Lets get Reddy to Rumble!

Someone up there must think he is doing a good job!

First UK Bus has made Managing Director changes, prompted by the demands of the Competition Commission to provide large volumes of highly detailed information about its operating companies. Andy Scholey, MD for First in Manchester, is being seconded to the central First UK Bus team to help deal with the current Competition Commission Inquiry. Andy, who has been MD in Manchester since 2007, will also assist in planning First’s bus provision for spectators at the 2012 London Olympics, for which FirstGroup has been announced as the preferred bidder by the Olympic Delivery Authority for spectator transport, requiring around 900 coaches and buses. He will return to his position as MD in Manchester once his work on both projects is completed. Replacing Andy in Manchester will be Richard Soper, the current MD for First in Hampshire and Dorset. The responsibilities at Hampshire and Dorset will be assumed by Marc Reddy, who will combine the role with his current position, MD for First in Devon & Cornwall. All the changes will come into effect on Monday 8 March. Nicola Shaw, Director (First) – Bus, UK, Ireland and Germany, said: “These are important roles for each of the three directors involved and I am sure they will each carry on their proven track record of success in business.” Good luck to Marc in what must be seen as a vote of confidence by the Senior Team at First group. Update: I have just come home and realised that this post didn't go live when I expected it too - typed in the wrong date so my fault but it does allow me to point you to Omnibuses blog which has also picked up this story and added to it. In a move that will probably see the largest span of control for any single English operational managing director ever, Marc Reddy prepares to take over the reigns at First Hampshire & Dorset... in addition to his current managing directorship at First Devon & Cornwall. Excluding outstations, the distance between his furthest garages (Penzance & Barnstaple) used to be a mere 107 miles. Now, from Penzance to Portsmouth, it becomes 241 miles. Truly of Olympic proportions The full post can be seen here...

Further Reading Uncle Terry: Im a celebrity... Highton-Ridley - award winning shot TGP: Dads Patterns PTOTPA: 57000 in Devon Omnibuses: Destigmatise Leon Daniels: Lucky Dip First on Twitter / Facebook 26 Feb 09:13 Due to a road traffic accident in Yealmpton on the A379 Mayflower Link Service 93 will for the time being not serve Plymstock, Brixton, Yealmpton or Longbrook. It will be diverted via the A38, Ivybridge and through Ermington before continuing normal route on the A379 through Modbury 09:54 Royal Parade, Plymouth closed to traffic in both directions due to an accident. While closed services coming into City from Plymstock/Plympton area will travel as far as St Andrew's Cross roundabout (by the post office). Services travelling from West/North Plymouth (Saltash, St Budeaux, Ernesettle, Southway, Estover, Derriford, Torpoint) will travel as far as Derrys Cross roundabout. More info. 13:18 The accident in Yealmpton necessitating the diversion of service 93 has now been cleared and the Mayflower Link Service 93 is now operating it's normal route. Thanks for your patience during the diversion and delays. 15:11 Royal Parade in Plymouth is now open to traffic after the earlier closure resulting from the accident this morning. We thank you for your patience during the closure and while services were diverted. Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 26 Feb 08:13 Due to a serious accident which has closed the A379, both the City College and Grammar School buses from Kingsbridge will be unable to operate this morning. Assuming the road re-opens later in the day the afternoon services will operate as normal. The situation is entirely beyond our control; however we apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. 09:39 Royal Parade has been closed in both directions to all traffic due to a serious accident. The closure is likely to be in place for some time. All buses will terminate on the Viaduct or in Union Street. We have dispatched as many staff as we can find to provide assistance to drivers and customers. 11:21 The Royal Parade closure is likely to last until the early evening or longer. We have several staff in the City Centre who will assist you with up to date information on where to catch your bus. Look out for high viz jackets with Plymouth Citybus on the back. We will do all we can to stick to our timetables but with such a major road closed delays are bound to occur particularly during the evening rush hour. 14:32 Royal Parade has just been reopened. We will get everything back to normal as soon as we possibly can. Thank you all for your patience.

