Thank you to those who offered suggestions for a potential trip to the North East I was going to do today. Unfortunately due to plans my trip was cancelled though I was still free today so decided not to waste an opportunity to get out and about, just a little more local. Local to me anyway. Hopefully this review will be a little more interesting as I imagine the subject, trentbarton, is a little more interesting than First Potteries.
I started my day by heading to Derby, a key hub for trentbarton. I can't apologise for my spelling of the brand name here; the lower case, compound version of their name is now their official title found on all of their branding and publications - I like it though.
259 - Y259 DRC Optare Excel Route D1: Derby Meteor Centre - Derby City Centre
My first bus of the day was not strictly a trentbarton bus, but a Notts & Derby one. Notts & Derby are a sister subsidiary to trentbarton within the Wellglade group and they can be perceived as the low-cost operation of the group. They specialise in contractual services including for large companies such as JCB and Rolls Royce with a few commercial services; though many have holes in the timetable where vehicles drop away to operate school contracts etc. One of their services provides the park & ride for Derby's Meteor Centre, a retail park not far from the city centre. 259 wears an unusual livery related to Derby College shown here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ipswichbus...542857395/
It's easy to see where they got their inspiration...
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So, looking like a gay pride barcode, 259 heads non-stop into the city. For an older vehicle it moved quickly and was relatively rattle free. This bus has a harder life when it was new working the 199 Skyline service connecting the Peak District to Manchester Airport so short circuits of Derby are no trouble for this veteran. I spend the short journey appreciating the innovative design features such as the domed ceiling with LED lighting and curved grab poles to make a more open environment. These must have been a later input as I believe the ones Go North East had didn't have these features. The park and ride stop in Derby is on the very fringe of the city centre on Derwent Street. Presumably this is to keep running time down, but it's not the most obvious or welcoming location for non-bus users who are presumably the regular passengers on a park & ride.
82 - YX65 BRC Volvo B11R Plaxton Elite red arrow: Derby Bus Station - Nottingham City Centre
As a bus enthusiast I was naturally drawn to the red arrow stand. I would say if you asked any passenger there which vehicle they wish was going to operate their service, it would be one of these. These coaches demand attention, they dominate the scene at the stands and even within the station, their presence is known. A huge 'red arrow' banner directs passengers to the stand below:
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This podium is a great idea from trentbarton. It is in fact staffed during the day, I had confused the lady serving with my ticket request so she'd gone for help while I took the opportunity for a photo. The idea here is the station based steward can 'pre-board' passengers, issuing tickets and checking passes, to ensure the coach is filled and ready for departure as soon as possible.
Although it sounds odd, these coaches seem bugger from the inside. In case I haven't got my point across, they're
huge. The interior is no off-the-peg job. Imagine the scene as Wellglade are on the phone with Plaxton. "Red. Everything has to be red. And Leather. Red leather." Last year I caught a National Express example of an Elite; the red arrow puts that one to shame. It's not only the comfortable seats with flexible headrests with 3-point seat belts but the huge windows and soundproofing contribute to an excellent ride. The journey itself is very enjoyable, we connect to the A52 right away and the driver cranks up the speed. The coach is driven with a sense of professional urgency, weaving around traffic rather than being incumbent in the slow-lane. As we enter Nottingham and the road becomes more urban bus lanes allow the red arrow to sail past cars. I'm obviously bias but if I was genuinely commuting between the two cities every day it could not think why anybody would choose their car over this. I like to think I have a nice car and this is still potentially a nicer place to sit!
310 - YJ07 VSE Optare Tempo Rushcliffe Mainline: Nottingham City Centre - Radcliffe-on-Trent
Another service, another excellent branding exercise by trentbarton. Rushcliffe Mainline & Rushcliffe Villager. There's no tenuous link or unnecessary cheesiness to this brand (I'm looking at you, Fast Cats, and Director's Cut, Arriva!). You don't have to know the area to guess that both routes go to Rushcliffe and one's a faster route, one goes via the villages along the way. Boom. Done. Next. Branding done well. It's worth noting how trentbarton don't pair their brands with a number also. The brand is the
name of the route, they simply don't have a number. And why should it? It would only confuse matters. On the subject of branding here's an image of the same vehicle when it was allocated to the 'black cat':
https://www.flickr.com/photos/harryhalibut/2484185059/
Hardly the same as a yellow MPD in Sunderland is it?
