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Oldest buses in First's fleet?

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Whiteway215

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A lot of discussion on First Aberdeen and First Glasgow threads about the age profile of their fleets. Which are the oldest buses in everyday use in the First fleets? I will offer W reg B7TLs 30871/77 and those numbered between 32001 and 32015 with First West of England.
 
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scosutsut

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T reg DAFs and V reg Tridents in Edinburgh on Bright Bus Tours. Not sure of fleet numbers.

Edit: quoting #162 on this thread: https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/first-group-edinburgh-bus-tours.182521/page-6

Dennis Trident Plaxton President (Ex-Lothian)
32726 / V526 ESC
32727 / V527 ESC
32728 / V528 ESC
32729 / V529 ESC

Dennis Trident ALX400 (Ex-Stagecoach)
32789 / T679 KPU
32790 / V473KJN
32792 / X274 NNO
32793 / X377 NNO
32794 / X276 NNO

DAF DB250 Plaxton President (Ex-RATP)
35010 / T210 XBV
35011 / T211 XBV
35012 / T212 XBV
35013 / T213 XBV

Many have since been reregistered with Irish plates
 
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TheGrandWazoo

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A lot of discussion on First Aberdeen and First Glasgow threads about the age profile of their fleets. Which are the oldest buses in everyday use in the First fleets? I will offer W reg B7TLs 30871/77 and those numbered between 32001 and 32015 with First West of England.
32001 etc were new 5/2000 whilst 30871 and the ones with First EC were 7/2000. Some of the W-DWX are also at First Cymru....for the moment.
 

CD

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Buses of Somerset Bridgwater, Trident 32866 MIG 3859 (formally T866 KFL) new August 1999.
 

swifty

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I believe FSY still have ex Badgerline B10BLE 66112 (R912BOU) in use.
 

swifty

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Why not include trainers-the thread was only out of interest/trivia.

If you’re opening it out that would surely make Bristol K GHT154 one of the oldest then. It’s on long term loan to the Bristol Vintage Bus Group if IIRC?
 

cnjb8

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I dont think its good that First have an aging fleet. Yes, the B7TL/B7L/Tridents etc... are being withdrawn but it must not look attractive to perspective buyers.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I dont think its good that First have an aging fleet. Yes, the B7TL/B7L/Tridents etc... are being withdrawn but it must not look attractive to perspective buyers.
It’s not good with 19 year old deckers working on all day service.

There will be some ex Bolton stuff shortly but some fleets have a very mature look and no expectation of new or nearly new vehicles.
 

Surreyman

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I dont think its good that First have an aging fleet. Yes, the B7TL/B7L/Tridents etc... are being withdrawn but it must not look attractive to perspective buyers.
Surely it is more attractive to a prospective buyer, because: -
1. The buyer pays less for the business (The assets are depreciated).
2. The new buyer can visibly make improvements by bringing in newer buses.
 

Alexbus12

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It’s not good with 19 year old deckers working on all day service.

There will be some ex Bolton stuff shortly but some fleets have a very mature look and no expectation of new or nearly new vehicles.

I'm quite interested were the fleet will end up actually. From what i can gather, only the B7s (05,56,06), very few B9s and all the E400s are being loaned to Rotala. That makes 11 plate B7s and many 08,58 and 09 B9s available to be moved around straight away.
 

Bus Lightyear

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I take it First still don't sell their buses to have a second life with another operator like Lothian Buses do?

Are the other big groups like Stagecoach, Arriva or Go-Ahead running buses just old as First's oldest?
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I take it First still don't sell their buses to have a second life with another operator like Lothian Buses do?

Are the other big groups like Stagecoach, Arriva or Go-Ahead running buses just old as First's oldest?
First do sell their buses now for further service - saw former FHD Trident 32849 just outside Lincoln a few weeks ago with just fleet names removed.

Arriva still have a few fleets with some old tat running about such as Midlands with some fairly peachy SB120s. However, they are fewer and the fleet mix is better. Stagecoach are very good - a few older Tridents but most is 2003/4 at worst and generally a decent age profile though some fleets are now needing investment (cough - Newcastle)

First have a real lack of vehicles from 2010-2 when the spending really dried up outside London.
I'm quite interested were the fleet will end up actually. From what i can gather, only the B7s (05,56,06), very few B9s and all the E400s are being loaned to Rotala. That makes 11 plate B7s and many 08,58 and 09 B9s available to be moved around straight away.
Yep, that’s about the size of it so c.40-50 vehicles I think available.

Surely it is more attractive to a prospective buyer, because: -
1. The buyer pays less for the business (The assets are depreciated).
2. The new buyer can visibly make improvements by bringing in newer buses.
Not necessarily. Can soak up a lot of capital and time sorting it out.

Different firms have different views as we’ve seen with First Manchester (GAG vs Rotala)
 

tbtc

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I believe FSY still have ex Badgerline B10BLE 66112 (R912BOU) in use.

Yup - although the lower PVR over the school holidays (due to frequencies being cut on most busy corridors) means it may well have run its last - most of the B7Ls are finally being withdrawn - and with even more cuts to come to Sheffield's bus network in September (yay!) there may be no more B10BLE action, after over twenty years in the city.
 

TheGrandWazoo

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I do wonder if any of these end up with the buses of summerset, merely to replace some of the deckers. Imo it would make sense..

Tbh, the Somerset fleet is mainly for schools so could probably manage with some 2002/3 vintage Tridents or similar aged B7TLs.

There are other places that could do with those B9s - Halifax/Huddersfield, Essex, FEC, Bristol for example
 

CD

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I do wonder if any of these end up with the buses of summerset, merely to replace some of the deckers. Imo it would make sense..
Tridents 33125 LT02 NVN and 33127 LT02 NVP recently arrived in Bridgwater from First Kernow. So expected to replace older Tridents.
 

Eyersey468

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With the Euro6 emissions targets in York First have a lot of work to do to upgrade the York fleet before January, there's a lot of older buses there and I don't think they have any Euro 6 vehicles
 

Whiteway215

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I forgot about First Bath 10036/7 which apparently are on Bath Uni U1 at this very moment according to bustimes.
 
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