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First West of England (Bristol, Bath & The West)

Whiteway215

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37585 on Odd Down P & R today now carries First West of England legals and 'on hire' notice removed. Still carries large Wessex name on offside.
 
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D2007wsm

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Interesting allocation this morning, Excel E400 33828 was used on the delayed 11:05 349 from Bristol to Keynsham. Back on home turf now though on the X4.
 

Bradley

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TheGrandWazoo the time I saw it was when I was waiting for the 15.35pm 174 back to Wells.
 

Tommy Walters

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Some interesting uni vehicle sightings in Bath this evening:
32075 on Racecourse shuttles
33946/7 both on private hire to Bath Uni for a student club night to Bristol - I would imagine these will not be in a presentable condition when they get back to Bath Depot this evening!!
 

BBC

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I think it is so when the new buses come they can be pressed into service right away rather than having to wait!
No it’s because there isn’t enough space while the work is going on so they where moved to CT pluses depot.
 

D2007wsm

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South Glos Lynx???
Nope, some of the new gas buses are supposedly being delivered for the T1 and the Y1 in South Glos Lynx livery. That’s why there has been a hiatus of repaints into this livery.

I heard a rumour from a reputable source, that at least some of the Scanias are heading to Cymru for the X10.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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Nope, some of the new gas buses are supposedly being delivered for the T1 and the Y1 in South Glos Lynx livery. That’s why there has been a hiatus of repaints into this livery.

I heard a rumour from a reputable source, that at least some of the Scanias are heading to Cymru for the X10.

That interesting as the gas buses were part of a package for 6/7, 42-45, 48/49 and metrobus. I was thinking the 48/49 e400s might head to SGL or Bath but that’s just idle musing. May be more gas buses in future batches?

It would be surprising if the Scanias went to the X10 but that’s not to suggest your source is wrong. They did trial them on the 376 but don’t think it was a success though don’t know why?
 

D2007wsm

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That interesting as the gas buses were part of a package for 6/7, 42-45, 48/49 and metrobus. I was thinking the 48/49 e400s might head to SGL or Bath but that’s just idle musing. May be more gas buses in future batches?

It would be surprising if the Scanias went to the X10 but that’s not to suggest your source is wrong. They did trial them on the 376 but don’t think it was a success though don’t know why?
I think they are going on the South Glos Lynx services as they go in to South Glos and particularly the T1 operates along side the Metrobus, so as to have a similar standard on the m1 and T1. Who knows what will be ordered in the future with the potential sale of the business. A new operator may have a different strategy and prefer different vehicle types.

I believe that a couple were put on the 376 to try them and to supplement the poor performance of the Streetdecks at the time as it was before the Geminis started appearing. I think they did not particularly like the hills either and the length was a bit of an issue in Wells High Street.

I think now they are moving the regular E400s over, they will stay as they are coping better.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I think they are going on the South Glos Lynx services as they go in to South Glos and particularly the T1 operates along side the Metrobus, so as to have a similar standard on the m1 and T1. Who knows what will be ordered in the future with the potential sale of the business. A new operator may have a different strategy and prefer different vehicle types.

I believe that a couple were put on the 376 to try them and to supplement the poor performance of the Streetdecks at the time as it was before the Geminis started appearing. I think they did not particularly like the hills either and the length was a bit of an issue in Wells High Street.

I think now they are moving the regular E400s over, they will stay as they are coping better.

I was thinking more that the gas buses are part funded with green bus funding for a specific route package and whether that can be altered? Or if the funding and batches are being restructured? Am I making sense?

I remember seeing the pair of Scanias (36813/4) and that they were covering for Streetdecks but it was also a trial. However, seem to recall they struggled to keep time but didn’t know if it was speed or the hills.
 

cnjb8

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Nope, some of the new gas buses are supposedly being delivered for the T1 and the Y1 in South Glos Lynx livery. That’s why there has been a hiatus of repaints into this livery..
Maybe the hiatus of repaints is that the gas buses are coming for metrobus and the displaced ones will be South Glocs Lynx. Maybe there waiting for the new buses.
 

henairs

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I think they are going on the South Glos Lynx services as they go in to South Glos and particularly the T1 operates along side the Metrobus, so as to have a similar standard on the m1 and T1. Who knows what will be ordered in the future with the potential sale of the business. A new operator may have a different strategy and prefer different vehicle types.

I believe that a couple were put on the 376 to try them and to supplement the poor performance of the Streetdecks at the time as it was before the Geminis started appearing. I think they did not particularly like the hills either and the length was a bit of an issue in Wells High Street.

