Lothian Group discussion (Lothian City, Lothian Country Bus and East Coast Buses)

[mb88]

Do Lothian city drivers ever drive LCB routes or vice versa? I’m sure I’ve seen it in the past, but not 100% sure.

Not as a rule no, however I know of a few drivers at LCB that quite regularly worked overtime at ECB before covid. We also had a few on extended loan to Tours for the summer season last year.

 

[CN04NRJ]

All the ex London buses have seats mounted further forward than the native examples, but it's noticeably worse on 1001 and 1002.

They drive alright, but I'm glad they're away from Central as the driving position is rather uncomfortable for me.

I'm glad they're away off the 2 now, they're the subject of much complaining in the canteen by the decker drivers

 

[ScotRail158725]

I'm glad they're away off the 2 now, they're the subject of much complaining in the canteen by the decker drivers

i remember when they first started they used to go from idle when stationary then they’d go into full revs when accelerating then back to idle

 

[OmniCity999]

Do Lothian city drivers ever drive LCB routes or vice versa? I’m sure I’ve seen it in the past, but not 100% sure.

Lothian Buses,
East Coast Buses,
Lothian Country Buses,
Edinburgh Bus Tours and
Lothian Motorcoaches

If you work for Lothian, you work for Lothian, not East Coast Buses or Lothian Country. That being said, drivers have been used to fill gaps etc. As has been said, during lockdown drivers from Lothian Country covered East Coast Buses shifts and drivers from Edinburgh Bus Tours often cover shifts with different companies - its relatively common. If its short term, the driver will wear their original companies uniform if thats all they have, generally more long term and uniform is issued.

The companies are all separate companies, with different objectives. Each company has it's own fleet and it's own drivers - but that doesn't mean to say they dont get support from the main company. On top of that, each public service vehicle in the fleet must display legal lettering on the side of the vehicle, i believe there are strict rules governing this. This information contains the name of the company and the address it is registered to. On the newer vehicles (and repaints) this is situated on the nearside behind the rear wheels.

If one of the subsidiaries need extra or different vehicles from a different company, they must display an "On Hire To" Notice in the window, these notices show the name and address of the company that has borrowed the vehicle. If it's more long term, which was the case over lockdown, the vehicle may have its operating legals changed on the outside.

All of the companies are registered at the same address (55 Annandale Street) even then, an "On Hire To" notice must be shown if another company is using a different vehicle, even if it is just a different name at the top. Thats about as much as i know about operating addresses...

 

[CN04NRJ]

All the ex London buses have seats mounted further forward than the native examples, but it's noticeably worse on 1001 and 1002.

They drive alright, but I'm glad they're away from Central as the driving position is rather uncomfortable for me.

Aye I agree, someone I know who used to work for First in London said it was because of seatbelt requirements they were mounted forward of their usual position. Some of the ex-London B9Tls I can get comfortable in, but at 6' and a normal build I find some of them quite uncomfortable to drive. 1001/02 and 1025 spring to mind as particularly bad.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Are the trackers broken? Lvf.io is showing buses for yesterday evening all frozen plus won't show details if you look up a specific bus. Or is this an lvf.io issue

 

[RomeoCharlie71]

Are the trackers broken? Lvf.io is showing buses for yesterday evening all frozen plus won't show details if you look up a specific bus. Or is this an lvf.io issue

bustimes.org seems to be working correctly.

 

[Bus9120UK]

bustimes.org seems to be working correctly.

Looks like an issue with lvf.io then

 

[Edirim]

Lothian's own bus tracker is down as well as LVF which suggests that they share the same data source and that's where the issue lies. Finlaysmith and bustimes are still functioning as they use a different datasource for their data.

 

[Aaronb2601]

When buses are waiting to be sold is there a specific depot that they will be parked in? Isn’t it one of the seafield ones?

 

[OmniCity999]

When buses are waiting to be sold is there a specific depot that they will be parked in? Isn’t it one of the seafield ones?

Most sales are sorted through Marine. Before that, buses are stored at either Seafield works, Longstone or Newbridge.

 

[ScotRail158725]

When buses are waiting to be sold is there a specific depot that they will be parked in? Isn’t it one of the seafield ones?

