First South West (Kernow & Buses of Somerset)

[83G/84D]

The bright orange Optare Metrodecker left Camborne at 1245hrs today being driven by a member of engineering staff.

 

[richw]

Tinner replacements this morning:-

I Suspect my surprise at these 3 behind me a little off route this afternoon may explain.
Taunton around 1400, they headed out of Taunton depot towards the M5 north.
I'd probably half a guess they are off to the champions league final?

 

[83G/84D]

Interesting, I was going to observe the T1/T2 for longer but the rain put paid to that.

 

[busconductors]

All suggestions on here and on first Kernow Facebook is that the 27 is part of the new order.
As a 6 footer the only buses I've had issue with leg room is the Ex jersey Darts.
I estimate I travel 500 miles a month on first Kernow buses so have sampled pretty much everything they have to offer. Be selective of your seats. The rear centre seat has several feet of leg room, the side ways seats have plenty too, and the emergency exit row has plenty.

For me as a short-ish person, leg room is not the problem. If the seat is higher than the length of my foot-to-knee, what I could do with really is some sot of foot rest. If the seat is low, that is fine as long as the seat does not have a hard front edge.

 

[fgwrich]

Slightly off topic but as First trialed one of Wrights Demo recently I thought I'd mention it. The first of the Guernsey's new Wright StreetVibe Wheel Forward vehicles were shown off today. Perhaps a vehicle for the future Kernow fleet if some of the slimmer Solos become a little long in the tooth?

http://www.itv.com/news/channel/2017-06-02/new-style-buses-on-display-in-guernsey/

New narrower buses on display in Guernsey

Guernsey's new buses, which are 7cm narrower than the Dennis Dart vehicles, are on display today. They are part of a £1.9 million project to upgrade the fleet and replace old bus, which has been criticised for being too wide for the island's roads. Two vehicles are open to the public today, before they go into service next week.

''The new buses will provide much improved customer comfort, passenger information and vehicle emissions.

Selecting the StreetVibe has ensured that the Island benefits from the latest technological developments in the bus industry and the narrowest bus in its class - Deputy Mark Dorey, Vice-President of the Committee for the Environment & Infrastructure ''
Twelve new buses are being bought in total, at a cost of nearly £135,000 each.
Designers say the vehicle is 63cm shorter and just over 7cm narrower than Guernsey's current buses, and will have USB charging points and wifi access.
The new bus also emits less pollutants than the engine it replaces.

20 New buses will produce the same pollutants as one old bus.

All of the new buses will be in service by the end of June.

Back on topic, I'll certainly be happy to see the 90 receiving newer or upgraded vehicles, as the most ideal form of Public Transport to reach Newquay by, vehicle improvements and new branding would certainly be a welcome addition to the Kernow network.

 

[richw]

I'm sure there was a demo street vibe here last year. Mousehole I believe due to the tight corner is length as well as width.

 

[THarris123]

Slightly off topic but as First trialed one of Wrights Demo recently I thought I'd mention it. The first of the Guernsey's new Wright StreetVibe Wheel Forward vehicles were shown off today. Perhaps a vehicle for the future Kernow fleet if some of the slimmer Solos become a little long in the tooth?

http://www.itv.com/news/channel/2017-06-02/new-style-buses-on-display-in-guernsey/



Back on topic, I'll certainly be happy to see the 90 receiving newer or upgraded vehicles, as the most ideal form of Public Transport to reach Newquay by, vehicle improvements and new branding would certainly be a welcome addition to the Kernow network.

Give me a solo any day. If it contains Wright and "Street-", then no thank you.

Just remember that there are solos in service which are 16 years old. How long does anyone think these Streetvibes will last? I give it about 6 or 7 years.

 

[Busaholic]

The Citybus was active again today on the A2. Its last journey from Penzance saw it coincide at Marazion with an inbound 2, in the worst possible place i.e. near the Methodist Church, on the Marazion side, where the railings protect the fronts of houses on one side. I'm not saying the two buses actually struck, but I was in a car directly behind the 2, which was completely stationary without an inch to spare on its side, and as the Citybus crawled past, as far on the pavement as it could go without striking the houses on its side, the 2 sort of did an involuntary shake. I'll say no more.

 

[83G/84D]

A more colourful Tinner stand in today, blue MMC 33475 was also covering:-

 

[83G/84D]

I'm sure there was a demo street vibe here last year. Mousehole I believe due to the tight corner is length as well as width.

Yes I think I posted some photo's of it on here. I don't recall seeing it in use on any services.

 

[richw]

Yes I think I posted some photo's of it on here. I don't recall seeing it in use on any services.

I'd like to think it may have been tested out of service!

 

[83G/84D]

So far that appears to be the case for the Metrodecker. A brief outing yesterday is all it has done I think.

 

[83G/84D]

Olympian 34137 suffered a breakdown this afternoon between Zennor and St Ives. A "man in a van" turned up to try and fix it but the bus was still at the roadside well over an hour later. Hopefully it is nothing too serious.

 

[busKernow]

I Suspect my surprise at these 3 behind me a little off route this afternoon may explain.
Taunton around 1400, they headed out of Taunton depot towards the M5 north.
I'd probably half a guess they are off to the champions league final?

Were is the champions league final being held RichW ?

 

[busKernow]

Olympian 34137 suffered a breakdown this afternoon between Zennor and St Ives. A "man in a van" turned up to try and fix it but the bus was still at the roadside well over an hour later. Hopefully it is nothing too serious.

Had a Trip on this one last week to Lands End & its painfully slow on hills to the point it almost stops ,it was the same last year , that aside it does looks very smart though.

 

[83G/84D]

Were is the champions league final being held RichW ?

