Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus News

[TR673]

Scania Omnidekka YR10 BDU, although pictured along with Enviro 200s moving to Transdev, passed me this afternoon in Nottingham on one of its usual lime line routes, so is definitely still with Nottingham City Transport at the moment.

 

[cnjb8]

More news on the new biogas buses.
There are 23 in build with all 10/11 plate OmniDekkas leaving(some already sold to Transdev and Cardiff).

 

[43055]

trentbarton Solo SR 502 is now in Mango livery and returned to Derby.

 

[BJames]

Hello, some interesting stuff is happening over at Nottingham City Transport. Can anyone confirm if I’ve understood this correctly?
New buses for Brown 15/16 and Orange 35 soon with the E200s going to Navy 48 and the E400s replacing the 2010 spare and Lime 56/57/59 OmniDekkas.
Thank you

Any update on Orange 35 new buses out of interest?

 

[Andy Pacer]

Any update on Orange 35 new buses out of interest?

Interestingly at least one of the current route 35 Scanias has been rebranded 34/35/36. Didn't notice which one though.

 

[BJames]

Interestingly at least one of the current route 35 Scanias has been rebranded 34/35/36. Didn't notice which one though.

Oh really? Will have to keep my eyes peeled!

Edit: I've just looked on Facebook and found this picture from NCT News Group:

Nottingham City Transport Fleet News

Multi orange..

www.facebook.com

 

[Andy Pacer]

Oh really? Will have to keep my eyes peeled!

Edit: I've just looked on Facebook and found this picture from NCT News Group:

Nottingham City Transport Fleet News

Multi orange..

www.facebook.com

That's the one - I would have added the link myself but couldn't remember where i'd seen it! Not sure what the plan is there.

 

[ChrisC]

Trent Barton are still cancelling quite a lot of services each day due to driver shortages. This mainly seems to be from the Sutton in Ashfield depot. Since Christmas I have found the hourly 141 route at times unusable with almost daily cancellations. The 0825 departure from Sutton to Nottingham has regularly been cancelled, as it is today, and this being the 0900 from Mansfield to Nottingham is the first bus of the day where Off Peak day tickets and daily caps on Mango apply. Not good for those who live in the villages like Blidworth, Linby, Papplewick and Bestwood. I’ve been caught out by it being cancelled 3 times in the last two weeks and also found that buses back from Nottingham in the afternoon have been cancelled. Not so easy if you live on a route with only an hourly service and a bus is cancelled.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Trent Barton are still cancelling quite a lot of services each day due to driver shortages. This mainly seems to be from the Sutton in Ashfield depot. Since Christmas I have found the hourly 141 route at times unusable with almost daily cancellations. The 0825 departure from Sutton to Nottingham has regularly been cancelled, as it is today, and this being the 0900 from Mansfield to Nottingham is the first bus of the day where Off Peak day tickets and daily caps on Mango apply. Not good for those who live in the villages like Blidworth, Linby, Papplewick and Bestwood. I’ve been caught out by it being cancelled 3 times in the last two weeks and also found that buses back from Nottingham in the afternoon have been cancelled. Not so easy if you live on a route with only an hourly service and a bus is cancelled.

I'm a little out of touch with Trent Barton operations, what routes does Sutton operate? I assume the 141, the "nines", and the Hucknall connect. Any others?

 

[ChrisC]

I'm a little out of touch with Trent Barton operations, what routes does Sutton operate? I assume the 141, the "nines", and the Hucknall connect. Any others?

The ‘threes’ and the ‘ninety’.
Quite a number of buses on the ‘threes’ cancelled this morning but not such a problem as whichever part of the route you use there’s never more than 30 minutes to wait for the next one. It’s the 141 being only hourly that’s the problem. Fortunately I do have a car, but I know some of the elderly people along the route are finding it very difficult when the bus they usually use to do their shopping doesn’t turn up.

