Editorial
Stop Press
End of the road for French coach giant Eurolines as company goes into liquidation after 35 years
A French court on Tuesday placed long-distance coach company Eurolines into compulsory liquidation.
After 35 years, the French transport giant will stop operations on Friday, July 24th.
It came after Eurolines was bought out by German group FlixBus last year, but unions have claimed the holding company refused to look for a buyer and is taking advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to axe jobs.
At the end of June, FlixBus asked for bankruptcy proceedings be opened for its subsidiary, but the court requested that the Eurolines continue to operate under court administration for one month.
Flixbus has emptied Eurolines of its substance, is going to regain market share and is now trying to get rid of the employees without paying anything, according to a source who said "the German brand had used the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext."
In the same issue I also stated the wrong seating increase for the Oxford tube which is 37 and not as stated. The page was amended on Saturday morning but they were mistakes which should not have happened.
A number of interesting items included in this issue are the recent Honk for Hope Rally to London which took place on Monday, July 20th. My thanks to Andrew Webb for his welcome contribution.
Ashwood Travel from high Wycombe leads this convoy of coach on the M4. More pictures and full details may be found under the Coach Honk heading.
Picture taken by Andrew Webb from the M4 overbridge on July 20th 2020.
Another significant contribution is from Jack Cooper who provides detail in pictures of the new StreetDeck buses for Thames Travel, again to be found below, this time under Thames Travel's heading.
The shiny front panel of 905 being prepared for service with Thames Travel in this picture from Jack Cooper on July 19th.
Gavin Francis has provided an excellent selection of pictures this week, from High Wycombe, London and Oxford. One that interested me is that London's taxis are also carry Covid-19 stickers. What a change we have seen in the past six months, let us hope that the predicted spike does not happen as we enter winter days, so much effort has been made by so many to try to prevent any increase in cases!
No doubting that every effort is being made to provide public transport for
the nation. Taken by Gavin Francis on July 21st.
What shame that when operators provide the much needed ways to get around, even to country villages, that motorists seem unaware that driving too fast on narrow roads can be dangerous. A victim of this, as locally reported, was Carousel's 420, an M A N 14-200/Alexander E200 single deck working the service 40 between Thame and High Wycombe. Damage was quite significant.
The picture of the damage is shown in this picture by Gavin Francis
taken on July 19th. The future of this 10 year old bus is yet to be decided
!
Graham Low writes
With the publicised facts of people wanting to continue working from home plus the universities still to decide when to "resume normal teaching", so many people shopping on line and the continuing concerns over safety one has to wonder what the future may hold. Following my old career in the aviation business I note the withdrawal of many Boeing 747 passenger aircraft and also the furloughing of the Airbus A380 as airlines adjust capacity to demand. Additionally so many schools remain closed or limited that bus and coach operators who rely on this form of revenue are certainly feeling the pinch.
However let us look on the bright side and hope that things will improve next year.
As a final point of local interest, one notices that Oxford Bus are now getting their branded buses back on to their correct routes, however not so Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, who may be unhappy with the loss of Gold buses for the "Superior - S" routes, illustrated by the picture from Ciaran Bird taken on July 23rd in Woodstock.
Gold 15759 is seen with an S3 service to Charlbury and the MMC 11241 working
the 233 to Burford has as shown under the
Stagecoach heading below got S1/S2 branding. Picture from Ciaran
Bird.
I don't want to appear pernickety but surely branding costs money? The question must arise, is branding worth the money or maybe all passengers want is a clean bus, with correct destination, turning up on time with a friendly and polite driver. However as mentioned earlier in one issue, I am getting rather elderly now!!!!!!
In previous issues I have highlighted the problems of having a cycle track between the bus shelters and the actual stops. This was also quoted in a recent article in an edition of the Telegraph and I quote :-
"Whilst City Hall rightly looks at ways of promoting cycling and walking, it must also ensure adequate space for motor vehicles. Yet the Mayor seems to have no interest in getting the balance right. His Streetspace plan has limited street lanes and involves shutting entire roads to create cycle lanes and larger pavements. These "temporary" measurers have been rushed through without consultation and are already causing problems on London's streets.
