The buses that did the schools didn’t all run in during the day though. They had more buses kicking about during the middle of the day than necessary as some workings used to have long layovers in York, you’d regularly see buses parked up on Leeman Road as drivers took breaks
Of course it helps that the Transdev depot is rather closer to York than was that of Reliance. That efficiency improvement was somewhat baked into the acquisition deal.
It's basically a school service and runs Lancashire school days only. AFAIK it's open to the public, but it's one of those "would you really want to travel on it with a load of noisy kids" type routes.
No I probably wouldn't, but then maybe staff and parents travel on it to? I live on the route and might consider using it at some point, as its route can take you places other services can't.
It’s a bus for Nelson College students so won’t be open to the public.
It doesn't appear to be registered as a closed service, but coming from Nelson and Colne college, it will only pick up from the first stop on the route.
I don't know ... most if not all diagrams on the 30/40 start around Easingwold or Thirsk, rather than York, so they are potentially running more dead mileage at the start and end of the day – or positioning moves in service, like some early northbound services or late southbound services starting and finishing at Skelton, even though they are unlikely to be carrying many if any passengers between Skelton and Easingwold. In general, if you are running an unbalanced service where there is a major traffic flow in one direction, you want your depot to be near the end of the route that generates traffic rather than the end of the route that attracts traffic.
Reliance ran quite a few services that started/ended at Reliance Garage on the 40, but similar to Transdev with their services starting/ending in Skelton, next to no one would use these services on an evening/morning, especially the service that ran direct from Crayke to Wiggington, avoiding Easingwold.
Although interestingly, the 31X diagram with Transdev, involves sitting empty in York after arriving from Kirkbymoorside after 10:30, before running empty to Easingwold and becoming the 13:20 30X to York, and then resuming service on the 31X.
Only seems to have done one working. York desperately needs more serviceable vehicles. They had to cut a 843 short duty yesterday as the B7RLE allocated to it became needed on the 30
At least two ex-Reliance vehicles are still yet to enter service with Transdev:
Odd thing is their are photos on Facebook of 18 being vinyled up on the Sunday of acquisition under the headinmg Welcome 2411 so its non appearance was not anticipated.
1771 is still G19REL per the DVLA. I’m told it and 2411 are under repair for faults discovered on handover.
Are you sure it doesn’t run back to Rawcliffe depot?
It’s not registered at all as it’s a closed door college bus. I’m told the 112 is commercial and open to all, the other Nelson routes are closed. 112 is the only one registered.
I assume so, just feels like a waste of a vehicle for almost 3 hours. Reliance would do a trip on the 40 to Easingwold and then the 30X back to York to minimise empty running, but would still wait in York for an hour or so to allow the driver to have a break.
Reliance used the bus between the 31X trips as meal relief cover. Most of their duties involved the driver staying with the bus all day with breaks at Thirsk or in York.
Both are ex First vehicles, might they still have First mouquette seats which they have decided needs replacing ?
I understand it’s something more fundamental that seat moquette.
Sorry, I was looking at the old registration up until the last summer holidays when it looks like it was available to all. Clearly not now, though.
Is there any particular reason that Blackburn depot still has half a dozen or so B10BLEs sitting around - potential further use to plug some gaps?!
I’d imagine they’ve been withdrawing them as test ran out so I doubt they’d be usable
But could presumably be retested assuming they’re in generally sound order!
) purely down to something arbitary like their test dates, if sister depots elsewhere are cancelling trips due to vehicle shortages!It’s a massive assumption that they are in ‘generally sound order’. B10 parts are largely obsolete and getting through another MoT will probably involve several days of welding the underneath.But could presumably be retested assuming they’re in generally sound order!
It’s rather a waste to be ditching perfectly decent vehicles (and a Renown/B10 really is a good vehicle!
Well not necessarily; they’re undeniably “old”! But this particular fleet have outlasted the vast majority of the type elsewhere by quite some impressive degree, so they must be pretty tidy! First binned theirs off en masse years ago. Blazefield clearly has a liking for running ageing machinery in this part of the world, so I’d hazard a guess that their depot bods are up to a bit of welding here and there. If you’re caping services because you’re short of motors, and nothing is immediately obtainable from elsewhere, then a bit of fettling to keep a few recently withdrawn vehicles on the road for another year doesn’t seem totally beyond reach?
They will know far more about the condition and scope than you will, so the fact they have parked these up suggests a ‘bit of welding’ and a fettle isn’t feasible. They have been withdrawing B10s when they reach the point of no return for several years now and these won’t be any different.
I don’t doubt that they’ll be well aware of the condition of their fleet, as indeed any decent operator will be!
No there has never been an emergency to dispose there. There are still B10s as trainers and school buses at Keighley for now, so keeping a few parts donors may be wise given many parts are obsolete.
1103 is to be withdrawn when its MoT expires this coming Thursday
Think there always been a view that some withdrawn vehicles may be reactivated if a tender etc is won. It happened when they won the Wharfedale services that they had spare a number of suitable vehicles. The current West Yorkshire Information Service fleetlist accessible via https://www.wyis.org.uk has in the withdrawn vehicles four 30 seat Solos 161-164 (Rossedale Rovers) listed as being for refurbishment, repair and/or re-use within the Group along with the accident damaged B5 3617.
