Now in case anyone thinks I'm an Ipswich Buses hater I'm not. In fact they have my absolute sympathy having to tolerate the utter circus that is Ipswich traffic management day in day out. So called improvements have done nothing to increase traffic flow or encourage visitors to the town. In fact more often than not Ipswich is one big jam and of course when a bus is late because of this IB gets it in the neck. Must admit I wouldn't have the patience to drive round Ipswich all the time.
So IB have taken steps to improve punctuality by extending peak journey times so services take into account the traffic and get to the destination nearer the stated time. Here is what IB say about the X1/X2/X3. Hang on what's the X2???
X1/X2/X3 – most times between 0800 and 0930 changed slightly on Mondays to Fridays. There will be one less journey to and from Greenwich but we believe that those which operate will be more punctual for you. There are also adjustments to times between 1630 and 1800 in the afternoon on Mondays to Saturdays.
So to put it another way thanks to the traffic problems in Ipswich there will be longer journeys and less buses. Not the best indictment on those who continually bugger up the roads. However there is a certain amount of triumph regarding the 13, and let's face it who can blame them...
First’s route 53 finishes at Easter, so from September we will be increasing the frequency of our route 13 to run at least every 10 minutes all day. A big thank you to our customers on this route who have stayed loyal to your locally owned company, and we will now try and make further improvements to your service.
Just one thing - shouldn't that read local PUBLICLY owned company? You can read the full service announcement by clicking here.
There is just one more paragraph I'd like to quote from the announcement. It says as follows...
We also have four brand new British built 39 seater single-deck buses entering service. These vehicles will, as usual, have e-leather seating and will bring new style to the routes they appear on. We have reviewed our operations and these new buses will replace old double-deckers. The new buses use one third less fuel, have much cleaner engines, and more accessible seats. We hope you will enjoy travelling on them!
So what are these wonder buses? I said in a post recently that IB were wanting to convert to an all single decker fleet and this is the start. So let's pick that statement apart shall we and reveal the truth. First of all let's reveal the vehicles - big fanfare - they are ADL E200's. Ah you say but obviously Ipswich Buses will have gone for the much improved E200 MMC's surely? Well rather conveniently Ipswich Buses posted a couple of pictures on their Facebook page this afternoon and advertised the fact on Twitter. Are they E200 MMC's?
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| One of the new E200's at ADL in Falkirk |
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| The interior of te E200's |
So to continue. Can't argue with the third less fuel as they also carry half the passengers so fuel use per passenger carried on a full load is actually more than it would be on a decker. Yes I know full loads on deckers are rare but I've certainly known them in Ipswich. More accessible seats? I think not. The people who aways sit downstairs on deckers always occupy the lower level on single deckers. So instead of escaping up the stairs those people who normally go upstairs will have to push past the numerous buggies and shopping trollies. This is nothing new as I commented on the problem when trying out the Citaros in Ipswich last year. It does not speed things up, if anything it takes longer for people to get on and off. Cleaner engines can't be disputed.
So to re-jig the spin. Suffolk County Council incomptence in dealing with traffic problems in Ipswich has forced Ipswich Buses into extending journey times and reducing services to reduce punctuality. At the same time Ipswich Buses can't afford to buy new deckers so are buying the cheapest single decker available and make it sound like everyone's on a winner! Put the Champaigne on ice!
Park & Ride Update
Since I posted about the possibility of Ipswich P&R closing the subject has got a lot of attenetion, with local media and radio getting involved. Ipswich Borough Council have been forced into issuing a statement saying thery want to keep P&R going and will do anything they can. BUT it cannot carry on in it's current form as it costs too much and savings have to be made. I still say the car parks will stay open but dedicated buses will go. Watch this space.
And how many millions have been spent on improving the traffic system in Ipswich???? One accident on the A14 and everything is knackered. Hope IB will have the spare capacity when their buses get stuck in the predictable and far too frequent jams. Personally, I think doing away with any dble decks is a serious error. School contracts etc come to mind.
ReplyDeleteAgree with every word. Trevor.
