.
To give them their due...
As far as 41 is concerned they provide the goods 90% of the time. Its just the remaining 10% that makes the difference between a service that is unreliable and frustrating to use and a service you would find hard to fault.
Regarding the news of scrapping the 41 in favor of a twenty minute 14 service, I sincerely hope that this turns out to be a rumor started by a disgruntled driver who has lost his fag break. This would be disastrous for both public transport in kingswells and traffic congestion in Aberdeen. Buses must be frequent to get motorists to leave the car at home. The days of the 41 being an extra service are long gone. It is now an integral part of public transport in kingswells and to revoke it would cause severe disruption to the 80-100 or so villagers that use it daily before it stops for the morning rush hour.
The 14/15 just does too much fannying about and will only ever serve for social reasons.
Passenger numbers in Kingswells have been growing steadily over that past two years thanks to the 41 service. When the service originally started buses were going round the village empty for all but the few that went round the village at peak times. Today 41's when operated according to schedule carry anything between 5 - 15 passengers per trip off peak from the village alone, although i am dubious as to whether or not these figures reach management in kings street as some drivers seldom log the high proportion of passengers who use a bus pass on their ticket machines. However, with continued commitment i expect passenger figures will grow further to provide a frequent service to kingswells that is less reliant on local authority subsidy's.
It must be said that the number of passengers using the service from the village off peak, dwarfs the one or two that use the service as a Park your Car and Ride. At peak times roughly equal amounts use it from the village and park&ride for those services that operate round the village. I have no doubt if all buses were to operate round the village the trend would follow suit. The only time the park and ride seams to be used more as a park and ride is on saturdays during big events and the christmas shopping period
I really think as a community we should petition the city council and First bus for amendments to the bus services in kings wells.
Firstly we should request that the park and ride is re-timetabled to allow all buses to operate via the village. To exclude a significant (vast?) proportion of passengers from the service during peak times is scandalist. Having a bus load of passengers waiting on union street to get back to kingswells village at 4:00pm watching numerous empty 40's go by is quite simply immoral.
Secondly we should request an end to the dual numbering of services. Despite being extremely confusing to new and first time users it is abused far too much by the company and the drivers at the passenger's expense.
e.g. A 14 should take you from kingswells to the city and from the city back to kingswells. The 14A which goes nowhere near kingswells should be allocated a new number as this is also a source of confusion. Finally the park and ride should operate as a 41 in both directions from the first bus in the morning to the last bus at night.
Rant Over. For Now ....
Bus User Tips.....
Anyone boarding a park and ride in town returning home should check the destination of the bus if a 40 unexpectedly appears. It is possible that it says 40 Bridge Of Don, in which case the driver has possibly accidentally forgot to re screen rather than a deliberate attempt to skip kingswells village. This is easily done. Especially when they are tight for time.
Sorry for the bad formatting and spelling punctuation etc. I don't know how to use my word processor. |
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kingswells.guest
Posts:0
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| 12 Aug 2005 05:12:44 |
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| Couldn't have put it better.
Hope you have put these exact points to First and to our councillor? |
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Bridget
Posts:19
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| 12 Aug 2005 08:53:23 |
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| Great post "Hacked off Bus User".:msn_grin: |
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