Nottinghamshire & Derbyshire Bus News

[cnjb8]

I wonder if they will reintroduce 828/29 back on to the H1. These were withdrawn back in October and were earmarked for repaint into Mango. If 778-780 are going to the Two, they need to fix the awful reliability of the Three's Versas and work out what to do with Skylink Express (potentially withdrawing soon?). In other news, 740 has entered service at Derby with a slightly revised Villager livery.

 

[43055]

I wonder if they will reintroduce 828/29 back on to the H1. These were withdrawn back in October and were earmarked for repaint into Mango. If 778-780 are going to the Two, they need to fix the awful reliability of the Threes Versa's and work out what to do with Skylink Express (potentially withdrawing soon?). In other news, 740 has entered service at Derby with a slightly revised Villager livery.

Noticed the 740 has a revised livery which I quite like. Any ideas on what has happened to 703 as that one has not been out since August.

Purely speculation on what could happen but probably won't:
107, 108 and maybe 109 to Skylink Express.
2 solos from Connect become spares maybe at Sutton in orange to keep as much on the road as possible.
1 spare Volvo at Langley Mill branded for H1 so all the same vehicle type.
778 and maybe 779 go back on the two.
828, 829 become spares or even branded for the threes.

 

[liamf656]

778-780 are no longer destined for Skylink Express, and so believe they’re returning to the Two. However I’ve been told that Skylink Express should be getting B7RLEs instead. Not sure if these will be branded or spares but we’ll see.

828/829 are still in H1 livery awaiting their next allocation, whatever that may be. Not sure if these will re-enter service or if the route will gain another Volvo or just a spare. Trent Barton are exploring options to expand the My15 (frequency wise) so one or both of those Versas may even end up going that way.

Not sure what the long term plan is for the threes however there is a *rumour* that a new fleet is being considered

107/108 are both due off Mickleover imminently. They were both originally meant for Kinchbus however that remains to be seen…

Over at Notts & Derby, they have borrowed two Tempos from Littles (these are ex CT4N) and an Enviro 200 from Stanton’s of Stoke. Another vehicle is also due in use…

 

[cnjb8]

Its good to see Trent are considering new vehicles as the 08/58 B7RLEs are 15-years old soon, and there are Solars still about of course.

 

[DDB]

News from Nottingham Post of services saved from cuts by new subsidy.

11 Notts bus services saved from the axe after council steps in

Nottinghamshire County Council says these services would otherwise have been reduced or withdrawn by operators for commercial reasons,

www.nottinghampost.com

The services saved from the axe are:

• Stagecoach 6 & 7 - Worksop, Gateford, Shireoaks, Rhodesia, Worksop (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

• Marshalls 90 - Newark, Radcliffe, Nottingham (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

• Trentbarton 90 - Sutton, Kirkby, Selston, Ripley (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

• Stagecoach 14/15 - Mansfield, Ollerton, Walesby (support to maintain route and timetable serving Walesby).

• Nottingham City Transport 46,47 - Woodborough, Lambley, Mapperley, Nottingham (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

• Stagecoach 1 (Mansfield Miller) - Mansfield Woodhouse, Mansfield (support for reduced evening service).

• Trentbarton Rushcliffe Villager - Bingham, Newton, East Bridgford, Shelford, Gunthorpe, Radcliffe (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

• Marshalls 37 - Retford, East Markham, Tuxford, Sutton on Trent, Muskham, Newark (service would otherwise be withdrawn).

 

[ChrisC]

The 141 between Nottingham and Mansfield/Sutton in Ashfield was saved from the axe by Nottinghamshire County Council last September. Now run by Stagecoach in Mansfield it’s fairly reliable during most of the day but seems to regularly completely fall apart late afternoon. The last few buses of the day are regularly 30+ minutes late. I can’t see those last few buses getting many passengers, as by the time they eventually arrive people will have given up waiting and presumed the bus has been cancelled. It doesn’t help even now, almost 6 months after Stagecoach took over, it is still not displayed on the screens at the Nottingham Victoria Bus Station. Do Stagecoach and Nottinghamshire County Council not want this service to continue beyond the review this September?

