First National Express?

" The company said it does not consider it appropriate to enter into talks ” Omnibuses2.0 Thinking the unthinkable (Links in with this post!) TGP Iron age

First Devon and Cornwall are loosing some of their National Express work. The North Devon National Express contracts were due to transfer to Hookways this week, although this date has been put back to 26th July. By pure coincidence it has just been announced this week that First had made an approach to take over National Express, an offer which has been declined, for now at least. Martin Gilbert, First’s chairman, made the offer in a letter sent to the home of John Devaney, his opposite number at National Express, last week. It arrived a day after the breakdown of talks between National Express and the Government aimed at resolving a long-running, multimillion-pound dispute over services on the East Coast Main Line. To succeed, Mr Gilbert and Sir Moir Lockhead, his chief executive, will not only have to win over National Express shareholders but also competition watchdogs. Merger speculation in the transport industry — which is dominated by a handful of large, quoted groups with their roots in the Conservatives’ deregulation of municipal bus services and the privatisation of British Rail, first under Margaret Thatcher and then John Major — has often been scotched by the belief by industry leaders that further concentration of ownership would be blocked by the Office of Fair Trading. First will argue that train and bus contracts are now so prescriptive that little freedom in setting fares, timetables and even choice of rolling stock is allowed to operators and that normal competition rules should not apply. The Times 29/6/2009 As expected the offer was rejected by National Express: National Express confirmed that it had rebuffed an approach from its rival to create a powerful force in the public transport industry through an all-share transaction. The company said it "does not consider it appropriate" to enter into talks with FirstGroup while it attempts to whittle down a £1.2bn debt burden and deal with its east coast franchise, which must pay the government £1.4bn by 2015. FirstGroup, owner of four franchises, including First Great Western, said it believed there was "significant industrial and commercial logic" in a deal. The combined group would carry more than 1.4 billion bus passengers and 409 million rail passengers in the UK a year. The Guardian 30/6/2009 Clearly a takeover of National Express by First would attract a great deal of attention from the Government due to the sheer size of the combined company. Many commentators believe that this alone is enough to ensure that a merger is just not possible between the two. The other reason why the Government may not allow such a deal is due to issues with the rail franchise held by National Express. National Express is having difficulties with its East Coast Mainline franchise with the Transport Minister Lord Adonis playing tough with the company at the moment and most observers feel that this has to be sorted before any such takeover can go ahead anyway. However an article in The Guardian today suggests otherwise… One man who will be hoping that FirstGroup launches a hostile bid for rival transport group National Express is Lord Adonis, the Transport minister, for whom such a deal might just be a golden opportunity to wriggle off a difficult political hook. In public, the Department for Transport has given the impression that it will not compromise with National Express over the terms of its under-performing East Coast Main Line franchise.  In private, however, Lord Adonis knows he has a problem. National Express may have no one but itself to blame for the predicament in which it finds itself over the East Coast, but the parlous state of its finances means it does need a deal. However, were National Express to come under new ownership, Lord Adonis might find it easier to come to some sort of accommodation on this issue. One could imagine him justifying some sort of relaxation of the terms of the East Coast franchise if he could say, in the same breath, that the management responsible for getting National Express into its pickle had departed. There would be some competition issues to wrestle with, because the combination of FirstGroup and National Express would have a stranglehold on certain types of service, particularly commuter journeys into London. Still, this too might present Lord Adonis with a PR opportunity: if he were able to force the combined group to give up certain franchises, he could argue that further sanctions had been imposed in return for an East Coast deal.   Many people will be watching what National Express does next!

Targeting Derriford

" at first glance this seems like a win win situation for everybody? ”

