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+--- Thread: Go North East: 2014/15 Financial Year Order Predictions (/showthread.php?tid=784)
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Dan - 27 Apr 2014
As it's been discussed previously in this thread, I'd like to ask if anyone knows whether this is a B7RLE or a B8RLE? There appear to be differences in the windows compared to previous B7RLEs.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - R852 PRG - 27 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 6:31 pm)Dan As it's been discussed previously in this thread, I'd like to ask if anyone knows whether this is a B7RLE or a B8RLE? There appear to be differences in the windows compared to previous B7RLEs.
I think this, judging by it's description, is the B7RLE;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmb15/9542960859/in/photolist-fxhaMV-fAAcDa/
There seems to be a lot of similarities between that and your photo, but I can spot a difference in a rear shot of the B7RLE;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33166030@N06/8652237143/in/photolist-ebyYEt-87rhLN-cdQ8wL-fQkE3D-eefkw8-h31m26-8to3Zz-9yDEfN-9xEvgK-cSoYpW-9j22Ks-fSZc9y-dYirzH-b8TuBk-8qb4gF-fANP9V-eefscM-7VrkLN-avzZEy-8aHahm-dGCbtS-dXdLAV-8JresA-axACDU-9duecM-j7Sv2T-gWvx4A-fvarjb-e6EBDN-h9xFBk-9jschq-bQzGN2-eekVgG-c2swWL-eekWEj-ds8maQ-9zi4E4-gWvwRH-9zhXmv-fANThV-buKYr2-ajxDKP-bQzGL8-9xEGMx-9PTByv-mUzTNq-gLoaKB-8tnSKp-dgu4DH-eapZV9-bQLxrt
It appears that the vehicle in the photo in question has a slightly different volvo insignia on the back beneath the window. It may just be a slightly different body, but I think that may be the B8RLE.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - nk55 - 27 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 3:27 pm)Marcus I must admit this though; when 4837, 4838, 4839 and 4844 were still in service they were on the Lime quite a bit. Recently I've only seen out of the four younger Renowns about half a dozen on the Lime, and each time it's been 4907. Quite a few have been on the 50 recently as well as the 28.
Having driven all 4 mentioned vehicles prior to withdrawl, i'd say they were good vehicles. Maybe a fair few rattles but mechanicly sound. Much better than 4926 imo. 4906-9 for all the problems on the wtx are coping well at chester.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - R852 PRG - 27 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 6:52 pm)nk55 Having driven all 4 mentioned vehicles prior to withdrawl, i'd say they were good vehicles. Maybe a fair few rattles but mechanicly sound. Much better than 4926 imo. 4906-9 for all the problems on the wtx are coping well at chester.
4926 is a total wreck. It was pathetic when I had it numerous times on the 50 when it was branded for it, and now that it gets used as a spare it gets all sorts. I must say it does seem to still get used on the 50 a lot, rarely seen it on the X25 when compared to 4928 and 4930 which seem to be on it daily, and also it seems to get used on the 71 alot as well when one of the 4906-09 batch isn't available.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Kuyoyo - 27 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 6:52 pm)Marcus I think this, judging by it's description, is the B7RLE;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bmb15/9542960859/in/photolist-fxhaMV-fAAcDa/
There seems to be a lot of similarities between that and your photo, but I can spot a difference in a rear shot of the B7RLE;
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33166030@N06/8652237143/in/photolist-ebyYEt-87rhLN-cdQ8wL-fQkE3D-eefkw8-h31m26-8to3Zz-9yDEfN-9xEvgK-cSoYpW-9j22Ks-fSZc9y-dYirzH-b8TuBk-8qb4gF-fANP9V-eefscM-7VrkLN-avzZEy-8aHahm-dGCbtS-dXdLAV-8JresA-axACDU-9duecM-j7Sv2T-gWvx4A-fvarjb-e6EBDN-h9xFBk-9jschq-bQzGN2-eekVgG-c2swWL-eekWEj-ds8maQ-9zi4E4-gWvwRH-9zhXmv-fANThV-buKYr2-ajxDKP-bQzGL8-9xEGMx-9PTByv-mUzTNq-gLoaKB-8tnSKp-dgu4DH-eapZV9-bQLxrt
It appears that the vehicle in the photo in question has a slightly different volvo insignia on the back beneath the window. It may just be a slightly different body, but I think that may be the B8RLE.