Latest update - a couple of the buses toady on the route are already running in excess of 30 minutes late and it’s only 4pm. It’s becoming absolutely no use for anyone wanting to travel home regularly from work when buses are this late on a regular basis. No wonder that buses are leaving Nottingham empty at times of day when they used to be quite busy.

 

[nctx]

Kinchbus 9 is going every 2 hours on a Sunday.

 

[JD2168]

Any possibility that Wellglade could be sending more newer vehicles to TM Travel as the CAZ starts on 27th February & non Euro 6 buses will be charged? I'm not sure if any of the TM fleet is compliant with this.

 

[GusB]

Kinchbus 9 is going every 2 hours on a Sunday.

What's the source of this news, please? There don't appear to be an announcements on the Kinchbus website.

 

[nctx]

What's the source of this news, please? There don't appear to be an announcements on the Kinchbus website.

West Bridgford Wire had an article on it.

Trent Barton buses: Changes to several routes from April | West Bridgford Wire

trentbarton is making changes to several routes from Sunday, April 2.

westbridgfordwire.com

trentbarton is making changes to several routes from Sunday, April 2.

Many of the changes to timetables are designed to improve the reliability of services and respond to customer requests, says the operator.

The improvements include H1 enjoying an increased peak frequency from 15 minutes to every 12 minutes Mondays to Saturdays.

i4 will see new Sunday morning journeys to better serve workers’ shift changeovers at QMC and SmartParc SEGRO Derby.

And following feedback from customers, the 7.05 am comet from Derby and the 8.15am from Chesterfield will both run ten minutes earlier than now to arrive in Alfreton before 9am.

Also responding to requests, the 7.54 am 33 from Ilkeston will run via the 34 route to improve links to Heanor Gate Spencer Academy.

the two is getting an extra bus to improve reliability. the allestree gets a revised timetable to boost reliability, with changes to which afternoon journeys serve Woodlands Top. the mickleover is getting a revised timetable to improve its reliability.

Jeff Counsell, trentbarton’s managing director, said: “We’ve listened to what customers have been asking for and these changes to timetables and frequency will better serve customers on those routes.”

Due to the loss of public funding, the 18 will be withdrawn. Many customers will be able to use indigo or i4. connect evening and Sunday services will cease and its second bus on the blue route will be withdrawn from Mondays to Saturdays.

mainline Friday and Saturday evening frequency will be changed to every 30 minutes. And the cotgrave will finish slightly earlier in the evenings.

At trentbarton’s sister operator Kinchbus, the Sunday service on Kinchbus 9 between Nottingham and Loughborough is being reduced to every two hours.

 

[mainframe444]

Not sure what the long term plan is for the threes however there is a *rumour* that a new fleet is being considered

There were new E200s ordered (or about to be ordered) for the Threes in 2020, but certain events that year saw them cancelled….

M

 

[43055]

778-780 are no longer destined for Skylink Express, and so believe they’re returning to the Two. However I’ve been told that Skylink Express should be getting B7RLEs instead. Not sure if these will be branded or spares but we’ll see.

828/829 are still in H1 livery awaiting their next allocation, whatever that may be. Not sure if these will re-enter service or if the route will gain another Volvo or just a spare. Trent Barton are exploring options to expand the My15 (frequency wise) so one or both of those Versas may even end up going that way.

Not sure what the long term plan is for the threes however there is a *rumour* that a new fleet is being considered

107/108 are both due off Mickleover imminently. They were both originally meant for Kinchbus however that remains to be seen…

Over at Notts & Derby, they have borrowed two Tempos from Littles (these are ex CT4N) and an Enviro 200 from Stanton’s of Stoke. Another vehicle is also due in use…

107 was on loan to Notts and Derby yesterday which seems like a really odd decision as buses were missing on the Mickleover the last few days.

828 seems to be back on the H1 today and 743 is currently out on the red arrow so it seems that Derby is struggling to produce enough vehicles again as the villager is running 1 bus down all day today causing over hour long gaps due to the following bus being delayed.

 

[STINT47]

so it seems that Derby is struggling to produce enough vehicles again a

All depots are struggling at the moment. Sutton is the worse followed by Derby, especially with the coaches for the Red Arrow.

Nottingham and Langley Mill are doing better but still have some services cancelled due to no bus each day.

It's unfortunate that as the driver shortage cancellations have largley gone now they have started having major bus availability problems.

