Due to withdrawal of East Riding of Yorkshire Council subsidy, the EYMS operated Sunday and Bank Holiday 18A between Holme on Spalding Moor and York is withdrawn after operation on Good Friday (30th March). The 18A had provided four daytime journeys each way, operating via the Yorkshire Air Museum as opposed to the Monday to Saturday service 18 route via York Designer Outlet.
According to the 2016 initial withdrawal proposals from East Riding of Yorkshire Council, the 18A carried an average 7 passengers per journey at a £2.94 subsidy per journey.
Monday to Saturday service 18 continues unchanged for the next few weeks, after which it has been cancelled by EYMS, with changes to the 45/46 set to cover Holme on Spalding Moor. Details on any other replacement services are unknown at present.
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Public meeting organised by an East Riding Councillor was held this week and I extensively served the route earlier in the week.
The current 45 service from Bridlington to York takes 2 hours. Any extensions to this route mean a even longer journey and does it mean a fare increase as well. It seems EYMS are trying to squeeze everything out of services and are forgetting that journey times are getting longer whilst journeys via train are not only quicker but cheaper.
It's believed that only the 46 will extend to Holme, we should know more by the end of the week as drivers have been told shifts should be available. I'm guessing that EYMS are hanging on as long as possible in case one the councils comes up with some cash!
Throughout the UK the bus industry is having to re-adjust to respond to increasingly difficult trading conditions. Like many other bus operators, EYMS has no choice. Wait and see what the new timetable brings. By contrast, the rail industry is receiving vast public subsidy. The bus fare between Bridington and York (Currently £7.10) is far cheaper than the regular equivalent on rail and the journey time is comparable.
All the new timetables from 6th May are now on the EYMS website, including those for the 45/46. As suggested, it is only the 46 that extends to Holme (5 jnys/day), although the 45 does have its journey time further extended from 2h 4m to 2h 20m, partly due to all journeys serving Bainton and North Dalton (rather than one or the other) and extending the stand time at Pocklington from 2 to 5 mins. The rest of the increase is down to increased intermediate times.
The journey time on the 46 from Holme to York is 1h 33m, compared with 57m (off-peak) on the. 18.
I do wish people would stop comparing bus use with rail use. They are totally different, rail is far better and always will be. Have you tried going to the toilet on the bus(without getting thrown off) for instance. Buses have far less room and are more cramped, no luggage space etc.
Getting back to the point though and the whole reason the bus industry is in such a mess comes down to just one thing, the free concessionary pass. Brilliant idea but it needs to be funded 100% and not pared back by local councils just because they can. At the rate we are going we'll be lucky if rural services are here in 10 years time. It's time the industry stood together and said enough is enough, and refuse point blank to carry pass holders unless they receive 100% of the costs incurred.
I wouldn't say rail is far better and always will be, have you tried looking at endless scenery on a train when it hits a tunnel or cutting? Have you tried using a mobile phone between Bradford and Halifax which is impossible for much of the way and only really gets better after Halifax station? Have you tried the Leeds to Ripon buses or Leeds to York buses for leg room? Have you tried getting a cheap on the day walk up fare without having to use a mobile phone and debit card making this a very insecure option if your mobile doesn't have security protection because you point blank refuse to pay out to stop criminal activity? Bear in mind as well that bus walk on fares are flexible, unlike trains which require the user to stick like glue to a specific train meaning you can't be flexible, can't change your mind, can't come home earlier if Bridlington isn't for you that day! Train ain't that great now is it!
Having dug about on the EYMS website I have discovered the 121 service from Scarborough to Bridlington is been renumbered. However I cannot see a time after Bridlington. Is this another carve up of the service.
The Hull to Bridlington section remains as service 121
So does this mean passengers have to change buses in Bridlington
Yes the service is now split. Passengers will now be forced to change at Bridlington. Not sure that this is a good move, the full journey is already long enough. There are no toilets or enough shelter at Brid. If the connecting bus is there first it will load waiting passengers first, potentially leaving the existing 121 passengers with insufficient room. You only need a wheelchair user to board at Brid, and then the 121 to arrive with another and there will be problems.