All 6 Volvo/Wrights at Heysham today are dealer stock B7RLEs
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - tyresmoke - 27 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 7:48 pm)Kuyoyo All 6 Volvo/Wrights at Heysham today are dealer stock B7RLEs
Think they may be for MOD ?
No destination equipment and the gaps between lights for the plates look long!
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Andreos1 - 29 Apr 2014
(27 Apr 2014, 7:51 pm)tyresmoke Think they may be for MOD ?
No destination equipment and the gaps between lights for the plates look long!
Looks like there are legals by the front entrance.
Too small to identify.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Michael - 10 May 2014
Had a look back and can't find the info i'm looking for...
Was it June for the new financial year for GNE?
If so, the proposed order for GNE should be going in soon?
Any more info on orders?
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Rob - 17 May 2014
(10 May 2014, 2:22 pm)Michael If so, the proposed order for GNE should be going in soon?
Any more info on orders?
Patiences is a virtue, Michael. I am sure it has been explained that order details are passed onto Go-Ahead as part of their financial year planning. Upon order requests being granted, plans will progress and the finer details of orders will be detailed. An idea of the order to be placed is the current stage in proceedings.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - L469 YVK - 07 Jun 2014
Why don't GNE get a B5TL with a Tacho and have a three month trial on the TTX? Therefore, GNE could prove to Volvo that they need to introduce a double deck bus that is designed for endurance and long runs with a powerful engine and high gearing ratios but meets Euro 6 regulations.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Adrian - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 9:47 am)DaveyBowyer Why don't GNE get a B5TL with a Tacho and have a three month trial on the TTX? Therefore, GNE could prove to Volvo that they need to introduce a double deck bus that is designed for endurance and long runs with a powerful engine and high gearing ratios but meets Euro 6 regulations.
Might as well take a sledgehammer to it and ruin it quicker. Is any bus designed to be horsed up and down a dual carriageway non-stop all day? That's the role of a coach.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Dan - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 9:50 am)aureolin Might as well take a sledgehammer to it and ruin it quicker. Is any bus designed to be horsed up and down a dual carriageway non-stop all day? That's the role of a coach.
And the bus manufacturers know this.
Coaches are a lot more expensive, and if operators cannot buy suitable buses - they will be forced, in time, to buy coaches instead. Handy for those manufacturers who build both buses and coaches, isn't it?
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Adrian - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 9:53 am)Dan And the bus manufacturers know this.
Coaches are a lot more expensive, and if operators cannot buy suitable buses - they will be forced, in time, to buy coaches instead. Handy for those manufacturers who build both buses and coaches, isn't it?
Yep, but to an extent, car manufacturers have been doing the same for years. It's just unfortunate that this almost always comes down to more expense.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Dan - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 10:06 am)aureolin Yep, but to an extent, car manufacturers have been doing the same for years. It's just unfortunate that this almost always comes down to more expense.
So do the bus operators fork out the extra cash? In my opinion, there's only so much revenue growth you can expect from buying new vehicles for a bus service.
And if they do fork out the extra cash, are bus operators still expected to withdraw these vehicles in a certain period of time (i.e. 15 years)?
It's a fierce circle, if you ask me.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - tyresmoke - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 10:10 am)Dan So do the bus operators fork out the extra cash? In my opinion, there's only so much revenue growth you can expect from buying new vehicles for a bus service.
And if they do fork out the extra cash, are bus operators still expected to withdraw these vehicles in a certain period of time (i.e. 15 years)?
It's a fierce circle, if you ask me.
Yes you have to ask the question of will you get a return on the investment. Of course there's also the vehicle life on the service they were bought for. The B7s that came off X9/X10 were 6-7 years old at the time. Will the B9s last that long? It depends what the reasoning behind their recent absences is, were they mechanical or other reasons like being off for test prep?
If you are going to have to buy new double deck vehicles every 5 years then would it be cheaper over time to buy coaches every 10 years, expecting a longer life from them? The other option would be to downgrade to standard size coaches, with the inevitable frequency boost, but would this create the growth required to sustain the investment?