Two stories of antisocial behaviour

The perils facing bus drivers today

Two separate stories in the past few days illustrate the danger facing drivers and passengers of buses these days due to antisocial behaviour: POLICE are appealing for information after a bus driver was assaulted outside the Citybus depot. The incident happened at about 3pm yesterday after the male driver of the Number 77 (?what?) Citybus bus asked the passenger to stop drinking from a can of beer. A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The bus picked up the offender – who was carrying an unopened can of beer – at a bus stop close to the Milehouse dept. "The driver told the man that he could not drink the beer on the bus. "While approaching the depot, the man opened the beer and began drinking and the bus driver stopped the bus and told him to stop drinking. "The offender then became aggressive and began shouting at the driver. "He grabbed him on the upper left arm twice and caused an injury before he ran off." This is Plymouth 23 Feb 2010 The newer Ugobuses in Plymouth have the large security screens which are clearly standard issue with First for all new buses. I personally find them awkward as I cant hear the driver speak and it seems so impersonal and out of place in Plymouth. Citybus have so far managed without such fittings and I know many First drivers who would prefer not to have them, but incidents like this do remind you what drivers have to put up with every day. It is sad that such fittings do have to be added to buses to protect staff who are doing a job which many people rely on. These screens can only protect a driver from so much. In the following incident these screens wont have served any purpose... YOUTHS in Southway caused £400 damage to a bus after hurling a brick through a side window. Police say it was fortunate nobody was injured, although the bus had to be taken out of operation to be repaired. Investigators are now keen to hear from anybody who saw the incident, which occurred at the junction of Southway Drive and Clittaford Road at around 5.45pm on February 15. This is Plymouth 25 Feb 2010 I have been on a bus which has been hit by a stone / brick or something similar and it is not a pleasant experience. Luckily for me when my bus was hit, a few years ago, the window was not broken so no one was hurt. You do hope that the yobs behind such attacks get caught and do get appropriate punishment, although it is rare to hear anything further on these incidents. With cctv fitted to more and more buses there should in theory be a higher chance of prosecuting offenders but do they get much success?

Further Reading First on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here Citybus on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here

VOSA Variations

Latest VOSA registrations for changes in April

Back on the 17th of February the following were posted on the VOSA web site: PH0000135/9 - PLYMOUTH CITYBUS LTD, MILEHOUSE, MILEHOUSE ROAD, PLYMOUTH, PL3 4AA Variation Accepted: Operating between PLYMOUTH Royal Parade Stop A14 and PLYMOUTH Royal Parade given service number 43/143/43A/43B effective from 11-Apr-2010. To amend Timetable. PH0004983/186 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, CHELSON MEADOW, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Variation Accepted: Operating between PLYMOUTH Bretonside Bus Station and LAUNCESTON Westgate Street given service number 76/76A effective from 11-Apr-2010. To amend Timetable. This route is of course subject to competition with Western Greyhound so it will be interesting to see what changes are being made here! Then on the 22nd February FDC put in another batch: PH0004983/134 - FIRST DEVON & CORNWALL LTD, THE RIDE, CHELSON MEADOW, PLYMOUTH, PL9 7JT Variation Accepted: Operating between ILFRACOMBE Bus Station and PLYMOUTH Bus Station given service number X85 effective from 04-Apr-2010. To amend Timetable. Variation Accepted: Operating between Plymouth Bus Station and Exeter Bus Station given service number 82 effective from 04-Apr-2010. To amend Stopping Places and Timetable. Registration Accepted Starting Point: Yelverton Finish Point: Moretonhamstead Via: Two Bridges Service Number: 82 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 04-APR-2010 Other Details: Sun & Public hols 2 return trips during winter sun & Public hols 5 return trips during summer Registration Accepted  Starting Point: Plymouth Finish Point: Yelverton Via: Crownhill Service Number: 82 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 04-APR-2010 Other Details: Sun & Public hols 2 return trips during winter Sun & public hols 5 return trips during summer Registration Accepted  Starting Point: Holsworthy Finish Point: Tavistock Via: Launceston Service Number: X85 Service Type: Normal Stopping Effective Date: 04-APR-2010 Other Details: Sat one return journey Registration Accepted Starting Point: Tavistock Finish Point: Plymouth Via: Yelverton Service Number: X85 Service Type: Normal Stopping/Limited Stop Effective Date: 04-APR-2010 Other Details: Sat one return journey This looks more like what happened with the X80 recently with the route being split into sections to get it under the EU regs limit. It is good to see that the Summer timetable promises 5 return trips. We also have another registration change for the 82: PH1017984/68 - ALANSWAY COACHES LTD T/A COUNTRY BUS, KING CHARLES BUSINESS PK, OLD NEWTON RD, HEATHFIELD, NEWTON ABBOT, TQ12 6UT Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Moretonhampstead and Plymouth given service number 82 effective from 03-Apr-2010. To amend Timetable. I do fancy a trip across the Moors this summer

Further Reading Uncle Terry 014 - a small cog... TGP - Nature at its best Transport Illustrated - Harlow PTOTPA - K615LAE PTOTPA - Cross Country Wallet TGP - smile its raining First on Twitter / Facebook 24 Feb Congratulations to our Superstar of Year, Ron Fomes (Barnstaple driver who learned sign language to converse with a regular passenger) coming joint runner up in the national finals. Keep up the good work Ron - we're very proud of you! FDC also posted a nice collection of Park and Ride photos here Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 24 Feb Due to a pedestrian accident on Milehouse Road the service 34 is being diverted via St Levan Road and Ford Hill some delays are likely for the next hour or so. No other routes are affected.

