First South West (Kernow & Buses of Somerset)

[Goldfish62]

There was a post on a FB group yesterday showing a photo of a Tinner, a WoE Gemini and a BoS E300. It stated that these had all now been transferred to SPS and would remain there for the foreseeable future. I hope it's just poor wording, otherwise it would effectively mean we've lost all our Tinners and most other E400s. If SPS need additional vehicles surely Geminis could be sent there instead.

 

[carlberry]

There was a post on a FB group yesterday showing a photo of a Tinner, a WoE Gemini and a BoS E300. It stated that these had all now been transferred to SPS and would remain there for the foreseeable future. I hope it's just poor wording, otherwise it would effectively mean we've lost all our Tinners and most other E400s. If SPS need additional vehicles surely Geminis could be sent there instead.

I suspect that Hinkley have a vehicle age requirement for the contract.

 

[MB162435]

There was a post on a FB group yesterday showing a photo of a Tinner, a WoE Gemini and a BoS E300. It stated that these had all now been transferred to SPS and would remain there for the foreseeable future. I hope it's just poor wording, otherwise it would effectively mean we've lost all our Tinners and most other E400s. If SPS need additional vehicles surely Geminis could be sent there instead.

I took it as the recently arrived WoE Gemini’s would be staying for the foreseeable future, but if all of the Kernow MMCs came back to us, that's quite a number of buses for SPS to replace, as I assume the current vehicle requirement for Hinckley will remain in place till Social distancing is no longer needed

 

[Goldfish62]

I took it as the recently arrived WoE Gemini’s would be staying for the foreseeable future, but if all of the Kernow MMCs came back to us, that's quite a number of buses for SPS to replace, as I assume the current vehicle requirement for Hinckley will remain in place till Social distancing is no longer needed

I'm sure SPS can afford it considering the overall cost of the project. There's always plenty of youthful ex London buses lying around awaiting new homes.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I suspect that Hinkley have a vehicle age requirement for the contract.

I seem to recall that there is.

I took it as the recently arrived WoE Gemini’s would be staying for the foreseeable future, but if all of the Kernow MMCs came back to us, that's quite a number of buses for SPS to replace, as I assume the current vehicle requirement for Hinckley will remain in place till Social distancing is no longer needed

I'd suspect that the Kernow mmcs will be staying with SPS for a while with the various Geminis that have arrived taking their place in the interim.

 

[carlberry]

I'm sure SPS can afford it considering the overall cost of the project. There's always plenty of youthful ex London buses lying around awaiting new homes.

I don't think anything ex London would be youthful enough. In normal times I suspect Hinkley would just have bought another load of Streetdecks, however in normal times they wouldn't need them anyway!

If the government is aiming to restart 'leisure' type activities from July then the rules might change and that would give SPS the ability to reduce it's requirements. Theres a lot of weight on the if and might there however!

 

[Goldfish62]

I don't think anything ex London would be youthful enough. In normal times I suspect Hinkley would just have bought another load of Streetdecks, however in normal times they wouldn't need them anyway!

If the government is aiming to restart 'leisure' type activities from July then the rules might change and that would give SPS the ability to reduce it's requirements. Theres a lot of weight on the if and might there however!

The Gemini and E300 in the photo are anything but youthful!

There are plenty of ex London Euro VI buses awaiting new homes.

 

[MB162435]

I seem to recall that there is.



I'd suspect that the Kernow mmcs will be staying with SPS for a while with the various Geminis that have arrived taking their place in the interim.

Can't see Kernow returning to a full timetable before September, when the Uni, colleges and any remaining schools are scheduled to return, so the Gemini's, remaining MMCs and SRs should be enough for a while yet

 

[Trainfan061193]

Because Kernow will surely increase their services when lockdown is eased further, I would’ve thought the MMCs up at Hinkley would be needed to come back to Cornwall then or would they have enough Gemini’s to go in their place?

 

[MB162435]

I'm sure SPS can afford it considering the overall cost of the project. There's always plenty of youthful ex London buses lying around awaiting new homes.

Social distancing is going to be anything other than short term, so getting some more 2nd hand buses wouldn't be a stupid decision to wether the storm

 

[Blackpudding]

Does anyone happen to have the new registration number for Volvo B12B 20561? It was TT07TRU

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The Gemini and E300 in the photo are anything but youthful!

There are plenty of ex London Euro VI buses awaiting new homes.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Gemini and e300 are used for stuff like SPS driver shuttles etc rather than actually moving HP3 staff about?

Also, are there plenty of modern ex London vehicles about? There's plenty of 2005/6 ones, and perhaps some 2013 ones if there's a route changing hands but not certain about anything newer?

Social distancing is going to be anything other than short term, so getting some more 2nd hand buses wouldn't be a stupid decision to wether the storm

All depends on how the guidance also changes over time.... will we see 2 metres become 1 metre, for instance?

 

[swifty]

The Gemini and E300 in the photo are anything but youthful!

There are plenty of ex London Euro VI buses awaiting new homes.

But the B9/Gemini from Bristol will likely be one with a Euro 6 upgrade and more importantly currently not needed in Bristol. Much easier than investing in a heap of ex London heaps for a short while!

