(29 Jul 2016, 10:05 am)RobinHood wrote I recall a local meeting where a manager at Arriva spoke about the Temsa seats following a question. Apparently, due to DDA limits on how high a seat can be from the floor in inches, if thicker padding was added to the Temsa seats, it would go over the height limit and would not be DDA.

Structural changes are therefore required and that is why they have not done them yet.

That's the most stupid thing i've ever heard....

(29 Jul 2016, 10:17 am)Michael wrote That's the most stupid thing i've ever heard....

I wouldn't be surprised if it's true though, DDA/PSVAR do specify these sort of requirements....

Arriva have posted the following on their social media (including a picture of the Frequenta logo):

Something magical is coming to Redcar Friday the 5th August!

Obviously the launch of the Frequenta 63.

(29 Jul 2016, 11:06 am)GX03 SVC wrote I wouldn't be surprised if it's true though, DDA/PSVAR do specify these sort of requirements....

Yes its pathetic. Who would want to build a bus these days.

Is the 55 a solid solo allocation now,i was down in Forest Hall on Tuesday and noticed there wasnt a dart in sight(thank goodness),it was all solos,2870,2871 and i forget the other two but they were nexus solos aswell

As people will have been wondering, Redcar's Saturday workings are as followed:

• The 62 interworks with the 64a and S2 (cycle in that order)
  
• The 64 is stand alone - with a 15 minute layover in Middlesbrough on every trip
  

(29 Jul 2016, 10:05 am)RobinHood wrote I recall a local meeting where a manager at Arriva spoke about the Temsa seats following a question. Apparently, due to DDA limits on how high a seat can be from the floor in inches, if thicker padding was added to the Temsa seats, it would go over the height limit and would not be DDA.

Structural changes are therefore required and that is why they have not done them yet.

Aren't the height limitations only so strict for priority seating, which is a small proportion of seats on the bus?

If the limits are tight on all seats, then I can think of many seats on Arriva's MPDs as well as GNE's Omnidekkas and Citaros which are way too high. There's some seats on all of those where my feet barely touch the ground.

7533 was towed out of Alnwick bus station today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/magility9/...ateposted/

(30 Jul 2016, 8:45 pm)Cobalt271 wrote 7533 was towed out of Alnwick bus station today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/magility9/...ateposted/

Seems weird that it still has its displays on.

(30 Jul 2016, 8:45 pm)Cobalt271 wrote 7533 was towed out of Alnwick bus station today.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/magility9/...ateposted/

Had that 2 days ago, Didn't sound the best.

Also explains why a 14 Reg Sapphire was covering on the X18, Sapphire Spare 7519 was also on the X15 today.

(30 Jul 2016, 10:04 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote Had that 2 days ago, Didn't sound the best.

Also explains why a 14 Reg Sapphire was covering on the X18, Sapphire Spare 7519 was also on the X15 today.

Funnily enough, I was driving out of Ashington yesterday and followed it onto the Spine Road, and was impressed with how it accelerated. Got up to 60-65 no bother at all. The thought "They would make excellent vehicles for the X20 on a permanent basis" passed through my head. Might have been pushed that bit too hard  Hopefully it was just a minor issue though.

There was a VDL Gemini in Ashington's depot this morning, parked next to the training buses, there for testing I assume?

(30 Jul 2016, 10:28 pm)mb134 wrote Funnily enough, I was driving out of Ashington yesterday and followed it onto the Spine Road, and was impressed with how it accelerated. Got up to 60-65 no bother at all. The thought "They would make excellent vehicles for the X20 on a permanent basis" passed through my head. Might have been pushed that bit too hard  Hopefully it was just a minor issue though.

There was a VDL Gemini in Ashington's depot this morning, parked next to the training buses, there for testing I assume?

