And Now For Something Completely Different...Service 100!

Stagecoach's recent changes to routes and service numbers certainly had the potential to confuse a lot of passengers, but hopefully our explanation yesterday has made everything clear! (Read again here)

But there is one more change to come.  Service 2, which since January has run from Lancaster University via Bowerham, the city centre, Scale Hall, Torrisholme and Bare to Morecambe is from 14th April to be given the most unlikely number of "100" !

At first glance the logic behind this is hard to see and the BUG did wonder whether the date should actually be somewhat earlier in April. With the exception of the 555, which no one at Stagecoach would dare to mess around with, and the associated 755 no regular Stagecoach service in Lancaster and Morecambe has a number higher than 81 and all the local "city" services are within the range of 1 to 18.  So why "100" as many passengers will no doubt be asking, especially as we are told there will be no change to the route or times?

In what appeares to be a first in the history of bus numbering schemes (!) service 2 is being renumbered 100 in commemoration of the anniversary of a former bus company!

The company concerned is Ribble Motor Services that was set up in Preston in 1919, initially to operate services in the Preston area.

 An early Ribble bus. (Photo courtesy of Ribble Enthusiasts Club)

The company started operating services from Lancaster in 1926, with routes to Blackpool and Preston and the following year boosted its presence in the city by taking over Lancashire & Westmorland Motor Services giving it routes to Kirkby Lonsdale, The Kellets, Morecambe and Kendal. Other local operators were taken over in following years and eventually Ribble's operating area stretched from Liverpool to Carlisle.

A Ribble bus heading for Heysham under Carlisle Bridge in 1979 on what is now service 1

Ribble continued to operate buses in and around Lancaster until 1989 when it was sold to Stagecoach, which three years later bought the buses and depots of Lancaster City Transport to give it a monopoly of services in the city.

The Bus Users' Group is not aware of any other examples of bus services being numbered in commemoration of anniversaries such as this, but this is just one of several events being planned to mark the event including the publication of a new book on history of Ribble, a display of the company's preserved buses as part of a much-expanded Annual Bus Running Day in Morecambe at Spring Bank Holiday and an exhibition at the Harris Museum in Preston

It's not clear at this stage whether the renumbering is to be permanent or whether the 100 will revert to the 2 at some stage, which is likely to be the case as there appears to be no change planned to the 2X with which the 2 is interworked. (If it doesn't of course  should we expect the 100 to become the 101 next year and 102 the year after that?).

Unfortunately there is every likelihood that some people will be confused by the change but as long as Stagecoach goes out of its way to explain to passengers what is happening - and why - the Bus Users' Group would welcome this gesture towards the memory of what was a well-loved and respected provider of bus services throughout the north-west for many years.

Painting by Numbers

The Stagecoach network of services that link Lancaster with the University, Morecambe and Heysham has in recent years been relatively stable, with routes identified by a simple series of service numbers: 2,2X, 3,4,5 and 6A. (The 5 linked Heysham and Morecambe with Carnforth where it met its cousins the 55 and 555.

But last October Stagecoach wanted to make some changes. The old network rather strangely lacked a "service 1" so the planners created one. The new 1 was made up of part of the 3 and part of the 2. 

Part of the new 2 stayed the same as the old 2,  but the rest of it was made up of that part of the 3 that hadn't become part of the 1.  

The 2X, that used to be linked to the old 2 and followed part of the same route as it to Heysham became linked to the new 2, that used to be the 3, and followed the route of the old 4 instead.  Service 3 and 3A disappeared.

The 4 stayed the same at the University end but was diverted to Lancaster Railway Station to replace the 3A (The 3A that ran from Lancaster University to the Railway Station, not the other 3A than went from Lancaster to Heysham).  Some of the rest of the 4 became part of the 2, other bits of it became part of the 2X and the rest of it disappeared altogether.

