stop the uplift at 1pm for all buses so the cafe gets rammed full for an hour?
Why not stagger things?
the cafe would probably get more customers over a longer period of time I think.
I've always thought this too however the trick is to break for lunch on the penultimate bus. Yes you miss 1 run but it means there'll be no queue for the cafe rather than queue for 20 plus you can get a table!
Cwmdown always had the same problem when they ran two buses.
It might be something to do with regulations in regards to bus driving (technically they're all bus drivers - or at least Cwmdown are).
BPW typically run 5 buses at the weekend in 2, 2, 1 formation. They could stagger it, first driver take lunch 12-1, second drivers 1-2 and last driver 2-3 - okay 2pm lunch is a bit late, but they don't start till 10.
But I think it would be worse over-all for riders - first bus is at 10am, last bus leaves at 16:15 so there's only 6 hours of uplift - if they staggered lunches you'd have 2 hours in the middle of it when they're almost at half-strength and an hour when they're a bus down. Compounded by a quicker café and generally shorter break by the riders.
It's a pain standing in a queue to get lunch for an age, but it's better than waiting in a queue for the bus in the rain and you I've always managed to have lunch, a bit of a chat and strolled back up to the pick-up within the hour.
If you're really bothered, it's pretty easy to push/pedal up to the 'proper' start of Terry's Belly and back down again in 30 mins, even for a slightly over-weight old man like me.
the trick is to break for lunch on the penultimate bus. Yes you miss 1 run but it means there'll be no queue for the cafe rather than queue for 20 plus you can get a table!
Then you can enjoy a post lunch ride up to get that extra run in for when the bus starts up again 😉