A shot I wouldn't normally use but I have realised I do have a bit of a gap in my photo collection when it comes to Target Travels pink solos. I am also pretty sure that this particular bus has now been lettered up for the new service 60. Hopefully I will get up to Derriford next week and start to update my photo collection! News release from Plymouth City Council recently caught my attention: A new bus service to Derriford Hospital is being launched as part of a £750,000 package of improvements at the George Park and Ride site. The service will start on Monday 6 July. The new number 60 bus link, operated by Target Travel, can be used by members of the public as well as hospital staff and will run every seven to eight minutes during peak morning and afternoon travel times. Buses will run every 20 minutes throughout the rest of the day and a return ticket will cost £1.20. Plymouth City Council has extended the car park at the site to provide 250 dedicated spaces for NHS staff using the service as well as an additional 60 spaces for members of the public. The NHS car park is accessed by barriers which are opened using special passes issued to hospital staff. There is also a new, second entrance on Plymbridge Road, meaning that motorists approaching the park and ride from Derriford no longer have to drive up to the roundabout near Tesco and back down Tavistock Road to access the site. Councillor Kevin Wigens, Cabinet Member for Transport said: "The George park and ride terminal was a design first for the Council, combining some of the latest eco-friendly features with high-quality facilities for customers. Ever since it was launched in 2006 it has been enormously popular with passengers, offering a reliable, comfortable and efficient bus service into the city centre. "This second park and ride bus link will provide a hassle-free way for staff and visitors travelling by car to get to and from the hospital, helping to reduce congestion around the site and alleviating some of the pressure on its car parks. "We are also really pleased to be responding to the needs of our customers and improving access to the park and ride site by providing a second entrance on Plymbridge Road.” Andrew Davies, Facilities and Environmental Services Manager for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust added: "The Trust has been a supporter of the George park and ride ever since its conception and has seen it as a viable alternative for staff, patients and visitors. "This extension is the culmination of over two years of working in partnership with Plymouth City Council to meet the needs of those that use the Northern Corridor routes. The Trust is also pleased to be working in partnership with Target Travel, who will provide a direct and regular service from the park and ride to the hospital for all staff, patients and visitors who have chosen to use the facility." The Council will be carrying out landscaping improvements at the site later in the year. The new-look park and ride site and hospital bus link mark the start of a programme of improvements planned for the city’s Northern Corridor (the main transport route from Woolwell into the city centre) this year and next year. Other plans include new off-bus ticket machines at the park and ride, a new bus lane at Derriford Hospital, a new bus and cycle lane on Tavistock Road (between Charlton Road and the Crownhill flyover), road resurfacing, improved pedestrian crossing facilities, better road signage and road layout changes to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion. A leaflet has been published by the Council with details about the Northern Corridor improvements and will be available soon from community centres, local libraries, doctors surgeries along the route. It will also be sent out to everyone who took part in the Council’s 2007 consultation exercise on improving transport links from the north of the city. If you would like a copy of the leaflet call 307751. As far as the Park and Ride site at The George is concerned this is great news. The new entrance is something that is long overdue and I am sure will be very popular. We certainly used to use the Park and Ride quite a lot but got fed up with having to drive up to the Woolwell roundabout just to get in, and then have to go back up again to get out. We never did understand why this wasn't designed in to the site in the first place, but better late than never! The new Derriford staff parking is also very useful and has been heavily promoted within Derriford Hospital. If used by staff it should free up more parking for patients which will be welcomed by many people. So at first glance this seems like a win win situation for everybody? Well I am not sure that First Devon and Cornwall will be seeing it quite that way. The extra peak time buses will be very useful and I would imagine be quite popular. Off peak  “Buses will run every 20 minutes”. This is made to sound like a new facility, but seems to forget that First already operate a bus every twenty minutes during the day along this route. The 7 continues to run every twenty minutes between Derriford and The George, but the new Target Travel 60 will now be departing from The George 3 minutes before the 7! If this new service is going to be as popular as it is hoped then this has the potential to be a significant loss of revenue for the route. I am all in favour of extra competition but you cant help but think that it could have been timed to run ten minutes after the 7 so that you can then tell Derriford staff that there is a bus every ten minutes. It is noticeable in all the publicity put out within Derriford that the 7 does not get mentioned at all. I can imagine that the 7 does cost more than the 60 as Target is generally cheaper but I am sure a deal could have been done with First for a special fare on this section? I am still not sure to what extent Target are getting subsidised for this new service. It is noted that the service is not supported by the council yet it does appear in their list of subsidised services (although it might just be the 60A that is supported?). I am sure that First will be watching revenue on this route very carefully over the coming months!

Sunday Best: Devon General

"a VRT really has to be in NBC Green” dbg Elsewhere... 1028 Cyber security Others... TGP Sea Sun’d Wood Tornado Omnibuses2.0 How do we measure up? Contrast

©AecRegent Back before the X80 was the 129 with the 128 becoming the X38. I am not sure when this change was made but I guess it was early 1980's. Hopefully someone out there will know and tell us? Devon General VOD590S departs from Bretonside to Torbay. It looks like there are a few unpainted panels on the right hand side, presumably after accident repairs. As far as I am concerned a VRT really has to be in NBC Green but even in red, this is a lovely scene!

