Proposed Bus Changes
From Jenny B
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
A friend sent me this memo from a meeting held at Dodnaze last week.
The new bus time table will be put up at all the stops and in the community centre by the 1st April so residents are clear on which bus comes straight up to Dodnaze and which one goes via Old Town - please note that there is a change of service on a Sunday and on an evening after 7pm
There will be a consultation date set sometime in May/June to be held over at the Community Centre with representatives from Metro for residents to have their say about the new bus time table and reliability of the service. This will advertised once a date has been set so please come and have your say!
The bus travelling out to Crimsworth is being reviewed and the possibility of a bus going across the tops to Midgley is being looked into.
Apparently the meeting was specifically for Dodnaze residents although it does seem to involve the A/B route so affects a wider area.
What concerns me is that the new timetable is proposed to commence 01/04/13 but there has been no publication of this as far as I can see. Are we supposed to wait until the 1st to find out or does anyone know if it is available yet?
My friend who lives at Peckett emailed Dave Pearson several weeks ago but got a very abrupt and unhelpful reply.
As an aside the service is still awful, they are using standard single or even double deckers on the A/B route which will not turn at Pecket so have to all go out to CockHill. You see the ridiculous situation whereby the 593 and the A or B pass over Cockhill moor - brainless timetabling to say the least!
I also believe that there will not be a direct route from Pecket/Old Town to Dodnaze.
Weren't these buses supposed to link hilltop communities?
Any one know more?
From John Dunford
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Buses are on the agenda for the Ward Forum next Tuesday 18.15 for 18.45 at the Town Hall.
From Andrew B
Wednesday, 13 March 2013
Jenny,
Dave Pearson has today sent me a copy of the proposed changes - they take some getting your head round but:
Service A will run Hebden Bridge Station - Hope Street - Old Town - Crimsworth - Old Town - Dodd Naze - Hebden Bridge
Whilst Service B will only serve Dodd Naze
At first sight I wondered why A goes Old Town - Crimsworth - Old Town, but thinking about it, when B used to run properly it did Dodd Naze - Old Town - Crimsworth - Hebden, so it is ensuring that there is still a link for people to get between the two villages.
The timetabling means that (during the day) the A leaves Hebden at 17 mins past, and arrives in Old Town at 29, yet to go to Hebden you would catch it on it's second run through the village at 49.
All in all, Old Town/Pecket Well will have 2 buses an hour during the day, the 593 and the A, Dodd Naze will have 2 an hour, the A and the B. However, the A will be an awful route for them as they'll go even further off course than they do presently. I think all everyone wants is to know that when a bus is due it will turn up, and to get home when the weather's awful!!
I'm sure if people e-mail Dave Pearson he will send the timetable out. It actually starts on the 28th and 29th April.
From Jenny B
Thursday, 14 March 2013
Thanks for the input Andrew. I have now seen the proposed timetable which does indeed start on 28th April.
Dodnaze Community Centre are holding a meeting (yet to be announced) in May/June, to discuss how the new service is working. As far as I know, all users of the A/B are welcome, not just Dodnazers so that could be helpful.
I can't see how anyone going to Dodnaze would want to used the route that goes to Old Town, then Back to Crimsworth then back via Old Town to get Dodnaze, but I suppose it's better than waiting an hour for the next straight route one.
I also use the E bus regularly so I am waiting for that to be forwarded.
As many say, all we want is a reliable regular service and Metro do seem to be trying
From Dave R
Monday, 18 March 2013
Sounds ok in principle if slightly convoluted re the Old Town loop. Anyone catching that service to Dodnaze would be on the bus for some considerable time.
It is quite disappointing that there have been no changes to the morning OT service though as there remains a significant gap between 8.00 and 9.00 am, due to the 593 operating half an hour earlier at 7.57 instead of at 8.23. meaning even catching the later bus, you cannot make primary schools down HB for 9.00.
From Ben Plumpton
Tuesday, 19 March 2013
I'm concerned about this new timetable - big changes for A/B bus users - good news for Dodd Naze passengers but bad news for Pecket Well/Crimsworth/Old Town residents. Especially that the A bus is timed to be almost exactly at the same time as the 500 service going down the hill, and to cleverly miss the commuter trains in the morning. I thought Metro were supposed to be providing a joined up service across different bus routes and train connections?
There is a Calder Ward Forum meeting at 6:45 pm tonight at the Town Hall which includes an item on local bus services. I don't know if Metro will be there in person (they probably didn't enjoy the criticism they got on previous occasions!) but it's a good opportunity to let our councillors know our views so they can talk to Metro. Anyone with any concerns about these bus changes please try and get there!
