Bedford Stagecoach happenings 2021

[MIB]

E400 19888 (AE11FUD) was on the 3 this afternoon. That's the first time I've seen a decker on that service.
An E200 or Solo is adequate for that service normally.

I had quite a few E400's on the 3, 4 and 10 last year including 19578 which was on all three routes again this Easter Sunday and Easter Monday just gone. Apart from having 11280 on those routes I have not had any of the other MMC's so I was not best pleased to be away over Easter as 10875 did the 3, 4 and 10 Sunday and 10879 was on them Monday both alongside 19578.

Normal service resumed Tuesday.

[TCD813]

905 service is on diversion in Cambridge as a result of East Road being closed for road works. Its entering via Short Street and running around the town to get to the parkside bus stop.

Did press them to use the bus station as a terminus but was told that they can’t at the moment because of social distancing.

[MIB]

For the first time this week it was time to raid Bedford for food so I took 18101 on a 50 to Bedford and with the usual hour to take this meant I could do 34827 out on a 6 for 36937 back and returning home on 15404 on a 50.

Other vehicles observed in the rain were 11279 on a 41, 11280 and 10878 on Hitchin's, 34830 on an 81, 34828 on the 4/10 circuit, 36062 on 2's and 10879 on 1's. I didn't see winner 36064 so better luck next time.

[al_557]

Dart 34834 (KX06JYS) has arrived back from Cambridge for service rather than to act as a restroom like it was there.
Peterborough E200 37217 (SN64OKS) is the latest one to enter the Bedford paintshop

[rm clippie]

How many of the 08/58 E200s will make it into service tomorrow ?

[al_557]

How many of the 08/58 E200s will make it into service tomorrow ?

Out of the 11 that returned from London, only 36012 (AE07KYT and 36060 (AJ58PZU) haven't entered service yet.
The 6 recently transferred ex London short E200's are being prepared for service. 36308 (LX56EAE) was parked just inside the doors of Bedford depot this afternoon. We'll see if they make it into service tomorrow and how long they stay in Bedford for before being transferred to Cambridge for this mystery new contract if and when the Solo SR's return from their year long loan in London

[tomfrombedford]

36301 on 5’s today that’ll go down well at peak

[MIB]

With Monday coming into a bit of normality I ventured into Bedford on the 50 with 22832. As I had 90 minutes to kill before going home on 22834 it was hard to fathom the diagrams. Despite more services the 36xxx buses still are not tracked.

I did 10877 on a 9 for 19587 on a 9b. I then did 34538 on a 6 where normal service was resumed with heavy traffic down Midland Road after schools. I just made 19581 on a 6 back to town for my 50 home. I was withered as winner 36012 appeared on a 2 but it could not be done or I would miss the 50.

Other sightings were 34535 on 51's 36041 on an 81, 36044 on 2's, 34834 on 73's, 27522 and 27523 on Hitchin's, 27520 and 10876 on 1/53's, 36065 on a 6 and 3, 36043 on 5's and 36062 on 6's.

The tracker showed 34537, 34538, 34827 and 34830 doing a real mixture of routes comprising 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 10 during the day. Far too many turns to memorise. It was so much easier when they just did 41, 51, 73 and 81 in that order but jumping over routes in no particular order was difficult to work out.

I also viewed 37048 and 37069 on the W7.

[MIB]

Another fine day, More packed roads and buses and the Stagecoach app still only showing the old times so making life rather difficult.

Having buses to myself has gone as I started off on 22833 into town. School buses 19587 on the 828 and 19578 on the 830 were both showing as serving my bus stop but surely I would not be allowed on those as the 50 arrives about the same time?

Next up I did 34538 on a 2 for 34537 back on another 2. I had to bail at the stop before the park and ride because of the delays with traffic in the town centre. I then did 10881 on a 6 to Union St via the station and walked back which proved to be a good move as winner 36064 was on the 1700 9a so this was done to my old stop for 37431 back on a 9.

Next up I did 37210 on a 51 to intercept 34535 on an inbound 51 which arrived on time to do 19890 on the 1745 3. I finished off with 27642 on a 9b back for 22832 home on the 1814 50. A pretty good few hours of moves.

I still can't get my head round the diagrams like how a bus on route 6 goes onto a 10 like 34827 did. The Hitchin routes had 27520, 27521, 27522, 27523 and 27642 as if deliberately done this morning.

I viewed 36065 on a 1, 36044 on a 6, 36041 on a 5, 36043 on a 2, 34828 and 34834 on 73's. 10878 and 10879 were on 1/53's before 10878 did 9's. 34830 was also on 1's, 36043 did a 3, 36062 was on 6's and 36063 on 2's.

The tracker showed 10881 had been on the 7 and 2 before I had it on a 6. 34827 showed up on routes 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10 so possibly 10881 did similar. What did amuse me this morning on the tracker was seeing 54312 on routes 2, 5, 6 and 7 up to lunchtime. I can't imagine an Elite on route 7 but there you go.

