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£5.4m new buses hit region’s roads
Wednesday 8th October 2008, 11:45AM BST.
A striking fleet of 27 new buses that transport chiefs say they will “revolutionise” travel on Black Country routes was launched today.
The Diamond bus company and West Midlands passenger transport authority Centro have pledged to make a series of improvements on a number of key bus routes as part of a £5.4 million investment. The contract will transform the 401, 402, 404 and 410 routes which serve West Bromwich, Walsall, Blackheath, Merry Hill Cradley Heath and Bilston.
They will give passengers more frequent, cleaner, state-of-the-art services.
The new Black Diamond buses, painted in a black, red and silver livery, boast “friendly, helpful drivers” according to the firm, who will help passengers travel to their destination in luxury.
The vehicles have Euro 5 standard engines, the most environmentally friendly available.
Diamond says it is so confident that passengers will take to the new services that it is offering a try-before-you-buy offer for 32,000 people living along the routes.
Thousands of leaflets with a voucher giving holders a week’s free trial of the new services have been distributed. People can also get an extra voucher for half price travel for another seven days.
As part of the changes Centro is also upgrading a number of stops and shelters which serve the new buses, so that passengers can wait in comfort until their service arrives. The shelters will be fitted with solar powered lighting where possible.
The 401 runs from West Bromwich to Bilston via Princes End in Tipton. The 402 runs from West Bromwich to Tipton via Great Bridge while the 404 runs from Walsall to Cradley Heath via West Bromwich and Blackheath with some services running to Merry Hill.
The 410 runs from West Bromwich to Wednesbury via Stone Cross.
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At last some lovely new buses to ride on.
I’ll be among the first on them to get the benefit…..before they get covered in chewing gum, spit, crisp crumbs, dirty feet on chairs etc.
The Black Country does not deserve new buses, they should be given to a more appreciating area
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You missed out the Graffti.
The annoying kids at teh back blasting music out from there mobile phones.
Also the guys that sit at back of bus smoking (And not Cigarettes)
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“The new Black Diamond buses.. boast “friendly, helpful drivers”.
So they speak English then?
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Now all we need is a decent road network for them to travel on!
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Another empty bus to watch go past – can’t use your pass on it.
Another waste of money
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Lovely to see some investment, but it won’t be more than an hour before the first one is trashed by the usual grots of the Black Country.
Such a shame that this will all go to waste.
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you all talking about black country folk not being given new buses, WHY? why shouldn’t we be given anything descent for a change?
its about time we had summat good for a change, i dont think the younger generation will graffiti the new buses anyway!!!
so stick your opinions where the sun dont shine!!!!
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Meanwhile the rest of us have to make do with the hand me down’s from Birmingham since it’s fleet was renewed.
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Nice to see they’ve got the new buses, shame about the people that use them. The 410s will be trashed first. That route is vile.
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Credit to Centro for trying to raise the profile of its fleet, however I doubt these services will be able to provide (let alone sustain), an attractive, safe and efficient means of local transport. I say this because I have used Centro’s service and seen its approach to the problems outlined.
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Mr B … :-D , yow mekk me loff yow do!
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lee i dont understand ur language.
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mr b, black country folk do deserve new buses – and a lot more besides. That’s the problem..it’s going to take a change of attitude, of policy, and to me, this ‘solution’ makes no real practical sense other than to paint a pretty picture over a rotten canvas; inevitably the rot creeps through. Compared to the bus services I have used in other European cities, the one’s here are by comparison very poor indeed.
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Now picture the scene: waiting in a dirty, dark and unquestionably uninviting bus station like the one in West Brom, to get to Tipton. There are no bus lanes or bus priority, and the traffic through Great Bridge is gridlocked every single day of the week. I’m not going to pay ever-increasing costs to use a transport system that is forever in disarray.
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WELL DONE THE BEST AND MOST EFFCIENT SERVICE IS THE 410 ROUTE CANNOT BE SAID THE SAME AS OTHER ROUTES IN THE WEST MDILANDS I SAY THIS AS I AM A DAILY USER OF 311 OR 313 WERE ON EARTH DO THEY GO USUALLY END UP WITH WAITS OF UP TO TWENTY OR THIRTY MINUTES BRAND NEW BUSES I THINK THEY NEED SAT NAVS OR AN A TO Z AND WHY DO THEY ALWAYS SEEM TO COME TOGETHER MRS EYRE
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Yeah i agree, give it a week there’ll be fag burns in the back of the seats, kids drawing all over the back of the seats, tramps messing them selfs as on 529 route, the company will reget buying them by the end of the month due to all the damage :)
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Agreed about the noise nuisance caused by those tinny mobile phone speakers playing music – it would be a huge improvement if these were banned. Haven’t they heard of headphones, not everyone wants to hear your rubbish music!
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our bus service is way behind those in other parts if the country which is nothing new
why dont the goverment take oil using buses off the rd and develope battery powered buses instead
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Hmm..I wonder what made them chose this particular colour..was it so conceal the dirt and grime, or did it have something to do with the competition’s colour scheme? lol.
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So much for “transforming” routes..yesterday despite being half-term, the traffic from Dudley to West Bromwich was terrible, and at 5:00pm virtually nothing was moving between Great Bridge and Dudley. Yes, I was on a bus and I got off and walked quicker. Public transport is a complete joke, just like the idiotic people who have effectively sealed off the area thanks to their stupidity. The first chance I get I am going to live elsewhere because nothing changes here especially the excuses.
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