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  Poor and expensive

  by GamePlayer, almost 4 years ago
  I currently use buses 2 days a week.

  They are regularly late. As I write this, I am currently at a stop waiting for a bus that is late.

  The timetables are not accurate.

  The information boards at stops are not accurate.

  And for this service, the prices rose over 30% in December. For what?

  
  

  It needs improvement.

  When the buses aren't late, they are often just canceled instead. And then when you eventually get a bus, its a single decker that is overcrowded.

  
  

  Covid rules weren't enforced properly either. Often I'm the only person wearing a mask, despite the... Continue reading

  I currently use buses 2 days a week.

  They are regularly late. As I write this, I am currently at a stop waiting for a bus that is late.

  The timetables are not accurate.

  The information boards at stops are not accurate.

  And for this service, the prices rose over 30% in December. For what?

  
  

  It needs improvement.

  When the buses aren't late, they are often just canceled instead. And then when you eventually get a bus, its a single decker that is overcrowded.

  
  

  Covid rules weren't enforced properly either. Often I'm the only person wearing a mask, despite the buses stating a mask is required. The drivers say nothing ... though I think they are not wanting to be attacked physically.
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  Improvements in Halifax

  by RosieLee, almost 4 years ago

  I live in Halifax, where they are building us a swanky new bus station due to be completed next year I believe. The old one was a nightmare, like standing in a greenhouse in summer and a wind tunnel in bad weather, only partially covered over. So we're glad to be having a new one. However, (and I realise that the logistics of planning this must be a nightmare) whoever has done the planning has obviously has never been to Halifax. Most bus stops have been relocated around the town centre, only ones coming towards the town from Leeds/Bradford direction... Continue reading

  I live in Halifax, where they are building us a swanky new bus station due to be completed next year I believe. The old one was a nightmare, like standing in a greenhouse in summer and a wind tunnel in bad weather, only partially covered over. So we're glad to be having a new one. However, (and I realise that the logistics of planning this must be a nightmare) whoever has done the planning has obviously has never been to Halifax. Most bus stops have been relocated around the town centre, only ones coming towards the town from Leeds/Bradford direction are going in.Unfortunately I live in that direction!

  The entrance to the temporary bus station is at the furthest possible point from the town centre despite there being a slightly nearer access point round the corner, which is gated off and only bus station personnel can use. It's a good 10 minute walk uphill in to the town centre.

  The temporary customer service centre has been located next to the entrance - why not at the top of the site near the town? I know that most people gather their information online nowadays - I do myself, but many elderly people don't, and it's a heck of a traipse to pick up a bus timetable or ask a question.

  There are no toilet facilities and passengers are advised to use ones in Albion Street, which is right at the far side of the town and only open Thursday to Saturday!

  If you need to catch a connecting bus to say Hebden Bridge, the stop is at the top of the town a half mile walk uphill as there are no services from the bus station that go up and through the town during the day - I think there are a couple after 7pm. Why has there not been a shuttle service to get people up into the town and nearer to where stops to other locations are?

  Calderdale is trying to promote itself as a tourist attraction, and indeed it does have a lot to boast about, but this is hardly a good first impression for anyone coming in to the town by bus.

  I realise that this is only temporary and the benefits will be great at the end (hopefully) but we have another year of this to put up with this.
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  Fragmented provision leads to poor overall service

  by Jerryd999, almost 4 years ago
  1. New to the area, I was pleased to read on First West Yorkshire's website that I could buy a day travel ticket for £5.20. Later that day I boarded a bus, only to be told by the driver that the ticket wasn't valid (different company) - but, had I spent 30p more I could have bought a ticket that would be valid on all buses in West Yorkshire. Of course, First has no incentive to tell customers this, so they don't. As a result I stood in the rain for 20 minutes waiting for a First bus to come... Continue reading

  1. New to the area, I was pleased to read on First West Yorkshire's website that I could buy a day travel ticket for £5.20. Later that day I boarded a bus, only to be told by the driver that the ticket wasn't valid (different company) - but, had I spent 30p more I could have bought a ticket that would be valid on all buses in West Yorkshire. Of course, First has no incentive to tell customers this, so they don't. As a result I stood in the rain for 20 minutes waiting for a First bus to come along. When standing at a bus stop reading the live arrivals board, how are customers supposed to know which services their day ticket will be valid on? Am I just supposed to know that a 616 is run by First, but a 622 isn't? Ridiculous. It shouldn't matter.

  2. Buses run by Keighley (Transdev) and First depart stops near me within 5 mins of each other - then there is no bus for another hours. Lack of co-ordination between providers.