The only advantage EYMS are gaining is that concessionary passes will have to represented. This split also divorces Scarborough and District runs from East Yorkshire, potentially leaving the option to sell the former.
Although I can't be certain, the new timetables for 12/13 and 121 suggest that they are both self-contained, i.e. with no through operation across Bridlington. Scarborough depot appears to operate all journeys on 12/13, while 121 will now be shared between Hull, Beverley and Bridlington (rather than Scarborough).
Reasonable connections will still be provided at Bridlington at most times when through journeys currently operate. However I rather doubt that in practice many passengers travelled across Bridlington Bus Station anyway.
Looking at the new 12/13 /121 timetable am I correct that passengers wishing to travel on the 121 from the south towards Scarborough will have to change buses at Bridlington to travel to Scarborough. There appears to be a 14 minute gap between arrival and departure.
Taking into account there can be upto 20 or 30 passengers waiting to board in the Bus Station this will surely cause chaos if you have passengers who have had to change buses as well.
What are EYMS trying to do.
If they are loosing money why are they giving free rides on the 120 and the X20 all the time, why have they had the 130 and the 121 following each other into Scarborough.
It just seems they are on a suicide mission because they have lost so much through bad purchases.
Fingland, Whittles, Veolia, Frodingham all drained money from the group or should never have been bought.
EYMS has slipped down the line by bad investment, bad planning, not chasing new business and relying too heavily on councils to pay them money.
Looking at the new timetables, the service 12 is more direct to Scarborough than the 121 was. I just feel the need to change buses is a really bad idea. As others have said it could lead to problems as there will already be passengers waiting for the service 12 before the 121 arrives.
As EYMS are currently undergoing a major shake up I find it hard to believe they are not doing away with the coaching section. This seems a pure vanity project, ie let's buy some nice coaches but park them up all the time save for some school runs/trips. Surely they must be a massive drain on the company.
Couldn't agree more with the previous poster with regards to bad investment. Those evosetis' will only bring tears, though probably not as much as the hybrids did.
I don't think the councils have that much more money to give and once you start handing contracts back are the councils likely to give you work in the future ?
Possibly the biggest problem was Peter Shipping running the company as a enthusiast and not as a business man. A business man would not have coaches parked up everyday and used mostly on transporting students to Bishop Burton College.
All the latest changes with manager redundancy, service cuts, etc have come about because David Shipp has taken over the running of the company.
Why didn't Peter Shipp do this years ago.
I cannot see EYMS ever getting back on the straight and narrow.
The debt figure and finance payments on brand new buses must be horrendous.
Trying to look big buying companies and new buses and coaches has proved to be the biggest mistake of all time and Peter must shoulder the responsibility for the current problems.
Stand in Bridlington Bus Station in the summer and watch how many through passengers there are on the bus and how many are waiting to board. This idea of passengers having to change buses is shambolic. I can remember when the 121 was called CLASSIC LINE.
I think that name should be changed nowadays to CLASSIC COCKUP
Re Anon at 08:33, what sort of numbers would you typically expect for through and boarding passengers at Bridlington Bus Station these days ?
I haven't travelled on the Hull-Scarborough route for many years now, but I well remember an August afternoon travelling around the East Yorkshire coast in the late 60's with a school friend. We boarded a 12 from Bridlington to Filey around 1500, returning from Filey to Beverley around 2 hours later. When we got on at Bridlington, there were no through passengers and on the way back we were the only passengers staying on board at Bridlington. I remember wondering why EYMS bothered operating the 12 as a through service when it really just seemed to be two separate routes bolted together. I later realised that there were good reasons for it, such as the lack of a through rail service on winter Sundays and significant parcels traffic from Hull to Filey and Scarborough - neither of which apply today.
On the other hand, the introduction of the ENCTS and wheelchair-accessible buses are both factors which will have encouraged longer journeys in recent times.
In any case, we are basing the requirement to change at Bridlington on an initial interpretation of the new timetables, before EYMS have issued any statement about the changes, so it may all be a false alarm.
However, what is certainly true is that the new timetables are far better co-ordinated between Scarborough and Filey (every 20'), Filey and Bridlington (every 30') and Bridlington and Driffield (every 30' in hours when 45 runs) than they were before. In that respect at least, they will be a big improvement.