 

[adrianjohnson]

It does surprise me that they're adding more buses to the H1 and two when there are difficulties maintaining the current level of service.

 

[SSmith2009]

It's unfortunate that as the driver shortage cancellations have largley gone now they have started having major bus availability problems.

Understand its a parts issue which is affecting availability of buses.

Same goes for First in Leicester they've got a number of buses off the road at the minute needing parts

 

[Simon75]

Are TrentBarton still planning to relocate there Derby garage ?

 

[KFE1995]

Not sure what the long term plan is for the threes however there is a *rumour* that a new fleet is being considered

Heard it from the horse's mouth, but don't quote me, 18 new ADL mmcs for the threes, 2 more as spares

 

[Mugby]

Heard it from the horse's mouth, but don't quote me, 18 new ADL mmcs for the threes, 2 more as spares

I certainly hope so. Those Optare Versa things are shockingly bad. I travelled on one recently (on the Threes) and without realising, the left hand sleeve of my coat had become soaked with leaking rainwater!

 

[MCR247]

I certainly hope so. Those Optare Versa things are shockingly bad. I travelled on one recently (on the Threes) and without realising, the left hand sleeve of my coat had become soaked with leaking rainwater!

Whilst more under the hood than window issues, it always struck me as odd that Trent Barton continued ordering Mercedes engined Solos and Versas until finally going for Cummins engined Versas for the rainbow one. The Merc ones seem so slow off the mark in comparison.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

How well used is the Trentbarton Rushcliffe Villager service currently?

 

[liamf656]

How well used is the Trentbarton Rushcliffe Villager service currently?

I can’t say for loadings as I haven’t used it in a long time but it was due for the chop recently before being saved by council funding so that’s something to think about

 

[KFE1995]

I certainly hope so. Those Optare Versa things are shockingly bad. I travelled on one recently (on the Threes) and without realising, the left hand sleeve of my coat had become soaked with leaking rainwater!

Yep, and they either blow up or they sound like they're about to! Sometimes around Victoria bus station in Nottingham all you hear is a loud noise from a threes engine compartment, almost deafening!

 

[STINT47]

Yep, and they either blow up or they sound like they're about to! Sometimes around Victoria bus station in Nottingham all you hear is a loud noise from a threes engine compartment, almost deafening!

They often have to rev the engine to get the doors to open.

The driver gets off the bus to use the toilet closing the doors behind them. On their return the doors won't open so they have to force entry then rev the engine for a bit before the doors will open again.

I agree it's a rather loud squealing noise and really it's a bit embarrassing.

 

[317 forever]

Heard it from the horse's mouth, but don't quote me, 18 new ADL mmcs for the threes, 2 more as spares

At this rate Trent Barton will soon have little variety beyond E200-MMCs and the coaches on the Derby-Nottingham express route.

 

[chessie]

There has been a Hulleys of Baslow open top double decker running around Chesterfield today showing "Not In Service". Anyone know what the plans are here? New summer service?

 

[43055]

Reported on the Derby Bus Depot forum that 15 Enviro 400's are due for TM Travel and Notts and Derby from Edinburgh. Presumably these will be Lothian E400's 201 to 215.

 

[liamf656]

Reported on the Derby Bus Depot forum that 15 Enviro 400's are due for TM Travel and Notts and Derby from Edinburgh. Presumably these will be Lothian E400's 201 to 215.

They’re actually being collected today. The TM ones are to aid with the clean air zone in Sheffield

 

[darloscott]

Reported on the Derby Bus Depot forum that 15 Enviro 400's are due for TM Travel and Notts and Derby from Edinburgh. Presumably these will be Lothian E400's 201 to 215.

Saw some TM drivers had been to Lothian today so that would make sense.

 

[liamf656]

There should be 5 E400s for Notts & Derby and 10 for TM Travel. It’s not decided yet which bus is going where

 

[Stephen1001]

There has been a Hulleys of Baslow open top double decker running around Chesterfield today showing "Not In Service". Anyone know what the plans are here? New summer service?

Believe this was used last year too, including on the 257 Bakewell-Sheffield and occasionally the X70 Bakewell-Chesterfield, as seen here (not my picture): https://www.flickr.com/photos/181868521@N08/52288119444/