National Express Coventry

Wright Eclipse 2 bodied Volvo B7RLE in Coventry
Parent	National Express
Founded	November 2002 (separated from Travel West Midlands)
Headquarters	Coventry
Service area	Coventry Warwickshire
Service type	Bus services
Alliance	National Express West Midlands
Fleet	166
Chief executive	Peter Power
Website	www.nxbus.co.uk/coventry

National Express Coventry^[1] is a bus operator providing services in Coventry. It is a subsidiary of National Express.

History

The previous Travel Coventry logo

MCW Metrobus in Canley in April 2007

Mercedes-Benz O405N in Coventry in April 2007

PrimeLines liveried Mercedes-Benz O405G in Coventry in September 2007

In October 1986 the bus operations of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive were separated into West Midlands Travel^[2] to comply with the Transport Act 1985. In April 1995 West Midlands Travel was sold to National Express and in September 1996 was re-branded as Travel West Midlands.

In November 2002 the Coventry depot attained a more local identity and began trading as Travel Coventry.^[3] In February 2008 it was re-branded as National Express Coventry.^[4][5]

Network review

An entire network review took place on 26 February 2012, which resulted in frequency improvements on key corridors in the city.^[6] Many routes were extensively revised or renumbered whilst there were some routes which were removed and others were introduced. When launched some changes were seen as controversial but the new network is designed to be simpler. Since then extensive service monitoring, reliability checks and public feedback have resulted in some further minor timing changes to some services to further improve the punctuality of services to their customers.

The new network is colour coded and the colours of routes are displayed on the network map and on timetables, the buses themselves are being route branded to match these colours. Route 21 was the first route to have the new route branding applied, with routes 9, 9A, 20, 20A & 20E receiving their branding in April 2013 as well as routes 8/8A getting branding in June 2013. The route 4 also used the branding on the bendibus, but this bus was finally disused on 20th March 2018 ^[7]. The route branding for routes 9/9A led to a public debate about the correct spelling of a Coventry suburb to go on the side of the buses with residents arguing it has been spelt officially as both Styvechale and Stivichall on road signs, shops and local amenities.^[8]

Fare structure

A flat fare structure is in operation within the Coventry boundary; people can travel on almost all of its buses, and to almost everywhere on its network, for a fixed price. Graduated fares apply on route 11 to/from Kenilworth & Leamington Spa and the X1 to Birmingham. As with some other urban operators, no change is given for security and speed of boarding.^[9]

A range of fares are available including singles and daysavers and their own travelcards which are available for 1-day, 1-week, 4-week and 52-week periods of validity. Off-peak, evening and group tickets are also available. Also Network West Midlands multi-operator tickets are issued and accepted on the companies buses within the Coventry boundary and to/from Keresley and Middlemarch Business Park. The Network West Midlands tickets are not valid on their route 20 beyond the M6 bridge to/from Bedworth or on routes 11 beyond Gibbet Hill to/from Kenilworth and Leamington Spa.

A travel shop is located at Pool Meadow Bus Station which sells both bus and coach tickets and handles enquiries. Coventry and the West Midlands allows contactless payments through the m-Ticket app^[10] or credit cards, Swift Pay as you Go^[11], along with exact change cash fares.

Regular ticket inspections take place aided by the Safer Travel also known as Network West Midlands team which is a partnership that was created in 2005 between Centro and West Midlands Police. The partnership is committed to reducing crime and anti social behavior across the West Midlands bus network whilst providing reassurance to the travelling public. Safer travel has also created the 'See Something, Say Something' campaign, where passengers are encouraged to anonymously send information about nuisance behavior on buses by text message.

Arising Issues

A cramped Eclipse 2 on the route 5. Larger buses were running borderline empty at this time on other routes

Since the withdrawal of National Express Coventrys fleet of 9 bendy buses, and the replacement of 9 single deckers to replace them, several issues have become more visible. Of the 9 B7RLE Eclipse 2s that were cascaded down from Wolverhampton, several have developed several issues, including gearbox problems, door problems, engine faults, poor traction and light faults. Wright Eclipse 2 '2151' had set alight on the Route 16 on the 21st May, only months after receiving the bus. Officials claimed that an indicator spark set the bus on fire. Months down the line, and these Eclipse 2s have been being sent out on routes that are unsuitable for these buses, and often overcrowding them.

An 18A to Tile Hill South leaves St Johns Church during a 'peak service' with very few people on board.

Many of the Eclipse 2s have gearbox issues, causing them to violently jolt while attempting to accelerating, often causing passengers to bump into other passengers. On the 20th September, 2156 had developed an engine fault while in service, and when the driver had contacted the garage, they had told them to 'Continue Driving'. As pictured to the left, 2156 had been overfilled on an already unsafe bus. 2 days later, 2156 had broken down. National Express Coventry seemed to have not taken the bus out of service, much like previous issues with the buses, which potentially caused the Keresley fire in May. National Express Coventry are aware of overcrowding and the issues with the problematic buses, however have taken no action. National Express Coventry also allocate larger buses to quieter routes, often having them leave the city center with no more than 5 people on. National Express Coventry have been aware of a lot of these issues for several months, but take no action

List of bus routes operating in Coventry

This is a list of the bus routes currently operating in Coventry as of August 2018. There are approximately 40 routes as part of the National Express Coventry company, the other routes operate with Travel DeCourcey, Johnsons Coach & Bus Travel, Diamond Bus, Arriva Midlands and Central Buses.

Pool Meadow Bus Station stands

The following table contains the letter in which the bus stands become stationary at Pool Meadow Bus Station in the city centre. Other services would either terminate at Trinity Street, Hales Street or The Burges at Cross Cheaping. Pool Meadow is ran by the local authority

Voluntary multilateral agreement & PrimeLines

PrimeLines was a partnership between National Express Coventry, other bus operators, Coventry City Council and Centro to deliver high quality bus corridors in Coventry complete with real-time information, bus priority schemes and modern buses. This has been replaced by a new citywide partnership agreement, which has been agreed between Centro, Coventry City Council, Passenger Focus and bus operators with the aim of giving passengers faster, more punctual services as well as shorter waiting times and a more comfortable journey across the network. The three-year agreement came as part of the 2012 network review of bus services in Coventry.^[13]

See also

• List of bus operators of the United Kingdom

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to National Express Coventry.

• Company website