Scrubbers at the bus station

" you could have saved your elbow grease and invested in some Semtex ” dbg Elsewhere... Photoshop Penguin Others... Omnibus2.0 Nottingham TGP Appledore Nature takes over Local History Westward TV Flickr Bretonside at Midnight

STAFF and volunteers from organisations across Plymouth were today due to don overalls and launch an all- day cleansing assault on grime, gum and graffiti at Bretonside Bus Station. Councillor Mike Leaves, Cabinet member for street scene, waste and sustainability, said: "We're pleased to be working alongside our partners and local traders to make Bretonside cleaner, brighter and more inviting for local bus users and especially visitors to the city. "It's important that people coming to Plymouth for the first time get a warm welcome, a good first impression and can find their way in and around the bus station easily. We're delighted volunteers from the Probation Service and Shekinah Mission are supporting our efforts." It is good to see Bretonside getting some attention, as it certainly needs it. As one commenter puts it so well: I appreciate the hard work and effort from the volunteers etc but I think Bretonside could do with a bit more than a lick of paint and wash. another commentator goes even further: Not before time. But, you could have saved your elbow grease and invested in some Semtex. All in all the message is clear - good effort - but a lot more is needed if Plymouth is ever going to get a decent bus station. Full story on This is Plymouth

The Dennis that never dominated

"Plymouth probably tried out just about every type of bus on the market” Others... Omnibuses2.0 PhotoFit TGP Kiss Kiss Pebbles Stumped

©Dale Tringham 25 March 1978. (used with permission) When Leicester Dennis Dominator UFP237S appeared in Plymouth for a trial, Dennis were very much a minnow in the UK bus market. I remember when this one appeared in service and I managed quite a few rides on her, and recall being very impressed and desperately hoped that Plymouth would buy some. Of course as a young bus spotter that might just have been down to the ‘anything but Atlanteans again’ school of though. Of course we all know that Citybus did indeed stick with Atlanteans. Plymouth probably tried out just about every type of bus on the market, but never actually bought anything other than Atlanteans for its double deck fleet. That did though change when they tried a few Olympians, and then bought Volvo’s - although only four of them new! One thing that this Leicester bus did demonstrate successfully was the East Lancs bodywork as it featured in Plymouths orders for the V, W and X reg batches. Back in 1978 I am sure even Dennis would not have expected to be where they are today. Everything changed when the Dart hit the market and Plymouth became a Dart city, like so many others.

Citybus for sale!

"Plymouth Citybus look after their buses very well ” Others... Omnibuses2.0 Quack CWAC

Well at least a little bit of it is... Former Plymouth Citybus 275 N275PDV is currently up for sale on Ebay. As I type this it is standing at £2700 - but you only have until 26th June to bid! Ebay Link “1995 25str Mercedes direct from Plymouth city bus mot till 10th march 2010 bought to use on a park and ride but not required. Excellent condition many new parts not used since mot drives very well .these buses are very reliable Plymouth city bus look after there buses very well if it needed a new part etc they are always replaced good tyres .Will carry on for many years as a psv or would convert very easily to a camper van interior dimensions are height 6ft 6" width 7ft length 22ft behind driver 18ft can be seen over a pit if required “

Justified and explained?

" The decision to remove any bus subsidy is always a difficult one but we cannot justify the cost of running buses with only a handful of passengers ” ©Robert Burn Plymothian Transit now on Facebook - feel free to comment there on any posting!

