As @Bus9120UK says, why would it be getting painted into the same livery? All of 579-590 are being painted, and it would seem more than likely that they’re all being painted into the same livery. 11 of these 12 buses were already in madder and white (584 still had its original blue and white under the wrap).
It doesn't look green.
It looks almost the same as the shrubs in the full photo, and I'm not aware of widespread Madder or blue shrubs. Does it look Madder either?
Yes, I too would’ve thought they’d be next from Lothian once the 15 plate B5LH’s are complete. I think that will still happen as there’s just 3 B5LH’s left now - 562, 565 and 569. 568 is back at Longstone and may even return to service this afternoon, but probably tomorrow. 497 has also returned to Longstone, but it might be a bit longer before it’s back out.
It's a shame that they aren't willing to add the passenger information to the older buses whilst they repaint. As a driver I much prefer having the screens and announcements, especially when people ask when a certain stop is!
I do think they should aim to have every vehicle with it at the minute, but realistically is it viable for the Gemini2’s or older? Probably not. I would say nothing older than 401-425 at this point.
These had the announcements when new so I don’t know what happened there? Also the 7900s had them too.
Yeah I’ve heard that before too and I always wonder how anyone is expected to be able to hear it. Announcements should be loud and clear for everyone to hear.
I think they stopped working when the original mobitec displays were changed for the newer (and more common) style mobitec ones.
I think the plan is the new AVL (automated vehicle location) system should not only allow greater tracking but also allow “on demand” announcements such as you mention
East Coast have more vehicles that are at the point where they’re needing replacements than Lothian Country however 12 more 67 plates at Lothian Country would help them competition wise
The 17 plate Skylinks were new in July 2017 the 67 plates were new in September so 2 monts
We are waiting until we have high quality images of the vehicles before we speculate properly what goes where.
What would be the difference if it was Lothian country and East Coast Buses? They have the same livery.
Yes, I completely agree.
www.lothianbuses.com
Same but different.
This is a big change. They are focusing on the profitable routes now and it will be up to other operators and West Lothian Council to fill in the gapsChanges to Lothian Country services - Lothian Buses
The last few years have proved incredibly challenging for our business and like many operators across the bus industry, and indeed many other business sectors, recruitment has become a big challenge. Our recruitment and training teams continue to work behind the scenes in a difficult climate to...
Lothian Country is withdrawing both the 276 and 280 with the X27 withdrawn from Whitburn and back to Bathgate.
got to say this came as quite a surprise.. (sarcastic comment awaiting from anti LCB squad)
They came into West Lothian expecting it to be a repeat of East Lothian. It never worked out like that, though and now they are basically giving up and its only a matter of time before the remaining routes are clipped to Livingston and the X18 goes same way as the other failed routes.Changes to Lothian Country services - Lothian Buses
The last few years have proved incredibly challenging for our business and like many operators across the bus industry, and indeed many other business sectors, recruitment has become a big challenge. Our recruitment and training teams continue to work behind the scenes in a difficult climate to...
Lothian Country is withdrawing both the 276 and 280 with the X27 withdrawn from Whitburn and back to Bathgate.
got to say this came as quite a surprise.. (sarcastic comment awaiting from anti LCB squad)
Can't say I'm surprised at this. How long before LCB throws in the towel, these changes are a desperate last throw of the dice.
I'm not surprised. It'll certainly be interesting to see how (or if) other operators will react. To me West Lothian has proven to be the perfect example of competition not always being a good thing. Post-covid the area probably has some of the poorest quality services in the country.Changes to Lothian Country services - Lothian Buses
The last few years have proved incredibly challenging for our business and like many operators across the bus industry, and indeed many other business sectors, recruitment has become a big challenge. Our recruitment and training teams continue to work behind the scenes in a difficult climate to...
Lothian Country is withdrawing both the 276 and 280 with the X27 withdrawn from Whitburn and back to Bathgate.
got to say this came as quite a surprise.. (sarcastic comment awaiting from anti LCB squad)
East Lothian was a completely different set of circumstances given that First effectively just walked away leaving no bus service past Tranent/Seton Sands.
As much as I get what you are saying, these core routes could really increase in popularity if the frequency is increased and are kept reliable although this depends on what the competition decide to do in terms of service changes.
Also people remain loyal to the operator in West Lothian who have served the area for over 100 years or so they said around the time when Lothian Country launched
Same as back in the early nineties. West Lothian passengers stayed loyal to SMT and LRT soon pulled out.
