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

[CN04NRJ]

If it's going to central it will either be in Airlink or Lothian Standard. Airlink seems unlikely but if it does get the Airlink livery then it's almost confirmed that there will be no 2023 order for Airlink. Anything can happen though!

It's in standard livery with just "Lothian" branding rather than "Lothianciy". Looks smart, wasn't able to see the interior.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

@FlybeDash8Q400 has spotted 1126 and it's in maroon with Lothiancitu branding. Completely updated interior.

Yes just to add to this 1126 looks pretty much like a normal XLB now but with a few subtle changes. It has lost the Lazzerini GTS6700 seats in favour of the standard Lazzerini Pratico 3840 seats. It was difficult to tell what shade of grey they were but I would think it’s the standard grey for new build stock. I strongly suspect the seating layout is now the same as 1063-1075, 1077-1125 as well. The Edinburgh Transport crests have not been applied and it has standard legals instead. The large contactless logos have been retained and advert frames have been applied to the side but not the rear. The Lothiancity logos have all been applied in the normal three places for an XLB, with the rear logo being on the panel rather than the glass. I also think the next stop screen on the bottom deck will have been moved too but I could not confirm. The tinted windows have been retained which I guess is hardly a surprise at all and actually probably makes it look smarter.

It looked very smart and I’m sure it’ll be back out soon.

It's in standard livery with just "Lothian" branding rather than "Lothianciy". Looks smart, wasn't able to see the interior.

It definitely has Lothiancity logos which I was a tad surprised about myself.

 

[LothianBusesPh]

Some of the Eclipses are heading to Seafield, Currently enroute/there are 179/80/81/82/84/89.

203 is currently heading to Central as well now.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

203 is currently heading to Central as well now.

203 is already at Central and has been for about a week. It has a frozen tracker. It has mind you gone back and forth between Marine and Central about 3 times now so I wouldn’t rule it out doing that again in the future either.

 

[LothianBusesPh]

203 is already at Central and has been for about a week. It has a frozen tracker. It has mind you gone back and forth between Marine and Central about 3 times now so I wouldn’t rule it out doing that again in the future either.

Sorry! I didn't know it was 203 at Central before.

 

[danielhogg2005]

Does anyone know when Lothian restarted to print paper timetables after covid?

 

[LothianBusesPh]

Does anyone know when Lothian restarted to print paper timetables after covid?

They have done the East Coast Buses and Lothian Country ones but that's it.

 

[danielhogg2005]

Did they print them in November 2021

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

It looks like another 4 Eclipse2’s have transferred to Seafield. 176-177, 185 and 187 appear to have all moved across. This leaves just 171, 186, 188 and 190 at Newbridge now all of which could well move across before the end of the day. I’d expect 171 is probably more likely to end up in the line of stored buses at Marine though, thus joining 172 and 173.

 

[LothianBusesPh]

It looks like another 4 Eclipse2’s have transferred to Seafield. 176-177, 185 and 187 appear to have all moved across. This leaves just 171, 186, 188 and 190 at Newbridge now all of which could well move across before the end of the day. I’d expect 171 is probably more likely to end up in the line of stored buses at Marine though, thus joining 172 and 173.

Where do you think 176-190 will go? My guess is probably replacing the Central 7900's 1-13 as well as 2 of the other ones although they could replace Longstone's or Marine's.

I think they are definitely Lothian bound.

 

[stevenedin]

Where do you think 176-190 will go? My guess is probably replacing the Central 7900's 1-13 as well as 2 of the other ones although they could replace Longstone's or Marine's.

I think they are definitely Lothian bound.

I reckon some could go to East Coast buses

 

[LothianBusesPh]

I reckon some could go to East Coast buses

176-181? I would like 181 to go to East Coast Buses if this is the case.

 

[Bus9120UK]

I reckon some could go to East Coast buses

With 195-199 still in reserve? I don't see the need for more singles at ECB at this time.