One of the worst Streetspace changes has to busy Park Lane in central London, where a three lane highway has been reduced to one to create and new cycle lane and another one for buses. The inevitable result - massive congestion. Even more ludicrously Park Lane already has an extensive cycle network on its doorstep, with cyclists continuing to cycle through Hyde Park as they have always done."
Not wishing to add fuel to the flames the single lane for other than bus or taxi traffic now takes the queue to enter Park Lane north bound all the way back towards Victoria along the side of the Palace which not only delays the cars but more importantly the buses and coaches which are trying to get people back on board.
It also reminds of when the M40 first opened through to Birmingham, the slow lane of the M40 north east bound dropped into the fast lane of the M42, hardly desirable? That was soon changed thank goodness, now the M42 joins the M40.
Finally, with pictures from Gavin Francis, I have included some overseas operators who run services to London and a visit to Binders Yard near High Wycombe.
The coach industry continued the fight for its future on Monday 20 July when
the Honk for Hope movement rolled into London.
Around 420 coaches from as far away as Aberdeenshire, Cornwall and West Wales participated in the most vocal and well-attended Honk for Hope UK protest yet. It aimed to convey the industry’s unhappiness with government failure to provide sector-specific support and to articulate the real threat to the wider economy that widespread failures of coach operators poses.
Key to the procession was its routing via Parliament Square. It took several hours for all of the coaches involved to pass. Many drivers elected to make their feelings known to those nearby using vehicle horns. That stopped only on Police instruction – ironically, after complaints from within the Palace of Westminster.
What was clear around Parliament Square is that London is hostile territory for coaches.
Poor signal timings, the devotion of more road space to cycle lanes and road layouts that make large vehicles’ interaction with cyclists difficult are coupled to the wider problem of insufficient parking.
That makes a coach driver’s life in London almost insufferable, says one operator.
More on this can be found at this link : https://www.route-one.net/news/honk-for-hope-brings-coach-industry-concerns-to-london/
Heading the Honk
for Hope convoy into London was a Volvo B10M with Van Hool T8 bodywork
recently painted into period Shearings livery.
It commemorates the company’s exit from operating after its parent
company Specialist Leisure Group ceased
trading.
Andrew Webb provided a number of
pictures to highlight this event with comments as follows -
"The Honk for Hope rally descended on London on
Monday. The full rally headed east from Heston on the M4 shortly
before 10:00, taking over 30 minutes to pass my vantage point at
Osterley. In a poignant move, the rally was led by preserved
Shearings Van Hool Volvo B10M P306VWR, Shearings being
arguably the highest profile coaching casualty of the Covid 19 pandemic.
The coach only emerged from the paint shop on 17 July so is in mint
condition.
The purpose of the rally is reflected concisely on the side of York
Pullman's Irizar.
Amongst the modern coaches were vehicles from a earlier generations.
Red Routemaster sent RMA58, revisiting a stretch of road where it earned its
keep when delivered new as a BEA coach linking the airport to central
London.
Also no stranger to high speed running in an earlier life if RCL2260, still
usually very busy in the fleet of the London Bus Company who run one of the
few remaining crew operated services linking Epping station with the
associated Epping Ongar Railway.
Demonstrating the widespread unhappiness in the industry is the wide range
of companies from across the UK who converged on the capital at short
notice. Murray & Son's impressive Neoplan Starliner was one of those
with the longest journey, travelling all the way from Glasgow to
participate.
Some pictures showing the rally on the M4 passing Osterley. I took
over 250 photos of the event so if you need any specific vehicle please ask,
I probably have it!
Fans of the beautiful game were reminded of the importance of the humble
coach to the sport by Readybus sending this hi spec Higer Scania which is
used to transport the England team to fixtures.
By way of contrast to the noise of the rally, was Heathrow this morning,
where this Oxford Airline Mercedes, where the only noise disturbing the
tranquility as it headed away from T5, was that of bird song.
Another vehicle which summed up the aim of the campaign was this Van Hool
from Yorkshire Rose.
The vehicle which travelled the furthest was this Iveco
Kintore-based Premier Coaches in Aberdeenshire, a journey of over 500 miles.