I really like this version of the Optare Tempo. It's boxy design stands out and I imagine makes a great canvas for branding. The windows are much taller than many other models and the thin pillars between them add to the airiness of the interior. Even better is the area at the back where the top escape hatch doubles as a skylight and seats are mounted side-on which increases floorspace. It's a shame this concept didn't catch on in as windows seem to be getting smaller, particularly with Wrightbus. The ride is a bit squeaky which is fair enough on a bus this age, but nonetheless enjoyable place to be.
680 - FJ55 ABF Scania L95UB Wright Solar Rushcliffe Mainline: Radcliffe-on-Trent - Nottingham City Centre
Non-branded spares are essential for an operation such as trentbarton, or Go North East for that matter. There's a notable difference in how the two companies present their spares. My opinion is Go North East's corporate effort is lazy. The allover red makes the vehicle look like a constant 'work-in-progress'; a white relief would improve the livery no-end. If it's planned for that vehicle to be spare for many years it would be worthwhile to livery it properly. trentbarton however, have again executed this well. Rather than a fleet livery, the spares are used to advertise items such as day tickets, which 680 does. It's still clearly identifiable as a trentbarton vehicle due to the house style of branding and also as a Rushcliffe Mainline by not only the destination screen but a large card placed in a frame visible through the windscreen.
What struck me first about this bus was the driver. She was stunning! A very pretty young lady, no older than me (23) and distinctly 'girly'. Lovely make-up, hair and appropriate jewellery. She was very petite and dwarfed by the large steering column and seat of the Scania. I once read online trentbarton dislike hiring from other bus companies as existing drivers have often been worn down an overworked and therefore lost their passion for the job. This lady epitomised efforts to change the image of the grumpy old bus driver and rock on girl for not being intimidated my a male dominated industry and well done trentbarton for supporting her. To make this whole passage sound a lot less creepy I best point out I'm gay and didn't spent the journey leering over the poor soul. I'm certain trentbarton tend to keep their drivers on dedicated routes though, so you know where to find her on your trips to trentbarton land, boys!
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I noticed the bus carried timetables for the service it was on despite being a spare. It's unlikely that the depot change these every day so maybe there's a system of even allocating the spares to a route for when branding vehicles are in the depot. I also noticed none of the buses I'd been on so far had an assault screen, which was nice. It's nice to know passengers are trusted enough not to attack their driver. On the way back into Nottingham a City Transport Enviro 400 went the other way featuring a full rear advert for Batman V Superman. It was on route 1 to Gotham. It was too damn far away to photograph before I realised!
73 FJ10 OXN Scania Irizar I4 Skylink Express: Nottingham City Centre - East Midlands Airport
Skylink Express is trentbarton's newest venture, providing a fast link to EMA form Nottingham using coaches freed up from the red arrow upgrade. Despite being a new and uncertain venture, they've gone all-out with the branding and there's no hint of red inside or out. The service departs from Broadmarsh bus station which is a bit of a mess. Partially reminiscent of old Eldon Square there's buses squashed everywhere and passengers having to cross the carraigeways to reach their stops. To make matters worse it appears the original layover area has been converted to a charging area for the fleet of electric Optare Solos used in the city. An alternative layover area has been made by sectioning off a lane of traffic outside the station using constriction barriers; though I get the feeling this is a permanent 'solution'. The clear issue here is with buses piled up in single file, if the one first in line has a long layover it will need to leave the bay to let the bus behind out. I'd put this behind Durham in the bad bus station awards.