By your own admission you have not witnessed the passenger numbers since the sixties so cannot really comment on current trends.
EYMS want more passengers to travel but if you mess them about then you will loose them.
Example.
Husband and wife on holiday want to travel from York to Filey for a afternoon.
They leave York just after lunch but find there bus only runs as far as Driffield so have to change at Driffield but the connection timing is such that they waste time stood at the bus stop, they then board a 121 but now this bus only goes to Bridlington so they have to wait again in the Bus Station for the connection.
Is this the way to attract passengers?
I should have added that the comment about frequency of service between Bridlington and Scarborough is misleading as the holiday camp service finishes for 6 months of the year.
The point about better co-ordination still stands though, which I think is what NMcB was getting at. Also the 120/X20 operate 8 rather than 6 months of the year from early March to early November, hopefully the 13 will do at least the same.
Re Anon at 06:19, my whole point was that I don't have up-to-date knowledge of the route, so was looking for feedback from people who do. I was rather hoping that someone would respond with a comment of the type "The last time I travelled on the 121, there were X people who travelled across Bridlington Bus Station". Can anyone help ?
Thinking about it, the example of the couple wanting an afternoon out from York is perhaps somewhat theoretical, as with the current timetable they would need to be travelling on the 13:50 from York, changing at Driffield (15:08/15:33) onto the 121 to arrive Filey at 16:48. As the last 45 back from Bridlington is at 16:35, their return would need to be on Coastliner 845 at 17:09, changing at Malton (18:00/18:07) into an 843 to arrive back at York Station at 18:52.
You would need a very understanding wife to consider that over 4 hours bus travel was worth it for just 20 minutes in Filey !
They would be better using Coastliner in both directions, enabling them to depart York at 14:22, arriving in Filey at 15:58, giving them over 70 minutes and time for a walk down to the beach and a cup of tea.
The 13 is replacing the X20 which is been withdrawn. This service was introduced by EYMS to try and get Shoreline Suncruisers service off the road.
But Shoreline run at lower fares than EYMS and there service has done well.
The service is exactly the same
Quick thought on the splitting of the 121 at Bridlington - it could be a calculated move to generate additional revenue from concessionairy pass holders. If you are travelling to/from a destination that will soon require a change in Bridlington the pass holder will have to present their pass on both buses so EYMS will get 2 payments vs the 1 that they get now for the same journey. I've travelled on the 121 many times and I'd say a significant number of passengers are travelling with passes. These passengers travelling for "free" may be frustrated by having to change buses but may well put up with it in return for a free ride. Fare paying passengers can already use the train for much of the 121 route with little price difference but huge time savings. So if a fare paying passenger can do Hull - Filey or Scarborough on the train in half the time of the bus would they be using the bus in the first place? If not, there not be many fare paying cross-Bridlington passengers to lose?
Looking on the Bubwith community board on Facebook it appears that the service 18 has won a reprieve. Very limited service though with only one departure from Holme at 0705, two from North Duffield and one a piece from Wheldrake and Bubwith during the day. Timetable on the site says its a three month trial and theres a Saturday timetable to follow.
Residents still don't seem happy but I think its the best they're going to get.
The following comes from North Duffields Parish Council FB page:
As part of their bid, EYMS provided a price for operation of a Friday and Saturday evening return journey, starting from Bubwith at 18:46 (arriving York 19:28) and returning from York at 23:00 (arriving Bubwith 23:40). The total cost for the evening service will be £2,878.53. The cost is apportioned to the Parish Councils in the following manner based on the current patronage split:
Bubwith: 15% (£431.78)
North Duffield: 15% (£431.78)
Skipwith: 10% (£287.85)
Thorganby: 10% (£287.85)
Wheldrake: 50% (£1439.27)
Bridlington Info.
ERYCC have failed to get a operator for Bridlington Service 504 between Bridlington and Bempton.
They have taken the decision to operate the service themselves on a much reduced frequency.
The will be buses on Mon Wed Fri only with no Saturday or Sunday service.
They will not operate the evening 502 service so this is permanently withdrawn
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