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Adrian - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 10:10 am)Dan So do the bus operators fork out the extra cash? In my opinion, there's only so much revenue growth you can expect from buying new vehicles for a bus service.
And if they do fork out the extra cash, are bus operators still expected to withdraw these vehicles in a certain period of time (i.e. 15 years)?
It's a fierce circle, if you ask me.
I completely agree, but I think ultimately they're going to have to.
What's being done at present is doing nothing but shortening the usable life of a Gemini by a third. I'd assume the investment is given by the Go Ahead group on the basis that the bus, over it's lifetime, more than pays for itself. After all no one is going to invest to make a loss.
I don't know a lot about it, but it'd be interesting to see how Stagecoach do it in West Scotland. They've got plenty of express coaches running round, and they seem massively popular.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - S813 FVK - 07 Jun 2014
No bus can be placed on a demanding route like the TTX without being worn down to the ground within a few years. Even olympians wouldnt last that much longer before breakdowns started to occur etc. Coaches might be the best and only option unless somebody like volvo was to make a double deck bus with a coach engine although i can highly doubt this from happening.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - Dan - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 10:22 am)aureolin I completely agree, but I think ultimately they're going to have to.
What's being done at present is doing nothing but shortening the usable life of a Gemini by a third. I'd assume the investment is given by the Go Ahead group on the basis that the bus, over it's lifetime, more than pays for itself. After all no one is going to invest to make a loss.
I don't know a lot about it, but it'd be interesting to see how Stagecoach do it in West Scotland. They've got plenty of express coaches running round, and they seem massively popular.
Yes, I think you're right regarding the Go-Ahead group. As far as I know, at the start of each financial year, each bus operator that falls under the Go-Ahead group submits a 'bid' for new vehicles. This bid contains all the details of how much revenue the service generates which the new vehicles are intended for, the type of preferred vehicle (i.e. double deck, heavy weight, light weight etc), the assumed payback time, and I believe it is also planned right down to the cascades which will come of this, and ultimately the withdrawal and sale of some vehicles in the fleet.
I believe I was told at the time that Go North East / Go-Ahead intended to keep the Volvo B9TLs on the Tyne Tees Xpress for seven years (i.e. half of their expected "shell life"), prior to them taking a different role in the fleet - by which time the vehicles should have either paid for themselves or at least a substantial part of the payment. I'd expect that the vehicles would also be repainted during this time too, with the chance of a possible early refurbishment given the nature of the services they're allocated to.
Taking this into account, paired with the figures for coaches in this post, it does make the investment into coaches seem unlikely.
If Go North East did expect to replace the vehicles after seven years (at a cost of £1.2m), they would expect to replace coaches (at a cost of £2.1m) after double that - fourteen years. By this time, technology perhaps could have advanced and the Tyne Tees Xpress - despite being an apparent 'prestigious' express service - would soon fall victim to having some of the eldest vehicles in the fleet. Likewise, you couldn't expect to generate much of a profit from those coaches either - whereas you possibly can with the buses still. Also the question of where you'd put them after they've finished up on the Tyne Tees Xpress - I don't think there's any appropriate services at present really?
I really am sceptical about the investment into coaches, and I really don't think the numbers stack up. As I said the other day, tough call for Go North East to make.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - citaro5284 - 07 Jun 2014
(07 Jun 2014, 10:17 am)tyresmoke Yes you have to ask the question of will you get a return on the investment. Of course there's also the vehicle life on the service they were bought for. The B7s that came off X9/X10 were 6-7 years old at the time. Will the B9s last that long? It depends what the reasoning behind their recent absences is, were they mechanical or other reasons like being off for test prep?
6071 was getting used as 6043 had an issue with its starter and was waiting for Volvo as it is under warranty, nothing major.
RE: 2014 GNE Bus Order Predictions - cbma06 - 07 Jun 2014
Whats the chances IF GNE buying new buses for X9/X10 in the next order of buses and the X9/X10 buses be used on service X21?, to get rid of the Prontos (any maybe their get rid of the Pronto livery and have the X21 in the same livery as the X9/X10[/i].