Temperature check before passengers can board their service on July 20th.
The concourse over looking some of the departure stands on July 20th.
Jack Cooper has provided some pictures of the reopened shop in Gloucester Green where much effort has been made to ensure the safety of all.
Welcome facilities for Airline passengers by Jack Cooper.
A picture from Jack Cooper on July 19th, a damp day it
seems. Gloucester Green not too busy.
His second picture shows things a little more busy with service for Heathrow
and Gatwick ready for boarding
in this picture from Jack Cooper taken on July 21st.
Gavin Francis sent these two pictures of Gloucester Green
station taken on July 18th.
Currently the tube tickets have this reminder
regarding face coverings - July 21st.
A much appreciated plan of the revised COVID-19 seating plan on
tube coaches is shown with thanks to Stagecoach (Laura Grant).
Window stickers showing the seating arrangements on the service - July 18th
by Gavin Francis,
Julian Walker in South Devon reporting on effects of Covid-19
I am Julian Walker, and I have recently moved from London to South Devon,
which like Oxford is served by Stagecoach (Stagecoach South West) and
Go-Ahead (Plymouth CityBus) as well as a good selection of independents.
Malcolm has asked if I would like to contribute from time to time with news
of bus services in the local area, which I am happy to do. I shall start
with an overview of buses during the Covid-19 pandemic.
I travelled by train to Plymouth on Monday 16th March, and from the
passenger numbers it was clear even then that people were abandoning bus and
train travel. As the week progressed more and more bad news emerged,
culminating in the order to close down the entire UK economy. Just a week
after my trip to Plymouth, the UK was in full lockdown.
Stagecoach South West responded initially by going to school holiday
timetables from Monday 23rd March, whilst Plymouth CityBus moved to a
Saturday service with a few amendments to provide services over roads that
only usually had Monday to Friday service. However it was clear that with
around 85% of journeys no longer being made, a much more drastic reduction
was necessary. From the following Monday 30th March Plymouth CityBus went on
to emergency timetables, whilst Stagecoach South West moved to a Sunday
level of service with a few extra morning journeys for key workers. This
left a few surprising gaps in the network; for several weeks there was no
155 service between Tiverton and South Molton, no route 3 between
Kingsbridge and Plymouth, and the communities along the 319 route between
Bideford and Hartland had no bus service at all. This contrasts with
Plymouth CityBus, who simply adopted Saturday timetables on routes that do
not have a Sunday service. Although the new schedules were compiled and
implemented with commendable speed, operational experience led to a number
of tweaks over the following weeks. The Covid-19 situation also put a
dampener on Go-Ahead's new Transport for Cornwall operation, which might
have been expected to be launched with great fanfare; it commenced as
scheduled on Sunday 29th March, but with much-reduced timetables and no
ceremony.
As lockdown measures eased and more people started returning to work, both
operators announced enhanced schedules, not because buses were filling up -
loadings still remained about 20% of normal - but to enable the new social
distancing measures to be observed. Plymouth CityBus went back to a
near-normal service from Sunday 31st May, and Go-Ahead also introduced the
full Transport for Cornwall network from the same date. Although most
Stagecoach subsidiaries increased services from 1st June, South West delayed
theirs until Monday 15th, this may have been down to funding issues.
Stagecoach also moved to near normal services although a few of the busiest
routes such as the 12 between Newton Abbot and Brixham are still on a
slightly reduced frequency. A few service changes, that had originally been
pencilled in for May, also took place on Exeter city routes.
The attached photos:
1 - Stagecoach South West Scania/E400 15803 passes Torquay Museum in
Babbacombe Road on Friday 20th March whilst operating the last journey on
school route 32C from Torquay Grammar Schools to St Marychurch on Friday
20th March before lockdown. This route will not operate again until
September.
2 - Many independents, including Torbay Buses, kept a full
service going during the pandemic. Optare Solo CV55 BAU turns into Higher
Erith Road on Monday 30th March whilst operating Torquay local service 64
(Castle Circus - Middle Warberry Road)
I remember staying at a small private hotel in
this area many years ago - peace and tranquility as I recall.
https://www.torbaybuses.co.uk/
3 - Stagecoach South West Dart 34867 shows Bus Full whilst operating Torquay circular route on 6th July - on a bus this size that equated to around ten passengers.