This coach highlights the level of upgrade the red arrow has recently received. This previous stock was looking well worn after 5 years of service, though the lightweight seating and e-leather wouldn't have helped. At first I chose to sit around the wheelchair bay which is in the centre of the vehicle due to the aprox. 7ft leg room in this area. The photo below shows the layout:
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Two things popped into my mind looking at this area. Firstly, with the slippy factor of these seats there's a real risk of a sharp right turn sending a sleeping commuter into that deep gap! Secondly I remembered both terminal bus stations used by red arrow are a bay set-up whereby only the front door meets the Kerb. what would be the reality of a wheelchair user wishing to board? My musing were interrupted by the sheer concentration needed to remain on the seat! I elected to move to the very back to be secured in by the wall. Much more comfortable. Mechanically the bus sound tired too, seeming slow at and struggling to keep up with traffic on the open roads. This Irizar bodywork isn't very popular in the UK and it's easy to assume why. The lower cabin height and seemingly lightweight structure seems much more suited to their home country of Spain where coach use on stagecarraige work is much more common. After alighting I notice this on the side boot lid, never missing a trick trentbarton!
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It's odd suddenly being at an airport terminal with no intention of boarding a plane. Even more so when I step outside and spot a trio of North-East bus enthusiasts! They get bloody everywhere. On that note, what's the correct term for a group of enthusiasts? Pack? Gaggle? I like the term used for a group of Pugs - grumble. "Oh flip, there's a grumble of enthusiasts at the corner." I think it works.
Another branded spare pulled up during my next wait. This one simply was a big high five to their team. It's effective PR and must help morale to be branded as superheros, I love it!
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911 BX64 WJK Mercedes Citaro Skylink Derby: East Midlands Airport - Derby Bus Station
Oh how I wish Go North East carried on their commitment to the Citaro on to this next generation. The styling is one of the best out there and the Skylink livery really sets it off. The Skylink route is long and tightly timed with lots of open roads. No worries for the Citaro which is remarkably fast. All trentbarton drivers I've met today have been pleasant, but this driver is the winner - he spent most of the route singing! Although he does really work for sister company Kinchbus, the Skylink has cleverly been designed to fit in with trentbarton brands in Derby.
330 YJ12 GWL Optare Tempo SR i4: Derby Bus Station - Spondon
I hate to say it but I think Optare were trying too hard with the Tempo SR. The styling is certainly striking but was probably a bit too 'out-there' to really catch on. I can't imagine it really offers any fuel/capacity/technical advantages over the Versa. From first impressions the promise so much, the interior looks smart even if the 'i4' brand is a bit obscure. The build quality and ride really lets the bus down, it rattled more than the 15 year old Excel from the start of the day. It's compounded by the heating which is insanely intense! My eyes were soon itching from the dry air. A quick check on Google Maps finds the first opportunity to change services to get back to Derby.
809 YJ11 ENO Optare Versa Spondon Flyer: Spondon - Derby Bus Station
I wasn't going to bother with the Spondon Flyer as the Versas seemed a tad uninteresting. I'm really glad I sampled one; they are an exercise in branding. First up is the bus stop info
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First up, rest of the world take note of a great, clear, bus timetable. Not difficult. Second, look at the attention to detail i4 has 'travel time', the flyer has 'flight time', ace! The flight theme goes full throttle on board. The service logo which is reminiscent of the classic BOAC logo is embroided into the seat headrests. The coving adverts are stylised as flight safety information cards, boarding passes and even luggage labels. I almost missed this next one though:
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Look at that! almost unnoticeable behind the coving is some aeroplane-esque seat numbers! Absolutely useless in reality but absolutely fantastic at the same time. It' attention to detail like that which sets trentbarton apart. Many operators have taken inspiration from their branding, few will commit to this level. The Versa itself is sounding tired from this fairly demanding city route but who care when your flying! Just to finish the experience, here's a photo of the waiting area at Derby bus station:
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Another example of pure commitment to selling their service as a brand passengers immerse themselves in and become affectionate for. It's easy to see how this works, but it really does require a different approach to selling bus travel.
259 - Y259 DRC Optare Excel Route D1: Derby City Centre - Derby Meteor Centre
The bus and driver I started my day with also bring my journeys to a close. There's not much more to say here as I've already been an board already but it is nice to have another ride on one of these rare vehicles. With nothing much on my mind now I stare out the window to have a look at Derby. We pass a factory advertising 'Make your own yoghurt'. The more I repeat that in my head the creepier it sounds, I'm not even sure why. Who thought that would be a good thing to put on a sign? Sufficiently grossed out by Derby I head back to the car; a rather enjoyable and 'really good' adventure!
