(15 Jan 2016, 6:14 pm)dannygee wrote Is the brand of the solos for North Tyne Links staying same or changed?
How many wheelchair/buggy bays will be on board?

If it stays the same, i hope its improved... the current one is boring.

Wheelchair/Buggy bays will probables the same as the ones on the Indigo.

(15 Jan 2016, 6:14 pm)dannygee wrote Is the brand of the solos for North Tyne Links staying same or changed?
How many wheelchair/buggy bays will be on board?

The brand for the new Solos for the NTL network isn't known at present, so nobody knows if it's staying the same or being altered. The number of bays in the bus will be the same number as there is in any Optare Solo SR.

so i gather they will be 16 reg buses and will there be more streetlites to come

(22 Jan 2016, 11:09 am)buss14 wrote so i gather they will be 16 reg buses and will there be more streetlites to come

 
Re-wrote my post:


Not this year, only the 22 for the 20/20A.

Although different... Will the spare Streetlites for the 20/20A be shared with the 60 so it can be full streetlite when one of the MAX ones is off the road?

Just like the spare Streetlites at Stanley do for the Red Kite and C&C?

It seems a good idea.

(23 Jan 2016, 1:54 pm)Michael wrote  Re-wrote my post:


Not this year, only the 22 for the 20/20.

Although different... Will the spare Streetlites for the 20/20A be allocated to the 60 so it can be full streetlite when one of the MAX ones is off the road?

It seems a good idea.

I'd imagine that the preferred alternative vehicle type for service 60 will be one of the spare Streetlites due for the 20/20A services, if not required on services 20/20A, so that Wi-Fi can be provided to customers even when a branded vehicle is unavailable.

They'll certainly need to have the Next Stop Announcements programmed for services 56 and 60.

(23 Jan 2016, 1:57 pm)Dan wrote I'd imagine that the preferred alternative vehicle type for service 60 will be one of the spare Streetlites due for the 20/20A services, if not required on services 20/20A, so that Wi-Fi can be provided to customers even when a branded vehicle is unavailable.

They'll certainly need to have the Next Stop Announcements programmed for services 56 and 60.

Least if one of the spares is allocated to the 60, it'll have plugs, shame the ones on the 60 doesn't have them.....


Well i would imagine the Streetlites will have plugs?



I hope they keep the brand the same on the Streetlites... i think the Streetlites would suit purple.

Wheres the solars going off the 20 when the streetlights come? Are the B10 all going to be replaced?

Completely forgot to mention this earlier.
It came from a Deptford driver and it was being shared with members of the public - so take it with a pinch of salt if you wish.

Apparently an order for new vehicles has been messed up.
Volvo engines have been added to the buses in the factory, rather than the ones that had been requested.
So, the vehicles have gone back to the factory to have the correct ones fitted.

(23 Jan 2016, 10:59 pm)dannygee wrote Wheres the solars going off the 20 when the streetlights come? Are the B10 all going to be replaced?

Probables replace the remaining Cadets in the fleet, along with some of the B10's... as the Merits are Euro 5... that doesn't mean they might not sell the Merits on.

So:

Cadets/Merits
Or
Cadets/Duel door B10's and single door B10's.

(23 Jan 2016, 11:15 pm)Andreos1 wrote Completely forgot to mention this earlier.
It came from a Deptford driver and it was being shared with members of the public - so take it with a pinch of salt if you wish.

Apparently an order for new vehicles has been messed up.
Volvo engines have been added to the buses in the factory, rather than the ones that had been requested.
So, the vehicles have gone back to the factory to have the correct ones fitted.

Whoever has said that would be talking bollocks for starters because a D5K or D8K engine isn't designed to be fitted to the Streetdeck / Streetlite integral chassis. If on the otherhand Wrightbus supplied Volvo Gemini 3s or Eclipse 3s to GNE (body and chassis) rather than a Streetlite or Streetdeck, then that rumour might be true but very unlikely!

Think B10s need to go first. There the oldest single deckers possibly buses in the fleet. The cadets/merits are 04 reg.

(24 Jan 2016, 12:09 am)dannygee wrote Think B10s need to go first. There the oldest single deckers possibly buses in the fleet. The cadets/merits are 04 reg.

I think it was Dan who said the Cadets aren't very reliable, hence the reason why the previous withdrawn buses were cadets (expect for the 3 duel door B10's) instead of the B10's.

The B10's for 15 years, nearly 16 are better than the Cadets who would of thought.

(23 Jan 2016, 11:15 pm)Andreos1 wrote Completely forgot to mention this earlier.
It came from a Deptford driver and it was being shared with members of the public - so take it with a pinch of salt if you wish.