DeleteThere is another livery similar to our local one I had a pic and I think Roy may have too somewhere as we did a double take from poss H&D Trim I am getting Northampton......is this your card air......lol
ReplyDeleteJust reading the bit about locally owned company lothian buses had a similar message on the side of their vehicles before the new livery came about
ReplyDeleteI guess First can say that in Aberdeen......
DeleteThats true
DeleteBus in the back corner. Unless you are blind, it's clearly a picture which goes all the way along the top. Jeez.
ReplyDeleteActually I've been having constant eye surgery for 10 years now but thanks for that!
DeleteAlso x2 is from Greenwich to Ipswich. I have no clue about IB but a 10 seconds search showed me....
ReplyDeleteIt was just another stab at anglian I presume, but I'm sure 1 will deny it.
I honestly don't know why you bother reading this blog as everything seems to offend you. No it wasn't another stab at Anglian - had it been an E400MMC in First colours I'd have said the same thing. You sure you're not a trifle oversensitive?
DeleteIf you are comparing total capacity of an E200 to a decker it is a closer comparison (E200 carries 70 around 40 of which are seating whilst a decker carries around 90 with somewhere over 70 seating). If the E200s are only using 30% less fuel than their deckers then Ipswich Buses are getting a very impressive fuel consumption from their deckers, in my experience new Euro 5 E200s give over 10mpg whilst an early Trident is around 5mpg, which would actually give a slight improvement in fuel consumption per seated passenger (a Euro 5 E200 is also close to half the purchase price of a new decker). You also have the question of whether all the workings covered by deckers actually need a decker, some workings at some times may need one but most of the time they won't and it is likely that there are some workings that have deckers because that is what is in the fleet rather than what the demand actually requires in which case the savings are more marked.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you're right - for instance the 38 shuttle was a decker the other day. On the other hand, retaining some of them gives the company the flexibility it may occasionally need, e.g.for the Suffolk Show, School Services or Rail Replacement. No easy answers!
DeleteWhat I would like to know is the comparative seating comparison of a single decker vs. the downstairs of a double decker? I ask this because many older passengers can't use the top deck and so its capacity isn't necessarily "usable".
Sorry, but you could take out the word "Ipswich" in this blog and insert the name of whatever town you like in the Country and it'd be the same story.
ReplyDeleteI think we've got ourselves into a mess where the planners are trying to please everybody and incorporate every new gimmick going (gimmicks get cash usually from the latest government wheeze to distribute from a shrinking pot rather like some prize lottery); and end up pleasing nobody.
If it's any consolation, for a real full-on disaster-in-the-making look at Cambridge! I think Ipswich was the dummy run.
But perhaps at least IB make some sort of effort to talk to their customers. We might not like what they're saying; the same is true of Stagecoach but I just have a feeling it's not completely irrelevant to their success.
DeleteIn fairness, there are some routes in Ipswich like the 4 and the 38 which don't really need the double deck capacity, so if the new E200s are to recitify this, it'll be OK. Hopefully this is not a return of the old "double deck buses are useless and rubbish" dogma that so many operators got tangled up in, London included, in the late 1990s and early 2000s.
ReplyDeleteThe lunchtime 38 is operated by a spare bus, quite often a bus that's just been serviced or repaired, which is why it can be anything from a Solo to an Olympus Scania. It's only poodling around for a couple of hours so wouldn't take to much importance in that.
DeleteMy 13:15 X5 journey on DAF/East Lancs 55 earlier today was almost full leaving Tower Ramparts. I just hope IB aren't daft enough to put single deckers on the X5.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced full deckers throughout the day too, Laine, which is why I'm scratching my head a bit too. 70 on an E200 is not fun believe me!
Deletemax capcity on e200s is 62 including standing!
ReplyDeleteNot the ones my employers run which are rated with max capacities of 69 or 70 though precise capacity mix will depend on the specification selected. Getting the full 70 in is possible though it is somewhat snug. Ipswich will still have plenty of deckers in the fleet since we are, after all, simply talking about 4 buses.