I see from Trent Barton’s latest Twitter update that quite a number of journeys on the 141 route are not running today mainly resulting in little more than a 2 hourly service. It’s ok for those who know how to access Twitter but many people are just left standing at the bus stop waiting for a bus which doesn’t turn up. I used the Trent Barton live time Hugo App the other week when waiting for the 141 bus in the village of Linby. I could see the bus was some distance away and running around 15 minutes late. I waited and the app was showing the bus getting closer. I could see when it was approaching nearby Papplewick and the app showed it to be arriving in 3 minutes. It never arrived in Linby as it cut that part of the route out and went direct to Bestwood and Nottingham missing out Linby and Hucknall. What a waste of time waiting for a bus that was never going to arrive, I could have used my car. Even if you are knowledgeable enough to use the app it doesn’t always help.

 

[43055]

According to the Derby bus depot forum Royal Derby Solos 482 and 483 are in for repaint. 483 is expected to be a spare vehicle while 482 is to get something different (not red or mango). Suppose this means the Royal will not be returning to a 12 min service.

 

[Flange Squeal]

According to the Derby bus depot forum Royal Derby Solos 482 and 483 are in for repaint. 483 is expected to be a spare vehicle while 482 is to get something different (not red or mango). Suppose this means the Royal will not be returning to a 12 min service.

Maybe the "something different" will be a play on the 'Royal Derby' route name and be a special livery marking the Queen's Platinum Jubillee?

 

[cnjb8]

According to the Derby bus depot forum Royal Derby Solos 482 and 483 are in for repaint. 483 is expected to be a spare vehicle while 482 is to get something different (not red or mango). Suppose this means the Royal will not be returning to a 12 min service.

462 at Sutton and 458 at Kinch need replacing. They are going to be 20-years old soon!

 

[Andyh82]

When is the new Broadmarsh Bus Station due to open? I believe it is actually finished just not open as yet?

 

[cnjb8]

Nottingham City Transport update as of Sunday 20th February:
Brown 15, 16 and 17 are now operated by a combination of the existing Brown biogas deckers and spare OmniDekkas replacing the E200s on the 15 and 16. All Brown buses to be branded with 15, 16 and 17.
A few Orange 35 E400s have been branded for all Orange routes (34, 35 and 36). This may be so 34 buses can run on the other Orange routes in non-term times.
Lime 56, 57, 58 and 59 will all interwork with all Lime buses to be branded 56, 57, 58 and 59. This means OmniDekkas will return to the 58 for the first time since 2014!
Purple 87, 88 and 89 are also now having an existing Biogas and Omni combination to replace the E200s. All Purple buses to be branded with 87, 88 and 89.

Of course all of this will change soon when the new Biogas buses will be delivered soon. This means that the spare Omni buses now allocated to the Purple and Brown routes are temporary. I guess this also means that the timetable reduction is going to last until the new buses enter service.

If any of that makes no sense then I’m happy to clarify, I know it’s a lot!

 

[BJames]

Nottingham City Transport update as of Sunday 20th February:
Brown 15, 16 and 17 are now operated by a combination of the existing Brown biogas deckers and spare OmniDekkas replacing the E200s on the 15 and 16. All Brown buses to be branded with 15, 16 and 17.
A few Orange 35 E400s have been branded for all Orange routes (34, 35 and 36). This may be so 34 buses can run on the other Orange routes in non-term times.
Lime 56, 57, 58 and 59 will all interwork with all Lime buses to be branded 56, 57, 58 and 59. This means OmniDekkas will return to the 58 for the first time since 2014!
Purple 87, 88 and 89 are also now having an existing Biogas and Omni combination to replace the E200s. All Purple buses to be branded with 87, 88 and 89.

Of course all of this will change soon when the new Biogas buses will be delivered soon. This means that the spare Omni buses now allocated to the Purple and Brown routes are temporary. I guess this also means that the timetable reduction is going to last until the new buses enter service.