Apparently an order for new vehicles has been messed up.
Volvo engines have been added to the buses in the factory, rather than the ones that had been requested.
So, the vehicles have gone back to the factory to have the correct ones fitted.

That has to be the biggest load of shite I have heard on here......and that is saying something!

(24 Jan 2016, 8:15 am)citaro5284 wrote That has to be the biggest load of shite I have heard on here......and that is saying something!

So there's nothing in this drivers info then?

(24 Jan 2016, 9:42 am)Andreos1 wrote So there's nothing in this drivers info then?

correct!

(24 Jan 2016, 9:45 am)citaro5284 wrote correct!

The biggest giveaway that he was a nugget, rather than sharing a nugget - was when he told a passenger that the Pulsar alongside us, was Volvo engined...

(24 Jan 2016, 9:54 am)Andreos1 wrote The biggest giveaway that he was a nugget, rather than sharing a nugget - was when he told a passenger that the Pulsar alongside us, was Volvo engined...

Eclipse = VOLVO
Pulsar = VDL / Cummins (Wrightbus Whole Integral)
Solar = Scania
Meridian = MAN

(24 Jan 2016, 12:09 am)dannygee wrote Think B10s need to go first. There the oldest single deckers possibly buses in the fleet. The cadets/merits are 04 reg.

In my opinion, I agree, merits may not be reliable but I like them

(24 Jan 2016, 12:41 am)Michael wrote I think it was Dan who said the Cadets aren't very reliable, hence the reason why the previous withdrawn buses were cadets (expect for the 3 duel door B10's) instead of the B10's.

The B10's for 15 years, nearly 16 are better than the Cadets who would of thought.

Full size single-decks have an expected life span of 15 years, while midibuses (8xxx series fleet numbers) only have an expected life span of 12 years, so the '04 plate DAF SB120s which have been withdrawn this year are being withdrawn in line with their expected life span. These are more expensive to maintain, so makes sense to withdraw them as soon as possible.

I personally would also like to see the remaining dual-door Volvo B10BLEs withdrawn, as I've never been particularly fond of the vehicles in the fleet with a dual-door configuration, with it being non-standard in the region.

(24 Jan 2016, 1:45 pm)Dan wrote Full size single-decks have an expected life span of 15 years, while midibuses (8xxx series fleet numbers) only have an expected life span of 12 years, so the '04 plate DAF SB120s which have been withdrawn this year are being withdrawn in line with their expected life span. These are more expensive to maintain, so makes sense to withdraw them as soon as possible.

I personally would also like to see the remaining dual-door Volvo B10BLEs withdrawn, as I've never been particularly fond of the vehicles in the fleet with a dual-door configuration, with it being non-standard in the region.

Cheers Dan, i thought you had mentioned it before, just couldn't remember what you said.

I would like to see them gone to, with only 9 cadets in service... i would imagine well see the duel door B10's withdrawn along side them?

So the Streetlites could replace:

9 Cadets
11 Duel Door B10's - least they can still be used elsewhere with them been DDA now.

= 20 buses 


The Merits will stay as they are Euro 5 and aren't bad buses.

(24 Jan 2016, 12:07 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Eclipse = VOLVO
Pulsar = VDL / Cummins (Wrightbus Whole Integral)
Solar = Scania
Meridian = MAN

You should see if they can print it off and stick it on the wall in the staff canteen at Deptford

(24 Jan 2016, 1:45 pm)Dan wrote Full size single-decks have an expected life span of 15 years, while midibuses (8xxx series fleet numbers) only have an expected life span of 12 years, so the '04 plate DAF SB120s which have been withdrawn this year are being withdrawn in line with their expected life span. These are more expensive to maintain, so makes sense to withdraw them as soon as possible.

I personally would also like to see the remaining dual-door Volvo B10BLEs withdrawn, as I've never been particularly fond of the vehicles in the fleet with a dual-door configuration, with it being non-standard in the region.

The 04 Plate Cadets are VDL SB120s from 2004 while the Merits despite being registered the same year where built around late 2002 early 2003 like 8242-8252, one way to tell this is by the DAF chassis plate next to the door instead of a VDL one fitted in ones manufactured after the 2004 takeover.
So actually makes them older than the Cadets that GNE are replacing first and most are in Worse condition than the Cadets they replaced at Washington.

Instead of clogging up the latest thread, i'll move my post here as its about cascades for when the Streetlites arrive....
----

I wonder if 5 of the 54 reg
Scania's from the Prince Bishops will replace the 5 older Scanias currently in the Fast Cats brand?

