Talk:Bluestar (bus company)

bluestar or Bluestar?

I have noticed that someone has recently changed all mention of the word "bluestar" to begin with a capital "B". Unless I am mistaken, the name should begin with a lower case "b", as this is what the brand was intended to be. (Similar to "iPod" etc.) This is confirmed by the Solent Blue Line website, which apart from some examples on the news page, all the other pages (Times, fares and home) begin with a lower case "b".

This is the same with the bluestar website, which again has the odd rogue capital "B", but in the majority of cases (home, fares and "What is bluestar" pages), it is lower case.

As a result, I have changed the names back to bluestar. However, I have left the examples of "baby bluestar" as they are, as the previous examples of "babybluestar" were incorrect. -- Arriva436 (talk) 20:19, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

I changed the Bluestar to begin with a capital 'B' as that is how Solent Blue Line present the name in text on their Bluestar site, they use a small 'b' in the graphics on the website but in every other case except a few examples on a the fares page (which also shows Wilts & Dorset with a small 'w' and 'd' for some reason) it is with a capital 'B'. Also Nightstar is consistently presented with a capital 'N' but the graphic is a small 'n'. Red Fox (talk) 21:13, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

As far as I can see, most examples are in fact with a lower case b. There is only one example on the home page of a capital "B", the other 3 are "b". The same is with the Solent Blue Line, where as I said before, all examples on the home page, times and fares are with a lower case "b". The news updates vary, but that is presumably as they are written by different people, who get confused. On the "Nightstar" front, this is probably so they go with the "Nitebus" services that First runs (they may have ceased now). And of course as you say the bluestar logo is with a lowercase "b", as can be seen on the Cadet that illustrates the article. -- Arriva436 (talk) 21:59, 2 February 2008 (UTC)

Like I said the graphics (logo and menu options which are gif images) on the Bluestar site are in lower case but in the text are generally have a capital 'B' including the company contact details with exception of two examples on the fares page and few on the news page. Go-Ahead use Blue Star[1] or Bluestar[2]. The latest Solent Blue Line logo is now lower case, should that be written as solent blue line? Same with National Express Red Fox (talk) 14:31, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

I have been sad enough to count up all of the examples!!! Excluding the graphics, the total of both the SBL and Bluestar webistes is that "Bluestar" beats "bluestar" by three. Excluding the hap-hazard news page examples, "bluestar" wins by a lot. However, as it is so close, doesn't make much odds, and it is eaiser with a capital, I shall change them back to "Bluestar". -- Arriva436 (talk) 20:55, 3 February 2008 (UTC)

Route deletions. Moving Forwards?

How exactly should we move forwards with the article following User:Richard Harvey deletions to this and many other bus related articles?

I am of the opinion that the route information was a valid part of the article, it was not advertising, nor did it contain detailed information such as fares(with the exception of Nightstar section) or every road the route served. Routes are an essential part of what bus companies do, and while it is good that User:Arriva436 has gone some way to restoring the information I can't help feeling that in its present form the information is not as clearly presented as it once was though I accept that the bullet points is not necessarily the ideal way of presenting it. If London Buses route 98 (picked at random) justifies an article all to its self then why does Bluestar 1 not justify a single line in an article? If it cannot be justified having route information on a bus article should there be such information on railway company articles or airlines etc? Red Fox (talk) 19:07, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

Excellent. I agree entirely with you on this. I also think that route information is valid, especially in the small quantities that it was on in this article. As you probably have seen, there is a discussion with User:Richard Harvey as to what to do next. I think that while info on fares that was on some of the FirstGroup company articles was going too far, a list of routes is important. As you say routes are an essential part of what bus companies do. I have put the route info in the format it is in at the moment as a way of keeping the information without reverting Richard Harvey's edits, of course that wouldn't help the discussion!!! I hope when it is resolved it can go back to how it used to be.

If you think that bullets aren't the best way of presenting it. Would you be willing to discuss this? Perhaps a table or something would be better? In the meantime, I think it is probably best to leave the information until the Richard Harvey issue is resolved. Arriva436^talk 20:00, 12 July 2008 (UTC)

I think with the small number of routes in each section of the Bluestar article that either a table or bullet points would be suitable, though I thought it was in some guideline that lists of bullet points were discouraged and that some articles had been edited because of them, hence my comment above. I thought the table in First Hampshire and Dorset was quite effective though the table format could be limiting if further information about the route is justified.

I agree that we should wait to see the outcome of discussions but should be prepared to proceed once that is achieved whenever that may be.Red Fox (talk) 12:12, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Good! I again agree. As an editor of the First H&D table, I'm glad you like it!!! Tables can be used qutie well, have a look at Arriva Fox County, very complex. Right then, now lets wait for the discussion to come to something. Arriva436^talk 15:38, 14 July 2008 (UTC)

Right, I was just about to edit the route lists before the message below turned up. I think we're OK to have a route list again now, it is far less cluttered. Any other ideas? Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 20:17, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Corrections

The following first appeared on the Help desk. I copied it here for your evaluation. I asked the original poster to provide reliable sources to verify these claims. Thanks to all. --Teratornis (talk) 19:14, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

As Operations Manager of Bluestar, I hoped it would be useful to clarify a few errors on the Bluestar Wikipedia page. Overall, it is well written and paints a factual picture of the business, although would request the following be considered...

