Arriva Midlands

[ferry58]

Isn't Tamworth due to get some new single deckers? How many of them are they supposed to be?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I start to.wonder just how many Pulsars are left in service, across Arrivaland.

The answer is....still a lot. They were the standard purchase from 2008 to 2014. A couple of hundred (at least) in the North West and Wales, and a over 100 in North East.

 

[Trainman40083]

The answer is....still a lot. They were the standard purchase from 2008 to 2014. A couple of hundred (at least) in the North West and Wales, and a over 100 in North East.

Quite a few for Derby to have, then, to get rid of Scanias

 

[joieman]

It's not just Derby. For instance, if I remember correctly, the North East's Temsa Avenues are also in line for replacement (and they're even rarer outside the Arriva group than Scanias, so parts would be even harder to find).

 

[Trainman40083]

It's not just Derby. For instance, if I remember correctly, the North East's Temsa Avenues are also in line for replacement (and they're even rarer outside the Arriva group than Scanias, so parts would be even harder to find).

Did anyone other than Arriva have one? I remember the First Bus demo in Bradford.

 

[Robertj21a]

Isn't Tamworth due to get some new single deckers? How many of them are they supposed to be?

I hadn't heard that - diesel or electric ?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Did anyone other than Arriva have one? I remember the First Bus demo in Bradford.

The First one was a seed vehicle on loan from Arriva Bus & Coach (dealer) but it along with the other dealer stock went to Arriva North East.

I don’t think parts are a big issue for Temsa Avenues - fairly standard stuff

 

[Russel]

Isn't Tamworth due to get some new single deckers? How many of them are they supposed to be?

Only heard about new double deckers for the 110, but as of yet, information about them is non existent.

 

[darloscott]

The First one was a seed vehicle on loan from Arriva Bus & Coach (dealer) but it along with the other dealer stock went to Arriva North East.

I don’t think parts are a big issue for Temsa Avenues - fairly standard stuff

Getting parts for the Temsas is apparently very hard, okay on the standard bits but the Temsa bits have stopped being produced so getting hold of parts is awkward to say the least. They’re due to be replaced by similar age Pulsars from Merseyside soon, and a batch of Evora’s is due for the X4 too.

 

[Astradyne]

Curious, though, that Arriva's seems to have Lazzerini seats instead of Isringhausen ones. The last Arriva buses I can remember riding on with Lazzerini seats were those DAF ALX400s from London which wound up in Leicester (RIP).

Arriva changed to Lazzerini in London from 2023 deliveries.

 

[Russel]

Arriva changed to Lazzerini in London from 2023 deliveries.

This being Arriva, I'm guessing Lazzerini are cheaper?

 

[joieman]

This being Arriva, I'm guessing Lazzerini are cheaper?

I dunno, I always thought the Isringhausen seats looked cheap, but maybe I've just seen too many of them!

 

[Russel]

I dunno, I always thought the Isringhausen seats looked cheap, but maybe I've just seen too many of them!

There must be some logic in Arriva switching, I doubt they care that much about which is more comfortable!

 

[joieman]

There must be some logic in Arriva switching, I doubt they care that much about which is more comfortable!

Well, Kent's new 74-plate MMCs still have Isringhausen seats, but perhaps that's because they couldn't be bothered to change the specifications again.

4437 hasn't tracked on Bustimes for nearly a month. Perhaps it too has been sent for a repaint?

 

[1D54]

It was mentioned in the WM Bus Photos Forum that Leicester has received an E400EV, which is numbered DM01-MD and registered AR74 ZEB. It is also green, but the stripe on the side is thinner and solid blue instead of being a gradient.

Didn't know anything about this until it turned up in Narborough and what a lovely bus it is. Hope it is with Arriva Leicester for good.

 

[Russel]

Well, Streetdeck 4600 was actually in use on the 110 between Tamworth and Birmingham this morning, shocking to see it had actually left the garage!

 

[Trainman40083]

Well, Streetdeck 4600 was actually in use on the 110 between Tamworth and Birmingham this morning, shocking to see it had actually left the garage!

And it seems to have stayed on all day. Not sure where it is going now, mind.

 

[Russel]

And it seems to have stayed on all day. Not sure where it is going now, mind.

Let's see if it'll last until the end of the week...

I've seen a lot more single deckers on the 110 recently, so 4600 actually working is much needed.

 

[tsyxa]

Is there any reason in particular Leicester’s 127 has been so unreliable lately? Since the end of summer I’ve seen gaps of over 70 minutes between buses on occasion. Today almost all buses are 20-30 minutes late, and are all running bunched up. Buses tend to be running 10-20 minutes late every morning as well- I thought the frequency being reduced was supposed to improve reliability but it seems to have just gotten worse

Edit: I’ve been seeing two electric buses almost every day this last week on the route too, and running full diagrams, not just peaks. Is this to cover stock shortages?

