While service changes won’t come into effect until Wednesday 25th March, I feel the need to point out that until then bus services are running as normal to normal service timetables.
Bus passengers will have already noticed in the last week or so, that fewer people are using buses at present, and that traffic levels on the roads have been much reduced, so there has been less congestion as a result.
Which means that the majority of bus services across the region have actually been running on time!
Until new timetables are introduced on Wednesday (details to be announced on Monday), I just wanted to take the time to stress that nothing has changed regarding service levels, but a couple of things to be aware of in the meantime.
With fewer passengers and less traffic congestion, don’t be surprised if your regular bus journey arrives early or on time.
Timetabled information that appears at bus stops is usually for guidance only, so unless your particular stop has been designated as a ‘timing point’ on that route (highlighted on downloadable timetables) your bus might actually arrive one or two minutes ahead of schedule, dependent on traffic conditions.
So it is probably very prudent advice to get to your normal stop a couple of minutes ahead of when you normally world, to avoid the situation where you ‘miss’ your bus because it is running on-time or ‘early’.
The ‘timing points’ on any bus route are where reliability performance is measured. These are the places where early-running services will have to ‘wait’ in order to make up time.
These are also the places where unfortunately you will have the idiots who start banging on the stop button, completely oblivious to how bus scheduling works.
So during these difficult times, until the new revised schedules come into effect from Wednesday, please have a little patience and understanding towards bus drivers and fellow passengers.
- Try to arrive at your stop a little earlier than normal
- Please be patient if your service is running ahead of schedule and has to wait time before it can continue
- Take your litter with you and dispose of it off the bus
- Cover your mouth when coughing or sneezing to prevent spread of germs
- Please take a seat if one is available and avoid standing in the way of other passengers trying to get on or off the bus