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• VOSA Registrations (plymothiantransit.com)
• Tavy Timetable Changes Next Month (plymothiantransit.com)

1500 and counting

Post number 1500 deserves a special bus

I could see I was coming up to post number 1500 so I have been looking out for something special and thanks to AEC Regent I have found it. In all my bus spotting years this has always been my favourite bus. The grey window rubbers always made this bus more elegant that those with the standard black surrounds. The bus sounded different to the other VRs too. I always knew this bus was special but it was only later in my life that I discovered its true historical significance, which just made it even better as far as I was concerned. ©AECRegent "Two things were different about this VR: First, it was the only VR delivered to Western National with the M-suffix, second it was the first of nine delivered to them with a Leyland engine as opposed to the usual Gardner engine. At Plymouth in the early 1980s."

Further Reading Uncle Terry - I could murder a pint PTOTPA - A trip to Cornwall Omnibuses - not always a good idea WHOTTs going on? First on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here Citybus on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here

WWW: Target Travel - well worth the wait

Target Travel Web site - now live and looking good

Thanks to a Tweet from DoddyUK that alerted me to the fact that Target Travel have finally updated their web site and I do feel its well worth waiting for as it seems a nice simple well designed site... The home page is clean and easy on the eye and all the links do seem to do exactly what they say they do. If you click on one of the menu items along the top the main page stays the same but the large information panel changes, as we see from the 'about us' page... I do like the fact that links to the timetables are always visible on the right hand side as this is what most visitors to the site will probably be looking for. The timetables themselves are also very clean and simple to use The timetable for the 52A In fact I have just this second noticed a slight error in that the timetable mentions that Citybus journeys are shown - but they are not! A very small error really and at least it does point out that some journeys are run by Citybus, and its easy to find their timetables online elsewhere. All in all a very impressive effort and well worth the (long!) wait. www.targettravel.co.uk

Further Reading TGP - Strutting himself Omnibuses - Take the survey Uncle Terry - Branching Out First on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here Citybus on Twitter / Facebook Nothing to see here

Rail News: Exeter to Plymouth Railway

Calls to reopen the line (again)

Its an old story that pops up every now and again... COUNTRYSIDE campaigners have called for a feasibility study to be carried out into reopening the former Southern Railway line from Exeter to Plymouth. Much of the route – through Okehampton and Tavistock – was closed in the 1960s leaving only one main line from Exeter to Plymouth and Cornwall. However, both ends – from Exeter to Meldon and Plymouth to Bere Alston – are currently operated as branch lines. Plans to reopen another part of the line from Plymouth and Tavistock – linked to a proposed 750-home development – could see it running again by 2014. The Devon Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is now proposing a study be commissioned into reopening the full length of the former main line. When reviving the route has been discussed in the past, commentators have said it would be much cheaper than other alternatives as the engineering work is already done. Mr Hartley said much of the track-bed was still intact as were important viaducts, tunnels and embankments, although there were now a few properties standing on the line. However, sceptics point out the route would be slow and could struggle financially because it would pass through sparsely populated areas. This is Plymouth I don't really need to say much more about this as I think it highly unlikely to happen, at least in the foreseeable future. I wish it could... Image from Phil Beard (Creative commons) An eight arch viaduct crosses the town. It carried the railway that connected Plymouth with Exeter and Waterloo. Construction was completed in 1889 and the track was in use from 1890 to 1968. More of Phils photos here

Further Reading Omnibuses - SQBP - One of the first First on Twitter / Facebook Citybus on Twitter / Facebook

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• Rail campaigners seek main line's return (thisiswesternmorningnews.co.uk)
• Tavistock property: hear my train a comin' (telegraph.co.uk)

Reminder new timetables for some Ugo services

Ugoing anywhere tomorrow?

