Monday, October 26, 2009

X3 bus service

I was asked to check the route of the X3 bus service into Stourport. During the works diversions were in place. Now the works are over I was asked to see if the X3 was back on its old route. Of course it should be, but hey has anyone told them the works are over?


It should be a simple question and yet no definitive answer can be found from the website. The existing timetable runs from April and the last relevant information from their travel news was the link above detailing the changes. Nothing to remove that impression has been issued so in theory the altered routes still apply.

One phone call later and I discover all the buses are back onto their normal routes... except the X3; hah! No it's only a minor point, it's running down Lombard Street instead of Minister Road. Hmm scratching my head on that, does that just mean it's not heading down Gilgal or does it mean it's not heading up Vale Road? I'm betting the former, but in either case that doesn't concern my query. Still the fact I had to call shows a lack of technical expertise.

4 comments:

SteveS said...

Now thats interesting. On Saturday my wife and the sprogs were going back to her mum and dads. She took the car and so dropped me in Kiddy to get a portable hard drive to transfer my daughters music, pics etc on to, as she has finally managed to kill her laptop and our dreams of a new three piece suite have gone out the window for the eigth year on the trot. As of course, she claims she can't live without a laptop! But thats another story, as well as Orange capping our internet speed in the evening due to excessive usage, in their terms, that means sending more than one email a week and probably viewing more than 2 web pages a day. But thats another gripe, back to the point. Without a car, I thought I would get the bus back to Stourport. Unsure of pick up points and bus numbers, I finally deduced that the No 15 doesn't run on a Saturday, but the 295 would take me right past "The Grove", via Wilden. The timetable said there was one at 1.30 Saturday afternoon, so I arrived at the bus depot at 1.15. I waited and waited. One thirty duly came and went and no sign of 295. Nobody else waiting for it either, which didn't fill me with hope. My wife rang me and said there were major roadworks on her route to Cambridgeshire, so I told her I would get home and find a diversion for her on internet. Well at 1.50, I gave up on the bus and took a taxi. Eight pounds! Gone up a bit since last time I took one. Anyway, got wife round roadworks on A1, then started thinking about the bus. It suddenly occured to me it was 24th October and roadworks weren't due to finish untill Monday, so I had pressumed they were running roadworks timetable still, which meant I was waiting for a bus that was never going to come! I just pressumed when Gilgal opened, bus's would automatically go back to normal running. Sorry, that was a long comment, but with the other half away with kids, having trouble filling my day! Its amazing how much time they take up!

SteveS said...

Oh and just gone on Shuttle website, lucky I did, did you know they are closing Mitton Street this weekend and next weekend? Not the original plan, but they have come across some unforeseen problems! I thought in the original or updated plan, if they had to do this, they were talking of diversions using Gilgal and Vale Road, which I presumed meant making Gilgal two way? Bit strange, as they wouldn't make Mitton Street two way or am I going mad?

FlipC said...

By happy coincidence just after writing this I saw an X3 drive past the point that was required so I know it's running. Of course it might not have been, as we both know the original schedule ran to the 25th and my information post-dates that. So your experience suggests they were running to works timetable up to the original date.

As for Mitton Street no I didn't know that - and with my contacts that suggests that a damn fast decision was made.

Wait a second a group of unusual yellow-jackets were out in force yesterday around 1pm "The result of these discussions and site visits" perhaps.

No signs up this morning so they're cutting it fine.

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