I think now they are moving the regular E400s over, they will stay as they are coping better.
Hi There,
Over the years a good few types have been tried over the Mendips but sometimes late running is down to length of route so more chance of road works plus the Bristol traffic situation.
Once Whitchurch has been left heading south or up to that point from Street baring road works or anything out of the ordinary most vehicles will breeze along as the drivers on there do their very best to recover lost time. Over the hills I and several friends have had some exhilarating runs across the hills only to become glue-potted by having to observe all stops from Whitchurch inbound and vice- Versa so baring putting helicopters on 376 it's fighting a losing battle as such.
Had a blast of a run yesterday afternoon from Knowle to Wells onboard B9 37762. Boy can that one shift.
Cheers, Mike R
 

D2007wsm

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Maybe the hiatus of repaints is that the gas buses are coming for metrobus and the displaced ones will be South Glocs Lynx. Maybe there waiting for the new buses.
No, new buses are definitely due. Originally the Scanias currently on the T1 and Y1 were to be repainted in full South Glos Lynx livery, but instead some just received minor branding on top of the regular Urban 2 livery. The Metrobuse vehicles are the same other than the m3 vehicles have metrobus moquette rather than grey eLeather. It would be pointless waiting to repaint the same type of bus.

Rather than paying to paint the m3 Scanias from m3 green into m2 orange, wouldn’t a quicker and more cost effective solution be just to swap the seat cushions from the m3 buses to the m2 buses and vice versa. The m2 buses would then have a full metrobus interior and once the interior branding is removed from the m3 buses, they would be the same as the regular Scanias.

The m3 buses could then be repainted for further use. Beside that, if the m2 buses were swapped for repainted m3 buses, the whole rigmarole of having to fit guide wheels to the m3 buses and taking them off of the m2 buses would also have to be done.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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No, new buses are definitely due. Originally the Scanias currently on the T1 and Y1 were to be repainted in full South Glos Lynx livery, but instead some just received minor branding on top of the regular Urban 2 livery. The Metrobuse vehicles are the same other than the m3 vehicles have metrobus moquette rather than grey eLeather. It would be pointless waiting to repaint the same type of bus.

Rather than paying to paint the m3 Scanias from m3 green into m2 orange, wouldn’t a quicker and more cost effective solution be just to swap the seat cushions from the m3 buses to the m2 buses and vice versa. The m2 buses would then have a full metrobus interior and once the interior branding is removed from the m3 buses, they would be the same as the regular Scanias.

The m3 buses could then be repainted for further use. Beside that, if the m2 buses were swapped for repainted m3 buses, the whole rigmarole of having to fit guide wheels to the m3 buses and taking them off of the m2 buses would also have to be done.

I guess we'll find out soon enough. The Green Bus Fund award was originally for 110 vehicles but the current batch is now for 77. Now the award was to convert the 6/7, the 42-45, and the 48/49 (and the 17 I thought) with 80 vehicles, and 30 for metrobus. The CT Plus ones weren't part of the bid; think that was said on here?

36801-7 are the only ones with metrobus interiors. Mind you, they have already been repainted from m2 orange to m3 green!
 

sk688

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11 Sep 2016
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Dublin
Some interesting uni vehicle sightings in Bath this evening:
32075 on Racecourse shuttles
33946/7 both on private hire to Bath Uni for a student club night to Bristol - I would imagine these will not be in a presentable condition when they get back to Bath Depot this evening!!

I was in 33947 on the way there and back , it was surprisingly still in decent condition even in the way back

The fixtures and fittings took one hell of a beating though
 

Tommy Walters

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Ottery St Mary
I was in 33947 on the way there and back , it was surprisingly still in decent condition even in the way back

The fixtures and fittings took one hell of a beating though
The fixtures and fittings on that batch take a battering on a near daily basis with all the clubbers, particularly on the upper deck!! I was surprised to see First doing private hires for the uni, clearly the relationship between the two parties has improved significantly!! Previously on similar evenings, Wessex (from Avonmouth depot) & later Arleen provided the vehicles for it. I was surprised that they used the e400s rather than B9s which are more regular on the Bath-Bristol corridor, unless seating capacity was a issue!
 

lx12ddo

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12 Oct 2019
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Dublin
The fixtures and fittings on that batch take a battering on a near daily basis with all the clubbers, particularly on the upper deck!! I was surprised to see First doing private hires for the uni, clearly the relationship between the two parties has improved significantly!! Previously on similar evenings, Wessex (from Avonmouth depot) & later Arleen provided the vehicles for it. I was surprised that they used the e400s rather than B9s which are more regular on the Bath-Bristol corridor, unless seating capacity was a issue!
I guess it’s all about keeping costs down! If 2xMMCs work better than 3xB9s then that’s what First’ll do!
 

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