Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

[mrd97]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(25/02/2020 17:59)iMarkeh Wrote:  I always used to notice at Sir Thomas Street, the bus stop would be full and all these buses would come in and it wouldn't seem to do much but as soon as a 487 turned up, the bus stop would lose like 2/3rds of the passengers waiting. That was when the 2 was around!

Would it make much difference if you swapped the 464 and 487 between Birkenhead and Kings Road? The 464 can and does have bigger buses on the route whereas the 487 can't really increase the size of the buses because of the bridges and how tight the route can be at times.

I’ve always thought would be a sensible option. Borough Road is well served enough to lose a double decker bus every half hour (464) and replace it with a single (487)

[L401CJF]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(25/02/2020 18:57)mrd97 Wrote:  I’ve always thought would be a sensible option. Borough Road is well served enough to lose a double decker bus every half hour (464) and replace it with a single (487)

But I would argue this section of the 487 is the most profitable part of the route, the Bebington to Ness section is not that busy outside of peak times in comparison to the Tranmere end

[mrd97]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(25/02/2020 22:25)L401CJF Wrote:  But I would argue this section of the 487 is the most profitable part of the route, the Bebington to Ness section is not that busy outside of peak times in comparison to the Tranmere end

True. The 464, from what I’ve seen, is never packed. I don’t even think it justifies double deckers. Obviously they can’t be put on the 487 though. Hence why the busier section of the 487 Route in Tranmere could benefit from deckers, which could be achieved by swapping the routes around.

Which bridges in Neston are too short for a decker? I assume some are high enough as I’ve seen deckers on the 272 occasionally.

[60008]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot
the rail bridges across Liverpool Road and Marshlands Road are both 13ft 9", the other three are fine height wise.

[Turbostar19]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot
I always used to notice at Sir Thomas Street, the bus stop would be full and all these buses would come in and it wouldn't seem to do much but as soon as a 487 turned up, the bus stop would lose like 2/3rds of the passengers waiting. That was when the 2 was around!

Would it make much difference if you swapped the 464 and 487 between Birkenhead and Kings Road? The 464 can and does have bigger buses on the route whereas the 487 can't really increase the size of the buses because of the bridges and how tight the route can be at times.

I can see the merit in doing this, but given that the 464 doesn't operate in the evening, that would leave no direct service between Liverpool & the area around St Catherine's Medical Centre with only the 38 serving it at night.

[iMarkeh]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(26/02/2020 12:19)Turbostar19 Wrote:  I can see the merit in doing this, but given that the 464 doesn't operate in the evening, that would leave no direct service between Liverpool & the area around St Catherine's Medical Centre with only the 38 serving it at night.

Renumber evenings to 488 and keep the current routing post 7pm? There is lots you can do to play around with it but if you don't increase the capacity to meet the demand, current passengers will go elsewhere and you certainly won't gain any new passengers.


As for the Liverpool Road bridge, I thought it was lower than 13ft.

[L401CJF]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(26/02/2020 06:42)mrd97 Wrote:  True. The 464, from what I’ve seen, is never packed. I don’t even think it justifies double deckers. Obviously they can’t be put on the 487 though. Hence why the busier section of the 487 Route in Tranmere could benefit from deckers, which could be achieved by swapping the routes around.

Which bridges in Neston are too short for a decker? I assume some are high enough as I’ve seen deckers on the 272 occasionally.

The 272 used to come down Hinderton Rd which is a high bridge, round ladies walk and straight back down Burton Rd to Little Neston. When it was recently rerouted to service Ladies Walk and Brook Street the deckers have stopped being used as they won't fit under the bridge at the station.

If I remember rightly Arriva Hybrids are 13'11 (or are they 13'10?) so won't fit

[R557 ABA]

 RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot

(21/02/2020 16:20)bus401 Wrote:  487 operated by pulsars today,streetlites on other routes.

The StreetLites tend to live on the 418/492/495 nowadays. I was unfortunate enough to ride 6000 this morning; slow is an understatement.

[Turbostar]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot
By the way, is there any news on the hybrid buses being refurbished? There was talk a while back but they just seem to be getting more tatty & worn inside.

[mr t]

RE: Arriva North West - Birkenhead Depot
I was told they were going through refurbishment about 18 months ago but not seen any yet and stil getting worse