4 - By 15th July I was willing to venture beyond Torbay for the first time
since mid-March. Stagecoach South West E200 MMC 37443 in Exeter High Street
shows the "Face Coverings must be worn onboard" display that scrolls around
with the route information.
An interesting collection of pictures from the past for this week's issue which I hope readers will enjoy.
Gavin Francis made a query in issue 113 about W 17 LDZ9017 7/92 new to London Buses: Mercedes Benz 811D, Wright B26F
South West Coaches Mercedes 814D Wright registered J656REY.
Andrew Webb writes
"Reading
about MW17 has reminded me of the time this bus spent at Greenford. I
moved to live in Greenford in September 1996, at the time only just getting
interested in buses. Remember the vehicle well as it stood out amongst
the RW class (Wright bodied Renaults) and MA class (Alexander bodied
Mercedes) on the network of E routes and the 282.
My photo was taken at Greenford Broadway on May 24th 1997,
seen starting a journey on service E6. Noteworthy for two reasons, it
was the first day of an extension of the route beyond Hayes to the Tesco at
Bulls Bridge and also the day that the E routes were converted to low floor
operation. The driver appears to have miss-set the blind, as the
Willow Tree Tesco is a separate branch about half way along the route.
The vehicles chosen for this were Marshall bodied Dart SLFs from the 'DM'
class, with shorter length vehicles being Marshall Midibuses from the ML
class. Whilst they appeared identical to the Darts they were an
integral product which proved unreliable in service and moved on from London
fairly quickly.
As was common at the time, a handful of older minibuses were kept on to support the new low floor vehicles and MW17 was one of these. I cannot remember how long it held on for."
Graham Low writes "Following on from items from other correspondents on buses running between Cheltenham and Oxford, here are two views of Bristol Omnibus Company buses on the 171. Both views are at Gloucester Green."
L8289
(UHY418) is a Bristol LD6G/ ECW H58RD taken in 1961
and 2604 (BHU972C) is a Bristol MW5G/ ECW B45F taken in
1965.
Michael Wadman & Keith Newton
Picture by Keith Newton.
For those interested Michael Wadman has a flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/michaelwadman/
Many thanks for those memories which add much to the page.
David Gray wrote regarding this year's Alton Bus Rally
"Today, July 19th, would have been the scheduled
date for the 2020 Alton Bus Rally, so I have been looking through some of my
photos from the 2010 event.
Ages Past LSU857.
Their plans to body the bus were overtaken by the company’s sale to Jersey
Motor Transport, who sent the chassis to Mulliner for bodying in 1947.
It was new with registration number J 6986 and in British
European Airways livery for the airport service. It then ran in standard bus
livery between 1951 and 1969.
I wonder if anyone as a picture when in service
in Jersey in BEA Colours?
Alder Valley Londonlink Leyland Olympian / ECW CH45/28F 1510 B578LPE
Aldershot & District Dennis Falcon/Strachans 282 (POR
428)
Bristol Omnibus: WH1257 (DAE511K)
Bristol RELL6L/ Eastern Coach Works.
Cheltenham District Traction Bristol RELL6L / ECW KHW
309E Fleet number 1003.
AEC Reliance Plaxton Panorama Elite II new in May 1971 to East Kent
London
Country Bristol LHS6L/ECW BN50 GPD318N
sometime based at Hitchin and new in February 1975.
New to London Country as their LNC42 (NPD 142L) it was rebuilt as a Greenway
in May 1994 and while with Midland Fox, being re-registered JIL 2157.
Whilst driving at Farnborough around 2000 I had
the chance to drive a Greenway finding it a rather powerful bus.
Dating from 1958, former Midland Red BMMO C5 780GHA
sometimes used on shorter Motorway services, this C5 lacked a toilet
featured on the CM5T
Newbury Buses 333 - GPC731N was new to Alder Valley and then to Newbury with
Bee Line Bus.
Reading 144 MCW Metrobus / MCW new July 1984.
Stagecoach South 27650 when new, an ADL E300, still working the Coastliner
in 2018.
