Snippets

Plymouth City Council

Further changes will come into force on Plymouth’s bus network on Sunday 20 September.

Plymouth Citybus is making a second phase of revisions to its routes and timetables (following the takeover of First Group’s Plymouth and South Devon operations by Stagecoach) and a number of bus services will also be moving to new stops on Royal Parade.

Two new bays and shelters have been installed on the westbound side of Royal Parade to help reduce problems with buses having to crowd around stops during peak times. This will make it easier and safer for passengers to board, help to tackle congestion along this busy route and improve service reliability.

The new bays will also provide space for buses to wait before taking up service and create more capacity for when Bretonside closes next year.

To take account of the major changes to the network and the two new bus bays, most of the stops are being renumbered and many bus services will change departure points.

We have worked with all of the city’s bus operators to spread services out more evenly and keep those that serve similar routes and locations as close together as possible. Full details of the new departure points can be found on our website.

Notices are being displayed in each shelter, advising passengers of any services that have moved and members of our Plymotion team will be in Royal Parade on Sunday 20 and Monday 21 September to help passengers find the right service and the right stop.

Bus shelter displays showing which stops serve which location are also being updated, along with the information boards at the top of each stop.

Councillor Brian Vincent, Cabinet Member for Streetscene, said: “The extra space provided by the two new stops will be a welcome improvement on one of the busiest bus interchanges in the South West. It may take a little time for people to get used to the new departure points but these changes are designed to help bus passengers and other road users, by reducing congestion and improving safety at very busy stops.”

Bus Stop Changes archive copy

A Line Coaches

An interesting development in Torpoint has been announced on Facebook:

A Line Coaches are pleased to announce the commencement of a new Torpoint circular bus service on the 16th November 2015. The service 33 will start at Pentorr Health Centre opposite HMS Raleigh at 0855hrs and continue along Trevol Road, serving Goad Avenue, Trevithic Avenue, Antony Road, Torpoint Ferry, Marine Drive and Carbiele Road. The service will run half hourly until 1440hrs. Single fares only, ENCTS cards can be used on the service. We do hope that this service will alleviate the problems that many of the people of Torpoint have encountered since the departure of First bus and the relocation of the doctors surgery. As this service is a commercial one, ie it has no subsidy from local councils, It is up to the lovely people of Torpoint to patronise your REAL local bus service and go with the Alpha Line.

 

Attack of the morons

This was my local bus stop this morning. Its not the first time,this has happened, but yesterday was different in that there were several others between Keswick Crescent and Derriford all smashed in. JCD were at the scene clearing up on at least two stops on Miller Way.

 

For Sale

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Vandals attack string of bus shelters

 

VANDALS have smashed up several bus shelters in the past week, causing more than a thousand pounds worth of damage

Vandals attack string of bus shelters

 

Once again its Estover and Leigham where this sort of thing seems all to regular.

News Round up

Privatise!

MPs are calling on the Government to consider renationalising First Great Western because of its poor performance, poor punctuality and use of old rolling stock.
An Early Day Motion, which criticises First Great Western has been tabled by Stroud Labour MP David Drew and has been signed by 19 other MPs.
The motion expresses alarm that FGW has replaced existing trains with "inferior rolling stock which could result in slower, less-comfortable and more-crowded conditions for passengers". More

Doesn't stand a chance of happening though so its irrelevant really. One commenter on the story does seem to understand how the system works though:

Using old trains is 100% the responsibility of the Government. They specified a cheap franchise bid with no new trains in the start and also specify what trains FGW can run on their network. The Department for Transport also specify timetables and journey times. Hardly any of the railway's problems in this area are the fault of FGW, it's the Government.

Morons

Police are investigating a spate of attacks on buses across the city which have caused thousands of pounds worth of damage. In the most recent incident, a female driver was left in shock and covered in shattered glass after a thug smashed a window as she pulled into a bus stop.
Police say the number 47 Citybus was approaching a stop in Colwill Road, Mainstone at around 3.50pm on Monday when a large window next to her exploded inwards. More

This is just the latest in a series of attacks on buses recently and its very lucky that no one has been killed yet. As usual police are asking for anyone who has any information to contact them. Sadly if they do catch any of them, its highly unlikely the punishment will amount to much.  Am I being to cynical here?