 

[stevenedin]

176-181? I would like 181 to go to East Coast Buses if this is the case.

Possibly. It would also require less repainting if 186-190 move back to Lothian Buses as they are already in the correct livery. It would just require 182-185 to be painted.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Dec 2022 ==

With 195-199 still in reserve? I don't see the need for more singles at ECB at this time.

Unless they are in reserve due to reliability issues.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Possibly. It would also require less repainting if 186-190 move back to Lothian Buses as they are already in the correct livery. It would just require 182-185 to be painted.

It's a strange one as all of the maroon ones are also moving to Seafield so it's as if they're all being painted. Surely it's not the same livery for all, considering 181 is already green and white which means it will be lose those colours.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Dec 2022 ==

Unless they are in reserve due to reliability issues.

195/6 were put into reserve as a result of lockdown and 197/8/9 were reserved when the 139 went to double decks only due to the busy runs during school hours.

190 has just moved to Longstone. It's not due an MOT till April, however.

 

[scotrail158713]

Didn't know there were paper timetables again. Shall keep an eye out for them.

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

I reckon some could go to East Coast buses

ECB shouldn’t require any additional single deckers for now. The 139, 140 and 141 are all now planned to be double deckers so unless all of these return to being run with single deckers (which is unlikely in my view) then I would not expect a transfer of any single decker to ECB for quite some time. As @Bus9120UK says, ECB have 195-199 pretty much ready to go if they need any.

You could also argue ECB have a lot of buffer in their fleet with quite a number of spare buses on a daily basis too.

Where do you think 176-190 will go? My guess is probably replacing the Central 7900's 1-13 as well as 2 of the other ones although they could replace Longstone's or Marine's.

I think they are definitely Lothian bound.

Put it this way if they aren’t for Lothian I can’t see them sticking around at all as there’s no other logical destination. 186-190 are due a repaint anyway as they were last done at the end of 2017, which is probably why they’re being done as well. I can’t see 186-190 getting the interior refit that 176-185 got mind you, but I would expect them to get a retrim as I believe they still have the original covers in them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Dec 2022 ==

It also turns out 188 had been hiding in Longstone (must’ve been frozen) and it too is now on its way to Seafield. So all will now be at Seafield except for 171 and 186 which are at Newbridge, and 190 which is at Longstone.

 

[computerSaysNo]

ECB shouldn’t require any additional single deckers for now. The 139, 140 and 141 are all now planned to be double deckers so unless all of these return to being run with single deckers (which is unlikely in my view) then I would not expect a transfer of any single decker to ECB for quite some time. As @Bus9120UK says, ECB have 195-199 pretty much ready to go if they need any.

You could also argue ECB have a lot of buffer in their fleet with quite a number of spare buses on a daily basis too.

Put it this way if they aren’t for Lothian I can’t see them sticking around at all as there’s no other logical destination. 186-190 are due a repaint anyway as they were last done at the end of 2017, which is probably why they’re being done as well. I can’t see 186-190 getting the interior refit that 176-185 got mind you, but I would expect them to get a retrim as I believe they still have the original covers in them.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 15 Dec 2022 ==

It also turns out 188 had been hiding in Longstone (must’ve been frozen) and it too is now on its way to Seafield. So all will now be at Seafield except for 171 and 186 which are at Newbridge, and 190 which is at Longstone.

If it were up to me I'd be putting as many as possible into the Training School, and distribute the School across as many garages as possible. That would though rely on Lothian having enough qualified driver trainers.
If they managed that but then didn't have enough applicants to keep the larger School busy they could always add joining incentives to try and get more people to apply.

 

[LothianBusesPh]

If it were up to me I'd be putting as many as possible into the Training School, and distribute the School across as many garages as possible. That would though rely on Lothian having enough qualified driver trainers.
If they managed that but then didn't have enough applicants to keep the larger School busy they could always add joining incentives to try and get more people to apply.

