Brighton & Hove / Metrobus Discussion

[that1pepfan]

After the full 29 from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton on an old un-refurbished B9TL Gemini 2 I can tell you now, they are in dire need of replacement on the regency, we limped along most of the route only getting to 50mph in certain places.

 

[that1pepfan]

669 YN06 SZY has been preserved! Great news. Glad to see one is being preserved

 

[brightonbususe]

After the full 29 from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton on an old un-refurbished B9TL Gemini 2 I can tell you now, they are in dire need of replacement on the regency, we limped along most of the route only getting to 50mph in certain places.

From a bus user point of view, the Geminis are still probably my favourite passenger experience in the fleet. I'm not super knowledgable about buses, but how do you know it was the bus and not the driver? Glad they're investing in the route though, and will be nice to see a consistent livery instead of this pot pourri of B&H livery, old Regency, new Regency, novelty wrap and even new B&H livery buses. Hoping they don't mess up the new livery design though.

 

[Man of Kent]

After the full 29 from Tunbridge Wells to Brighton on an old un-refurbished B9TL Gemini 2 I can tell you now, they are in dire need of replacement on the regency, we limped along most of the route only getting to 50mph in certain places.

But was the timekeeping good or poor? A significant part of the route is certainly not suitable for high speed running.

 

[that1pepfan]

But was the timekeeping good or poor? A significant part of the route is certainly not suitable for high speed running.

Time keeping was ok we were approx 5L till Uckfield where we skipped the break. We did a driver change, I had another Gemini on the way up and it was quicker. Reaching 56mph

 

[Park47515]

Some more timetable changes in June.

Headlines, 1X goes to 12X and 27 every 15.

Additionally the 13X goes every 20 on a Sunday, which I believe is the most frequent ever.

On Sunday 8th June we are implementing improvements to our services, including increasing the frequency on routes 1X, 12X, 13X & 27.
(B&H weblink https://www.buses.co.uk/june-service-updates.)

 

[stadler]

Metrobus are starting the 284 from Tunbridge Wells to Pembury from the 7th of June next month. It is a Monday to Saturday service with five journeys a day in each direction. It looks to be a new route and not something being taken over from another operator. It is an interesting choice as it operates so far from their depot. They do have other routes far away from Crawley but most of them operate long distance to or from the Crawley area. I wonder if this will interwork with morning and afternoon 231/233/280/291 journeys as it seems to only operate in the middle of the day.

 

[Murray J]

Metrobus are starting the 284 from Tunbridge Wells to Pembury from the 7th of June next month. It is a Monday to Saturday service with five journeys a day in each direction. It looks to be a new route and not something being taken over from another operator. It is an interesting choice as it operates so far from their depot. They do have other routes far away from Crawley but most of them operate long distance to or from the Crawley area. I wonder if this will interwork with morning and afternoon 231/233/280/291 journeys as it seems to only operate in the middle of the day.

Correct it interworks with the 231/233, which now run out of Copthorne (alongside the 280) by the way.

 

[aswilliamsuk]

Some more timetable changes in June.

Headlines, 1X goes to 12X and 27 every 15.

Additionally the 13X goes every 20 on a Sunday, which I believe is the most frequent ever.

Shows just what can be done if you invest and support routes to grow - the 12 group is now at least four buses per hour to Seaford until midnight!

 

[Hophead]

Brighton & Hove have today updated their fleetlist, and marked as withdrawn the final Scania N94UD OmniDekka / East Lancs. Last journeys seem to have been on Saturday for all four.

 

[that1pepfan]

Here's 660 on the penultimate day of service on a route 25 to Old Steine

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 27 May 2025 ==

Quite a few ADL E400MMC are in service this morning on regency work

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 30 May 2025 ==

All Scania Omnidekkas have now been sold with the exception of (8)616 the tree lopper and 6939 which is awaiting disposal

 

[brightonbususe]

End of an era. I think between getting these Omnidekkas and the new Best Impressions swoosh livery that was introduced at the same time, this was a great period at Brighton & Hove Buses.

And yes, lots of 400MMCs running the Regency routes. What's the logic behind that do we know? Is it familiarisation ahead of the full delivery of new Regency buses? Have the Geminis started being cascaded elsewhere? Do we know where the new blue liveried 400MMCs are going after helping on the Regency? I thought maybe the 25 as they have such a random mix of buses on that route, but thinking about it I suppose they all have two sets of doors in common.

 

[aswilliamsuk]

End of an era. I think between getting these Omnidekkas and the new Best Impressions swoosh livery that was introduced at the same time, this was a great period at Brighton & Hove Buses.

And yes, lots of 400MMCs running the Regency routes. What's the logic behind that do we know? Is it familiarisation ahead of the full delivery of new Regency buses? Have the Geminis started being cascaded elsewhere? Do we know where the new blue liveried 400MMCs are going after helping on the Regency? I thought maybe the 25 as they have such a random mix of buses on that route, but thinking about it I suppose they all have two sets of doors in common.

I suspect it's to allow the cascade process to begin - 427 has already been reported as gone for prep/repaint before moving to Metrobus.

It's fairly clear, I think, that the movement of B9TLs to Metrobus will see off the OmniCity decker fleet there, and with more Hydrogen deckers coming (part of the next batch of 43 hydrogen buses due later this year, I believe?), the oldest non-Euro6 B9TLs may go too.