If any of that makes no sense then I’m happy to clarify, I know it’s a lot!

And also today I saw an orange 36 rebranded for all Orange routes? Just to clarify (sorry if you've already said this elsewhere) - when the new Biogas buses are delivered for 35 is the plan to interwork E400s and Biogas across the three orange lines? Or are the 34 OmniDekkas staying on 34?

 

[MCR247]

And also today I saw an orange 36 rebranded for all Orange routes? Just to clarify (sorry if you've already said this elsewhere) - when the new Biogas buses are delivered for 35 is the plan to interwork E400s and Biogas across the three orange lines? Or are the 34 OmniDekkas staying on 34?

Those omnidekkas will be replaced by the E400s displaced from the new biogas ones for the 35

 

[bussnapperwm]

Does anyone know what the likelihood of the X52 returning is? I know D&G have confirmed on Bustimes and D&Gs website the 32X and X41 will be running the Alton Towers trips next month , but N&D have said they're "awaiting info from Alton Towers"

 

[cnjb8]

Also, normal weekday timetables have resumed today with timetable changes for a number of routes. N4 and N34 have resumed too

 

[Deerfold]

Also, normal weekday timetables have resumed today with timetable changes for a number of routes. N4 and N34 have resumed too

This is NCT?

 

[Andy Pacer]

This is NCT?

Correct.

 

[Andyh82]

Are the ‘new normal’ frequencies now likely to be permanent? None of the former ‘Go2’ services are now running any more frequent than every 10 minutes, whereas previously some ran every 6/7/8 mins.

 

[Pigalle]

According to the Derby bus depot forum Royal Derby Solos 482 and 483 are in for repaint. 483 is expected to be a spare vehicle while 482 is to get something different (not red or mango). Suppose this means the Royal will not be returning to a 12 min service.

Newly repainted 482 is on The Royal today in what looks suspiciously like the red that Trent Barton used to use. It looks to be branded up for use as a spare.

 

[43055]

Newly repainted 482 is on The Royal today in what looks suspiciously like the red that Trent Barton used to use. It looks to be branded up for use as a spare.

Passed it twice today on the way to/from work and it is indeed in trentbarton red just like 491.

 

[Pigalle]

Passed it twice today on the way to/from work and it is indeed in trentbarton red just like 491.

Has 491 changed recently as I thought it was in the dark red currently in vogue on the non-branded buses? 482 is in bright red similar to that used previously.

 

[43055]

Has 491 changed recently as I thought it was in the dark red currently in vogue on the non-branded buses? 482 is in bright red similar to that used previously.

482did seem to be in a brighter shade of red. Can't imagine anything has changed on 491.

 

[cnjb8]

According to the Derby bus depot forum Royal Derby Solos 482 and 483 are in for repaint. 483 is expected to be a spare vehicle while 482 is to get something different (not red or mango). Suppose this means the Royal will not be returning to a 12 min service.

Has 491 changed recently as I thought it was in the dark red currently in vogue on the non-branded buses? 482 is in bright red similar to that used previously.

482did seem to be in a brighter shade of red. Can't imagine anything has changed on 491.

Trent Barton - 482

It's like going back to the 2003 era, except the 2003 style bow has been replaced with the 2012 bow. Because Derby has been really short of buses in recent months, they taken the decision to repaint all of the Royal Derby fleet so they can be used on Saturdays, but with Derby only having 5 full...

www.flickr.com

Not my photo
Apparently all of the Royal Derby Solos are to be repainted into TrentBarton livery as Derby are short on spares

 

[43055]

Trent Barton - 482

It's like going back to the 2003 era, except the 2003 style bow has been replaced with the 2012 bow. Because Derby has been really short of buses in recent months, they taken the decision to repaint all of the Royal Derby fleet so they can be used on Saturdays, but with Derby only having 5 full...

www.flickr.com

Not my photo
Apparently all of the Royal Derby Solos are to be repainted into TrentBarton livery as Derby are short on spares

The two bus stops on the ring road for the royal derby have had the timetable cases painted red and new timetables with a red header so it looks like the royal will become a 'spare' route.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 19 Mar 2022 ==

Derby Telegraph are reporting Arriva route 9 will be withdrawn at the end of April and by the sounds of thing the 8 will be increaced on weekday's to every 10 mins. Looking at bus times most other routes will have timetable changes and the F1 is going to be withdrawn as well.