9/10 stored at Marine car park or in Seafield but basically what Omni said

speaking of selling buses have all the B7TLs excpet 763 been sold now? i know 112 of them definitely are at new operators

 

[TheEastCoaster]

This made me chuckle

Photo description: A Facebook post of the meme How it started/How it’s going and it’s comparing an Old and New Lothian Bus with two seprate photos, hope this is enough to keep the photo up

 

[CN04NRJ]

9/10 stored at Marine car park or in Seafield but basically what Omni said

speaking of selling buses have all the B7TLs excpet 763 been sold now? i know 112 of them definitely are at new operators

Out of interest will the 98 deckers due next year (presuming 90 for LB and 8 for ECB) how many of these will directly replace B7TLs?. I presume the odd 8 are replacing the 8 ECB B7TLs, but how many - if any - B9TLs will be replaced with this next batch of buses or will they just replace B7TLs one for one?

I've no idea how many B7TLs have been sold, and I guess it depends on what the PVR ends up being once things hopefully go to normal.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Out of interest will the 98 deckers due next year (presuming 90 for LB and 8 for ECB) how many of these will directly replace B7TLs?. I presume the odd 8 are replacing the 8 ECB B7TLs, but how many - if any - B9TLs will be replaced with this next batch of buses or will they just replace B7TLs one for one?

I've no idea how many B7TLs have been sold, and I guess it depends on what the PVR ends up being once things hopefully go to normal.

pretty sure all excpet 763 are sold, 112 at least definately have been sold. the ECB B7s were replaced by 844-850. could potentially as you say see 90 new doubles replace 90 B9TLs

 

[OmniCity999]

pretty sure all excpet 763 are sold, 112 at least definately have been sold. the ECB B7s were replaced by 844-850. could potentially as you say see 90 new doubles replace 90 B9TLs

Out of interest will the 98 deckers due next year (presuming 90 for LB and 8 for ECB) how many of these will directly replace B7TLs?. I presume the odd 8 are replacing the 8 ECB B7TLs, but how many - if any - B9TLs will be replaced with this next batch of buses or will they just replace B7TLs one for one?

I've no idea how many B7TLs have been sold, and I guess it depends on what the PVR ends up being once things hopefully go to normal.

Purely my prediction / speculation but

844-850 - Lothian Country
201-215 - Withdrawn
826-900 - Withdrawn (although, maybe not all of 826-900)

Then retrofit other B9's with cleaner exhaust systems improving longevity.

20009-20016 - New to East Coast
90 new vehicles to Lothian fleet

 

[route101]

Are ECB still running the 56 plate B7TLS?

 

[Bus9120UK]

Are ECB still running the 56 plate B7TLS?

No they are not.

 

[route101]

No they are not.

That must of been recently as I seen them when I was in Edinburgh last.

 

[Bus9120UK]

That must of been recently as I seen them when I was in Edinburgh last.

Yes. I believe they are with Stagecoach now, but not a specific one, they keep moving around.

 

[ScotRail158725]

Yes. I believe they are with Stagecoach now, but not a specific one, they keep moving around.

All 7 bound for Moffat & Williamson when their lease at Stagecoach is up, 5 of them already there. They’ll join 768, 771, 775 & 778 which have been at M&W since last September

 

[Scott mac]

New single decks for lothian buses

 

[alexf380]

Would black light clusters be better or worse?

 

[OmniCity999]

View attachment 84615

there she is!

 

[Bus9120UK]

View attachment 84615

Looks great! Thanks for the photo
Edit: Is there a chance you could download the photo and send it in full resolution instead of a screenshot so we can have a better view?

 

[scosutsut]

Would black light clusters be better or worse?

Worse I reckon. Glad they aren't the stock silver colour either!

 

[Bus9120UK]

Worse I reckon. Glad they aren't the stock silver colour either!

Agree with this.

 

[CN04NRJ]

there she is!

At last! Personally I think they look really good as they are. Possibly black headlight surrounds would be better but really a minor point.

 

[OmniCity999]

At last! Personally I think they look really good as they are. Possibly black headlight surrounds would be better but really a minor point.

I look forward to seeing a damaged vehicle being replaced with silver ones...

 

[CN04NRJ]

Looks great! Thanks for the photo
Edit: Is there a chance you could download the photo and send it in full resolution instead of a screenshot so we can have a better view?

As its already posted here.