Issue nr 286
Thursday February 1st, 2024
From the Editor
An interesting this week with reports on new buses, a visit to Bracknell and 10 minutes in Aylesbury, just after lunch on January 26th by Paul Coley.
Ciaran Bird relates to his Oxford depot duties over the holiday period.
Changes to the GA Oxford group fleet and numerous pictures of coach visitors to Oxford.
In this issue
Restructure involving High Wycombe and Aylesbury by Arriva
10 minutes in Aylesbury, just after lunch on January 26th
My loan to cover night duties and Rail Replacement in Oxford
Readers Write
Buses in the landscape
Coach visitors to Oxford
Fleet News and Developments
Changes to the GA Oxford group fleet
Visit to Bracknell
SC West in Bristol
London Operations
Restructure involving High Wycombe and Aylesbury
from
Toby J France CMILT, CMgr MCMI
Head of Commercial – East & South Midlands
There were changes to Arriva’s management
from 1st
January, replacing the ‘functional matrix’ structure implemented in 2020
with clearer regional teams with one Director as guiding mind and total
oversight across Operations, Engineering, and Commercial. As part
of this restructure there have been changes to role titles and
responsibilities - the Head of Operations is replaced by a Head of
Service Delivery in recognition of their key accountabilities; General
Managers and Operations Managers have been replaced by Site Managers and
Driver Managers respectively, again recognising the core
responsibilities of each role.
As part of this
structure change there has also been a realignment of Area boundaries,
with our markets focused around Aylesbury and Wycombe now falling under
the management of Arriva Southern Counties rather than Arriva Midlands.
This means that my
involvement with buses in Buckinghamshire and the Thames Valley has
drawn to a close after six years, and sadly I will no longer be able to
provide fleet updates or information on forthcoming network changes.
There has been a lot of change in that time, and throughout I have
worked closely with our local authority partners to build on what is
strong, explore alternatives for what is challenging, and introduce
initiatives such as Wycombe SmartZone; I even wrote Midsummer Murders
trails for the X7 (nee 280) and 800/850 corridors. I will miss spending part of my week in
Buckinghamshire, and sitting outside my favourite restaurant in Wycombe
in the summer with a glass of wine watching the buses go by…
10 minutes in Aylesbury, just after lunch on January 26th The Red Line MPD is a recent transfer to Red Rose, still having Red
Line legals on it.
Interesting moments in Aylesbury from Paul. Ed.
My loan to
cover night duties and Rail Replacement in Oxford
by Paul Coley
by Ciaran Bird
Over the Christmas
period, I was on loan to Oxford depot to help out covering night duties.
However on boxing day I was on an early shift. This was a mix of S7s and
S3s. Luckily for me I managed to get Stagecoach Gloucester's Scania
N250UD/ADL Enviro400 MMC 15351 "Alex Parrant" (YT21 DVB). This bus was
on loan to Oxford at the time.
I'm pleased to report
that it is a fantastic bus to drive and I personally believe the batch
would be very well suited to Oxfordshire's outstations. It certainly
made for a very pleasant 10 hours and made the early start worthwhile!
Seen at The Paddocks in Yarnton then Wootton
Turn. This was also the first time an S3 had been scheduled to terminate
at Wootton Turn since the timetables were changed a few months prior.
Various photos
on
the 28th December, whilst on loan to Oxford from Bristol, I found myself
up at Chipping Norton outstation for a night duty on the S3. This was
the first time I had been back at the outstation since I left in July.
It felt good to be back! Attached is ADL Enviro400 MMC 11246 (SN69 ZFE)
at Cornish Road in Chipping Norton. I had this for the first half of my
duty, however I swapped it with S3 branded 15833 for the latter half of
my duty, for old time's sake.
During my period on loan to Oxford, I was
one of four drivers to help out on Aylesbury to Beaconsfield rail
replacement on the nights of the 31st December and 1st January. For the
first night I had Oxford Scania 15934 (YN63 BYL). Photos taken at
Beaconsfield Station, Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Beaconsfield Services.
As well as this, I caught up with a good friend and colleague at
Beaconsfield who, like me, also spent time driving the route S3. As our
breaks lined up, we parked next to each other and stuck S3 blinds up
just before the clock struck midnight and took us in to 2024.
The following night we both managed to take
out loaned buses for our duties. He had the aforementioned 15351 from
Gloucester, whilst I had ADL Enviro400 MMC 10753 (SN66 VXX) from
Cheltenham. When coming back from my second break at Beaconsfield
Services, I stopped in Beaconsfield Town centre under the Christmas
lights and got some photos with the Oxford Tube blinds on. The final
photo is outside Great Missenden Station on my final trip to Aylesbury.
Former Witney depot ADL Enviro400 MMC 11234
(SN69 ZDR) seen on the turning loop at Portway Park & Ride in Bristol on
14th January.
