GoAhead owned Anglianbus operate many services in and around Norfolk and Suffolk. One if which operates between Beccles and Lowestoft, with some journeys extending from/to Bungay and James Paget Hospital in Gorleston. This service indirectly replaced the old 146 Norwich to Lowestoft route which competed with Firsts' X2, but when the network was revamped in September last year, the Norwich to Beccles part was withdrawn and it was renumbered as the 60.
For the first few weeks, the route was mostly operated by Anglian's Solos, with the odd OmniCity or Streetlite dotted here and there. This was what most of us expected as passenger numbers tended not to exceed the 30 mark.
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| 951 pulling away from Lowestoft bus station back in December last year. |
As time went by however, people began to notice the increasing usage of double deckers on the route. Anglian only operate eight of these buses and most are usually used on the 88 service between Halesworth and Norwich so the appearance of both the Lolynes and the Scania's on the route came as a bit of a surprise. For the first few days, we thought we'd managed to spot a rare working but within a few months we realised we hadn't really! It was a daily occurrence, with one or two days recorded where deckers were the ONLY type of bus used.
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| a 588 branded Scania OmniCity decker heading towards Beccles |
In January this year, Ambassador lost the tender for their 607 route which operated between Lowestoft and Gorleston, via Lound and Blundeston. Shortly after that, Anglian announced that as of 24th February, their service 60 would be diverted through the villages five times a day, so the locals can still get out and about by bus. It was only last week when I happened to bored 456 AN61BUS in Lowestoft thinking it was a 61, that I ended up heading towards these villages. This was when I realised I was in fact on one of these diverted 60s. Obviously I had never had a reason to explore this rural part of the countryside and so I was rather impressed with the drivers ability to weave a full length Scania OmniLink around the many tight bends and corners that Lound and Blundeston possess. It was on one of these roads that I noticed the low trees, and this brings me to my whole point in writing this little report: Is the sight of a double decker on the 60 now a thing of the past? The roof pods on the OmniLink were being hit by a few twigs here and there! Now I know not all the 60s do divert, however I am led to believe that allocations suggest that most buses placed on the 60 will end up going through those windy roads at some point during the day. If anyone knows any different or has any knowledge of the new allocations, don't hesitate to comment below or email me at zak.nbp@gmail.com.
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| 456 arrived at JPH 10 minutes after I wanted to be there thanks to my assumption that it was the 61! |
There is at least one decker, normally a Trident still on the 60 during the day as it then forms the 61A school journey to Kessingland in the afternoon. Only know this as it pulled out in front of the bus I was travelling on on Monday and I checked with the driver that it had come off the 60.
ReplyDeleteAah, thanks Steve! Interesting how they manage it really, I'd love to spend a day with operations!
ReplyDeleteLol zak you might like it for a few minutes but speaking as an ex logistics manager the hair soon turns grey and vacates the head mate but its an experience I grant you
ReplyDeleteI'd love to give it a go, and the first thing I'd do is stop school journeys impacting on normal public services. Two glaring examples near me are the huge gap in the 62 between Kessingland and Halesworth in the afternoons, and the 1509 Saxmundham to Aldeburgh on the 64 which only operates non schooldays. I know how much revenue school contracts generate but that shouldn't impact on the general public.
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