I viewed 37042 twice on the W7 an hour between each sighting and also 22840 was seen on one.

[Barry]

With the roads being busier I'm back to seeing 905s pass my window in Cambridge when they should be in Cambourne.

I feel tremendously sorry for people who, 40 mins after they were due to leave Parkside, are further away from their destination!

[tomfrombedford]

What diagrams are the routes following at the moment? I frequent route 5 and since Monday upon reaching the bus station it has morphed into a 2 or 6?

[MIB]

Thankfully at least 36012 is playing ball and can now be tracked so I was able to go for it. It was shown as doing routes 4, 10, 6, 5, 7 then 5 again this morning in a sort of guess what route it will do next challenge.

I did 22832 on a 50 to Bedford for 19604 on 1 for 36041 back on a 9b as a filler waiting for 36012 before doing it on the 1511 6. Now normal bedlam has returned with the world and its wife clogging up the roads to collect their little darlings from school. It took an astonishing 13 minutes to reach Bedford Station so I abandoned going to Brickhill and bailed in Clapham Road to intercept 34828 on a 51 back to the bus station and to avoid Midland Road. Sending every 6 via the station now might work in lockdown but not now. Please can Stagecoach revert to only going via the station in peak times?

34827 sat on the 1550 10 so I did it to Goldington Tesco gambling that required for the year 36042 would be on the 1621 10 to town as it had done the 1515 3. This worked out just right so 36042 was taken back to town for my food shop at last and 22835 home on the 1714 50 running 20 late thanks to traffic. However we are still in Bedford at 1745 as now 22835 won't start. Apparently the engine has to be left running or it won't restart which has me questioning why such a vehicle is out in traffic. Not much use to anyone if it won't fire up other than the scrap man.

The tracker showed 10879 having worked routes 2, 10, 4, 3, 4, 10, 5 and 2 earlier in the day as if I could work out that pattern as to what it would do next. At least 27520-523 and 27642 keep sticking to Hitchin runs, 34828 to 51's, 34535, 34538 and 34834 to 73's so easy to follow.

34830 did a 6 then a 5 and then a 2 whilst 10876 did a 9, 53, 1, 53, 1 and 9. 34537 produced on 53 then went on a 3 before switching to a 6. 36062 and 36065 were viewed on 6's before I lost where they went.

19587 appears to be dedicated to the 830 school turn but the 828 could only rustle up 36302 so I hope the children were tiny tots.

[MIB]

I was intrigued by the tracker showing 54312 on the 7 on Tuesday and when I saw it was meant to be on route 5 this morning I did 19108 on a 50 to town. I also wanted to get 34830 and 834 in this week to go with the others had except 34536 which is grounded. 34834 duly produced on a 73 so was taken to Harrowden Road for 27522 back on a 9b.

The moment of truth arrived as 54312 was showing on the 1124 6 from Burneside so I headed out on 37211 on the 1147 6 as we should pass in Midland Road. And I was not surprised that it was an imposter as new liveried 37437 was the offending vehicle masquerading as an Elite with delusions of grandeur. The tracker shows 37437 has not worked since 20 March but that is not true as I have seen it around. Therefore these dodgy 54312 workings have in fact been 37437 in disguise.

Today it took 11 minutes for my 6 to reach the station and it isn't even a peak hour or school time. Given that the 6 is given 16 minutes to get to Burneside then there are going to be a lot of late running on that route if they don't go directly to Union St. Anyway I bailed for 34830 coming in on a 51 at Clapham Road and headed home on 15607 on the 50 having reeled in the two Darts and solved the Elite mystery.

I still have not viewed 36060/061 but the other suspects were about. 36012 was seen on a 5/6, 36064 on a 2, 36065 on a 10, 36043 on a 9, 36041 and 36044 on 3/6's.

11279 stuck to route 53, 10879 was on a 1, 34538 did 6, 9 then 5, whilst 34535 and 34827 stayed on 73's. 34830 had been on an 81 and 41 before I caught up with it on a 51. According to the tracker 10874's first run of the day was the 1020 81 from Luton but surely it went out on the 0915?

[TCD813]

Could it be a ticket machine swapped between vehicles?

[Palatine]

Could it be a ticket machine swapped between vehicles?

It's a deinite. The ticket machine is what reports the tracking ID if I remember correctly.

[busman]

Just looking at bustime.org and the Cowley road allocation and saw this!
13809 BV18 YBB 905 9 Dec 22:35    Volvo B5TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 3
Did the vehicle do that trip or did someone borrow the ticket machine?

[rm clippie]

Bus times are not very reliable at the moment

[al_557]

Solo SR 48036 (YJ66ASZ) is the latest vehicle to be repainted into Local livery at Bedford and is now parked next to the recently arrived ex London E200's. It however remains out of use and hasn't been in service for over a year.
It would appear that the paint shop are not now focusing on one vehicle type at a time

[busman]

One of the X5 Elites passed me on the A10 lunchtime being dragged down to Volvo at Ely.

