MidlandRed.net

DD12 wrote: ↑

20:11 Saturday 28th April 2018

SEVERNLINK wrote: ↑

17:59 Saturday 28th April 2018

Saw Dart 42893 on Friday evening working the 20:45 Brum-Worcs which I should imagine is quite unusual especially at that time of night Unless of course its a booked duty as that service is an FO working.

I've just checked the Bus Graph for October 2017, and it wasn't a "booked" Dart working - - way back then !

I will be very interested to see what vehicles (other than the green Volvos) are used at various times, after June 10th !

Thanks.Forgot about the graph! Didn't think it would be regular but you never know! And just for you Mr DD12 the S23 on Friday wasn't the usual Trident but a Streetdeck

SEVERNLINK wrote: ↑

22:30 Saturday 28th April 2018

[quote=DD12 post_id=4753 time=1524942662 And just for you Mr DD12 the S23 on Friday wasn't the usual Trident but a Streetdeck

Thanks v.much Mr.SEVERNLINK -
- I too have seen this use of a StreetDeck, and I would like to mention that the ACTUAL allocation of TYPES of DDs can be quite different to what the bus graph shows:-
Many of the school-times DDs run close to where I live, and for a long time it has seemed to me that they are allocated to specific running-boards/ cards
- according to the day of the week (Mon-Fri).

My GUESS is that there is a rota, to even-out the mileage done by each DD (?)
- the down-side to that, is that currently there is an important journey of the 44 from County Hall to Malvern (c.16.30 ?) that uses an "old" DD, whereas it appears to me that a swop for a StreetDeck is desirable (and easily achieved ?)

Another downside is that I've seen the 60-seater Trident on schools duties that would appear to need 74-seaters !

However, I strongly approve of the use of the StreetDecks to support the reliability of the schools + college services that I think are essential for the FMR operation.

(I also think FMR should get 2 or 3 more StreetDecks -- (some in green livery), -- for peak loads of the 144, the early morning X50, and to replace 33043 which could become a trainer !! )

DD12 wrote: ↑

23:51 Saturday 28th April 2018

...My GUESS is that there is a rota, to even-out the mileage done by each DD (?)...

My guess is that the bloke booking out the buses in the morning hasn't got a clue as to the difference between a Volvo, Trident or StreetDeck, so just allocates whatever was parked next in line the night before. Think yourself lucky you don't get a Solo!

Michael wrote: ↑

10:43 Saturday 28th April 2018

Hi Adam - I run a children's group in Birmingham - if First are organising something in Birmingham we would love to get involved - maybe get a group of kids together for a photoshoot or something - please pass on my contact details - HOPE.Michael@outlook.com

Will do, but I think they are planned for mid-week dates.

Not sure I will be in attendance for either of these events as I think they clash with the Hay Festival.

I understand the Birmingham event will be Saturday 9th June at New Street Station. However, don't make plans just yet, until I can confirm that date.

https://bromsgrovestandard.co.uk/news/1 ... fare-hike/

Sarah East, head of operations at First Worcester, said changes to the fare structure were aimed at making it simpler for people to find the best ticket to travel.

And that best ticket will be........a train ticket

With the introduction of Cross City trains from Bromsgove getting closer and going from one train per hour to four an hour the last thing first want to be doing is to increase the fare

The train already has the advantage of being quicker and with easier journeys on the horizon to places such as Longbridge for people going to Bournville College and the such like it doesn't make sense to increase the fares by so much.

The return fare from Bromsgrove to Birmingham (City Centre) has gone from £5.00 to £5.50 and the £7.00 fare they are quoting is for a day pass, which was £6.50 before.

Saw a half-dressed one on the 35 this afternoon

Plus my old favourite 66691 on the 36 which was nice

ANDREW wrote: ↑

11:34 Friday 6th April 2018

AdamH wrote: ↑

13:11 Tuesday 13th March 2018

. The last one has been delayed and won’t be here for a few weeks.

We are approaching a month now and with it looking like we are waiting for the last one to appear before full branding gets applied , am I the only one to think that the "I'm half dressed / full livery soon" situation has dragged on much too long ?? I travelled to and from Brum yesterday on "green 'uns" and most 144 working had these vehicles on so why the delay ?? One other point as mentioned earlier , both buses seemed to have the heating on full blast and even with both side windows open on the one trip it was rather sweaty . . . . Does the driver has any control on the temperature or is it a case of either on or off ?? On the plus side , both buses looked, sounded and went well and were relatively rattle free.

I believe Adam told me (yesterday), that the "air-conditioning" equipment is to be removed from all the green Volvos, and a replacement side window fitted to each, IE one with an opening vent, replacing a fixed one - -
(please correct me Adam if I've got that wrong) --

-- to which I say "very good", if that means the heaters will no longer get stuck on !!

Of course, the ideal thing would be if stop-start service buses could have reliable, problem-free air conditioning - - especially to include the driver's cab, but I get the impression that it's expensive to fit and run, and possibly needs "TLC" to keep it working properly.

- some of the foreign bus operators seem to manage ok ( - those with plenty of funding, $, that is),
and UK COACH operators seem to cope ok (??)

Air con works best in enclosed environments, so coaches are normally OK as the doors are not opened too often to introduce hot air. Service buses on the other hand, have the doors opening all the time so the units have to keep working full pelt on a, potentially hopeless, task thus wearing them out more quickly!