Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: kippaxvilla2 on March 28, 2024, 12:05:47 PM
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AV82 a great initiative from the club….only £5 return.
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Aston Villa is delighted to introduce a new city centre shuttle bus service, helping supporters to travel more easily and efficiently to and from Villa Park on matchdays.
With a nod to the club’s finest hour and our 1982 European Cup victory, the ‘AV82’ service will start on Saturday 30th March for our home Premier League fixture against Wolves. The service will run on a trial basis for all other men’s home matches until the end of the 2023/24 season, covering all Premier League and UEFA Europa Conference League fixtures.
Run by Stagecoach, the AV82 shuttle will pick up from outside Birmingham New Street Station on Dudley Street, running direct to Villa Park. Buses will run at regular intervals, starting three hours before kick-off for every home fixture. Buses will depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to two hours after the final whistle for every game.
A return ticket for the shuttle bus is £5 and single tickets will be available for £3. Tickets can be purchased with cash or card from the bus driver, or purchased in advance through the Stagecoach app. Unfortunately, nBus, concessionary passes and the government’s £2 Help for Household single are not valid on the service.
https://www.avfc.co.uk/news/2024/march/28/New-express-city-centre-shuttle-buses-set-to-launch-on-matchdays/
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Can't believe this has taken this long to come up with this initiative. Good move.
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I think last time they tried it it was a fiver each way. £5.00 return is much better.
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This is great news and will now mean I can get the train instead of driving. It doesn't say how many buses they'll be using but I hope it's more than one.
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This is great news and will now mean I can get the train instead of driving. It doesn't say how many buses they'll be using but I hope it's more than one.
Just the one on a constant loop.
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Fantastic news. This will help easy congestion on the trains. Well done to all parties involved
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This is great news and will now mean I can get the train instead of driving. It doesn't say how many buses they'll be using but I hope it's more than one.
Just the one on a constant loop.
Nah, must be more than that otherwise people will be waiting forever on the way back.
"Buses will run at regular intervals, starting three hours before kick-off for every home fixture. Buses will depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to two hours after the final whistle for every game."
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This is great news and will now mean I can get the train instead of driving. It doesn't say how many buses they'll be using but I hope it's more than one.
Just the one on a constant loop.
Nah, must be more than that otherwise people will be waiting forever on the way back.
"Buses will run at regular intervals, starting three hours before kick-off for every home fixture. Buses will depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to two hours after the final whistle for every game."
I mean, one an hour is "regular" ....
But yeah, interested to hear how the shuttle bus does work out against Wolves. My dad's not as mobile as he was now, so if there's a frequent bus service that'd involve him doing less walking, £5 return seems worth it.
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Where is Grosvenor Road? The only one i can see on Google Maps is the other side of the A34.
EDIT ignore, can see it now.
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I was only thinking about this the other day, I wondered what had happened after the trial at the end of last season. The main issue was cost and now that's been halved I think it's definitely a goer. Frequency is a question but hopefully enough people will use it for feedback on here and to keep it going. It's ideal for the station area given the unreliability of the trains post match.
I'm in Town on Sat so may well give it a whirl.
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This is great news and will now mean I can get the train instead of driving. It doesn't say how many buses they'll be using but I hope it's more than one.
Just the one on a constant loop.
Haha imagine the grief
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Where is Grosvenor Road? The only one i can see on Google Maps is the other side of the A34.
Runs parallel to Aston Station
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Queens Road then Grosvenor Road.
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The trouble is, the traffic on Grosevenor Road is just about the worst in the area. Because Lichfield Road is all snarled up, you normally get 1 or 2 cars maximum able to turn onto Lichfield Road at a time, so a bus is going to be sat there for ages like everybody else. Once on Lichfield Road, the bus will be OK because there's a bus lane, but actually getting on to it is a massively frustrating ball ache. They'd be much better running it from outside Aston Station on Lichfield Road.
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The trouble is, the traffic on Grosevenor Road is just about the worst in the area. Because Lichfield Road is all snarled up, you normally get 1 or 2 cars maximum able to turn onto Lichfield Road at a time, so a bus is going to be sat there for ages like everybody else. Once on Lichfield Road, the bus will be OK because there's a bus lane, but actually getting on to it is a massively frustrating ball ache. They'd be much better running it from outside Aston Station on Lichfield Road.
When the trains aren’t running the replacement bus service always picks up from Grosvenor Road so it’s tried and tested.