Council Justification: "Subsidies play an important role in providing access to local services and helping local residents travel around the city. However, we have a responsibility to Council taxpayers to balance cost against demand and ensure that routes with low passenger numbers are only supported where there is a genuine community need and the costs are not excessive. Services across the Council are having to make significant financial savings because of the economic downturn and we also expect a shortfall in funding for the national concessionary fares scheme of up to £1 million this year, which will further add to the financial pressures on our transport service. This makes it especially important to target our resources where they are most needed.” Councillor Kevin Wigens, Cabinet Member for Transport The key changes are as follows: Plymouth Citybus will take on four services on a commercial basis, meaning they will no longer require subsidy support from the Council. These are evening services on the 20, 23/24 and 25 and Sunday daytime services on the 42. Target Travel will increase their presence on the subsidised network, running nine of the 20 services. First will now operate just one subsidised service – the number 4. Service 17, a commercial service withdrawn by First Devon and Cornwall in January, will be reinstated as service 14 as part of the new subsidised network. It will be operated by Target Travel. There will be two more taxibus services, operated through Target Travel "The decision to remove any bus subsidy is always a difficult one but we cannot justify the cost of running buses with only a handful of passengers. We are confident that by working with local operators to make changes to the network as a whole we are getting much better value for taxpayers’ money. I have been surprised at how muted opposition has been to some of these changes, but I guess some of this may be due to people focusing on the ongoing debate about the future ownership of Plymouth Citybus. I will be returning to this subject in the week so for now I will focus on the cutbacks that have been detailed on this blog over the past week or so. The main story I have picked up against these cutbacks comes from Glenholt. Long time readers of this blog will know they have form: 27 December 2005 14 January 2006 05 October 2006 ANGRY residents said they are prepared to picket outside the Council House in protest against their "lifeline" bus service being scrapped. More than 50 people gathered at Glenholt Park to voice their disgust that the no 57 is being replaced by an "inadequate" Taxibus service with much smaller vehicles. Glenholt Park Association secretary, said: "This bus service is a lifeline and the taxis are not going to be big enough to replace it. It could come to us getting out the placards again. If it comes to it, we will be outside the Council House." Elma Baddeley, aged 61, a Glenholt Park resident, said her 20-strong women's group rely on the bus service for regular day trips. She added: "It's our independence they are taking away. We get the bus everywhere and we are not going to fit in a taxi. Some people have given up their cars because the bus service has been so good." This is Plymouth At least one of the comments on the story note the link between the free bus passes and the service cutbacks. As can be seen from the 27 December 2005 posting, this area has been extremely difficult to serve and all previous attempts to improve the service have soon floundered and been cut back. The 57 Clover leaf did seem like a good opportunity but even that has not lasted long.   Informed?   Over the past week or so I have been spending a lot of time looking at the information put out by the council and the operators which has been an interesting exercise in itself. Plymouth City Council have a few documents available on their subsidised bus services page: The full Guide to subsidised services is a useful document which gives the run down on the services paid for by the council. This is a useful guide but it could be so much better and more useful. It only gives the timetables for the supported routes. I know that is what it is supposed to be, but for the routes with at least partial commercial operation it means you only get half the details. It would be so much more useful if the full timetable could be included with the supported sections clearly highlighted. This is especially the case when two operators share the route, like service 6. If tickets etc are all interchangeable as promised on these supported routes then as far as most passengers are concerned they probably couldn't really care who operates the bus. In which case why have to look to a separate timetable booklet just for the last