As Fisrt reminded passengers on their Facebook page yesterday: Don't forget there's new timetables from tomorrow in Plymouth (ugo 7,11,15 & 17) and Cornwall (88/88B & 25/27) today saw new timetables in operation for some of their Ugo bus services in Plymouth. Most passengers wont notice any difference today but they might on Monday when the services are cut back slightly. My own departures on the 15 are now slightly less useful to me in that they now arrive at exactly the same time as my Northern Connect Taxibus service rather than provide a handy stop gap ten minutes later for when I miss it. Not a big deal really. Of course the cuts have not gone un-noticed by the competition: BOSSES at Citybus have promised not to cut back the frequency of services on four routes where rivals First are planning fewer buses from tomorrow. Citybus competes with First on the four routes between the city centre and Crownhill, Southway, Estover, Peverell and Honicknowle. First says that two services will have reduced frequency "to better match resources to current demand", and because of increased traffic congestion. These are: Service 11 to Honicknowle: Monday to Saturday buses will run every 20 minutes rather than 15. Service 17, Southway via Mutley and Crownhill: Monday to Saturday service will be every 15 minutes rather than every 12. Two other services will run with reduced frequency because of road works in Derriford. These are: Service 7 to Derriford Hospital and Woolwell: Buses on Monday to Saturday will run every 30 minutes rather than 20. Service 15, Mainstone and Estover via Mutley and Derriford: Buses will run every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime (rather than every 15 minutes). Buses on Sundays are unaffected on all these services. This is Plymouth This last line is actually wrong- Service 17 is affected on Sundays as it is cut back to every hour. I guess the other question that has to be asked is - will the 7 and 15 revert to previous timetables when the road works finish? (that could be quite some time though!)

Further Reading Uncle Terry - New carpet? Transport Illustrated - Chester Omnibuses - Record Breakers PTOTPA - Trip to Weymouth TGP - Wobbly Eyes Omnibuses - Bye Bye Ethel PTOTPA - Citybus Promotions Omnibuses - No FT - No Comment First on Twitter / Facebook Fri 19 Feb Snow and hail showers in the North Devon area is making road conditions poor. Most services are affected but are running subject to delays. However service 303 won't be able to serve the villages of West Down, Heanton Punchardon & Ashford today. We apologise for any inconvenience caused due to circumstances beyond our control. New Lost Property Telephone Number: For enquiries please call 0845 600 1420 (Mon - Fri 1000 - 1600) or email firstdevonandcornwall@firstgroup.com Don't forget there's new timetables from tomorrow in Plymouth (ugo 7,11,15 & 17) and Cornwall (88/88B & 25/27) Citybus on Twitter / Facebook Fri 19 Feb Here's an offer for you - DANCING ON ICE at the O2 ARENA London 17th to 18th April. Includes one night's bed and breakfast plus ticket to the Saturday evening performance and coach travel For more details, or to book please contact CityCoach on 01752264266

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• Ugo slightly less often (plymothiantransit.com)

Friday Fleet Focus: Tinknells

Tinknells of Plymouth

Tinknells is a local firm based in Cattedown who operate a smart fleet of Tankers in the instantly recognaisble Shell livery. WX59FXW is brand new, having only been registered in January. WA07JPX larger tanker based on the DAF LF WX55HPJ Volvo FM9 based tanker Further pictures can be found here on my Flickr set

Further Reading Transport of delight: Landmark Ruling for First Devons Rural buses to face the chop? Omnibuses: Jersey Solution TGP - Kew TGP: Meridian First on Twitter / Facebook Feb 18 The weather forecast for Cornwall this Sunday is glorious sunshine (and not quite as cold as it has been!) so why not plan a day out & take advantage of the £1 Sunday Saver Fare (or 60p for kids and £2 for a family of 5) First have Sunday services operating to Falmouth, Truro, St Agnes, Penzance, St Ives and Newquay to name but a few! For full details click here: First3month Plymouth & Plymouth Plus, First6Month Plymouth, Plymouth Plus & Devon & Cornwall and FirstYear Plymouth & Plymouth Plus tickets are now available to buy on line. Click here to make huge savings if you're a regular bus user - a day's unlimited travel starts from just £1.38 a day Don't forget we have new timetables in operation from Sunday 21st/Monday 22nd February for the following routes: PLYMOUTH: ugobus services 7 (Woolwell), 11(Honnicknowle), 15 (Estover/Mainstone) & 17 (Southway). CORNWALL: services 88/88B(Truro/Falmouth) & 25/27 (St Austell) Please click the link here for details and new timetables DID YOU KNOW CASPER THE COMMUTER CAT? Casper loved to travel on First’s ugobus service 3 between his home in Barne Barton & Plymouth. Sadly, earlier this year, he was killed by a car. Casper’s bus travelling antics became famous across the world, and he is now going to star in his own book! If you travelled with Casper and would like to tell your story, please contact Linda on 0797 226 2636. Citybus on Twitter / Facebook