From Andrew B
Thursday, 21 March 2013
The buses here (Dodd Naze/ Old Town/ Pecket Well) are back to normal now! All go in the right direction, from the right stops, at the right time.
Now I'm left wondering why the timetable needs to be changed at all? Other than that Old Town/ Pecket lose a bus an hour and if, we revert to previous unreliability issues, and a bus misses, we will again be left with lengthy waits in bus stops!
From Andy Grant
Saturday, 6 April 2013
Some people may not be aware of a very useful temporary free minibus service which is running between Hebden Bridge and Old Town for the next two weeks or so while Billy Lane, Nook Lane and Height Road are closed for resurfacing. A 14 seater minibus runs on Mondays to Fridays, leaving Hebden Bridge station at 05 and 38 minutes past the hour from 08 05 to 15 38, calling at the Commercial Street bus stop two minutes later, then proceeding to Old Town via Birchcliffe Road, Sandy Gate and Walker Lane, before returning via the same route about 10 minutes later. The driver will pick-up and set-down at other points en-route where it is safe to do so.
Meanwhile, for the duration of the works, both the A and B buses are running to and from Dodd Naze via Birchcliffe Road, giving this part of town an unprecedentedly frequent service, while the 593 is only running to and from Peckett Well and the Crimsworth turning circle.
From Andy Grant
Monday, 8 April 2013
Further to my previous post, the temporary free minibus service from Hebden Bridge to Old Town does not in fact return via Sandy Gate and Birchcliffe Road, but instead via Parrock Lane, Ackroyd Lane and Keighley Road. Apologies to anyone who may have been inconvenienced. However, the fact remains that this is a very useful and welcome service for residents of the Birchcliffe and Sandy Gate areas who may be returning from town or the station with shopping or heavy luggage.
From Myra James
Wednesday, 24 April 2013
I have received the following information from Dave Pearson of Metro:
A brief reminder about bus service changes this coming weekend. We are making changes as part of our process to resolve recent problems with the local minibus services. Full timetables are available on our website
The following summarises what is happening
A/B – in response to concerns raised by residents at Dodd Naze, these services will operate as follows
A Hebden Bridge – Old Town – Pecket Well/ Crimsworth – Old Town – Dodd Naze – Hebden Bridge
B Hebden Bridge – Dodd Naze – Hebden Bridge
C – minor timing changes
D – minor timing changes
E- minor timing changes, no longer serves Fairfield (see below)
New community link to Fairfield and Eaves – this service will operate using a small minibus on an experimental basis. During April and May it will operate free of charge. The service will be operated by DK Minibuses. If local people find it of value , we will look to providing it on a long term basis.
Monday to Friday
Fairfield 0930
Hebden Bridge New Road arr 0935
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 0940
Eaves arr 0945
Eaves dep 0950
Hebden Bridge New Road arr 0955
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 1025
Fairfield 1030
Hebden Bridge New Road arr 1035
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 1040
Eaves arr 1045
Eaves dep 1050
Hebden Bridge New Road arr 1055
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 1125
Fairfield 1130
Hebden Bridge New Road arr 1135
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 1140
Eaves arr 1145
Eaves dep 1150
Hebden Bridge New Road dep 1155
Fairfield 1200
From Ben Plumpton
Friday, 26 April 2013
Hi Myra, I had that email from Dave Pearson too.
Infuriatingly, I looked on the Metro website to find the new timetables, and it's very confusing for Pecket Well folk. The new A bus is supposed to serve Pecket Well and Crimsworth, but we don't get mentioned in the timetables, so it's very tricky to work out when the buses will come past us. It doesn't even say what the route will be! I caught an A bus home this evening and the bus driver said that they don't know yet what the route is going to be.
What I gathered from the more detailed timetable that Dave Pearson distributed by email previously was that the morning buses (once an hour) will be bumping into the 500 buses (also once an hour) as they will be passing through Pecket Well at almost exactly the same time. What a great idea - two buses an hour at the same time! The timing also couldn't have been worse for rail commuters - missing trains by a few minutes.
I'm pleased for the Dodd Naze folk that it looks like they are going to get a proper service again. But fed up from my point of view!
Previously, on HebWeb
HebWeb Forum Bus problems, again
HebWeb News: Hebden Bridge Bus Services Consultation, over proposed changes from April 2013
HebWeb Forum: Hebden Bridger bus problems again! (February-September 2012 - 139 messages)