'Spare Bus' Citaros

[Matt]

Thought it may be worth splitting any continued sightings/discussions regarding the 'spare buses' into a separate topic.

[Matt]

I've noticed that there is almost daily (for over a week), a spare bus on a 144A running card in the early evening.

I wonder anyone pointed out to the despatchers/management that a spare bus fails to be such if it is regularly rostered. There again, maybe it just occoured that an off route/spare bus was used previously, it is just that the livery makes it obvious.

Are First short of vehicles or is it genuinely filling in for an off the road vehicle in for repair?

[DD12]

A good idea Matt, to start this thread !!

I'm sure this "innovation" will give us plenty to discuss in the future, and
I'll be interested to see how things settle down with the new timetables from next week.

A further "quirk" so far, is on the tracking service fleet list, they have listed 64033, 35, AND, at the bottom, "Worcester Spare Bus" ! -- -- it will be great fun if they manage (in the future) to show three buses in three different places at the same time !!!

https://bustimes.org/operators/first-mi ... d/vehicles

[DD12]

P.S. -- a further clever trick, according to the tracking service, is that 64033 did BOTH the Worcester 18.10 X50 to Pershore, AND departed from Evesham on the 18.10 X50 to Worcester !! (no mean feat).

--- unless of course it's MY faulty brain again !

https://bustimes.org/vehicles/35138

[AdamH]

Are First short of vehicles or is it genuinely filling in for an off the road vehicle in for repair?

At the time of my departing First, there was a running card with “Spare Bus” marked in the vehicle type box. Therefore in theory one should be on the same routes every day. No, I couldn’t see the point in that either.

[willr7]

A good idea Matt, to start this thread !!

I'm sure this "innovation" will give us plenty to discuss in the future, and
I'll be interested to see how things settle down with the new timetables from next week.

A further "quirk" so far, is on the tracking service fleet list, they have listed 64033, 35, AND, at the bottom, "Worcester Spare Bus" ! -- -- it will be great fun if they manage (in the future) to show three buses in three different places at the same time !!!

https://bustimes.org/operators/first-mi ... d/vehicles

I too have been wondering what the third ‘spare bus’ is I thought maybe it was/is one of the withdrawn darts, as there fleet numbers are not listed on the tracker anymore. Maybe one of them was used after they were officially withdrawn and it was just marked as a ‘spare bus’ (I’m probably completely wrong though)

[SEVERNLINK]

64035 on this afternoons S45.

[ANDREW]

64033 on a 144a earlier.

[ANDREW]

64033 on a 144a earlier.

And again this afternoon.

[Brendan]

And a full 144 this evening