Issue nr 267
Wednesday September 13th, 2023
From the Editor
Stagecoach is rolling out a new uniform that focuses on diversity and inclusion
Oxford Open Doors
Readers Write includes comment as below
Matt King of Arriva regarding the renumbering of routes in High Wycombe
Thomas W W Knowles corr3edts a line from Buses Festival
Nigel Peach wonders about buses off the road for long periods
Go-Ahead Oxford MD makes a few points
Pulhams take a Tourismo on loan from Oxford
Jack Cooper spends a day in Reading
Exciting news from the Oxford tube due in the near future
Andrew Webb reports from London and Madeira
Stagecoach is rolling out a new uniform that focuses on diversity and inclusion, as well as comfort and professionalism. The new clothing has been specifically designed to be suitable for both women and men, as Stagecoach seeks to highlight and facilitate the crucial work that women do in driving buses.
“A really important aspect of the new uniforms is that they are so inclusive. The intention is that, as drivers, everyone should wear the same range – if everyone wears the same colours then everyone can feel part of the same team.
“We had a key focus, throughout the development process, on diversity. We are calling it a wardrobe, rather than women’s and men’s clothing – we are one team, so it just makes sense that our clothes are intended to be for everyone.
“We wanted to go for a relaxed style, but also one that remains professional. It could sometimes be, in the past, that the shirts could feel a little uncomfortable for the drivers in their cabs, so we have introduced polo shirts that are more flexible.”
Amersham Heritage Day is an annual event organized by Amersham Town Council. It is held in September of each year.
The event celebrates the rich history, cultural heritage, and vibrant community spirit of Amersham.
Bob Stanger
Bob Stanger who was operating RT 2083 with Headley Shanks on the
Amersham Heritage Day on Sunday, September 10th.
Pictured near the old Amersham Garage.
Oxford Preservation Trust | Guardians of Oxford since 1927
Lewis Hawkins
Oxford Open Doors is an annual event that celebrates the heritage and culture of Oxford by opening places that are not usually accessible to the public for free. It is organised by the Oxford Preservation Trust and supported by various local partners, including the University of Oxford2. This year, the event it took place on 9 and 10 September 2023, and the theme is ‘Everyday Oxford’, which will showcase the wonders of everyday life in the city throughout the ages1.
Oxford Bus Museum Running Heritage Buses as a part of The Open Doors Weekend -September 9th.
A lovely display of great buses. Ed.
Matt King
Network Manager – Midlands
Thank you for a superb blog - it’s always an enjoyable
read.
Just wanted to clarify a
point made in this week’s post. The destination displays at High Wycombe are
very much within regulation. Naturally, we refer and adhere to PSVAR
Regulations, which displaced the previous DiPTAC guidance in 2000. Under
Schedule II, Part 8, of the
Public Service Vehicles Accessibility Regulations
2000
there is no specificity defined on whether the number
should be displayed on the nearside or offside. Paragraph 1(b) refers to the
fitting
of a nearside display, usually in above the front nearside wheel, to ensure that
there is a pavement-side destination screen. Numerous operators display route
indicators on the nearside - trentbarton, First, Transdev, to name just a few.
There’s a logic to the visual hierarchy - we read left to right, so therefore
the primary indicator is the route number, which is displayed first (in order of
left to right), then the intermediate destinations, then ultimate destination
displayed largest. You’ll note that characters in the typography have changed as
part of the new destination displays to improve legibility with correct
descenders and larger fonts; this’ll help customers with visual impairments.
We’re experimenting with what works best, so we may
change this again, but we’ll take a customer-led approach.
All 280 branded has been deprecated on Enviro 400s based
at Aylesbury and High Wycombe. This is to allow greater flexibility of our
double deck fleet, which are utilised to provide capacity on the busiest
journeys throughout the network. 5460’s outdated branding has also been removed,
restoring this bus to standard Journey Mark livery. We’re tidying up the fleet
in the area, with “one” branded Citaros next on the list.
I personally have views regarding this matter but would appreciate hearing from my readers. Ed.
Thomas W W Knowles
I happened to be at Buses Festival last Sunday and the Enviro 200 photographed and described as in West Bromwich livery, is in fact in an interpretation of Birmingham City Transport livery.
Tony Bungay
Stagecoach Oxford 10070 working RAIL REPLACEMENT at Aylesbury on
September 12th.