(Also attached are further photos of 15351
to accompany my email)
Rail Replacement
A very interesting record of a loan period in Oxford. Ed.
Charles Powell re a coach for preservation
Some interesting news for you. Our VU51FGN is up for preservation with various parties interested, as she’s the last Volvo B10M built. She’s been with us since new.
It was PDF567 for many many years then went to PUI5379 for a couple
years. Now it’s VU51FGN.
Phil Rumsby who was surprised by an Airline coach far from home
How are you?! Still missing you on the Tube –
along with others who have retired recently including Gavin and Pete.
Also so sad to receive the news about John, I remember him so well and
always enjoyed our chats.
Was
surprised as I walked into my home village of Hempton today to have an
Airline coach pull up at the bus stop! With usually one shoppers bus a
week on a Thursday in the village I was excited that a new express bus
route had just started through the village! Alas it was not to be as I
saw the Pulhams logo on the front dot matrix and I think the coach had
only stopped due to a fault as the driver got out and opened the engine
compartment and started a phone call. I also noticed the nearside rear
light cluster was broken as although the coach had it’s hazards on, only
the rear offside indicator was flashing so traffic approaching from the
rear thought the coach was about to pull out.
George Candelin another electric bus fire in London
A third electric bus has burst
into a ball of flames in London just
days after two others were also engulfed in their own infernos. The incident
happened at a bus garage in Putney on Wednesday, with the London Fire Brigade
being drafted in at around 8.20am.
The unoccupied Go Ahead bus was completely gutted by the fire and took just under an hour to extinguish. It's reported there were around 20 people inside the associated building, all of whom were safely evacuated.
Alexander re route branding
It was interesting to read that questions are being asked about route
branding, and other readers' responses to your questions. I also query
the value of route branding as I've noticed recently that such busses
often turn up working the wrong route. So no, I don't think route
branding is cost effective when busses end up working the wrong route so
I don't know how the companies stack up on this one. I actually spoke to
Oxford Bus Company about it last week and they said that they can't
always guarantee that they've the correct bus for the correct route.
Hence so many branded busses end up on the wrong routes. Another problem
is that when route changes occur they end up with busses branded for
routes which don't exist anymore. This certainly has affected OBC A lot
recently, as they've busses branded for the 4, 35 and PMU routes, all of
which they no longer use on those routes. Apparently it would cost A lot
to repaint them and they're not going to be around for much longer now
they've got new electric busses so there's no point! The electric busses
are in A livery never used before and don't have branding for any
specific route so will probably see the end of route branding for OBC
which I think is A good thing as they clearly have too many branded
busses to guarantee that they don't use them on the wrong routes! It was
never A problem when they only had A few branded routes as in those days
it was very unusual to see an OBC bus branded for 1 route and operating
another! Stagecoach West don't seem to do much better as I frequently
see their busses working different routes to the ones they're branded
for as well!
Graham Low re buses away from branded routes
I have seen Oxford bus StreetDecks 682 and 689 are on
the 45 today and it is shown on Bustimes as Oxford Bus and not Thames Travel. Of
course they are not correctly branded for this route......!
Bob Chalmers
Interesting to note over the last couple of months the amount of
'dedicated' liveried buses on almost every route - every day!!
Appreciate the arrival of the initial 22 Electroliners will have
'released' 22 previous buses for use elsewhere. From an enthusiast point
of view, it's good to see - but may well cause some confusion to some
passengers. Assume that apart from 701-721, the other new buses are
going to follow the 'new livery' as per 722?
Also noted today that X1 liveried 674 is back in service again since mid November although it is tracking as 'ticket machine' 800001!! Are there any more updates on the new vehicles or indeed the transfer/sale of some from the existing fleets?
Charles Powell
Back at Gatwick, Charles has PU21HAM working
the rail Shuttle LGW-LHR - a noice picture of why there are airline
services.
Nick Ross
Red Eagle's Enviro 200 GX57BXH waits time at
Ivinghoe on the 1200 Dunstable - Aylesbury on January 29th 2024,
the 61 must rate as one of the Chiltern's
more scenic routes perhaps?
Coach visitors to Oxfordshire
David Beynon
Recent pictures from Oxford.
It looks like the Turbostyle Yutong has had a
close encounter
One of the few Van Hool double decks with a 73 plate registration.
A couple of grey pics on a grey day in Redbridge.
Oxford provides much variety of visiting coaches. Ed.
Fleet News and developments
Gavin Francis in Wycombe on January 25th
at Cressex depot
2979 remains out of use and here is a front
of a Sprinter AC012.
and on February 1st
AC012 with the Staff Bus at the Eden Bus
Station.
Jack Cooper
Citaro 3011 is seen working anX7 in St
Aldates on January 24th.
Gavin Francis in Wycombe on January 25th
63304 somewhat off route in High Wycombe.
