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Bus route teaser
Posted: 27 Jul 2018, 21:27
by GuyBarry
As I mentioned elsewhere, I live on the route of the 20A and 20C buses in Bath. The 20A bus runs from Bath University via Widcombe Hill, the city centre, Weston, Twerton, Whiteway, Combe Down and on to Bath University again. The 20C bus does the same route in reverse.
There is no 20B, and there never has been. Explain the numbering.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 27 Jul 2018, 22:05
by Iain
Since the route's circular, would it be clockwise and anti-clockwise?
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 27 Jul 2018, 23:34
by al
That would certainly be the standard reason. Some towns, such as Eastbourne, historically used the plain number for clockwise with an A suffix for anti clockwise.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 28 Jul 2018, 07:53
by GuyBarry
Yes, that's right. I hadn't come across this numbering convention anywhere else - is it fairly widespread?
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 28 Jul 2018, 11:43
by al
I would say yes, but it probably depends on something like who owned the company before deregulation (eg Tilling or a Corporation). It will probably also be affected by more modern renumbering schemes where some Managers seem to have had a stringent dislike of suffixes (or prefixes) as they were deemed difficult to remember. Also, of course, many towns only have out and back routes as their local geography doesn't lend itself to circulars!
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 28 Jul 2018, 15:00
by GuyBarry
In the case of the 20A/C, there are at least three stops on the route that are served by buses going in both directions (because they're slightly off the circuit), so it's essential to have some way of distinguishing them.
The most confusing one is the stop at Bath University, the so-called "terminus". On Saturdays, and on weekdays outside term-time, a bus arriving as a 20A will depart as a 20C and vice versa. However on term-time weekdays half the buses change their number at the university and half don't. This is to provide for a half-hourly service on the section of the route between the university and Twerton, where there's another turn-round point (the service is hourly otherwise). I used to use this section of the route to and from work and almost got on the wrong bus once or twice!
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 30 Jul 2018, 11:04
by michael_churchill
Here in Southampton, Unilink buses are supported by the University, open to the public, but routed for the convenience of students. Bus numbers are a U followed by a number and a suffix which indicates the direction by a code letter representing the destination. For instance U1 is either U1C heading to the city centre or U1A (Airport) / U1E (Eastleigh) in the opposite direction. The one that gets closest to where I live is the U6H (Hospital).
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 01 Aug 2018, 21:22
by Iain
The H9/H10 do a similar thing - it caught me out on a full network once, I let an H10 go past as I was expecting an H9 to North Harrow!
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 13 Aug 2018, 10:38
by tufnellpark
Having grown up in London I am traditional regarding bus numbers. I still think bus numbers should be, well numbers and forget the alphabetic prefixes and suffixes which can confuse passengers, as the above posts discuss. 1-200 were Central routes. 201-299 were single decker or trolleybus replacement routes. 300-499 were Country routes. 700s Green Line routes. Simples.
In 1966, LT came up with the Bus Reshaping Plan which introduced letter prefixes for new suburban routes, such as H for Harrow and W for Wood Green in my part of North London, and introduced single deckers which were soon overcrowded. After privatisation in 1986, the 300s and 400s moved into the Central area and we all became confused.
I reckon the worst example of letters is route 7XP, which used to be route 300 across the Severn Bridge from Bristol to Newport. 7XP stands for Severn Express so letters have been introduced by First merely as a marketing gimmick.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 13 Aug 2018, 13:25
by al
I share your dislike of 7XP. My favourite use of letters was by Your Bus of Alcester, who ran competitive journeys against WMT in the early 90s. They added a Y suffix to all their services, however they ran a circular for one of them, so these became A6Y and C6Y. They were unusual for the time in Birmingham as being circulars serving the City Centre, when most were orbital.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 13 Aug 2018, 19:46
by Iain
It's not the prefix that confused me, it's the fact that the number part of the route identifier changes. I think the A and C suffix is a better way to do it than two separate numbers.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 18 Aug 2018, 09:31
by A Challenge
The number 4 bus in Guildford is advertised in one direction as:
Code: Select all
[b]Hospital and Town Centre
Direc[/b]t via The Chase and Rail Stn
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 18 Aug 2018, 11:11
by A2
michael_churchill wrote: ↑30 Jul 2018, 11:04
Here in Southampton, Unilink buses are supported by the University, open to the public, but routed for the convenience of students. Bus numbers are a U followed by a number and a suffix which indicates the direction by a code letter representing the destination. For instance U1 is either U1C heading to the city centre or U1A (Airport) / U1E (Eastleigh) in the opposite direction. The one that gets closest to where I live is the U6H (Hospital).
The most frustrating year of unilink while I was there was the first year where the uni took over running their own services. Their busses didn't have the destinations on the big indicator board so there were laminated sheets of paper in the front windows with the number on. This wasn't great for readability at the best of times but was even worse given that there were bus routes of 2O, 2D & 20 all kicking around.
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 18 Aug 2018, 13:09
by RobbieM
A Challenge wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 09:31
The number 4 bus in Guildford is advertised in one direction as:
Code: Select all
[b]Hospital and Town Centre
Direc[/b]t via The Chase and Rail Stn
Your wish is my command - but I'll
try and be brief... a bit difficult with this one.
I travel on the number 4 most Tuesdays (following hospital treatment for haemochromatosis), to get to work. (And my mate is the MD of the bus company, but that's besides the point...). I travel to the Town Centre from the Hospital, direct, via the Chase and Rail Station.
Traditionally, the Arriva 26 service also travelled from the Hospital to the Town Centre, but not direct. It wound round the University of Surrey campuses before it headed down the Chase and Rail station. So the Safeguard route 4 was the only direct route from the hospital.
Until a few weeks ago... (July 29th).
The University routes were given over to Stagecoach, and the Arriva 26 could no longer take its buses around the University. This meant there was only one route it could feasibly take from the Hospital to the Town Centre - direct via The Chase and Rail Station. So Safeguard now has competition on this route!
Re: Bus route teaser
Posted: 26 Aug 2018, 08:34
by A Challenge
RobbieM wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 13:09
A Challenge wrote: ↑18 Aug 2018, 09:31
The number 4 bus in Guildford is advertised in one direction as:
Code: Select all
[b]Hospital and Town Centre
Direc[/b]t via The Chase and Rail Stn
Your wish is my command - but I'll
try and be brief... a bit difficult with this one.
I travel on the number 4 most Tuesdays (following hospital treatment for haemochromatosis), to get to work. (And my mate is the MD of the bus company, but that's besides the point...). I travel to the Town Centre from the Hospital, direct, via the Chase and Rail Station.
Traditionally, the Arriva 26 service also travelled from the Hospital to the Town Centre, but not direct. It wound round the University of Surrey campuses before it headed down the Chase and Rail station. So the Safeguard route 4 was the only direct route from the hospital.
Until a few weeks ago... (July 29th).
The University routes were given over to Stagecoach, and the Arriva 26 could no longer take its buses around the University. This meant there was only one route it could feasibly take from the Hospital to the Town Centre - direct via The Chase and Rail Station. So Safeguard now has competition on this route!
I didn't actually expect someone to know what that was, it was just after seeing it (indecently on The Chase) that I thought I'd get you thinking about somewhere can be going to two places direct via two others, but thanks for that information as to why it is like that!