Nigel Peach
I noticed yesterday that Carousel's 405 did a day on the1 and 1A. I
think it's probably the first time this bus has been out this year! But
it's not running today!
A number of Carousel's vehicles have been out of service for a while (assuming bustimes is correct): I'm particularly keeping an eye on 218, 244, 407, 432, 860 and 881!! I wonder why they have all been off the road for so long ?
Lewis Hawkins
Oxford Bus Museum Running Heritage Buses as a part of The Open Doors Weekend -September 9th.
History seems to repeat itself on the
Magdalen Bridge.
Coach visitors to Oxfordshire
Jack Cooper
Tourismo BF73CCX seen in St Giles on September 10th.
R E L Davian YD19HJG, a
Yutong TC9, seen in Beaumont Street
on September 10th.
Fleet News and developments
Sorry to say that I have not received any fleet allocation details this month. Ed.
See the letter from Matt King of Arriva under Readers Write above.
Of interest is that 69928 spent most of the last week working the RA2 ! Indeed it is working there today, Wednesday, September 13th. I had thought that this bus was withdrawn !
Luke Marion
We are still awaiting final delivery dates for 27 and 29 as there have been some problems with the paint finish on the vehicles which Mercedes has been rectifying. 28 will be on loan at Pulhams until the end of October following which it will return to Oxford for airline service.
Malcolm Crowe
The overflow yard on September 9th.
Outside the depot.
534 now showing an on loan notice to
Carousel.
Thames Travel 864 is seen at Carousels yard
on September 9th.
Richard Sharman
Transport for Cornwall-livered Enviro200 2202 is seen operating in the first
week of operation by Carousel as their 432.
Of note is that today, September 13th, 973 has returned to service at Oxford. Ed.
Jack Cooper
689 which was on loan to Thames Travel today, September 12th, for the
ST1.
923, 924 & 925 are now based at Oxford for the
ST1. 225, 451 & 452 are now based out of Didcot, with 451 & 452 working
the X34 & X35. The ST1 is now operated by deckers on all running cards,
as opposed to the one all day and two at peak times.
Newest Tourismo nr 26 seen in Gloucester Green on September 12th.
39 and 40 seen together in Gloucester Green
on September 5th.
355 is seen in Magdalen Street East on September 10th.
661 is seen in Magdalen Street East on September 10th. It is not often seen
working the 300.
669 and 681 are seen in Magdalen Street East on September 10th.
CSS 198 is seen in Magdalen Street East on September 10th.
James Freeman
252 heading for Cowley House on September 6th with River Rapids branding
still in place.
A nice shot of 972 entering the depot on September 6th.
The two River Rapids buses, 251 and 252, have transferred to the city
fleet with branding removed.
251 and 252 are seen near Brookes on September 10th.
Charles Powell
28 at Pulhams on September 12th.
Richard Sharman
Further to last week's musings about the new Go-Ahead
Group branding, here is the first sighting of it applied to the window, rather
than the bodywork like on Oxford Bus Company vehicles.
The Tourismo is seen picking up in Kidderminster on a GB Tours trip to Weymouth
on September 8th.
Jack Cooper
230 is seen in Westgate on September 10th.
601 still bearing X3 branding is seen in St Aldates working for TT with an
X40 on September 10th.
pignbob
521 is seen in Magdalen Street East on September 8th. It has been repainted
and branded.
including Courtney, Newbury & District &
Thames Valley
Jack Cooper
Variety from Jack on August 31st.
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The varied liveries prove of interest.
Malcolm Crowe
YX12AZN was the last of the Yellow Bus E200ss to be repainted into fleet
livery working a 120 on September 12th.
Richard Sharman
Former Nottingham City Transport E200s YX13 BNV and YX63
LJE are now looking smart in fleet livery with Redline on the X20,
Gavin Francis
Y23RRT when it was YX11HPL on March 5th.
When with Abellio as 8573 in Staines on March 30th 2016.
Malcolm Crowe
Seen in Marlow Road passing E3RRT, Y23RRT is then seen passing the
King's Arms on September 12th.
George Candelin
15969 with an S6 on May 18th in Oxford.
Derek Taylor
10067 is generally a Banbury allocation
frequently on the 500
but here on Monday morning at Aylesbury on
the Princess Risborough RR.
Jack Cooper
10670 is seen in Magdalen Street West on September 10th working the S3.
11251 is seen in Magdalen Street East on
September 10th working the S1.