The 5 stayed the same; and the 6A doubled in frequency whilst passengers on the rest of the network tried to work out which bus went where.

SIMPLES!

In January, Stagecoach came back for more.  The new 2, part of which was the same as the old 2 and the rest of which used to be the 3 was diverted in part to follow the route of the 1, which just happens to be part of the old 2.  Extra journeys were added to service 7 to replace the part of the old 3 that had become the 2 before it was diverted to follow the 1.

But that's not all.

Before the 2 became the 1 there was also a "2A". Between Morecambe and Heysham the 2 followed one route and the 2A the other with the different service numbers helping to distinguish them to the passenger.  But when that part of the 2 became the 1 the "A" suffix disappeared leaving buses on both routes showing "1"

The Stagecoach view was that the destination indicators could be used to identify the route taken by a particular bus and "via Heysham Road" and "via Fairfield Road" were added to the displays.

But passengers, being the awkward so-and-so's that they are, still didn't seem to find it very easy to work out whether the approaching bus was going their way and drivers (being the ever helpful souls that we know they are) were getting fed up of having to explain. Perhaps the images (right) show that the passengers had a point?

So, as from 14th April Stagecoach will resolve all remaining confusion by renumbering journeys via Heysham Road as "1A", whilst buses "via Fairfield Road" will continue to show service 1.

BUT - Having finally made it easier for passengers to work out which bus goes where, Stagecoach is about to ADD to their confusion by renumbering service 2.

Details in our next post!

Mind The Doors!

Lancaster Bus Station

Although never the warmest place on the planet, passengers at Lancaster Bus Station have been suffering more than usual from the cold this winter.

Each of the 20 departure stands has a door that is intended to keep passengers and moving buses apart, something deemed essential in this Health & Safety conscious age, although no similar protection is offered at any of myriad other places where passengers and buses come into daily contact!  The doors are "automatic" and work on the basis that they remain firmly shut until there are passengers wishing to board on one side of them and a bus  ready to receive them on the other. At least that's the theory.

But this winter it hasn't worked like that and despite the Bus Users' Group's best efforts things still aren't right.  Following comments from  our members, we noted in September that no fewer than 9 of the 20 doors were stuck in the "open" position whilst the two exit doors on to Cable Street, which double as fire exits, were also stuck - one permanently closed and the other permanently open! 

Our findings were reported to the City Council on 9th September and, several weeks later, we had a reply saying that they were only aware of a problem with one door, but would investigate.  Having heard nothing we chased them up in early December to be told that the Council now had a quote for the repairs but no firm date for the work to be carried out.  We asked for at least an indication of how long we might expect to wait - but had no reply.

A check by the Group on 5th January found 8 doors now stuck open and the Cable Street fire doors still stuck -  one open and the other closed. In addition, one door was seen to be opening and closing seemingly at random, despite the absence of passengers or buses!  This time, according to the City Council, "contractor availability" was an issue, but the "Automatic Door Company" would be on site in the next few days to investigate the problem and advise on ways to stop it recurring. This seemed a little odd, given that the Council had supposedly accepted a quote for the work to be done back in December, but at least things were happening - or so it seemed.

Passengers wrapped-up warmly against the wind!

Our latest check, on 19th February, showed that no progress had been made and passengers were still shivering in the icy winds that blow through the station on a regular basis. Now the Council tell us that following the visit of the Automatic Door Company they have obtained a quote for the work (last December's quote has seemingly been forgotten) but that as it is "over their procurement threshold of £10,000" they will need to get alternative quotes and that even then scheduling the work will depend on the usual "contractor availability" and the availability of spare parts.  At at least £1,000 per door we hope the repair work  comes with a lengthy guarantee!

The BUG is tempted to say that at least passengers will have the benefits of cooling breezes wafting through the station should we have another hot summer like last year, but really we feel that the Council should pull its finger out and get the work done.  After all, if it was the doors in the Town Hall that were faulty they'd have been fixed months ago.