Trojan Bus

Yobs who lob missiles at city buses are to be targeted by undercover police officers posing as passengers. The new initiative by Plymouth police comes after a string of reckless attacks in recent months.
According to Citybus Operations Manager Phil Smith
"We reckon it's costing us around £100,000 a year in repairs, downtime and drivers being off sick. That's nearly the cost of a new bus."

Devon Fire Brigade

Another photo from the emergency services. Devon Fire Brigade's Mercedes Fire Command Unit. One of 4 bought for the fleet back in 1999. They are certainly distinctive and very smart.

Sadly the Fire Brigade features in the news tonight for all the wrong reasons as firemen were bombarded with stones from youths when called out to a small fire. It seems that the fire was deliberately set as an ambush. With the recent stone throwing incident I reported on a few days ago being one of about twelve such attacks on bus drivers by stone throwing youths it seems that anyone out there providing a public service is considered a target. Of course the bus company could just decide not to serve an area after dark, as happens across the country. The Fire Brigade dont really have that option, and I am sure they wouldnt want to take such action even if they could.

Mindless thugs

My wife coming home from town just half an hour ago reported that a Citybus was stopped just outside Asda with the driver looking injured and glass everywhere. When I popped out to have a look I found Citybus Dart 77 parked across the road with the ambulance just leaving the scene. The drivers side window was smashed in and the police were out questioning a young man around the corner. It seems that stones were thrown at the bus.
It does seem to be the case all around the country these days that youths see buses and bus drivers as easy targets. I wouldnt want to be a driver out at night these days. Many evening services are already being cut back because they dont take enough in fares. How long before we see Citybus cutting back evening buses because of driver safety. Perhaps the cctv should also cover the ouside of the buses as well?
I hope the driver isnt too badly injured.

Big Brother is watching

Back on 18th August I mentioned the fitting of CCTV to most of its fleet of buses.
I have been looking back over the past few weeks and have seen several stories involving the cctv so it does seem to have been a success. Plymouth Citybus has spent more than £250,000 installing CCTV systems on its buses in order to improve safety for both customers and employees. So far 130 out of the Citybus fleet of 173 vehicles have been fitted with the sophisticated six-camera continuous recording system, which allows the driver to check on all parts of the bus.All Citybus buses will eventually be fitted with the system, which costs £2,250 per bus and which will mean a total bill of almost £400,000.
There have been a few stories where police have used cctv pictures to try and trace passengers who have been caught on camera being abusive to drivers.
22nd August: Police are looking to speak to this man in connection with an assault which took place on a bus in Leigham. During the assault, which took place on Saturday, July 22 at about 6pm, a man spat in the bus driver's face after he told him - and a group of friends sitting with him - to behave.
13 October: Police investigating an indecent exposure offence in Plymouth have released a CCTV image of a man they want to trace.The offence is alleged to have happened in the Mutley Plain area at about 7pm on the evening of Friday, July 28
October has not been a good month for Citybus with several incidents occuring which has placed drivers and passengers at risk. One nasty incident reported 13 October reads "POLICE are appealing for witnesses after youths threw lit fireworks through the window of a bus.The main offender, described as a white male aged 15 to 20 in a white top and white cap, walked up to the open window of the Citybus 34B service and threw the fireworks in."
Another nasty incident occured 23rd October:
A bus driver and his passengers were left bloodied and shocked after a violent ambush by young thugs.Police say a group of around eight teenagers in tracksuits and hooded tops ran up behind the single-decker Citybus as it briefly stopped in North Prospect Road at the junction of Ham Drive. The yobs opened the engine flap at the rear of the vehicle and, as it was about to pull away, struck the emergency engine cut-off button.Unable to move, the driver and his handful of passengers were trapped inside as the youths pelted the side of the bus with stones, denting the metalwork and smashing a double-glazed side window.The imploding window showered glass over one passenger, causing a small cut just below the eye.
Its not just the buses themselves that are covered by cctv:
A plymouth Citybus boss has warned vandals and thieves that they are likely to be captured on CCTV if they trespass at the Milehouse depot. Operations director Phil Smith was speaking after 12 buses were damaged and vital equipment stolen in the early hours of Saturday.Thieves broke windows and stole items including special hammers designed for breaking buses' windows in an emergency, fire extinguishers and first aid boxes.Citybus estimates that the damage will cost more than £1,000 to repair.Mr Smith said no services were disrupted on Saturday following the vandalism, just after 1am that morning.He admitted that the depot was a sprawling, open site but added that it was extensively covered by CCTV cameras.
An unusual story today highlights the fact that the bus drivers themselves are also being watched by the cctv.
An investigation has been launched after allegations that a bus driver attacked three teenagers on a rival firm's bus.First Devon and Cornwall today told the Herald it was looking into an incident in which it was claimed a driver stopped his bus, got off and boarded a Plymouth Citybus vehicle. An eye witness told the Herald that the First driver allegedly 'punched' and 'throttled' one of the teenage boys. The spokesman for First Devon and Cornwall said: "A full investigation is being carried out."Phil Smith, operations manager for Plymouth Citybus, said he was aware of the allegation and had offered footage from the firm's CCTV system to aid the investigation.