BMR204V is
a Leyland-built Fleetline bus with Eastern Coach Works body. It was
delivered new to Thamesdown Transport in 1980.
Tantivy
Bedford NJM (SB5) Duple C40F new to Mascot Motors Jersey -/84 Jersey as
J 40614, passing to Tantivy Blue, Jersey 1/93. This
is 7'6" wide!
The pictures make up a little for those of us who miss attending rallies this year. Many thanks to David Gray for providing such interesting shots.
A selection of coaches north of the border by Bill Brown
Bill Brown has kindly allowed me to use some of his pictures taken mainly on Rail Replacement work, some around Cowdenbeath. The pictures are of interest as they show coaches which many readers will recognise from times when they were south of the border.
These five coaches started life at Oxford in
2010 working the National Express 737. Taken in 2017 working around east
Scotland.
L50 BAY is a Volvo B9R/Plaxton Elite new to Park's of Hamilton as 290 WE in
July 2013.
It later carried KSK 978 and SA63 LKC with Park's before joining the Bay
Travel fleet in Cowdenbeath as L50 BAY.
This coach often came to London in its Park's days.
Docherty Midland of Auchterarder's former Parks of Hamilton Plaxton Elite
bodied Volvo B9R SA13YPG.
New as KSK983.
Docherty Midland Coaches of Auchterarder former Parks of Hamilton Plaxton
Elite SB63XSR. New as KSK982 with Parks of Hamilton.
These will have been good buys for the private operator.
Fleet news and developments
Pictures from Gavin Francis
StreetLite 2326 seen working a 37 service to Bourne End on July 22nd. To say this bus looks "battle scarred" is an understatement!!
Now this really is some picture, is the bus
reversing?? 3569 seen leaving Telford Way, Downley on its return to
Wycombe.
Picture taken on July 19th.
Sister bus 3570 is seen in The Eden Bus Station,
this time with an 850 working but also still reversing on July 22nd.
I wonder how long it will be before someone fixes these two buses which came
from Derby according to the July fleet list?
Not so much this week after some quite large reports over the past few weeks.
The fleet is still SORN until the schools return in September.
Nothing much has moved of the Chiltern double deck and the other buses
behind. June 29th by Malcolm Crowe.
Pictures from Gavin Francis
BM Coaches waits time at Elizabeth Bridge on July 17th.
Flixbus Van Hool 300 1-STJ-793 seen in Buckingham Palace Road on July 17th.
This time a Setra from The Netherlands, Flixbus 02-BKR-2 in Buckingham
Palace Road on July 18th.
https://www.carouselbuses.co.uk/
News from Phil Southall
From 30 August we will be extending service 1/1A from Chesham to Hemel
Hempstead to replace the 105. Carousel won't be serving Pond Park but Arriva
will continue to do so. The 105 will operate between Uxbridge and Chesham
only and will continue to interwork with the 101. The 104 will operate
between High Wycombe and Uxbridge, taking in parts of the 577 on its way and
will no longer serve Stoke Poges or Slough. I understand BCC is putting a
tender out to cover part of the latter.
A surprise showing working the evening short to Stokenchurch was 503 on July
17th by Malcolm Crowe.
This bus comes off the 27 and X8 workings during the day.
503 and 502 at their depot on July 19th by Gavin Francis.
Now with a fleet number and name, 941 is seen in Bridge Street with a 27
working on July 22nd by Gavin Francis.
This bus will probably make the 40 short working at the end of its day.
However the latest fleet list for June shows 214 at Wycombe and I think it is 885 not 884 which is "mothballed" !
Carousel_Fleet_and_mothball_list_as_at_June 17 20.pdf
OBC_Fleet_and_mothball_list_as_at_170620.pdf
With new vehicles entering service, probably from August 1st this and other lists will change soon.
https://city.oxfordbus.co.uk/timetables-fares/city35a#timetable
Unfortunately, the city35A/B services have now been de-registered and will
not continue to operate from September 2020 in their current forms.
Pictures from Gavin Francis and Jack Cooper
Hybrid 312 is seen in Magdalen Street East with a 2 road service on July
18th by Gavin Francis.