That means all the Fast Cats Scania's will be 54 reg, while the older scania's go in to the spare role within the fleet.


This will be done while repainting takes place for when the streetlites are due for the 20/20A.

(29 Jan 2016, 10:37 pm)Michael wrote Instead of clogging up the latest thread, i'll move my post here as its about cascades for when the Streetlites arrive....
----

I wonder if 5 of the 54 reg
Scania's from the Prince Bishops will replace the 5 older Scanias currently in the Fast Cats brand?

That means all the Fast Cats Scania's will be 54 reg, while the older scania's go in to the spare role within the fleet.


This will be done while repainting takes place for when the streetlites are due for the 20/20A.

Can't see this happening as I think all (if not some) of the Solar's were only repainted about two years ago, mind that said a number of Solar's were repainted for the 20/20A last year and are now being replaced by StreetLite's on the 20/20A.

(29 Jan 2016, 10:44 pm)Jimmi wrote Can't see this happening as I think all (if not some) of the Solar's were only repainted about two years ago, mind that said a number of Solar's were repainted for the 20/20A last year and are now being replaced by StreetLite's on the 20/20A.

Only 5205-9 were painted two years ago when they came off the 56. 4945/6/54/68/70-2/5204 were the ones painted purple last year for Prince Bishops as well. As far as I can recall, 4969/89-92/5211-7 weren't repainted.

(29 Jan 2016, 10:49 pm)Kuyoyo wrote Only 5205-9 were painted two years ago when they came off the 56. 4945/6/54/68/70-2/5204 were the ones painted purple last year for Prince Bishops as well. As far as I can recall, 4969/89-92/5211-7 weren't repainted.

4955/73/4/5/6 were given a freshen up repaint too.

The Prince Bishops solars already on the routes prior to the PVR increase were not repainted , they just gained updated branding with the new mitre.

They are going to repainted so why not paint them black to allow the brand to have all 54 reg plates.. would make sense for the older ones currently on the Fast Cats to go in the spare role and not the newer ones.


It would also make the brand have all euro 5 buses.

(30 Jan 2016, 11:54 am)Michael wrote They are going to repainted so why not paint them black to allow the brand to have all 54 reg plates.. would make sense for the older ones currently on the Fast Cats to go in the spare role and not the newer ones.


It would also make the brand have all euro 5 buses.

My thoughts on the condition of the purple Solars have been well documented for the last few years - there was another breakdown on the 20 yesterday coincidently.

However, I mentioned not too long ago that recently I have ended up on the 49xx batch more or less every time I have ridden the 20.
These seem (to me anyway) to be in better nick internally, than the 52xx branded vehicles.

Mechanically, I have no idea which of the batches are better.

I have ridden the X35 quite regularly (not as often as the 20's) and in my opinion, they're in a similar condition internally to their purple cousins.

If a handful of the 52xx purple Solars were repainted black, I am not sure they would last too long on the X35/X36.
It certainly wouldn't be much of an upgrade for passengers.

Saying all of that, whilst it could be said the X35 needs newer vehicles - a cascade from elsewhere may be the more cost effective option.
Mercs?

(30 Jan 2016, 12:16 pm)Andreos1 wrote My thoughts on the condition of the purple Solars have been well documented for the last few years - there was another breakdown on the 20 yesterday coincidently.

However, I mentioned not too long ago that recently I have ended up on the 49xx batch more or less every time I have ridden the 20.
These seem (to me anyway) to be in better nick internally, than the 52xx branded vehicles.

Mechanically, I have no idea which of the batches are better.

I have ridden the X35 quite regularly (not as often as the 20's) and in my opinion, they're in a similar condition internally to their purple cousins.

If a handful of the 52xx purple Solars were repainted black, I am not sure they would last too long on the X35/X36.
It certainly wouldn't be much of an upgrade for passengers.

Saying all of that, whilst it could be said the X35 needs newer vehicles - a cascade from elsewhere may be the more cost effective option.
Mercs?

Hmm aye, i think it would just be a good idea have them all 54 reg and euro 5 - makes the brand look better when they have the same age buses, well to me it does. 


The X35 is a funny route for new buses though..... sometimes the route can be packed but then some passenger numbers can be so low.

(30 Jan 2016, 12:46 pm)Michael wrote Hmm aye, i think it would just be a good idea have them all 54 reg and euro 5 - makes the brand look better when they have the same age buses, well to me it does. 


The X35 is a funny route for new buses though..... sometimes the route can be packed but then some passenger numbers can be so low.

Rush hour services up to Doxford seem particularly busy from experience.
I did wonder if the changes to the 35 would see more people using the X35 as far as Hetton.