Arriva axes Derby route as pandemic means fewer people are using buses

The operator says it is due to low passenger numbers

www.derbytelegraph.co.uk

​

Arriva axes Derby route as pandemic means fewer people are using buses​

The operator says it is due to low passenger numbers

A bus route between Derby city centre and one of the city's suburbs is to be cancelled in April, apparently due to low passenger numbers. The Arriva 9 service, running between the Mackworth Estate and Derby via Markeaton, will end on Sunday, April 24.

The firm, which runs several services in the city, say that low passenger numbers mean that it cannot cover the costs of running the service. It currently runs two buses per hour every day, with a reduced service on Sundays.
It follows Derbyshire County Council having to save the Notts & Derby 71 and 72 bus services between Derby and Belper in December 2021. The services were also pulled due to low passenger numbers, with trentbarton services frequently affected by a nationwide driver shortage.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Arriva's Commercial and Planning Team said: "The Covid pandemic has had a significant impact on the bus industry, and we have noticed that our customers' travel patterns have changed.
"There are fewer people travelling on our services, and those that are, appear to be making fewer journeys. With increasing operating costs, some services are no longer sustainable.


"Sadly, there are no longer enough people travelling on route 9 to cover our costs - this service will no longer run from Sunday 24 April 22. Mackworth will still receive a service, with routes 8 and 8a running up to every 10 minutes on Mondays to Fridays and up to every 12 minutes on Saturdays and up to every thirty minutes on Monday to Saturday evenings and Sundays. Ashbourne Road will continue to be served by trentbarton's Swift service."

The number 9 service currently runs up Ashbourne Road before turning into the Mackworth Estate on Prince Charles Avenue before looping around Finchley Avenue, Wimbledon Road and Holborn Drive and heading back down Ashbourne Road. The number 8 route instead avoids Ashbourne Road and travels through New Zealand via Uttoxeter Old Road, but enters the Mackworth Estate via Humbleton Drive and Streatham Road before going around the Prince Charles Avenue loop and heading back the same way.Both services start and end at Derby's Albert Street. The trentbarton Swift service runs between Derby and Uttoxeter and heads directly down Ashbourne Road, running one bus an hour.
Reaction to the news in local resident groups was mixed, with many suggesting the decision made sense. Diana Allen said: "Never see anyone on them so can't blame them."

Alfred Newman commented: "Bus fares are too high - people need an incentive to use the bus - cheaper fares would actually translate into more and more passengers. It's cheaper for two people to jump in a taxi now, it never used to be like that, but then in the past there were a lot of people using the buses. As a kid I remember the buses being crammed full most of the time."

Mandy Smith added: "I've never understood why they put the buses on the little streets in Mackworth. They are always going up and down my parents' street trying to get through, it's silly, and they're a lot bigger now and very noisy."

 

[Andy Pacer]

Looking at bus times most other routes will have timetable changes and the F1 is going to be withdrawn as well.

Out of interest what on "Bus Times" suggests this? Not at all implying you're not correct, just wondering as I can only see timetables to early April.

 

[ACBest]

Out of interest what on "Bus Times" suggests this? Not at all implying you're not correct, just wondering as I can only see timetables to early April.

The registration data for the service has it down as cancelled from the 23rd April - see https://www.vehicle-operator-licens...registered-local-bus-services/details/592164/ for a bit more detailed info.