 

[Goldfish62]

All depends on how the guidance also changes over time.... will we see 2 metres become 1 metre, for instance?

As far as I can make out from a bit of research the UK is the only European country with a 2m rule on public transport. Most are either 1m or 1.5m, while a few are either none or "as far away from others as reasonably possible".

 

[Goldfish62]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Gemini and e300 are used for stuff like SPS driver shuttles etc rather than actually moving HP3 staff about?

Also, are there plenty of modern ex London vehicles about? There's plenty of 2005/6 ones, and perhaps some 2013 ones if there's a route changing hands but not certain about anything newer?

Good points, and it may be that I was being a bit flippant without the requisite evidence to back up the statement. *slaps one's self hard*...

 

[richw]

The Hinckley extras I believe is until September at present.
There is some service increase on 1st June

 

[MB162435]

I wouldn't be surprised if the Gemini and e300 are used for stuff like SPS driver shuttles etc rather than actually moving HP3 staff about?

Also, are there plenty of modern ex London vehicles about? There's plenty of 2005/6 ones, and perhaps some 2013 ones if there's a route changing hands but not certain about anything newer?



All depends on how the guidance also changes over time.... will we see 2 metres become 1 metre, for instance?

Would be a good way of slowly easing out of the social distancing, without ending it suddenly and risking a splike in cases, which would also mean a slower reduction in the required number of buses at Hinckley

 

[Goldfish62]

The Hinckley extras I believe is until September at present.
There is some service increase on 1st June

Thanks.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

As far as I can make out from a bit of research the UK is the only European country with a 2m rule on public transport. Most are either 1m or 1.5m, while a few are either none or "as far away from others as reasonably possible".

I've got the same understanding in that most are citing a one metre gap. I'd imagine that Jacob Rees-Mogg won't want that sort of modern stuff and will insist on a gap of 117 Barleycorns....

 

[swifty]

There was a post on a FB group yesterday showing a photo of a Tinner, a WoE Gemini and a BoS E300. It stated that these had all now been transferred to SPS and would remain there for the foreseeable future. I hope it's just poor wording, otherwise it would effectively mean we've lost all our Tinners and most other E400s. If SPS need additional vehicles surely Geminis could be sent there instead.

I’ve just seen the post in question, it refers to the three Bristol Gemini that are now on loan at SPS. The first pictured just happened to be parked inbetween an existing Tinner and BoS E200 on loan.

 

[Goldfish62]

I’ve just seen the post in question, it refers to the three Bristol Gemini that are now on loan at SPS. The first pictured just happened to be parked inbetween an existing Tinner and BoS E200 on loan.

Ah right. My mistake. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Goldfish62]

I've got the same understanding in that most are citing a one metre gap. I'd imagine that Jacob Rees-Mogg won't want that sort of modern stuff and will insist on a gap of 117 Barleycorns....

Haha!

Certainly on TfL buses 2m isn't enforced. Regular messages are played to remind passengers that they should try to maintain 2m distance, but that's as far as it goes I'm told.

 

[83G/84D]

Park & Ride Citaro 64052 made a rare visit to Camborne today.

 

[richw]

Haha!

Certainly on TfL buses 2m isn't enforced. Regular messages are played to remind passengers that they should try to maintain 2m distance, but that's as far as it goes I'm told.

The 2m of course is only advisory, it’s respectful in my view to honour it for others even if you’re not bothered

 

[MB162435]

Not sure what the operators view was, but many wanted the 1m distance, can't remember by how much but would see a healthy rise in capacity

although always good to be on the safe side, at least for the time being

 

[Goldfish62]

The 2m of course is only advisory, it’s respectful in my view to honour it for others even if you’re not bothered

We're dealing with Londoners here...

 

[Volvo142]

Arriva Midlands East have just posted the following, so it seems they're following the same policy as First Kernow. Presumably they'll be using Ticketer for compliance in the same way. ..

Arriva Midlands East

In line with the new government guidance, we have implemented social distancing measures on-board our buses to help protect our colleagues and customers. We are asking our customers to please follow...

www.facebook.com

 

[richw]

Arriva Midlands East have just posted the following, so it seems they're following the same policy as First Kernow. Presumably they'll be using Ticketer for compliance in the same way. ..

Arriva Midlands East

In line with the new government guidance, we have implemented social distancing measures on-board our buses to help protect our colleagues and customers. We are asking our customers to please follow...

www.facebook.com

The images used on social media have gov and nhs logos by first kernow so presumably they are government issued images for bus operators. Plymouth citybus have also posted the same style images

 

[83G/84D]

Former First Kernow & Western Greyhound Optare Solo YJ55 YGN (53406) along with YJ05 XNV (53205) are now with Trustybus, Essex according to the Fleet news section in the latest Buses Magazine. They were disposed of by FK to Ensign in April.

 

[Goldfish62]

Former First Kernow & Western Greyhound Optare Solo YJ55 YGN (53406) along with YJ05 XNV (53205) are now with Trustybus, Essex according to the Fleet news section in the latest Buses Magazine. They were disposed of by FK to Ensign in April.

Poor buses. What have they done to deserve that....?