15736 is seen in Magdalen Street East on
September 10th.
15753 is seen in Magdalen Street East on
September 10th.
36111 is seen in Magdalen Street East on
September 10th working the 14.
Jack Cooper
10878 is seen in Magdalen Street Easst on
September 10th working the X5.
London to Oxford Bus |Oxford to
London Coach |Oxford Tube
Richard Sharman
The new megabus M17 service seems to be proving extremely
popular, with many passengers regularly boarding the coach at Oxford Parkway in
both directions of the route.
Parks of Hamilton-operated Volvo 9700 KSK 979 is the
coach normally allocated to the Glasgow to Southampton service, with staff
wearing Scottish CityLink uniform.
Picture one shows the coach at Oxford Parkway,
and
picture 2 shows the coach travelling through Gosford towards its next pick up in
Bicester on Saturday, September 2nd.
London operations
Andrew Webb
Three new advert campaigns have appeared since the start of September.
"Wear blue for rescue" is the message on the side of Go Ahead's LT861 as
it rounds Trafalgar Square on 9 September.
This campaign is encouraging people to raise money for Battersea Dog and
Cats Home by wearing blue.
Japanese beer Asahi is the official beer of the Rugby World Cup in
Paris, a message proudly displayed on Metroline's LT658 in Chancery
Lane.
Fashion brand Cos has a new campaign, each bus featuring different
models. Go Ahead's LT420 brings a bit of designer chic to Barking.
Top View Sightseeing finally started operating around
London this week, using a mixed fleet of second hand Scanias and Enviro
400s converted to open top.
Former London United SP171 has a reasonable load as it awaits the green
light in Trafalgar Square.
The guide on former First London DN33774 has the top deck to themselves
as it passes the same location on 9 September.
RML2741 has served Superdrug as a mobile exhibition unit for nearly 20
years. On 9 September it was at Westfield in Stratford promoting
3INA makeup.
Barking market is the semi permanent home for former Stagecoach
Alexander Trident WA04CSX, reregistered to closely match the take away
business it now hosts.
On 4 April 2016 it is seen in Exeter doing the job it was designed for.
Andrew Webb from Madeira - Funchal
Madeira, an autonomous region of Portugal, is an
archipelago comprising 4 islands off the northwest coast of Africa and the most
southerly outpost of the European Union. The population numbers 250 000
with just over 100 000 in the capital city Funchal. A fortnight's visit in
July and August found much of interest for bus fans, although the lack of
information about many of the vehicles on the internet suggest that the island
does not feature on many enthusiasts
'to do list'.
Funchal is the hub for the public transport network
with publicly owned Horarios do Funchal serving the urban area. Backbone of the
current fleet are Camo bodied Volvo B8RLEs in
two lengths, both of which feature dual door layouts. 231 illustrates the
shorter version on 1 August whilst 542 is a longer version identifiable by the
extra window behind the centre door. It is seen on 9 August operating a
shuttle between the cruise terminal and city centre for passengers of P&O's
Ventura cruise ship which spent the day docked in Funchal.
Supporting this fleet are older Volvos which see everyday service.
Camo
Camus Volvo B9Ms with three doors still see all day service, including 190
approaching the city's main bus terminal on 8 August.
Volvo B12M and B12Bs still work daily in Funchal.
The B12Bs carry Camo City bodywork and often mix with B9Ms.
325 pauses at the end of the main shopping street on 9 August.
The Volvo B12Bs carry
Camo Citadino bodywork.
On 9 August 416, one of several to carry 'Linha alta frequencia High frequency
line' branding waits time at the city's main bus station.
Route 70 is operated by Iveco minibuses fitted with
dual door MOBIpeople bodywork.
611 is seen leaving the city centre with
another working on 10 August.
Located in a natural amphitheatre surrounded by high mountains means that Funchal has some very steep hills for buses to tackle. Three routes on the urban fringes are so steep that conventional buses are not able to serve them. These have been entrusted to a fleet of 4 wheel drive Volvo FL8 trucks fitted with dual door MOBIpeople bodywork.
The routes are complex, shuttling up and down narrow dead end
roads to connect with regular buses into the city centre. 143
is seen at Caminho
Trapiche whilst working on service 91, a route which requires two of these truck
buses, although the two duties cover different parts of the route meaning it is
not possible to do the complete route on one bus. Despite Portugal having
an ageing population and these buses having very steep steps they are well used
by pensioners laden with shopping bags!