This last story does show what a difficult position drivers are in. When offenders are caught they are often let of with minor punishments. If a driver does retaliate he often ends up in more trouble than the original offenders who cause the problems in the first place. At least Citybus drivers know they are covered by cctv - perhaps its time for First Group to offer the same protection to its staff?

Public Interest

Back in February parts of Plymouth saw a string of vandal attacks on bus stops which was reported here on 19 Feb and then again 22nd Feb. I heard nothing more on these attacks and I dont suppose for one minute anybody was ever caught and punished for the attacks. Its pretty clear that these sort of anti social attacks don't really come that high in police priorities - and its also clear that when the police do catch vandals then the Criminal (so called) justice system does not bother that much either.
So a nice little story from Portsmouth caught my eye today.
10-year-old convicted over bus stop damage ©Portsmouth.co.uk

A 10-year-old boy has been ordered to hand over his pocket money for nine months to help pay for the damage he caused to a bus stop. The vandal was hauled before magistrates in a private criminal action brought by fed-up bosses at Portsmouth bus firm First after prosecutors refused to take action, claiming the case was not in the public interest. But First managed to get a conviction against the youngster.First director Mike Smith said: 'The 10-year-old vandalised a bus shelter in Portsea Island by breaking the timetable case and he was caught red-handed doing it while mucking around with his friends. We have to let kids know they are not going to get away with it.'The youngster will now spend nine months handing over a total of £15 from his pocket money to the company to pay for some of the damage he caused.

Many will say that for £15 it wasn't worth the effort, but I am sure First wont see it that way. Its a shame there is no comment from the boys parents as to their sons behaviour. The biggest shame is that they had to go for a private criminal action as the case was not in the public interest. Seeing the state of the bus shelter after the attack I fail to see how it wasnt in the public interest.
It wasnt all good news for First in Portsmouth today though as this story shows!

CCTV for Plymouth Citybus

Plymouth Citybus has announced that it is spending more than £300,000 on new cctv equipment in almost all of its buses. In a bid to crack down on the problems, 125 of the firm's 167 vehicles are now to be fitted with CCTV cameras. The bus operator today announced it was spending between £80,000 and £100,000 a year on replacing bus windows which youths are smashing with missiles, including rocks and pieces of wood. Six or seven bus drivers a year are also assaulted.
A single-deck bus fitted with CCTV will boast six cameras, while a double-decker will have eight.Minibuses will not have CCTV.The cameras - although mostly installed inside the buses - will also be able to record footage of incidents outside the vehicles too.

Vandal attack

More news from this is Plymouth about the reported attack on bus shelters a few days ago. Back on my Soap Box Sunday posting I wondered if the paper had reported the vandal attck correctly as being on Thursday evening when I saw the smashed shelter on Sunday morning. Well it now appears that the shelters were repaired on Friday- and then smashed again in the evening.

Residents in Plymouth are being urged to stay vigilant and help catch vandals who smash up bus shelters.The appeal comes after the city council revealed that shelters in two busy roads had been vandalised 16 times within the space of a few days.Panes of glass were smashed at seven bus shelters in Outland Road and Tavistock Road last Thursday night.They were fixed last Friday, but vandals then smashed up nine shelters in the two roads over the weekend.
Bus shelters in Plymouth are repaired by a private firm, JCDecaux. Each pane of glass costs up to £140, and replacing them is even more expensive.All shelters in the city are repaired within 48 hours, but the bills add up to thousands of pounds annually.Last December, JCDecaux warned that the 48-hour repair service it offered could be withdrawn in some areas if the vandalism continued.
Sadly there is a footnote to the story in the comment left by one web site reader:

Whats the point reporting these kids smashing the shelters up to the Police. I
called the police regarding a bunch of youths near a bus shelter outside my
home, they arrived 4 hours later, after the shelter had been smashed.... they
never even came for a statement of who I saw. So I ask the question, whats the
point.