few journeys of the day? Apart from that the timetable guide is at least nice and clear and follows the same design as the recent timetable book so hopefully when they reprint that one then some sense will prevail and timetables will be joined up again. So what about the operators themselves? First have a straightforward announcement on their site:   Following a recent tendering exercise by Plymouth City Council, the services/ journeys below will be operated by the following Bus Operators from 5th July: Target Travel (Tel: 01752 242000) Service 6 Plymouth - Holmwood Avenue Monday to Saturday evening journeys only Service 18 Plymouth - Elburton Service 39 / 39A Plymouth to Crownhill Please note that return tickets, day tickets and season tickets issued by First are valid on the above services. Plymouth City Bus (Tel: 0 845 077 2223) Service 13 Plymouth - Saltash Passage - Saturdays only. The following tendered services have not been awarded by Plymouth City Council and therefore will no longer operate: Service 4 Plymouth - Keyham - Sunday & Bank Holiday evenings Service 6 Plymouth - Holmwood Avenue Sunday & Bank Holiday evenings Service 44B/C Plymouth - Whitleigh Passengers wanting more information on these tendered services should contact the relevant Bus Operator (telephone numbers as above) or contact Plymouth City Council on 01752 668000.   Unusually for First, new timetables for their remaining route (6) are not yet available. Citybus have as usual these days put out a notice on all their buses and available on the net explaining in full what is changing and why it is changing. From 5 July 2009 Plymouth City Council has made some significant changes to subsidised bus services. As a result PCB has decided to take over four routes commercially, some routes will be removed, and some routes currently operated by PCB will be operated by Target Travel, and in some instances services operated by ourselves and Target Travel will offer a reduced service. On the changes they have made of their own they have taken care to detail the changes on the individual timetable page, along with a brief explanation of why they have made the changes. Like this explanation on their new 20 timetable: We are confident that the changes to the service 20 will see increased passenger use. It won’t be enough to cover the loss of funding for the Service 20A hence the changes being made, and the loss of services to Steer Park. Plymouth Citybus does operate Service 21 & 51 to Steer Park So what about Target Travel and Taxifast? Well Target have long been very poor indeed on their web site with old timetables which were at least two years out of date. I have just been on their site to see if anything has changed and have been met with a notice to say the web site is being updated! Watch this space! They are available on the Traveline service but that isnt the easiest service to use and wont give you a full timetable for a whole day. At least I dont think it will. I am not so sure about Taxifast. All I get is an intro show which seems to take forever to load, and when I skip it, it just sits there. That might be my pc, but there never used to be anything there anyway. Taxibus? “We get the bus everywhere and we are not going to fit in a taxi”   Angry Glenholt resident sums up the biggest issue with replacing buses with taxis. I actually enjoy catching the 224 Taxibus and get on well with all the regular drivers who are very friendly and offer a good service. I have only had to share a taxis one one or two occasions. This is partly because most of the journey I take is also covered by Citybus who are cheaper and more frequent. I can use my travel pass so the fare is not an issue. There are a few locals who will catch whatever comes first but most will just wait for the Citybus or Target bus so overcrowding is not an issue. On some of these new routes I can see bigger problems. The little old ladies popping down to Derriford Hospital Canteen for lunch (it happens!) might find the taxi is full. The new 226 service provides a new link between Austin Farm and Asda which is a very popular store. Many of them can catch the 47 but it goes the long way round. A quick 5 min ride in a taxi bus seems like a great idea. as long as no more people get the same idea at the same time! Plymouth is very much a leader when it comes to using Taxibuses to supplement local buses. They have a place and can be a great way to help provide new links that otherwise would not happen. Whether they are so good at replacing normal buses in order to cut costs remains to be seen. I guess it comes down to what happens if the service gets too popular - will it be increased in frequency or be given larger vehicles? As always your thoughts are welcome!

