(04 Feb 2015, 8:21 pm)mb134 wrote I've been using the X21 frequently this past week and I noticed a few things:
So I think they could be better off doing this:
- All journeys did have passengers, however only the peak time runs were full, most had a maximum of about 30 on. (From what I saw). So loads at peak times would be spread, helping reliability.
- The timetable seems quite tight, and if there is a large amount of people from upstairs getting off over a few stops, it puts the bus back a few minutes.
- When the bus was late, it seemed like the driver really had to push to get back on time.
32x Volvo B8RLE single deckers, increasing the frequency of both services to every 10 minutes, so there is a combined frequency of every 5. At peak times, this would mean buses were less cramped, and more convenient
These would, I think, be better suited to the route, as they allow for quick entry/exit, have a more powerful engine and you would have buses that are actually pretty full, all of the time.
The current Enviro 400's could then be used to upgrade another route, or provide additional spares.
Thoughts?
Can't help but feel it would make the costs of running the X21/X22 go through the roof.
The advantage of double deckers is that they provide the extra capacity when it's needed; instead of having more peak time runs to combat full buses at this time, double deckers only require the one bus (and hence driver) and lowers costs. The advantage of light-weight double deckers is that it allows for savings on fuel.