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The trouble is, the traffic on Grosevenor Road is just about the worst in the area. Because Lichfield Road is all snarled up, you normally get 1 or 2 cars maximum able to turn onto Lichfield Road at a time, so a bus is going to be sat there for ages like everybody else. Once on Lichfield Road, the bus will be OK because there's a bus lane, but actually getting on to it is a massively frustrating ball ache. They'd be much better running it from outside Aston Station on Lichfield Road.
I tried to get the bus back (67) after the Fulham game as it stops just outside Aston Station and the traffic was solid. Thought I'd just carry on up towards Tyburn Rd and catch it when it comes, ended up halfway home on Bromford Lane and just got the Mrs to pick me up instead.
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The trouble is, the traffic on Grosevenor Road is just about the worst in the area. Because Lichfield Road is all snarled up, you normally get 1 or 2 cars maximum able to turn onto Lichfield Road at a time, so a bus is going to be sat there for ages like everybody else. Once on Lichfield Road, the bus will be OK because there's a bus lane, but actually getting on to it is a massively frustrating ball ache. They'd be much better running it from outside Aston Station on Lichfield Road.
When the trains aren’t running the replacement bus service always picks up from Grosvenor Road so it’s tried and tested.
It might be what they always do, but does it work?
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Where is Grosvenor Road? The only one i can see on Google Maps is the other side of the A34.
Don't get all 'Sherlock Street' on us!
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I'll be watching this thread with interest next week to see the opinions of those who have tried it.
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I waited at Aston station for a game earlier in the season, realised it would take forever so caught a bus opposite and it sailed into town no problem.
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Years ago I remember getting a "football special" bus from up at top of Corporation Street /Old Square to Villa Park every week, probably mid 80s. Can't remember the number but it wasnt an ordinary service bus.
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Yes, the football specials.
Used to be a line of them after the game on the junction of Church Lane and Queens Road to take you back to the city centre.
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I wonder when the latest one will be?
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You can’t knock the club for trying this. Not a bad price and it just could work.
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I wonder when the latest one will be?
Buses will depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to two hours after the final whistle for every game.
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Years ago I remember getting a "football special" bus from up at top of Corporation Street /Old Square to Villa Park every week, probably mid 80s. Can't remember the number but it wasnt an ordinary service bus.
Back then there were specials for the number 7.
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More revenue raised for the club. Good idea.
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More revenue raised for the club. Good idea.
This won't be earning anything for the club. Why would it?
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I wonder when the latest one will be?
Buses will depart from Grosvenor Road and run back to Birmingham New Street at regular intervals for up to two hours after the final whistle for every game.
Thanks mate. Thats great news as i was thinking about coming chelsea game so this will make it a bit easier to get back
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Looks like the club were reading the posts in the Villa Park thread from a few months ago. Shame that Aziz coaches of Sparkbrook weren't given the chance but better than nothing.
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Looks like the club were reading the posts in the Villa Park thread from a few months ago. Shame that Aziz coaches of Sparkbrook weren't given the chance but better than nothing.
Didn't we sell them to Middlesbrough?
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Even if there is a poor take up at first I hope the club persevere. It will take time for people to realise it's there and word of mouth will be the best tool for this, particulary if it's run well. The Edgbaston service is very popular and we should be able to mirror that.
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The reason the ones last season were so expensive was that the club didn't want them being too popular - they wanted a trial run to sort the logistics out. Stagecoach have got a new depot in Aston so they want to make this work.
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The trouble is, the traffic on Grosevenor Road is just about the worst in the area. Because Lichfield Road is all snarled up, you normally get 1 or 2 cars maximum able to turn onto Lichfield Road at a time, so a bus is going to be sat there for ages like everybody else. Once on Lichfield Road, the bus will be OK because there's a bus lane, but actually getting on to it is a massively frustrating ball ache. They'd be much better running it from outside Aston Station on Lichfield Road.
When the trains aren’t running the replacement bus service always picks up from Grosvenor Road so it’s tried and tested.
It might be what they always do, but does it work?
Haven’t used it for a couple of years but was perfectly fine when I did. The first buses after the final whistle are obviously going to have a lot of traffic to contend with but if they’re running for a couple of hours after the game it should be ok if you get a later one.
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This is excellent news, and hopefully there will be a good take up. My initial thought is that the demand for the service will be greater after the game than before it, and I'm wondering if the £5 fare will apply to a single fare, as well as return. I'm thinking it probably should.
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This is excellent news, and hopefully there will be a good take up. My initial thought is that the demand for the service will be greater after the game than before it, and I'm wondering if the £5 fare will apply to a single fare, as well as return. I'm thinking it probably should.
It's £3 single.