Topless in Plymouth

"Bracing was the right word for it” dbg Elsewhere... Negativity Others... Omnibuses2.0 Do you measure up? Scenic Local History The Bounty TGP Tornado Other photos of the buses on Flickr… WJY758 August 76 WJY758 in York WJY758 October 2008 WJY759 Plymouth WJY760 Plymouth WJY760 Golden Hinde WJY760 Applebys Imposter: WJY759

With all the heavy stuff going on at the moment a bit of light relief... ©Syd Eade - used with permission. Thanks to Syd for allowing me to use these great old shots from June 1975. Happy days - the Bovisand trip on an Atlantean was always a real treat with great views over Bovisand and Plymouth. Bracing was the right word for it! For me, Bovisand itself was always a disappointment, but the ride was a real treat. WJY758, WJY759 and WJY760 operated in open top for for Plymouth City Transport.

July Five

"there are areas of Plymouth who will see quite a reduction in service ”

D Day The 5th July 2009 sees quite a few changes to the bus network in Plymouth. Although much of the network remains pretty much the same, there are areas of Plymouth who will see quite a reduction in service with many connections lost, or at least requiring a change of buses. This post serves as a recap of the changes detailed in full over the past week (follow the More… link to the detailed post)  along with other changes announced for the same date. 4 City Centre - Keyham Remains much the same but looses evening service on Sundays. More First 6 City Centre - Goosewell Day time service remains as before with First. Evenings it switches to Target Travel and reduced to hourly. More First / Target 7D City Centre - Radford Park Route transfers to Target Travel from Citybus. Looses last two evening runs. Mon - Sat only. More Target 10 City Centre - Derriford Hospital Reduced to just 4 morning peak and 3 afternoon peak runs. In between these times Taxibus 226 covers some sections. More Target 12 12A Plympton Town Service New commercial service by Citybus Monday to Saturdays to fill in some of the gaps left by service 19 which is now run peak time only by Target Travel. More Citybus 13 City Centre - Saltash Passage Remains Saturday only but now operated by Plymouth Citybus. More Citybus 14 City Centre - Derriford Hospital New route Monday to Saturdays by Target Travel. Designed to replace sections of 17, 26A and 39. More Target 16 16B City Centre - Kings Tamerton City Centre - Kings Tamerton - Holly Park Minor timetable change to 16 due to local road conditions. New timetable (pdf) Citybus 18 City Centre - Elburton Service transfers to Target Travel. Minor timetable changes (Starts later and ends earlier!) More Target 19 City Centre - Steer Park Main day time service withdrawn (replaced in part by Citybus 12/ 12A) Just morning and afternoon peak runs Monday to Friday only More Target 20 Railway Station - City Centre - Plympton There are changes in the route and timetable. Most buses now extend to the Railway Station. Evening service on 20 now provided commercially by Citybus to replace the 20A which is withdrawn. More  new Timetable (pdf) Citybus 21 X21 51 City Centre - Plympton One additional journey on the X21 Monday - Friday. All X21s now withdrawn from Greenwood Park Road. Timetable pdf Citybus 22 City Centre - Plympton Minor timetable changes. Timetable pdf Citybus 23 24 City Centre - Mount Gould Due to strong growth the evening services are now operated without support from the council. There are concerns about parking along the route and First tickets are no longer accepted. Citybus 25 City Centre- Barbican - West Hoe One of the few services to see an increase in service! Daytime route up to 3 an hour. Concerns remain about parking. Service will be with step entrance buses to start with but they hope to allocate low floor buses as soon as they are able. Timetable Citybus 26A City Centre - Devonport - West Park Service withdrawn. Part replaced by Target Travel 14 Citybus 29 City Centre - St Budeaux - Derriford Hospital Minor timetable changes Timetable Citybus 34 City Centre - Stonehouse - Stoke - Derriford Hospital Evening services retimed. Timetable Citybus 39 39A City Centre - Hartley Vale - Manadon Park - Crownhill Service 39 sees quite a few changes. The old service has been split up with the Derriford and Looseleigh section now covered by the 14 and the Southway section covered by Taxibus 227. The remaining route is now spilt into 39 and 39A routes each run hourly Monday to Fridays. On Saturdays just the 39 runs although here are a couple of extra runs late afternoon. More Target 42 42A City Centre - Tamerton Foliot Evening service withdrawn. Buses also withdrawn from Plymouth International Business Park. A couple extra peak time runs added to the timetable. Timetable Citybus 43 City Centre - St Budeaux - Ernesettle Minor timetable changes to a few journeys. Timetable Citybus 44B 44C City Centre - Transit Way SERVICE WITHDRAWN. Covered in part by 39 and 226 Target 57 Widewell - Southway - Glenholt - Belliver SERVICE WITHDRAWN. Covered in part by 227 Target 60 60A Derriford Hospital - The George - Broadley Park New commercial service (?) by Target Travel. Provides a Park and Ride link for Derriford Hospital More Target 224 X56 Crownhill - Derriford - Estover - The George Peak time journeys run by Target Travel as X56 are withdrawn and replaced by normal 224 Taxibuses. Taxifast 225 X57 Replaced by new Target Travel 60 60A services Taxifast 226 Estover - Whitleigh New Monday to Friday off peak Taxibus service. Part replaces 10 and 44B. More Taxifast 227 Southway - Belliver New Monday - Friday off peak Taxibus service. Part replaces 39 and 57. More Taxifast Tomorrow I will add a few more thoughts of my own, along with some note on how the operators are presenting the changes.

Cutbacks: 227 Taxibus

Previous Posts: Cutbacks 4 Keyham 6 Goosewell 7D Radford Park 10 and 226 12, 19 20 13, 14, 16B 18 39 60

Continuing our look at the re-tendered services after the cutbacks on the 5th July 2009 Service 227 Taxibus: Southway - Belliver View Plymouth Bus Services: 227 in a larger map The 227 is another new Taxibus service supplied by Taxifast. It replaces in part the Cloverleaf service 57 and part of the Target Travel 39. The Glenholt section now just left in the hands of Taxibus 224. As usual with the Taxifast services its a Monday to Friday operation with just 5 complete circuits. As I expected people are not happy with this, and the Glenholt passengers have always proved to be the most vocal in trying to save their buses, even if they are not always actually using them enough! A bit more on this during the week! Next I will take a look at the other changes happening on the 5th, along with a few mentions of supported services that are not changing.