This idea would also be very good for recruitment days, they could also use these buses to start training people to become qualified driver trainers as mentioned above.

 

[Bus9120UK]

If it were up to me I'd be putting as many as possible into the Training School, and distribute the School across as many garages as possible. That would though rely on Lothian having enough qualified driver trainers.
If they managed that but then didn't have enough applicants to keep the larger School busy they could always add joining incentives to try and get more people to apply.

If anything 171-173 should, but I think any more is too much. I think spreading them across depots isn't the best idea considering the training school is based at Longstone and always had been. Are the facilities available within the depots to expand it further?

 

[FlybeDash8Q400]

If it were up to me I'd be putting as many as possible into the Training School, and distribute the School across as many garages as possible. That would though rely on Lothian having enough qualified driver trainers.
If they managed that but then didn't have enough applicants to keep the larger School busy they could always add joining incentives to try and get more people to apply.

Costs and practicality mean that it’s probably best to centre training to as few places as possible.

I myself was hoping TB1-4 would have received the same treatment as TB5-6 but for I suspect for a few reasons this hasn’t happened.

If anything 171-173 should, but I think any more is too much. I think spreading them across depots isn't the best idea considering the training school is based at Longstone and always had. Are the facilities available within the depots to expand it further?
been.

I don’t think it’s totally impossible for 171-173 to join the training fleet. Although I’d wish they’d renumber them to TB167-TB175 as I’m not a fan of the TB1-6 format.

 

[danielhogg2005]

Which bus stop did Lothian Country service 287 serve in Livingston Bus Terminal before it was changed to serve stop E?

 

[Lothiangem22]

Costs and practicality mean that it’s probably best to centre training to as few places as possible.

I myself was hoping TB1-4 would have received the same treatment as TB5-6 but for I suspect for a few reasons this hasn’t happened.

I don’t think it’s totally impossible for 171-173 to join the training fleet. Although I’d wish they’d renumber them to TB167-TB175 as I’m not a fan of the TB1-6 format.

For a number of reasons driver training will remain at Longstone. It’s an extensive set up and it’s really very much more than just “getting behind the wheel of a bus.” Inductions, driver examiners, CPC training, theory and various modules are all set up to operate at Longstone.

 

[Darklord8899]

With regards to driver training, I saw 1002 out on driver training duties yesterday.

 

[eh1]

With regards to driver training, I saw 1002 out on driver training duties yesterday.

This could have been type training - good to get drivers used to the buses they'll be driving when actually doing the job!

 

[CN04NRJ]

With regards to driver training, I saw 1002 out on driver training duties yesterday.

Anything can be used for route learning, i've seen BYDs out doing it when passed out drivers do it from their home garage (in this case Central obviously). I think in practice all the bus needs is L plates although obviously most reputable companies have specially configured training buses - I learned in a coach with an interior mirror stuck onto the nearside.

 

[Highland050261]

Not my photo but have permission to share 1126.

 

[stevenedin]

Not my photo but have permission to share 1126.

Looks great. The contactless message at the top reminds me of 421 which had one of these messages for a while.

 

[Bus9120UK]

Not my photo but have permission to share 1126.

I am disappointed they didn't remove the contactless branding. It looks out of place and rather ugly. Otherwise the bus looks good especially with the tinted windows. The Volvo badge is rather small.

 

[Darklord8899]

Anything can be used for route learning, i've seen BYDs out doing it when passed out drivers do it from their home garage (in this case Central obviously). I think in practice all the bus needs is L plates although obviously most reputable companies have specially configured training buses - I learned in a coach with an interior mirror stuck onto the nearside.

I wondered if that was the case. It's the first time in a long time I've personally seen a double decker on Driver Training. I've seen a fair few singles on DT (ordinary service vehicles, not necessarily Training school vehicles) but makes sense to use vehicle types that a driver is going to be driving.