It took place yesterday evening in Cardiff.

 

[philthetube]

I spent last week in Penzance, walking the coast path and I made frequent use of the A1/3

I found it to be a great service for my needs very reliable considering the roads, never saw one more than ten late and fantastic value at £26 for a weeks travel.

This said I had one minor gripe, and it is minor but could do with fixing, after heavy overnight rain I boarded the first A1 from Penzance and all the upstairs seats had puddles on them, they really needed to be wiped before it left the Depot, there wa a procession of passengers climbing the stairs, looking at the seats then going back down.

I would also make a couple of constructive suggestions, these are not criticisms.
I think the open toppers could do with some top corner protection from the trees, I noticed one is already damaged, sorry no photo.

on a totally different note I think an A4 leaflet containing a timetable and information on fares, pushing day tickets and describing the route as "hop on hop off" A list of things to visit on route also would be good. This would save first money as these could be given to tourists instead of full timetables.

 

[83G/84D]

A soggy open top Citybus 38006 was seen at 10 past one this afternoon heading east on the Hayle By-pass.

The "temporary waiting room" at Penzance was re-positioned near the pick up points for departing services. Very much needed this afternoon & better placed than where it was previously.

 

[Busaholic]

The Olympian seen spraying along the Marazion By-Pass this afternoon.

 

[FSW Official]

I spent last week in Penzance, walking the coast path and I made frequent use of the A1/3

I found it to be a great service for my needs very reliable considering the roads, never saw one more than ten late and fantastic value at £26 for a weeks travel.

This said I had one minor gripe, and it is minor but could do with fixing, after heavy overnight rain I boarded the first A1 from Penzance and all the upstairs seats had puddles on them, they really needed to be wiped before it left the Depot, there wa a procession of passengers climbing the stairs, looking at the seats then going back down.

I would also make a couple of constructive suggestions, these are not criticisms.
I think the open toppers could do with some top corner protection from the trees, I noticed one is already damaged, sorry no photo.

on a totally different note I think an A4 leaflet containing a timetable and information on fares, pushing day tickets and describing the route as "hop on hop off" A list of things to visit on route also would be good. This would save first money as these could be given to tourists instead of full timetables.

Glad you had such a good time.
Funnily enough we've been arranging supplies of paper rolls for Penzance open tops so the seats can be dried not just in the mornings, but during wet days too.
It's the trees that need cutting! We're likely to fit much more robust tree bars to a large number of vehicles, but it's a design and build project in itself. It's not as simple as it seems. Some types of bars can cause more damage than the trees, some are difficult to mount. Again, work in progress.
The leaflet is the third work in progress. It's nearly finished at Best Impressions. We deliberately decided to spend the proper attention needed on it once the main publicity for the season was complete, meaning we can get it created as an ongoing template for Winter too. Hopefully it'll be off to the printers shortly. It's actually a fold out DL.

 

[83G/84D]

The orange Optare has been in action today:-

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The orange Optare has been in action today:-

Today? Been lashing with rain and grey for most of the day further north. Looks lovely down there - very orange vehicle!!

 

[83G/84D]

Today? Been lashing with rain and grey for most of the day further north. Looks lovely down there - very orange vehicle!!

The weather here has been dry and sunny although windy with occasional brief showers. And yes the bus is very bright orange!

 

[richw]

Today? Been lashing with rain and grey for most of the day further north. Looks lovely down there - very orange vehicle!!

Lovely afternoon here. Few showers this morning

 

[Busaholic]

Lovely afternoon here. Few showers this morning

Raging wind though, with trees down throughout the county and some power cuts earlier.

 

[skyhigh]

The orange Optare has been in action today:-

Is it just an effect of the orange, or are the windows on the top deck really quite small?

 

[83G/84D]

Note to 83G/84D if I may. FSW Official tells us Wigley is due to remove donor Solos and B7TLs from Camborne should you be in that vicinity. I know you have provided fine pics of buses being removed from Camborne in the past. Thank you.

It would appear I have "missed the boat" (or bus) with this, as the Solo awaiting disposal at Camborne has gone at some point recently. A shame as I am there quite a lot of the time and never saw it depart. Anyway here is a photo of it taken not long before it departed.

 

[philthetube]

Glad you had such a good time.
Funnily enough we've been arranging supplies of paper rolls for Penzance open tops so the seats can be dried not just in the mornings, but during wet days too.
It's the trees that need cutting! We're likely to fit much more robust tree bars to a large number of vehicles, but it's a design and build project in itself. It's not as simple as it seems. Some types of bars can cause more damage than the trees, some are difficult to mount. Again, work in progress.
The leaflet is the third work in progress. It's nearly finished at Best Impressions. We deliberately decided to spend the proper attention needed on it once the main publicity for the season was complete, meaning we can get it created as an ongoing template for Winter too. Hopefully it'll be off to the printers shortly. It's actually a fold out DL.

Sounds as if I am in the wrong job, we are certainly thinking along the same lines here, let me know if you are moving on. :roll:

Thanks for response.

 

[Whiteway215]

It would appear I have "missed the boat" (or bus) with this, as the Solo awaiting disposal at Camborne has gone at some point recently. A shame as I am there quite a lot of the time and never saw it depart. Anyway here is a photo of it taken not long before it departed.

Thank you for the photo. That poor Solo looks a bit of a mess so I reckon it is or was on a one way trip!

 

[THarris123]

It would appear I have "missed the boat" (or bus) with this, as the Solo awaiting disposal at Camborne has gone at some point recently. A shame as I am there quite a lot of the time and never saw it depart. Anyway here is a photo of it taken not long before it departed.

Not much left of it to depart.