Gavin Francis in Wycombe on January 25th
Binders Yard on Saturday a new arrival for
Harlequin Coaches is this unusual Tata Hispano still bearing the
personal plate of former owner Wheelers Travel of North Baddesley,
Southampton.
Quite a few changes in the Oxford group.
Luke Marion
Three black Citaro with us which will soon be entering service as our
new driver trainers, with a suitable livery to be added. These are all
ex-Luton airport vehicles and are the vehicles below:
|
964 |
BD09 ZPY |
|
965 |
BD09 ZWA |
|
966 |
BD09 ZWG |
Three Citaros from Stewarts, these are shown below. These are all being repainted prior to entering service, 889 is the first to have been done entering service on February 1st,
|
889 |
BF62 JZJ |
|
890 |
BF62 JZL |
|
891 |
BF62 JZP |
We don't have 724-725 with us yet, however for 722 the
body number is AV186 and for 723 it is AV187.
CSS 632 has been transferred
to Go North East and 251, 252, 254 have been
transferred to Go South West.
James Freeman
Former mec18 BD09ZPY
Malcolm Crowe
BD09ZWA at Didcot at Didcot depot on January 26th.
Gavin Francis in Wycombe on January 25th
Change is on the cards at Carousel with
certain different buses are in the pipeline.
and on February 1st latest arrival
Latest arrival and working the 8 by the
Hospital on February 1st - 889 ex Stewarts of Reading.
George Candelin
Just a few that I snapped in dull grey conditions whilst waiting for my Granddaughter at the dentists. Sorry some are not up to my usual standards due to traffic / framing and moving targets.
Iffley Road.
Jack Cooper
24 in Gloucester Green on January 26th.
359 with a 3A and 613 with an 35 both in St Aldates on January 28th and
24th respectively.
660 has gained a super rear advert when seen on January 26th.
713 with a 400 and 972 with an 11X both in St
Aldates on January 24th.
Peter Edgar
One of the three ex London General DOE’s ,
DOE15 making an appearance in St Aldate’s on January 30th.
373 seen with an X1 service on January 31st.
375 is seen working the X1 on January 25th.
674 was working the X1 on January 31st.
Charles Powell
We were asked to run extra trips again today between Gatwick and Heathrow due to train strikes. I used our PU21HAM this time. Always a pleasure to help out.
Gatwick to Heathrow with PU21HAMon January
30th.
Rear branding on 371. January 24th.
George Candelin
Strange that this coach GB73PUL,
does not appear in the bustimes.org for this company.
James Freeman
521 which has not seen service for a while is
seen turning into Cowley House on January 20th.
Malcolm Crowe
LX09AZF plus 220-212-631 at Didcot depot on
January 26th.
including Courtney, Newbury & District &
Thames Valley
taken in Bracknell on January 31st
795 working the 703.
We understand that the 4 is to get new buses
but on 31st the route was worked by 805, 213 and 216.
New buses
A very interesting selection Ed.
Gavin Francis
YX08MFO seen in the Eden Bus Station with the
158 on February 1st.
Body numbers of the eVoRas
BV73MTE NB1584
BV73MLX NB1587
BV73MLY NB1588
BV73MLZ NB1589
BV73MME NB1590
BV73MTF NB1595
BV73MTJ NB1596
BV73MTK NB1600
Gavin Francis
Laying over in the Eden Bus Station YX12DKA
during a 130 duty on January 25th.
Our first picture of the last of the current
fleet of Volvos to enter service, BV73MLZ at The Pedestal, West Wycombe
on January 31st.
LJ09KPZ seen in the Eden Bus Station on February 1st.
Jack Cooper
Another eVoRa seen working an X20 on January 28th.
Gavin Francis in Wycombe on January 25th
Y27RRT heads for Thame with a 40 working.
In Stokenchurch on January 30th.
E3RRT heads to wards Thame and despite the
blind setting Y25RRT heads for Wycombe.
Tony Gaze
Thought i would send
you a few photos of Stagecoach West in Bristol
All are on route 9 - Portway P&R -
Bristol City Centre - Brislington P&R
Of note 10984 and 11240 were
also on 3X. No sign of 11236.
15762 is still proudly displaying it's S5 branding for Bicester to
Oxford
whilst working the 3X Bristol Temple
Meads - Aztec West service.
Jack Cooper
Banbury's 10068 is seen at Oxford Station with an
X4 on
January 22nd.
10683 with a 10 and 15993 with an 8 both in
St Aldates on January 28th.
Jack Cooper
50443 in St Aldates on January 28th.
taken in Bracknell on January 31st
London operations
On last weeks page
there was a picture of Metroline's LT 748 wrapped for Bob Marley. Stage
coach have the same wrap on LT 248 on Route 8 pictured here on Bethnal
Green Road.
A variety of wraps.
James Freeman
Arriva London North's EMN4 for the 377 at
Oakwood on January 20th.