Rerouting the 82 was idiotic, though. No reason they couldn't have had half the 82s and half the 86s change, rather than all the 82s. If I want to get into town, I'm usually trying to get to the Hope St area. If I get an 82 now, I need to get off on the far side of Parliament Street! Cost me a job last week thanks to the extra ten minutes the bus was in traffic on the dock road and the fifteen minute dash up Duke Street because they didn't tell anyone about the new route. If it just went DOWN Duke St instead, no problem.
I agree about Blacklers. And the 82 still bimbles round there even though it doesn't stop until half way down Renshaw St.
The use of L1 for Southbound and QS for Northbound makes a lot of sense as well, compared to the weird free-for-all you used to get down there.
Since they knocked down the Futurist and started building, the stops there where the 82 would normally go have gone. I've had to power walk my way through to Renshaw Street more than once, and as you say it's idiotic.
That said I don't blame them for trying to reroute the 82 because the congestion getting into and out of town is an absolute nightmare. That's why I figured sending them up Duke Street might be a better compromise, even though it's on the outskirts of the city centre. The problem is Hanover Street is just not capable of handling the traffic its getting and you can't widen it.
The problem with QS is that it doesn't just handle northbound buses but central buses as well. It's just too many for it to handle. The northbound buses need a station of their own, but I don't think the Haymarket is a good place at all.
And I can't help but wonder what will happen if the council follow through on their threat to pedestrianise Dale Street and make Victoria Street two way. That's beyond idiotic, it's just plain insanity.