  These problems - and plenty more - directly result from there being no co-ordination or co-operation between operators, which is the consequence of a fragmented, privatised model. The customer loses out.

  
  
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  Bad ending to a good evening

  by Izzi, almost 4 years ago
  On the evening ofThursday 21 July I caught a bus from Halifax to Hebden Bridge to see a friend sing in a very successful concert. I couldn't hang around to congratulate her as I wanted to be sure of getting to the bus stop on Market St to catch the 21.46 bus back. After waiting ten minutes past the due time I walked to the main stop where there is an electronic info sign. There were two young women there who had been waiting for some time and who told me there were no buses leaving Todmorden according to info... Continue reading

  On the evening ofThursday 21 July I caught a bus from Halifax to Hebden Bridge to see a friend sing in a very successful concert. I couldn't hang around to congratulate her as I wanted to be sure of getting to the bus stop on Market St to catch the 21.46 bus back. After waiting ten minutes past the due time I walked to the main stop where there is an electronic info sign. There were two young women there who had been waiting for some time and who told me there were no buses leaving Todmorden according to info on one of their phones. The electronic info was still showing timetabled info, not real time info, and certainly nothing about delays. I tried several times to text the bus stop numbers to the number given on each bus stop sign but those messages never went anywhere. What is the point of having that info on the signs if the numbers don't work? Another group turned up wanting a bus to Halifax and we tried in vain to get a taxi, either shared or separately, at the nearest taxi office, but little was available without a long wait. I eventually got a taxi from another office, at great expense.

  I wouldn't mind delays if only bus stops provided accurate information so customers don't have to waste time trying to find out what is happening or seek other means of transport.
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  Real Time travel Info is rubbish

  by Rob39, almost 4 years ago
  Bus travel is not a problem, the issue is the so called real time info displayed at bus stops, bus stations etc. The displays show phantom buses, or display that a bus is due that never turns up or the information disappears from the display at the last minute with no bus appearing. If the display showed a bus was cancelled it would be a lesser issue as people could then plan. This sometimes means people miss an alternative bus due to lack of time to get to another bus stop.

  Bus travel is not a problem, the issue is the so called real time info displayed at bus stops, bus stations etc. The displays show phantom buses, or display that a bus is due that never turns up or the information disappears from the display at the last minute with no bus appearing. If the display showed a bus was cancelled it would be a lesser issue as people could then plan. This sometimes means people miss an alternative bus due to lack of time to get to another bus stop.
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  Mrs W

  by Mrs W, almost 4 years ago

  What I’d like to see most improved is reliability. I have three teenage daughters and regularly get a phone call to say the bus hasn’t turned up leaving them, in my eyes, vulnerable stood at bus stops for lengths of time. Like tonight my daughter was at her friends in Todmorden, we had both looked on the first bus app to agree which bus she would get and then arrange for me to pick her up in mytholmroyd. The bus never came and I ended up driving to Todmorden. It’s worse when the evenings are dark.

  
  

  What I’d like to see most improved is reliability. I have three teenage daughters and regularly get a phone call to say the bus hasn’t turned up leaving them, in my eyes, vulnerable stood at bus stops for lengths of time. Like tonight my daughter was at her friends in Todmorden, we had both looked on the first bus app to agree which bus she would get and then arrange for me to pick her up in mytholmroyd. The bus never came and I ended up driving to Todmorden. It’s worse when the evenings are dark.

  
  
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  Improved but still poor.

  by RedDragon, almost 4 years ago

  Onboard information

  This is somewhat of a joke. FirstBus is very proud of their announcements and displays, but they're only on selected routes. And on those routes, the screens are either missing, off, or frozen 80% of the time. The announcements are mumbled and completely inaudible when the bus is moving or anyone is talking. And what's with it randomly blurting out random place names? You're not in Beeston! This route goes nowhere near Beeston! Not to mention the farce of at least three stops in a row being given as simply "Woodhouse" on buses heading out of the city... Continue reading

  Onboard information

  This is somewhat of a joke. FirstBus is very proud of their announcements and displays, but they're only on selected routes. And on those routes, the screens are either missing, off, or frozen 80% of the time. The announcements are mumbled and completely inaudible when the bus is moving or anyone is talking. And what's with it randomly blurting out random place names? You're not in Beeston! This route goes nowhere near Beeston! Not to mention the farce of at least three stops in a row being given as simply "Woodhouse" on buses heading out of the city towards Headingley!