DeleteA Euro 6 E200MMC costs £10-15k more than the old style Euro 5 E200. I am sure ADL would prefer to just sell MMCs but the government haven't changed the law mandating Euro 6 and so operators still want to buy the simpler Euro 5 models. At some point either the government will finally get round to closing the loophole still allowing Euro 5 or enough operators will be convinced to switch that the manufacturers can claim no demand (they could simply force the switch but unless all three do it together whoever jumps first will lose business to those that continue to offer Euro 5).
Not only snug but how long does it take for someone at the back to get past those 31 standing (plus buggies)to get off. I guess time will tell.
DeleteThat price comparison is interesting especially as only this week air quality levels in Ipswich made the headlines. Perhaps the extra for MMC's might have been seen to be money well spent politically as trailblazing cleaner air for Ipswich by Ipswich's local council.
single deck capacity on most d'deckers is 27 to 30
ReplyDeleteA teeny weeny bit of hyperbole, perhaps? As I understand it, deckers will still be available for services that need them; but at busy times it may be that some passengers will have to stand - as in every other sizeable town. The TC's guidance, which they enforce, now means that services have to be adjusted to cope with regular delays. I've said before it's a mixed blessing, to put it politely; a curse might be a better description.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that, luckily, IB have been able to maintain longer than most the ideal of buses as a social service. But they have to operate in a commercial world, the more so if their owners might want to sell (or get a lower price, and then find the adjustments and profits come to the buyer, but they will come). Similarly with the stock, I would suspect that most journeys in Ipswich are around or less than 30 minutes. It's around the hour or more when I find comfort becomes critical (and I am a critical traveller). And I suspect too that modern single deckers are often the most friendly buses for the less mobile and buggies. If the frequency and price are right, and IB always seem to me to be along the right lines, then I believe that most normal people (not looking for trouble) are prepared to tolerate a little bit of inconvenience. We get it everywhere else, the buses can't be the exception. And at least IB appear to be open and honest with their passengers, as well as conscientious; would that a few others could more closely follow that example, please.
I would say that few town journeys in Ipswich last longer than 20 minutes except in conditions of traffic congestion. I agree that IB talks to its customers, you only have to look at their Facebook/Twitter pages to see that.
ReplyDeleteOne fundamental issue relating to the above post is whether IBC as owners of IB expect the company to break even or make a profit for Council coffers. I understand that this depends on which group is in power on the Council. If IB are required to make a profit then this puts them on a financial par with other companies, albeit they don't have the economies of scale of folk like First or Stagecoach. On the other hand, if IB are simply allowed to break even, then they should be able to offer more of a social service.
Presumably IBC cannot subsidise IB routes as that would be seen as illegal? (Not that, as far as I know, IBC do subsidise any bus services these days, I think that's down to the County Council).
The main point I think is that IB have to act "at arms length" from the Council (assuming they are its main or only shareholder). The Directors owe their duties as such to the company, and not to the Council. So "bailing out" is not an option, but otherwise as with any other bus company they can balance service and profits. But generically subsidising services by the Council, not in accordance with legislation, would be considered unlawful "State Aid".
ReplyDeleteBut perhaps as always the main issues lie outside the pure statutory framework. Council budgets are under intense pressure, and it is going to get worse. (How would you or I cope with a 20% cut in our main income?) With tax rates held below inflation over time, commercial income is the only source of growth. And I suspect the directors of IB would be less than sensible not to bear that in mind in their medium-term planning. That's the sort of thing I mean by "commercial realities". It's not just the here and now but what may be coming down the track. We don't, but the Company has to be prepared for the future.
None of us can just live for today, and expect nothing to change.
Ipswich! MMC is what you need to buy next time! I thought they'd ordered a batch of 8 E400MMC anyway to replace the Spectras and ALX400s!
ReplyDeleteLook at the costs if they can buy a cheaper bus why not.Besides Lothian, Reading and Nottingham City Transport very few council owned buses are making anything out of the ordinary.
DeleteOh hang on, Malcolm could order euro 6 a year ago when he was still at IB so why cant the new guy!
ReplyDelete