 

[joieman]

Is there any reason in particular Leicester’s 127 has been so unreliable lately? Since the end of summer I’ve seen gaps of over 70 minutes between buses on occasion. Today almost all buses are 20-30 minutes late, and are all running bunched up. Buses tend to be running 10-20 minutes late every morning as well- I thought the frequency being reduced was supposed to improve reliability but it seems to have just gotten worse

Edit: I’ve been seeing two electric buses almost every day this last week on the route too, and running full diagrams, not just peaks. Is this to cover stock shortages?

The 127 has lately been afflicted by a scourge of roadworks and temporary traffic lights. At one point there were temporary traffic lights in Quorn, Mountsorrel and Rothley. The current roadworks on Loughborough Road in Belgrave are particularly nasty, and the ones at the crossroads in Rothley are supposed to take nearly a year to complete.

As for the electric buses, I think that since DM01-MD has been delivered there are now extra electric buses to put on the 127 more often ahead of the 127 getting its own electric buses.

 

[Qwerty133]

The 127 has lately been afflicted by a scourge of roadworks and temporary traffic lights. At one point there were temporary traffic lights in Quorn, Mountsorrel and Rothley. The current roadworks on Loughborough Road in Belgrave are particularly nasty, and the ones at the crossroads in Rothley are supposed to take nearly a year to complete.

As for the electric buses, I think that since DM01-MD has been delivered there are now extra electric buses to put on the 127 more often ahead of the 127 getting its own electric buses.

Definitely not due to there being spare electrics as both the 47/48 and 50/51 have had diesels most days this week.
Either they are having to test diagrams or the person doing the allocating this week doesn’t care about what should be allocated where and is giving his preferred drivers their first choice of vehicle (or is otherwise misallocating for no good reason).

 

[joieman]

Punctuality on the 127 was an absolute shambles this evening. Between temporary traffic lights in Belgrave, Rothley and Quorn, a horrible traffic jam in Loughborough town centre that meant it took about half an hour just to get from Baxter Gate to The Rushes, and the usual Ashby Road crush, meant that my commute that should have taken me an hour and twenty minutes took me approximately TWO HOURS!

 

[Trainman40083]

Punctuality on the 127 was an absolute shambles this evening. Between temporary traffic lights in Belgrave, Rothley and Quorn, a horrible traffic jam in Loughborough town centre that meant it took about half an hour just to get from Baxter Gate to The Rushes, and the usual Ashby Road crush, meant that my commute that should have taken me an hour and twenty minutes took me approximately TWO HOURS!

Maybe the Christmas shoppers out out super early.

 

[1D54]

Punctuality on the 127 was an absolute shambles this evening. Between temporary traffic lights in Belgrave, Rothley and Quorn, a horrible traffic jam in Loughborough town centre that meant it took about half an hour just to get from Baxter Gate to The Rushes, and the usual Ashby Road crush, meant that my commute that should have taken me an hour and twenty minutes took me approximately TWO HOURS!

Skylink not a better option?

 

[Trainman40083]

Skylink not a better option?

That would depend upon his final destination.. It could have made a £2 bus fare, £4.

 

[joieman]

Skylink not a better option?

The Skylink runs nearly a mile from my home. The weather this evening would have made the prospect of such a trek even less palatable.

(Besides, I was riding the Pulsar Gemini - it's a case of "ride it while you can!")

 

[Russel]

Still no sign of the new electrics for Tamworth...

I've noticed an increase in broken ticket machines recently, resulting in free journeys, not that I'm complaining about that!

 

[Edvid]

Still no sign of the new electrics for Tamworth...

Chances are Arriva haven't even ordered them yet if recent history is anything to go by; I wouldn't expect to see any before 2026.

In any case, it usually takes a year or so post-order for production electric/hydrogen buses to start showing up (less than that if they're manufactured by Yutong / BYD). No ZEBRA2-subsidised orders - by any operator - were made in the first couple of months following the announcement on 22 March.

 

[cnjb8]

Chances are Arriva haven't even ordered them yet if recent history is anything to go by; I wouldn't expect to see any before 2026.

In any case, it usually takes a year or so post-order for production electric/hydrogen buses to start showing up (less than that if they're manufactured by Yutong / BYD). No ZEBRA2-subsidised orders - by any operator - were made in the first couple of months following the announcement on 22 March.

IIRC a requirement for the funding stated buses must be ordered by 1st Jan to avoid what happened ith ZEBRA1 where some of the money wasn't spent

 

[Russel]

Chances are Arriva haven't even ordered them yet if recent history is anything to go by; I wouldn't expect to see any before 2026.

In any case, it usually takes a year or so post-order for production electric/hydrogen buses to start showing up (less than that if they're manufactured by Yutong / BYD). No ZEBRA2-subsidised orders - by any operator - were made in the first couple of months following the announcement on 22 March.

From what I've heard from a few drivers, they have been ordered and were due in October, obviously they may not be the most reliable of sources but Arriva haven't made any recent statements