Hybrid 319 seen in Westgate with a 9 road working on July 18th by Gavin
Francis.
Eclipse Gemini's 356, 360 and 362 working a variety of routes on July 17th &
18th by Gavin Francis.
Gloucester Green is now not so busy and 365 is working 2 road but parked up
in bay 10 on July 18th by Gavin Francis.
Wrights 373 working the U1 on July 18th by Gavin Francis.
606 on the 18th and 608 on the 17th both July by Gavin Francis.
Here is 670 working the 500 to Woodstock on July 21st by Gavin Francis.
interesting since according to bustimes.org this bus has been off the road
since May 29th ! No doubt a ticket machine problem?
New StreetDeck 901 showing company logo interior position by Jack
Cooper.
Pictures from Richard Sharman
BrookesBus 607 offers a newer ride than the
normal 300 series E400s for passengers riding service 4 on July 22nd.
BrookesBus 608 is
seen in Abingdon operating a X13 to Oxford
Graham Low and Phil Southall
advise
Pictures from Gavin Francis and Jack Cooper
CCitaro 839 at Queens Lane on July 20th by Gavin.
Citaro 843 turns at Carfax Corner on July 21st by Jack.
https://airline.oxfordbus.co.uk//a>
Coaches 36, 38 and 32 ready for service in Gloucester Green on July 21st by
Jack Cooper.
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Pictures from Gavin Francis and Jack Cooper
201 and 203 on July 18th, 19th and 21st by Gavin. Nice to see some customers
taking advantage.
2202 in Broad Street captured in the lens of Jack on July 21st.
https://www.thames-travel.co.uk/
Great views of the new StreetDecks soon to enter service
Pictures from Jack Cooper
A finally a
warning to drivers !
Many thanks to Jack for this comprehensive tour of the new buses!
Thames_Fleet_and_mothball_list_as_at_170620.pdf
With new vehicles entering service, probably from August 1st this and other lists will change soon.
https://www.thames-travel.co.uk/school-services/bb1/
https://www.thames-travel.co.uk/school-services/bb2/
From Monday 31st August 2020, changes will be made to your BB1/BB1A and BB2 services. Unfortunately, the BB1B will initially not operate. This will mean that pupils travelling from Berinsfield will need to catch the BB2 service.
Daniel Harwood
I have attached some
photos this week mainly from Didcot.
I cannot see clearly in the photo, but it looks like Thames Travel's 623 has been named after someone. There is a sticker just above the connector logo.
Connectors 207, 441 and 864 seen at Didcot Parkway on July 20th.
622 and 623 busy about their work probably excited to see the arrival of new
and similar buses soon. Didcot Parkway on July 20th.
I can't make out any name on 623 either!
Ex London Central WVL Volvo/Wrights 935 heading for Wallingford with an X2
from Didcot Parkway on July 20th.
Scania 222 is seen in Greenwood Way with 226 working a 98 near the station
both on July 17th.
I am wondering if some of these Oxford branded
buses may return following the delivery of the new double decks?
Pictures from Jack Cooper
Thames Travel's support van 998 leaving Didcot Parkway on July 21st.
Pictures from Richard Sharman taken two days ago.
Thames Travel 209 travels over Abingdon Bridge
working service 33 on July 22nd.
Gemini 3 621 awaits departure on service
33 to Wantage from Abingdon on July 22nd.
867 is seen operating the 41 Abingdon town service
on July 22nd, this vehicle is
branded for the Culham Science Centre Link.
Picture from Gavin Francis
935 again, this time at the other end of the route in Oxford, St Aldates on July 18th.
For checking on contractors, I found this link rather useful This is especially so now that NEx are dispensing with many of the contractors previously used.
Levante III from Stansted nr 299 working an A6 service on July
22nd.
Selwyn's BM68AHN at Gloucester Green with a 212 service on July 18th. This
service runs via Wycombe Coachway,
one wonders how much it is from Oxford to Wycombe!!
Now five years old, SH207 is working the A4 Heathrow service when seen here
in London on July 21st.
This service seems to have some customers as many will not use the
Underground.
Start Hill's Levante III SH304 is seen with service 075 heading for VCS on
July 21st. This service is from Cambridge.