Beep! Bus

Quote.........<<<<<<<<<<<

BEEP! BUS

Because the service was not officially scheduled to begin until 15 September (a week after Velvet started operating), Bluestar initially was unable to take fares for the service, therefore it is operated as a free service.

Bluestar deny its timetable is ordered in such as a way of competing against Velvet, saying that they 'welcome competition as it provides a choice for customers', despite giving up the route when withdrawing the Red Rocket routes in the first place

>>>>>>>>>>>>>.... unquote

The final paragraph is incorrect. The Beep! Bus route only covers 1/8 of a line of route coverage previously operated by Bluestar - therefore this is unfair. Beep! Bus route B runs between Eastleigh and Southampton. I would kindly ask you to consider that the second paragraph be re-worded or deleted, or at least the final 15 words please.

The first paragraph quoted suggests that the service still runs free. It only ran as a free service for the first week of operation between 7-15 September 2008.

Citylink (for further info on citylink, see Uni-link#City-link shuttle service)

Bluestar began operation of the free bus linking Southampton Central Station, WestQuay and Town Quay (for Red Funnel ferries to the Isle of Wight) on September 28 2008. The two buses used on the service were inherited from the previous operator, Enterprise Accord, but repainted in a vivid Bluestar-inspired colour scheme, with the interiors also rebranded throughout. This was complemented by increased marketing and new signage along the route.

uni-link (for further info on uni-link, see section on Uni-link page)

Bluestar won the 10-year concession to provide the successful uni-link service on behalf of the University of Southampton, with effect from 28 September 2008.

This was marked by a £3 million investment in 18 brand new buses for the service, of which all vehicles will be manufactured in complete by Scania. 9 double deck OmniCity and 9 single deck OmniCity buses, with dual-door layout, increased legroom and improved specification, formed the order.

Additionally, a tri-axle, single deck 13.7m Scania OmniLink single deck bus was hired to provide additional resource on route U1.

Within the first few weeks of the new contract with Bluestar, passenger and revenue records have been broken, thanks to investment and additional capacity being made available. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 212.183.134.129 (talk) 11:42, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Hi! Thanks for your comments. I am planning to address these issues in the near future (hopefully tomorrow). I'll take on board what you've said and hopefully sort it out. As Teratornis has said, I will need to find some references to back up the information. Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 21:08, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Right, I've now done some basic changes. I've added City-link and uni-link, and removed the nasty Beep! Bus comment. I'll do the refinements tomorrow. I have been planning to seriously improve the SBL/Bluestar/Uni-link articles for a long time, perhaps I may get round to it now! Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 21:55, 23 November 2008 (UTC)

Now I have added references for most sections of the article, and thus removed the "refimprove" tag. I have cited the Beep! Bus section and amended it so that only proper facts are given. I have used the Daily Echo for some references, but only bits of it that are facts, as I know most of it is biased crap that does Bluestar no favours at all :(. There's no point citing those bits. I plan to do some more developments tomorrow hopefully. Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 20:18, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Unilink

"9 single-deck OmniCitys are due in early 2009" - did these arrive and are they now in service? --Wintonian (talk) 05:16, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Short answer: Yes and yes! Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 18:44, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Updated --Wintonian (talk) 01:57, 5 January 2010 (UTC)

Excellent, thanks for that. As well as from File:Bluestar 2003 HF58 HTJ.JPG, which was taken out of a car windscreen, I have other photos of the single-deck OmniCitys which I hope to upload in due course. Arriva436^{talk/contribs} 09:13, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Media concerns and update

This page requires updating as it is out of date with some new services added and the withdrawal of the Baby Bluestar brand. I am also concerned at the number of non free images (logos) being used on the page. I would reccoment that if you have a free image of a real life bus with the logo clearly visible on the side, use that instead as it shows how that brand was used in practice. I will work on this shortly, but thought I would the pages community a heads up. Rafmarham (talk) 08:28, 25 September 2012 (UTC)

I have now completed the page run-through. It has been substantially updated and made sense of. I have also removed alot of logos - the reason being that Wikipedia is a free content encyclopedia with non-free image, like logos, only used is absolutely nescesary. As a result, if the logo and design could clearly be seen on the side of a bus picture, then I would use that picture - it gives an accurate look at how the brand was used and on what type buses they were used on. Ironic however that Bluestar have just announced that they are changing the schedules in a months time, so the editors will need to keep on your toes! Rafmarham (talk) 22:10, 5 October 2012 (UTC)

Page has been updated following the changes. Also, the bluestar logo in the infobox is technically incorrect as the logo always has a star at the end of it. Rafmarham (talk) 23:08, 6 November 2012 (UTC)

Good work, it's looking better now. But the logo is not wrong - look at the front logo of the bus in the infobox. The majority of buses currently have plain "Bluestar" on the front. Also, on the offside, the star is before the letters. Arriva436/talk/contribs 23:26, 7 November 2012 (UTC)

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What constitutes necessary information within the fleet section?

I have just seen an invisible comment within the section whilst editing the article, and wondered if this was related to the massive tables that other editors had placed in the section a few months ago based off anorak information on unofficial sites and bustimes.org.

If so, what would be considered necessary or notable information to add to that section? Would new orders count, or would it be any article from a reputable newspaper or online magazine where they talk about fleet changes? If not, is it even worth having the section at all?

I have seen similar bus company pages with similar information such as Cardiff Bus, First South West & Lothian Buses. What do you think? -NHPluto (talk) 05:26, 1 September 2024 (UTC)