  Really, what would be nice is the system in London, where the operator is fined if the system doesn't work, the announcements are loud and annunciated, the stop names are the actual stops, and the driver can play auto announcements for diversions, stop closures and any other info needed. It would be nice to get a heads-up before going on a magical mystery tour on diversion!

  Departure info

  Unusable. Why? It seems to think a bus can get from the Headrow to Hyde Park in four minutes. I suppose you could, but you would have to accept a number of fatalities! An algorithm which uses the traffic conditions and the time it took previous buses to traverse the section to make a realistic time is needed. As it is, you have to get up the live bus map and calculate in your head using your local knowledge. The apps and the screens never agree, and cancellation info doesn't reach the FirstBus and thirdparty apps.

  Fares

  It costs me more to get to Ilkley than it does to the Minster, just because I have to change buses. There should be no cost penalty to changing buses, particularly between operators. It is impossible to find single and return fares online unless you grab a passing transport planner to exist (yes, I really had to do this!) The process to pay with contactless is very slow. The person asks for the fare and the driver has to select it. The person then touches their card - BUT WAIT! This interferes with the machine (illogically), and resets the transaction in some circumstances. The driver must then start again. This time the passenger must wait for the driver to manually select card payment, then hold the card on the reader until it is detected, then wait for the machine to load and then print the ticket. This ought to be streamlined to reduce dwell times, otherwise you're not really getting the benefit of ditching cash.

  Frequencies

  Low frequencies make most trips unnecessarily difficult. Unless the frequencies are every 15 mins on each main route (not really that much to ask), then trying to marry up the connections is nigh on impossible, and a small delay on the first bus could lead to up to an hour's delay. And cancellations matter much more when one cancellation leads to a 2 hour gap, rather than a 20 minute gap. Frequencies need to be upped to make the bus a feasible mode.

  Radial routes

  I spend far too much of my life changing buses in the city centre. The lack of orbital routes means even getting to the next suburb down takes an inordinate amount of time.
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  Information Screens No Longer Work

  by Psel, almost 4 years ago

  So I was stood at the bus stop on Spen Lane waiting for a no 19. The info screen said the bus was due 2 mins then it said Due then the bus came off the screen and the next bus was due in 15 mins. After a couple of mins I left the bus stop to find another way to Kirkstall and then the bus turned up 5 mins after it disappeared from the screen. I went for a no 19 because it is safe to get there and the stop has a shelter. Really easy to improve bus... Continue reading

  So I was stood at the bus stop on Spen Lane waiting for a no 19. The info screen said the bus was due 2 mins then it said Due then the bus came off the screen and the next bus was due in 15 mins. After a couple of mins I left the bus stop to find another way to Kirkstall and then the bus turned up 5 mins after it disappeared from the screen. I went for a no 19 because it is safe to get there and the stop has a shelter. Really easy to improve bus services in West Yorkshire.

  1. Get the information boards working properly as they did before the pandemic.

  2. List every bus stop and make sure it has a shelter

  3. List every bus stop and make sure a pedestrian can actually get to it. Not possible if you have to cross both Otley Old Road and Otley Road at peak times.

  4. Clear the pavements of cars so I can actually walk to the bus stop. Pavements were intended for pedestrians. All bus passengers have to walk for part of the journey. No pedestrians means no passengers. And clear bus routes of cars blocking the road.
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  An experiment in bus use

  by Deedey, almost 4 years ago

  I am independent in mind but, due to a life-limiting illness, less so of body. I loved driving, but now must be driven everywhere, but I used to live in London, where we took public transport for granted.
  I occasionally take the bus back to Wetherby from Harrogate Hospital to help my driver get on with their life. Said driver was heading off for a Man U home game (Don’t ask about the time they tried the train; 2.30am arrival back). So we agreed to run some errands in Leeds, then they would head west, and I would catch the... Continue reading

  I am independent in mind but, due to a life-limiting illness, less so of body. I loved driving, but now must be driven everywhere, but I used to live in London, where we took public transport for granted.
  I occasionally take the bus back to Wetherby from Harrogate Hospital to help my driver get on with their life. Said driver was heading off for a Man U home game (Don’t ask about the time they tried the train; 2.30am arrival back). So we agreed to run some errands in Leeds, then they would head west, and I would catch the bus back to Wetherby, the stop were conveniently located. 5pm. Peak travel time, no probs. Ha.
  Two bus no shows later, it was raining and dark. and the 3rd bus disappeared from the indicator. Fortunately a fellow stranded person new the best number to call and a bus pitched up. I got home at 7.30. I knew I had the money for a taxi, but what about those that don’t?
  Reliability is essential for equality of access.