Sunday Best: Plymouth UCO60L

"Plymouth embraced first generation everything ” dbg Elsewhere... Numberzz 36 million 10 pence PenguinFood No FiRE Others... Alredbus on Flickr Omnibuses2.0 Scenic Blogwatch (a good one!) TGP What next?

©Alredbus “Plymouth embraced first generation everything, firstly Atlanteans and then Nationals. The Mark One's had their problems and lasted only 5 years with Plymouth Citybus before being moved on. Here UCO60L is caught at Derry's Cross in the city looking quite smart in this Red and White livery. Couldn’t wait to post this shot! A smart looking Leyland National on a bright sunny day. You dont often see a bus on the move with a door open these days!

Its not in Plymouth but…

"get your family to take you to the seaside for Fathers Day”

Another event for you this weekend is 3rd Weymouth Vintage Bus Running Day on Sunday – those of you who are dads, get your family to take you to the seaside for Fathers Day – those of you who aren’t come along anyway. There are lots of opportunities for superb scenic photos on the free services, which will be operated by an interesting selection of vehicles, to Portland Bill, Bowleaze Cove, The Nothe Fort (last served by National toastracks before WW2), and new for this year a Town Circular Service serving the railway (not train!) station. There is also a Mystery Drive at 14.05 planned to be operated by an OB, RE & LS coaches and a Leopard. The rally and services are based at the Weymouth College site adjacent to Lodmoor Coach Park. Bus services leave the site at 10 minute intervals from 10.00 to 16.30. There will also be a good selection of trade stands in attendance for your special father’s day gift! Hot food and refreshments provided by the college will be available on site all day The Royal Blue Run will be arriving late Saturday afternoon to stay overnight before departing for Portsmouth on Sunday Morning from Weymouth Pavilion at 10.30am. The website for the event is: www.weymouthvbrd.co.uk/

Cutbacks: 60

Previous Posts: Cutbacks 4 Keyham 6 Goosewell 7D Radford Park 10 and 226 12, 19 20 13, 14, 16B 18 39

Continuing our look at the re-tendered services after the cutbacks on the 5th July 2009 Service 60/A Derriford - The George - Broadley Park View Plymouth Bus Services: 60 in a larger map Routes 60 and 60A are new routes being run by Target Travel Monday to Fridays. The main daytime service being the 60 which will run every 20 mins between The George Park and Ride, Marjons and Derriford Hospital (mapped Green above). In the morning and afternoon peaks they are joined by the 60A (The blue section above - the route includes the green section as well) linking in Woolwell and Belliver Way to the 60 route. This combines to give a very frequent service between Derriford and The George. It states in the timetable that the 60 is provided as a commercial service by Target Travel. The routes replace the old X56 X57 and Taxibus 225. This does seem to be a bit of an interesting gamble by Target but it does help that Derriford Hospital staff are encouraged to park at the George Park and Ride site. I can also see it hitting First Devon and Cornwall service 7 which also provides a twenty minute service between the two locations. Target Travel leaving The George 3 minutes before First which I am sure is pure coincidence! Getting towards the end of these posts now. Later there will be one more - the new 227 service and then one further post next week looking at the other changes due to happen on the 5th along with a few comments!

Kay Out Kay In

"it has departed down into deepest Cornwall ” Others... TGP Exe Bridge Lights North Devon Coast Lynmouth Omnibuses2.0 Afraid So Dottingham Limbo 2 (must read!) Limbo (must read!) Eastbourne Local History Bowls on the Hoe

Plymouth Citybus 104 K104SFJ is the latest of the batch to be sold as it has departed down into deepest Cornwall this last week. I will have an update of the current fleet position later next week. As Citybus say goodbye to their K reg First Devon and Cornwall have added one to theirs. 34626 has been acquired from First Bristol. I always liked this style of body from Northern Counties and it joins similar buses K801-4ORL in the fleet. There were several others of this batch listed as withdrawn by First Bristol this month, so it remains to be seen if any of the others will be joining her in the fleet. Lets hope so. ©Nick Rice (or THE MARAUDER 43366 as he like to call himself these days!)