[al_557]

One of the X5 Elites passed me on the A10 lunchtime being dragged down to Volvo at Ely.

The drivers at Bedford will probably have a party when those are replaced. They've been nothing but trouble since they were new.
They're by far the most unreliable coaches ever to work the route

[MIB]

Talking of Elites a new use has been found for them with 54315 seemingly arriving on the 830 school run this afternoon. To add to the novelty factor the 828 was 37214.

I ventured into town on Thursday as 39688 was required for the year on the 50. Despite the nice weather I had been grounded this week with a cold. I assume I picked it up amongst the hordes in town last Saturday. Now social distancing has turned into a free for all it is time for the common cold to return and other ailments from social mixing. I don't think I came across anyone with a cold in the past year.

Anyway I digress. After overtaking 34537 on a 51 I got off 39688 in Clapham Road to do the Dart into the bus station. Next up was 34538 on a 5 and I came back with 34834 also on a 5. My bus home on the 50 was 22833 and it doesn't like gradients. There is no doubt that 22832 to 22835 adequately fill the crates category and are becoming the norm with 11126 and 11127 on the 50. The latter two gold buses always do the route in the same day. They never seem to be 126 one day and 127 the next.

Today I did 39686 on a 50 into town and landed straight onto 11279 on the 1335 7 so I did this out to Woodside and back before it went onto routes 6, 10 and 4. 19890 arrived on a 3 and then formed the 1429 4 so I went to Goldington Tesco and back with it on the 1451 10. Next up was 34535 on a 9 for 36062 back on a 9b for trusty 11126 on the 1541 50 which was 20 minutes late after running into school traffic.

Assuming nobody was switching ticket machines for a laugh, the tracker this morning revealed that 34535 was on 8's until noon before going onto routes 1 and 9. After I got home the tracker aggravated me by showing that 34536 was back out and its first run was on the 1650 8. Now I assume it really was 34536 and not 36301 pretending to be a Dart.

Others noted today were 36012 on a 41, 36043 on 51's, 34828 and 36063 on 6's, 34830 on 6, 7, 5's, 34834 on 73's, 34537 on 10, 4, 3's, 27520, 27522, 27523 and 27642 still glued to Hitchin's. I have still to set eyes on 36060 and 36061 let alone ride on them.

[HughT]

Talking of Elite 54315 (YX64 WCZ) - it was seen passing the American Cemetery on the way into Cambridge at 12.30 today. Looks as though it was operating a 905 service, 11.27 ex-Bedford. First one I've seen since the original lockdown! Although the 905 isn't routed via CRC and Science Park at the weekends, it doesn't serve its former stops on the way into Cambridge. No stopping between Cambourne and Fair St.

[HughT]

Or perhaps it was out of service? It's already heading out of the city, well in advance of the 905's 13.05 departure time (and a double decker is showing up as having just arrived at Parkside - quite late). Could the Elite be on a route-training trip (prior to the return of the eastern section of the X5? OK, so that's just wishful thinking...)?

[al_557]

Or perhaps it was out of service? It's already heading out of the city, well in advance of the 905's 13.05 departure time (and a double decker is showing up as having just arrived at Parkside - quite late). Could the Elite be on a route-training trip (prior to the return of the eastern section of the X5? OK, so that's just wishful thinking...)?

My friend drives the X5 and 905 and says the change is permanent.
The E400 MMC's are better suited to that part of the route as it's more a local bus service than an express service like the route is between Bedford and Oxford.
Although I agree it's a pain for through passengers, I can see why the change was done.

[Palatine]

I did hear something said that the E400 MMC's were temporary until something more suitable was sourced, but who knows how accurate that "rumour" was!

The only part of the Eastern X5 that really counted as a local service was as it passed through St Neots. Every other section between Cambridge and Bedford was fast dual carriageway running, sounds pretty express to me.

[al_557]

I did hear something said that the E400 MMC's were temporary until something more suitable was sourced, but who knows how accurate that "rumour" was!

The only part of the Eastern X5 that really counted as a local service was as it passed through St Neots. Every other section between Cambridge and Bedford was fast dual carriageway running, sounds pretty express to me.

It was limited stop in Bedford then it becomes a local bus service from Great Barford to St Neots then limited stop again from St Neots onwards

[al_557]

Ex London E200's 36321/23 (LX58CCA/E) have now entered service and were on the 2 and 8 respectively today with white LED blinds. The 'local' livery seems to suit smaller vehicles quite well

[rm clippie]

When will all the buses track correctly

[al_557]

When will all the buses track correctly

That's a question for Stagecoach East as it works with ticket machines

[tomfrombedford]

Solo SR 48036 (YJ66ASZ) is the latest vehicle to be repainted into Local livery at Bedford and is now parked next to the recently arrived ex London E200's. It however remains out of use and hasn't been in service for over a year.
It would appear that the paint shop are not now focusing on one vehicle type at a time

Didnt last long in its greener smarter travel livery