Soap Box Sunday

"A soapbox is a raised, improvised platform on which one stands to make an impromptu speech, often about a political subject. Alternately, the word may be used to describe the box that soap comes in." Wikipedia

There are two very different stories in the local news this weekend each dealing with antisocial behaviour and the transport system in Plymouth.
This is Plymouth reports
Police are investigating a string of vandal attacks on bus shelters in Plymouth over the weekend. All the windows were smashed on at least three bus shelters on the Derriford to city centre route on Friday night.Police say the vandalism has been reported and is under investigation. Glass was left strewn across the pavement after the shelters on Tavistock Road, between Manadon and Derriford roundabouts, were damaged..

These bus shelters are expensive to repair and actually give a fairly good level of protection from the elements. They are a lot better than most of the shelters used previously and there are a lot more of them. They are paid for by the advertising they carry. After the glass has been smashed a few times at a bus shelter they give up and replace the glass with metal sheeting. This may be more vandal proof but makes it a lot less easy to see the buses coming when you are in them. Our own shelter up the road from where I live has been fitted out like this after the glass was smashed four times in three weeks. I saw one damaged shelter on Sunday morning (I hope the news story was wrong and it wasnt smashed on Friday evening) It would have been very dangerous with a lot of broken glass around the area and on the road. The morons who did this are probably quite proud of their work.

The other item of news which caught my eye is only vaguely connected with transport in that it concerns a mural at Bretonside bus station. The bus station at Bretonside is a well known and widely recognised disgrace to the City of Plymouth. Its dingy and damp and cold and, like many bus stations, mostly a home for tramps and drunks. Its a no go area late at night for this reason. One thing which did brighten it up slightly was a large painted mural down through the main 'tunnel' pedestrian walkway. Someone has noted one depiction of a 'black man' said to be holding a stick of dynamite (it didnt look like that to me). Apparently the British National Party have stated that they wanted to use this picture for their own aims. This has brought the picture to the attention of everyone as being a racist picture. The young artist has stated that it was nothing of the sort.

"I'm shocked and bemused by the accusations that my art piece at Bretonside Bus Station has been interpreted as being racially offensive."The piece was inspired by the plight of indigenous groups, specifically the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert whose ways of life are being eroded by the activities of multi-national corporations. The image depicts Kalahari bushmen making fire in the traditional way, rubbing sticks together."The replacement of sticks with dynamite symbolised the evils of globalisation. This image was never intended to be a statement on race."

The Council which has not had any complaints abut the artwork has arranged for it to be repainted. Full story here

It is sad that a piece of art, which has been around for a while and caused no offence to anyone has had to be targeted in this way just because one group says its racist. The implication being that the BNP like it, so therefore it must be racist and therefore must be removed. In many places the Union Jack flag is seen as a problem for the same reason.

I am glad that the council have at least asked the artist to come up with something else in its place rather than a kneejerk reaction and gone in and just painted over it - like the so called monitoring group demanded.

Bus Stops

An important part of any public transport network is the humble bus stop.
Plymouth is fairly well equipped when it comes to the quality of its bus stops. We have lots of these fairly smart shelters from JC Deveraux and many of the stops have raised curbs for low floor easy access.
The bus stop feature above is at the top of Keswick Crescent, just down the road from Asda. It is slightly unusual for two reasons. First of all there is very little glass left in it. On most of these stops all the sides are glass but this one has had its glass smashed so many times by the local idiots that they gave up replacing it and instead installed the tough full metal panels instead.
The second is more down to its location, in that the timetable inside the shelter has lost a few journeys. Some early morning journeys from the city centre by pass Asda - which is normally the stop before this one. The computerised timetable sheet though takes its timings from Asda so the ones which don't stop there don't appear on this timetable. This includes the bus I catch to work in the mornings!
An example of the timetable display appears below. This one is actually in the bus stop opposite the one pictured above. As no First D&C buses currently stop here only Citybus promotional material appears. This one is fairly free from graffiti although you can see examples of the other local trick of trying to melt the plastic coating with cigarette lighters. nice!