I did wonder whether the non-branded E400 MMC in the current delivery might be for the 2 - the numbers just about match up, otherwise I've absolutely no idea!

 

[brightonbususe]

I suspect it's to allow the cascade process to begin - 427 has already been reported as gone for prep/repaint before moving to Metrobus.

It's fairly clear, I think, that the movement of B9TLs to Metrobus will see off the OmniCity decker fleet there, and with more Hydrogen deckers coming (part of the next batch of 43 hydrogen buses due later this year, I believe?), the oldest non-Euro6 B9TLs may go too.

I did wonder whether the non-branded E400 MMC in the current delivery might be for the 2 - the numbers just about match up, otherwise I've absolutely no idea!

Thanks for explaining. I'm definitely going to miss the Geminis, I think they're great from a passenger perspective. I'll also miss the Pride and Graffiti bus liveries (unless they keep those at Metrobus). But I'm happy they're investing in the Regency route as I use that one a lot.

 

[that1pepfan]

659 has also been brought by Sussex and Surrey SLFs as announced this evening on Facebook.

660 has been preserved by the MD of Lewes Road Garage

655 has apparently been preserved in some form too.

All names and logos have been removed unfortunately but cool to have the vehicles still exist

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: Monday at 15:06 ==

GA74 ZEB is at Brighton & Hove for demo

 

[Park47515]

B&H and Brighton Pride are running a competition around livery preference for a new Pride bus - mock up is on a Streetdeck, so presumably 439 will be going to Metrobus with the rest of the batch soon.

 

[Open top 80]

Don't let Uncle Nigel or 30p Lee know it happening they will put a stop to it

 

[brightonbususe]

All three are awful but I guess if you put a gun to my head, option one is the least-worst option. Option three looks like Homer Simpsons first webpage.

 

[ItCouldBeJae]

B&H and Brighton Pride are running a competition around livery preference for a new Pride bus - mock up is on a Streetdeck, so presumably 439 will be going to Metrobus with the rest of the batch soon.

I suspect 855 might be the bus being painted into the winning livery

 

[Park47515]

I suspect 855 might be the bus being painted into the winning livery

I believe it is sat at Newhaven in all over white. So I think you may be right.

 

[Hophead]

I believe it is sat at Newhaven in all over white. So I think you may be right.

855 is back on the road, running route 7 today, with a new Beach Bus wrap (there are pictures on Flickr).

 

[brightonbususe]

Oh thanks for the update @Hophead - I really like that wrap, I've not really been digging many of the recent designs or liveries. Still nervous about the new Regency one.

 

[Park47515]

It's good to see that they are continuing the tradition of new wraps actually

 

[Seehof]

Forgive my ignorance but I have not been following this topic as I live over 200 miles away but I will be staying in Horsham soon. On which routes will I find the Hydrogen buses? Are there any routes that are either scenic or interesting in the Horsham/Crawley area I should ride on when I am staying there? Thank you

 

[johncrossley]

Forgive my ignorance but I have not been following this topic as I live over 200 miles away but I will be staying in Horsham soon. On which routes will I find the Hydrogen buses? Are there any routes that are either scenic or interesting in the Horsham/Crawley area I should ride on when I am staying there? Thank you

They are usually on routes 10, 20, 100, 420, 460, 480, 430 and 435. None of them could really be considered "scenic" but if bus priority and guided busways float your boat then routes 10 and 20 might be interesting.

 

[Hophead]

I'm not sure that much of the Metrobus network could be considered especially scenic, but your best bet would probably be to head for the South Downs. The 23 goes to Worthing, but you're then obliged to return via the same route, unless you get a Discovery ticket, or are old enough to benefit from a pass. The 270/1/2/3 make their way to Brighton via various routings. A Metrovoyager ticket is valid throughout the Metrobus and Brighton & Hove networks, which adds quite a few options, notably the coast road services to Eastbourne. Alternatively, take the 29 up to Tunbridge Wells and return to Crawley on the 291 (somewhat scenic and mostly double-deck). The 231/3 also hit TW, travelling via various small villages, but aren't easy to plan connections into.

You may even be able to catch a Hydroliner (single-deck) on the Horsham local services. This happens about once a week. Today there are 2 of them out. The 51, 61 & 65 interwork with the 93, so a trip to Dorking could be planned in - a pleasant enough trip, and from there you have Compass 32 east or west.

 

[Seehof]

Thank you very much.

 

[b5tlgem2]

I'm guessing 427 is to be renumbered 6918 (422 as 6913 and 439 as 6930)

 

[317 forever]

They are usually on routes 10, 20, 100, 420, 460, 480, 430 and 435. None of them could really be considered "scenic" but if bus priority and guided busways float your boat then routes 10 and 20 might be interesting.

Coincidentally I shall be there in July too! I am hoping to ride the Hydroliner double-decker from Epsom to Redhill, and the single-deck hydrogen Kites either from there to Gatwick or locally in Gatwick/Crawley.

I just worry in case it is mainly or only Volvo B5LHs on the Epsom - Redhill route.

 

[JonathanH]

I just worry in case it is mainly or only Volvo B5LHs on the Epsom - Redhill route

Fairly rare now. They appeared quite a bit on Sundays after the Hydroliners were first in service but even that seems to be rare now.