From my experience, Any of the Euro 5 Examples ( 09 , 14 and 64 and 15* reg's ) Can reach 65Mph or faster, They don't seem to be Limited to any speed either, Adding that to the fact it has 6 Gears in its Ecolife Gearbox makes it fly.
The older 57 Reg batch are Euro 4, And have 5 Speed ZF Ecomat's, They can reach 62mph easy but wont get any faster as the engine revs are simply too high to go any faster.

Only one is off the road for overheating mind  

Haven't got a clue on the VDL Gemini, I'm actually from South Shields.

(30 Jul 2016, 11:36 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote From my experience, Any of the Euro 5 Examples ( 09 , 14 and 64 and 15* reg's ) Can reach 65Mph or faster, They don't seem to be Limited to any speed either, Adding that to the fact it has 6 Gears in its Ecolife Gearbox makes it fly.
The older 57 Reg batch are Euro 4, And have 5 Speed ZF Ecomat's, They can reach 62mph easy but wont get any faster as the engine revs are simply too high to go any faster.

Only one is off the road for overheating mind  

Haven't got a clue on the VDL Gemini, I'm actually from South Shields.

I've spent quite a bit of time on the 09/64 reg E400's on the X18, and I'm always amazed at how well they perform on it.

Hopefully they can rectify 7517s heat issues, surely it can't be that hard, just check what's different to every other E400...

Didn't intend the Gemini comment for anyone in particular, don't worry

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

(30 Jul 2016, 11:50 pm)mb134 wrote I've spent quite a bit of time on the 09/64 reg E400's on the X18, and I'm always amazed at how well they perform on it.

Hopefully they can rectify 7517s heat issues, surely it can't be that hard, just check what's different to every other E400...

Didn't intend the Gemini comment for anyone in particular, don't worry

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

I've been up there 3 times in the past week, And have caught atleast one a day, And I agree they are brilliant performers.

I don't know exactly what's wrong to it, Only heard that it overheats and Stalled on one of the banks on the X14, The overheating issue could be the cooling fan is defective, Or the radiator is blocked. Though the stalling is something which id say is related to the gearbox itself.

(30 Jul 2016, 11:36 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote From my experience, Any of the Euro 5 Examples ( 09 , 14 and 64 and 15* reg's ) Can reach 65Mph or faster, They don't seem to be Limited to any speed either, Adding that to the fact it has 6 Gears in its Ecolife Gearbox makes it fly.
The older 57 Reg batch are Euro 4, And have 5 Speed ZF Ecomat's, They can reach 62mph easy but wont get any faster as the engine revs are simply too high to go any faster.

Only one is off the road for overheating mind  

Haven't got a clue on the VDL Gemini, I'm actually from South Shields.

They're all limited to 65-67mph, although the 09-plates take a lot longer to get there.  The 15-plates at Durham seem a lot more stable when doing 60, but the 09-plates feel like they're going to rip themselves apart.

(31 Jul 2016, 12:00 pm)palatine3833 wrote They're all limited to 65-67mph, although the 09-plates take a lot longer to get there.  The 15-plates at Durham seem a lot more stable when doing 60, but the 09-plates feel like they're going to rip themselves apart.

Ah right, Had a handful that can top 70 downhill on the A1 in Northumberland.
Haven't noticed the difference between the 09s and 15 plates, Though there 6 years younger so is expected.

(31 Jul 2016, 12:00 pm)palatine3833 wrote They're all limited to 65-67mph, although the 09-plates take a lot longer to get there.  The 15-plates at Durham seem a lot more stable when doing 60, but the 09-plates feel like they're going to rip themselves apart.

I think, with regard to the 09-plates, it depends which one you get. I got 7514 and 7518 within a few days of each other a few weeks back, and the difference was massive. 7518 seemed slower to accelerate, and didn't seem good at all at high speeds (like you've said), whereas 7514 seemed far more willing to get up to speed.

dose anyone know what Volvo B7s have arrived at durham

(31 Jul 2016, 3:46 pm)jaimzm wrote dose anyone know what Volvo B7s have arrived at durham

7418/7419/7421/7423 are all now in service at Durham, with 7419 being the most recent.