69254 drove it brand new out the rapper @ L. W who would have thought it would end up there with a new paint job.Do you have any pics? My favourite two ex Aberdeen B10Ble's were 62204/5 or was it 62224/5 absolute treat to drive. Extremely smooth and rapid!!
Still to be finished off but here's a photo (not mine) of it last month, it's easily one of the better Ex-FSE B7RLEs we have.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/142814434@N05/49384010477
62204 is a Wright Renown, 62205 and 62224/225 are ALX300s if that helps? 62204 was brilliant by far the best heating of any bus i've been on, plus it had that classic 90s Volvo smell. I can't recall most of the ALX300s as well, however in general while not as refined as the Renowns they were pretty solid reliable workhorses that rarely failed. Although by far the best examples in the W-RFS batch were the P&R branded ones (62170-72/74-76).
To be honest, I didn’t know that there was a previous Stagecoach service to the airport. But it is good to see that the 727 is a success. I miss living in Mugiemoss as it was a great way to get into town! Still saddened that the 747 is going as I live in Ellon and work at the airport (though I no longer use it as the service pattern only works for my night shifts, gets in too early for dayshift and I finish too late on a lateshift!) but the lack of patronage has killed it.
That is true about the 27’s service pattern. I recall using it once only as it happened to coincide with a flight time. Talking of Craibstone, I wonder what will become of it now, can’t see the operators touching it now...
I risk veering off topic here but as it relates to the First 16, 27, X27 and Aberdeen Airport services i doubt anyone will have an issue.
The old 10/307/737 set up was part funded. However you had the 10 departing a 00 past the hour, 307 at 10/30/50 past the hour and the 737 at 20/40 past the hour. The 10/737 operating via the Airport then direct along the A96 to Inverurie, with the 307 going via the current 37 route (albeit via Berryden). 10/737 combined offered a 20 minute frequency to the Airport, while the 10/307/737 combined offered a 10 minute frequency to Inverurie (mad to think of today...). In the evening the 307 went via the Airport so combined with the 10 there was a 30 minute frequency.
In April 2009 the 737 was reduced to just a evening service, while the 307 was increased to every 15 minutes. The buses saved were then used to reroute the 220 via the Airport and launch the new Service 224 (Aberdeen - Berryden - Airport - Blackburn (went up via Tradlin Circle) - Kintore Post Office (via Forest Road). The 220/224 operated hourly each offering a half hourly frequency to the Airport with the 10/737 operating via the Airport in the early morning and evening when the 220/224 did not operate.
Lastly in August 2010 the 224/737 were axed, while the 10 stopped serving the Airport, the buses saved (3 in total) were then reallocated to Aberdeen for the launch of the JET727. The 220 continued to serve the Airport and offered a direct connection at Blackburn with the 10 for Inverurie and beyond (220 still offering the link to Kintore). The 727 got a batch of 3 new Versas at the end of 2010, a 4th joined the fleet in 2012 to coincide with the frequency increase to every 20 minutes, due to reliability issues another was delivered in 2013 with the final two arriving at the start of 2014 to coincide with frequency increase to every 10 minutes. In 2016 the route was converted to E400MMC operation and all stops along the route were served. Prior to 2016 the 727 was limited stop between Gallowgate and Four Mile Inn, as such the route now takes around 10 minutes longer than it did 5 years ago.
That's been the big issue with the 747, it's too infrequent. Most Airport passengers want convenience, do we really expect people to catch a 82/83/84 to Peterhead Town Centre, 60 to Ellon and then hop on the 747. When for a few pounds extra you can get a taxi (could work out cheaper if you're in a group), and you wouldn't need to trail your luggage about. The 747 only really works for a small number of oil passengers and Kirkhill commuters. For the 747 to work they should've had it operate Stonehaven-Peterhead, another big complaint has been the use of unreliabile buses that struggle up AWPR. In hindsight they should've kept some of the B7Rs and repainted/refurbished them for the route, 53335 was until recently on the 747 regularly and worked well (tends to be on the 60/63 more these days).
Regarding the 27, it's main flaw was the slow routing (the 10/737 took about half the time) and it failing to adapt. The reason it worked in the 80s/90s/00s is because it was primarily a commuter service, it linked the industrial estates, airport and oil company offices on Anderson Drive and along Queens Road. However with automation (less employees needed at those offices) and the oil downturn much of the office workers either lost their job or the offices moved location. There was demand towards the end, but only because of the workers at Kirkhill (the 117 which replaced the 27 was far more situated to their needs, as is the X27).
Craibstone's only real use is as a overspill carpark for TECA, other than that it's entirely redundant and the one of the biggest white elephants in the city in recent times. Official data shows there's an average of 7 cars per day, however out of the many many times i've been there you'd be lucky to see more than 4 cars! Out of all the P&R sites in Aberdeen/shire only Kingswells and Ellon are doing well, the rest are all really poor and on a downturn. At one point in 2018 Bridge Of Don was down to just 35 cars per day (it's now up). Since the X17 started serving Kingswells numbers have risen there too, they should hopefully continue to rise with the new 4/5/6.