This route was operated by a different operator until recently?
Stagecoach Yorkshire still appear to be operating for National Express.
Seen above on July 24th is Levante III 54410 working the 561 to Bradford.
Re-Opening of Reading Bridge
We are told SGN contractors worked extremely hard on this scheme and managed to complete their works over the bridge ahead of schedule last weekend. During the closure the Council have been able to do some other utility works and Highway repairs to help minimise future disruptions here. Really good news!
Broad Street Cones
Some readers may have noticed that cones have been placed on Broad Street and Cross Street, between 10am and 6pm, and wondered why they are there. It is understood that this is a temporary measure to re-enforce the no vehicle access/entry and pedestrianisation of Broad Street, Queen Victoria and Cross Streets, until a more permanent solution can be found.
https://www.miltonpark.co.uk/traveldownloads
Daniel Harwood
I have attached some photos this week from Didcot showing the special buses from Courtney used on the Milton Park shuttles.
MMC 795 is seen at Didcot Parkway on July 20th.
As is 797, a slightly newer MMC from 2018
leaving Didcot Parkway on July 20th.
A rather nice change from the regular pictures of the Reading Bus Group.
Picture from Gavin Francis
Interesting return of service to London from REGIOJET
whose two Irizars 266 and 265 are seen by Victoria on July 21st.
It is interesting to see another country outside the UK using fleet and
registration numbers similar!
265 is heading for Prague.
Pictures from Richard Sharman
Witney depot has been using the recent ADL E400MMCs on the 15 to Abingdon to
allow for social distancing.
11238 is seen awaiting departure on its return trip on July 22nd.
Banbury's Midland Red heritage ADL
Enviro200 MMC 37401 has spent much of this week making a welcome sight on
the S4 to Oxford.
It is seen making a late evening trip into the
city at Kidlington on July 21st.
Pictures from Gavin Francis
A rear view of 11241 in Magdalen Street East showing off the S1/2 branding.
MMC 11252 is seen departing Gloucester Green on July 21st looking pristine
without advertising!
M A N trainers waiting to enter service with the Driving School on July
21st.
Pictures from Ciaran Bird
Another day - another route, 11241 is seen working the 233 in
Woodstock on July 21st.
Picture from Grahame Wareham
Picture from Daniel Harwood
15831 seen in Denchworth Road working the S8 on
July 17th.
Pictures from Gavin Francis
Bedford based 21232 leaving Gloucester
Green with an X5 on July 18th.
Ready for the off, 21363 leaving Gloucester
Green with an X5 on July 17th.
One wonders how long it will be until the coach modifications are complete and the branded coaches will be back on this route?
Bill McCartney
writes "Thought I'd let you know that 20940, pictured in Oxford was not on loan to Oxford. West had a trainee driver on test and we were making use of the Oxford examiner.
Picture from Gavin Francis
Pictures from Gavin Francis on July 24th
Panorama 50401 in London ready to work the early M11 to Scotland.
SID has not left the building !!!!!!! Interdecker 54285 is heading for
Newcastle from Victoria.
https://www.transmarian.ro/romania-anglia.html
Picture from Gavin Francis
Swansong of Swanbrook on the 853
Richard Kemble
from Bristol writes to say "As this week marked the final week of Swanbrook's 853 service, I rode on the 1100 ex-Cheltenham on Monday (July 20th) and took the attached photo of Scania Levante, FJ07DWP, at Witney. It was good to see that Stagecoach West had printed leaflets with the new 853 timetable which were available on the coach."
FJ07DWP started life with Hayton's of Burnage, Manchester who, following financial difficulties, were taken over by Selwyn's of Runcorn in December 2011.
Swanbrook acquired the coach in 2013 when it started running to Oxford on the 853.
Smaller operators and London developments
Pictures from Gavin Francis
A visit to Cryers Yard near High Wycombe which houses a number of operators seen on July 19th.
Part of the fleet some of which are off the road at present.
Also by the Platinum coaches was RM1962 looking good.
https://www.facebook.com/wardjonescommercials/
An interesting site to visit !
Two buses of interest outside Ward Jones facility on July 19th.
London from Gavin Francis
