Leeds trolleybus scheme delayed further

[raveydavey]

Interesting to see the wallybuses will drive along the middle of the road, despite the doors being on the nearside. This means that they'll have to cross to the kerb to pick up / drop off passengers, unless there are going to be some massive (and expensive) road alterations that they aren't showing us...Not forgetting of course that the wallybus will stop at different places to the nasty diesel buses, so you'll have to choose (gamble?) on which one to go for - much like the fun system Metro have instigated on the misguided busway on York Road, which some buses use and some don't.There has been a lot of comment on the proposed northern section of the route about how the wallybus will see services slashed (halved?) on the 1 and 6 services.Surely if the wallybus is taking a route down Hunslet Road / Belle Isle Road, etc, there will be the same reduction in services on the routes that serve these places too? No mention from Metro obviously, but what about the sections of all those bus routes that aren't going to be duplicated?Metro - making travel worse since 1986

[somme1916]

Ha Ha,who in their right mind would catch folleybus and alight at Belle Isle to then await a depleted bus service to then continue/finish their journey on to Middleton ? Notwithstanding the fact that the potential victim catchment area on the south side route up to this point is incredibly small.Believe me,i use buses on this route regularly and the majority of passengers get on/off much after this depiction.I presume folleybus would then turn left along East Grange Dr and terminate by Hunslet Cemetery at Woodhouse Hill.There,internees would alight and search for their cars alongside the interred presumably.

[tyke bhoy]

raveydavey wrote: There has been a lot of comment on the proposed northern section of the route about how the wallybus will see services slashed (halved?) on the 1 and 6 services.Surely if the wallybus is taking a route down Hunslet Road / Belle Isle Road, etc, there will be the same reduction in services on the routes that serve these places too? No mention from Metro obviously, but what about the sections of all those bus routes that aren't going to be duplicated?Metro - making travel worse since 1986 The route will pretty much mirror the 1 service between its northern terminus and city square but what about the leg to the southern terminus in Beeston. Will half of the services just run Beeston to Infirmary Street and back? That won't please the large number of students living in Beeston's bedsitland who will then have to change service or even worse walk up to the Uni's. There is also not much distance between the two ends of the 6's terminii and the the proposed route. However that doesn't take into account the couple of mile detour down to Horsforth and round the western outskirts of Cookridge. I suspect most 6 users on this stretch won't fancy the walk to the park and ride and won't have a car to park!!The majority of the bus routes on the Hunslet corridor have destination much further away than Stourton 110 Kettlethorpe/Hall Green (10 miles?) 410 Pontefract (10 miles?) 163 Castleford (7 miles if direct but it isn't). Does worst have any services that operate beyond Church Street and its gateway to Belle Isle? Of course the 110 could terminate at Stourton but I can't see that going down too well with Arriva's passengers with them having to give up a seat on a bus to then compete with each other and park and riders for the limited seats on the trolleybus

[Phill_dvsn]

It was never about alleviating traffic congestion, or bums on seats. It never featured in the equation. It's merely to alleviate the shamed faces beaming bright red in Civic Hall. The objective was never about building a modern day transport scheme that works, it was to ''appear'' as if they had. The route was never chosen for any common sense reason - like will it help ease traffic congestion, merely it's the easiest route to make it look the longest, and for the least expense. *Hey look, we have something now*(Irrelevant if it's any good)And going over park land, and chopping down trees at Woodhouse Moor is far cheaper than compulsory purchase orders of property. They are hoping when they have built this one route wonder, that they won't have to be faced with the question 'Why hasn't the 3rd largest City in England got modern day transport?'It's nothing more than ignorance, incompetence, and failure. Common sense never came into it!        

[somme1916]

Hi there tyke bhoy......the current proposed route won't even touch Beeston i'm afraid.It will allegedly venture along Hunslet Rd to the Church St junction at Hunslet,up there past Morrisons and turn left up Belle Isle Rd for a short while before(presumably) turning left along East Grange Dr before terminating somewhere around Woodhouse Hill cemetery/Middleton(Ring) Rd.The number of passengers likely to use this section of the route is minimal...there are relatively few dwellings along the long stretch of Hunslet Rd.Most of the students in accommodation down by the dock walk into town.The current route is over serviced by both First/Arriva up to Church St then ARRIVA beyond.As has been pointed out in the media and forums such as this,much of the inbound/outbound traffic along this south eastern gateway is currently comprised of commuters from much further afield who would be very disinclined to either bus to Belle Isle,disembark and await another bus(trolley) and car drivers who have completed 90% of their journey,to then find a parking space and await a trolley presumably alongside many hundreds of other passengers who wish to arrive in Leeds at roughly the same time.And of course,be charged for the "privelege" of standing on these bendy cattle trucks.Without major road reconfiguration or even new build....i doubt very much if folleybus could even exploit the current no1 First service to Beeston as even when bendy buses operated on the route,they had great difficulty negotiating Hunslet Hall rd junc with Dewsbury Rd and the terminus at the top end of a very narrow,tapering,Town St in Beeston.In reality,many of the roads in Leeds that folleybus would hope to expand to are just too narrow to do much with save any possible benefit major demolition/reconfiguration work would allow.That in itself is a whole new can of worms.I don't really know what to more to add about this carbuncle of pus other than to agree with other comments that our illustrious councillors have dug a deep hole for themselves and will clutch at any thread of straw to justify this huge waste of the public purse and of course,the council taxpayers of Leeds.

[Phill_dvsn]

When is a bus not a bus?When you call the driver a pilot who operates from a cockpit. When you employ a conductor and call them a host. And when you cover the wheels over with trims, to make the bus look like it glides along on the Star wars invisible force field. One is a brilliant piece of new innovation, the other is old fashioned history and rubbish.Or is it?If we didn't already have purple slug bus, you can bet your bottom dollar we'd now be looking at artists impressions of F.T.R and all the glorified spin about how they are 'the way forward' an 'exiting new era in the future of modern transport for this City' A great boost for the economy, and more promises of fruitfulness than the land of Milk and Honey can provide. Instead L.C.C can't get away with trying to fool people with that old F.T.R rubbish.F.T.R has done nothing at all to ease congestion. The next cheapest step then is to make F.T.R run on electric wires instead. The big selling point is 'IT'S CLEANER - GREENER' and better for the environment! Or is it?             

[Phill_dvsn]

If you can't beat em - Join em! *Trees facing axe for Leeds trolleybus ‘worth £14m*http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/n ... -6254257If L.C.C work on the basis that trolleybus will create thousands of jobs, and pump millions into the economy. I think the story above is more than valid

[raveydavey]

It's funny to see Metro and LCC squirming at this one, especially given how they're no strangers to 'creative' accounting and pie in the sky projections themselves regarding the follybus (and other pet projects).Nice to see them getting a taste of their own medicine.    

[Dalehelms]

The City Talking website mentions that The Department of Transport has confirmed that a public inquiry will take place in the spring of 2014 into the proposed Leeds trolleybus scheme. Sorry that I can't post a link to the article....I am useless!

[The Calls]

Dalehelms wrote: The City Talking website mentions that The Department of Transport has confirmed that a public inquiry will take place in the spring of 2014 into the proposed Leeds trolleybus scheme. Sorry that I can't post a link to the article....I am useless! Thanks Dalehelms !There's also an article in today's online edition of the paper:YEP 28.11.13Public inquiry into Leeds trolleybus planshttp://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/lat ... 6282909The Bradford trolleybus enthusiast has been busy commenting under his pseudonymns 'oldsyphilitic' and 'stanleykingwasright.'