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The reason the ones last season were so expensive was that the club didn't want them being too popular - they wanted a trial run to sort the logistics out. Stagecoach have got a new depot in Aston so they want to make this work.
Is it likely to be just the one bus going there and back Dave, or will there be a few on do you think?
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The reason the ones last season were so expensive was that the club didn't want them being too popular - they wanted a trial run to sort the logistics out. Stagecoach have got a new depot in Aston so they want to make this work.
Is it likely to be just the one bus going there and back Dave, or will there be a few on do you think?
A few, I believe.
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Leeds have a good shuttle service running from the station to the ground and back after, it can work if it's planned properly.
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I assume Chris Heck will be watching the numbers/reviews on this with interest. Being hamstrung by public transport was one of the few things he mentioned regarding Villa Park's future in that crappy Pravda address he made before Christmas.
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More revenue raised for the club. Good idea.
This won't be earning anything for the club. Why would it?
Do the club not get any money for this? Not through sponsorship or agreement? Shame, I though Mr Heck was being innovative!
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Less drivers, more drinkers so it is better for the club in those ways.
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So, did this go well today? Hope no one puked on the back-seat and hoped it wouldn't be noticed.
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Was Heck on board?
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We got it back into town. A small queue and got onto the first one, with another waiting behind it. The longest part seemed to be filling up the bus. It didn’t take long to get onto the main road into town and a bit of a sing on the bus which was nice.
Very smooth!
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Fairly sure years back we used to have shuttle buses going to and from Tamworth/Bromsgrove etc. Can remember a few of them parked on Witton Lane pre match.
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We ran some during the Lerner years. 4 or 5 routes iirc. They used to come down Witton Lane when we were selling the fanzine and they were often nearly empty. Lasted a year or so before all routes were dropped.
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My lad came up for the game and we gave it a try. Outbound fom town at 4.27 we left with about ten on the lower deck and just the two of us upstairs.
The return was understandably more in demand. The first bus was filled and we got the second which also filled and judging by the queues forming those following would be the same.
Keep promoting it and it should be successful.
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It makes sense for continuing the service for Saturday evening and midweek matches. I presume the shuttles will get another run out against Chelsea at 8pm in a few weeks.
Far too much hassle attempting to catch the train in either direction at those times.
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My lad came up for the game and we gave it a try. Outbound fom town at 4.27 we left with about ten on the lower deck and just the two of us upstairs.
The return was understandably more in demand. The first bus was filled and we got the second which also filled and judging by the queues forming those following would be the same.
Keep promoting it and it should be successful.
I jumped on the 65 for Saturdays game at around the same time & only a handful were on there too.
Can't see them being used much if at all 3 hours before kick off or even an hour after.
Can't think of any solution other than a queue of buses after the game back into Town on 1 return trip if needed. Its simply not going to pay for itself.
Edit.. also picking up from Dudley st/New St is probably not the best place.Be much better picking up from around Colmore row.
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You can get the 7 from that end of town before the game. Useless for New Street. Mind you, it's getting back is the problem not getting to. Never have a problem with the train up.
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You can get the 7 from that end of town before the game. Useless for New Street. Mind you, it's getting back is the problem not getting to. Never have a problem with the train up.
Just think Dudley St is a bit out the way from everywhere bar actual New St Station.
Picking up around Colmore Row/Circus would be a better option I think
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I wanna come to brum for chelsea game this sounds like a great option for going back to new street. Hopefully it will be running after 10pm
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You can get the 7 from that end of town before the game. Useless for New Street. Mind you, it's getting back is the problem not getting to. Never have a problem with the train up.
Yeah I can get train to Snowhill and perfect for 7.
To be fair no issues with traffic getting to a game for years as staggered arrivals in and around the ground - it's always after when practically everyone leaves in a 15 minute window.
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Yes they need to have something like UB40 to stagger the departures 👀
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I wanna come to brum for chelsea game this sounds like a great option for going back to new street. Hopefully it will be running after 10pm
Given that the game won’t end til about 10pm, Ali think it stands a chance.
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Hows this service going? Anyone used it today? Thinking of using it for chelsea game on way back if runs that late but im abit confused where you get picked up from after the game? Says grosvenor road but looking at google says a 30 minute walk from the ground? Is that correct?
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There are a couple of Grovesnor roads in Brum. If you know where Aston Station is, it is outside of that.
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Hows this service going? Anyone used it today? Thinking of using it for chelsea game on way back if runs that late but im abit confused where you get picked up from after the game? Says grosvenor road but looking at google says a 30 minute walk from the ground? Is that correct?
I think you’re looking at the Handsworth one there.