Funchal is operating its second generation of
minibuses, albeit in a very small way.
The pioneers were a batch of
Tecnobus Gulliver U520s
operated as part of an EU project that saw similar vehicles operate in selected
places across Europe including Bristol and St Helens in the UK. With
battery technology being much less advanced than today the buses could only
manage three hours service before retiring to the depot for a lengthy recharge.
Now all withdrawn from service, one survives as a
static information office on the seafront in Funchal for which it has acquired a
fake upper deck.
Currently operating in Funchal are a fleet of five Karsan e-JEST buses imported
from Turkey. They operate in the narrow city centre streets as well as
serving the cruise terminal and Lido to the west of the city. Only three
appear to be currently in use, but the regular staff member in the Tecnobus
describes them as very good vehicles capable of doing a full day's work.
When a cruise ship docks in Funchal Horarios do
Funchal provide a frequent shuttle service to the city centre using the Camo
bodied Volvo B8RLEs. With normal services also operating this sees a fleet
of older Volvo B10M buses working regular services to release the
B8RLEs. The
B10M ceased production in 2003 so the youngest of
these vehicles is now 20 years old. The Ventura docked for the day on 9
August and so several vehicles appeared in service for the day.
305
is fitted with a Camo Camus U90 body with three
doors.
261
has a Camo UR85.4 body.
274
has UTIC body.
As well as regular bus services Horarios do Funchal
also operate a fleet of accessible buses for those with limited mobility similar
to those run by local authorities in the UK.
Largest vehicle seen in the fleet was this
Toyota Coaster, seen working the
shuttle service from the cruise terminal on 9 August. Also on the service
was this Iveco, minibuses seemingly making up the majority of the fleet.
As well as Ivecos the Mercedes Sprinter is represented in the fleet.
As well as services within Funchal Horarios do
Funchal also run some interurban services to neighbouring towns and villages.
The newest vehicles are used on route 81 which links
Funchal with Curral das Freiras in the island's mountainous heartland.
This route is the home of a batch of Volvo B11Rs fitted with Irmãos Mota Atomic
2 bodywork. Dual doored, a lift at the centre allows wheelchair users to
be accommodated.
1205 is seen on 10 August reversing after dropping
off passengers at Miradouro Eira do Serrado, a spectacular viewpoint
overlooking Curral
das Freiras 1000 metres below. the drivers door is prominent in this view,
a feature popular on many vehicles in the fleet. Whilst the bus will use a
tunnel to cut through the mountain, pedestrians with a spare couple of hours can
zig zag down the mountain path to the village.
Other interurban routes are the preserve of older vehicles in a yellow white and grey livery including 1042, a Volvo B10M with Camo Riviera body. It is seen arriving back in Funchal with a service from Camacha, until recently the centre of the island's wicker industry. Unfortunately post pandemic the industry has struggled to recover as it cannot attract enough young workers.
The previous day 1051, a Volvo with unidentified bodywork is seen leaving
Funchal for Camacha.
Horarios do Funchal also operate coaches for private hire, including 714 a Scania Irizar i6 seen in Funchal on 8 August.
Vehicles on private hire all display 'Servico Ocasional' on the destination
display.
Some of the coaches also see use on interurban services including 1909 a Marcopolo Viaggio II 350 bodied Volvo.
On 8 August it is seen arriving in Funchal
with service 56 from Santana.
Tourism is an important part of the island's economy,
contributing 20% of the GDP. Two sightseeing companies compete for custom
from visitors using a range of buses.
162 is a
Camo Citytour bodied Volvo B7RLE, seen
arriving in Funchal early on 29 July ready for another day's work.
Volvo B10Rs fitted with
Camo Camus bodies also operate, including
1482 seen in
the same spot a few days later on 3 August.
Competing with Carristur is Douro Acima Transportes who operate the City Sightseeing Madeira franchise with a fleet of Waggon Union bodied MAN SD202s which started life in Germany.
The two different styles
of bodywork are illustrated here.
For tours up to Monte, a pleasant village on the edge of Funchal, this Setra S309 has been converted to open side format.
On 8 August it is seen
returning to the depot after a hard day's work.
Nick Ross from The London Bus Export Company, Lydney, Gloucestershire.
About Us - London Bus Promotions
Amongst 50 odd elderly buses in varying conditions at Lydney bus sales
yard is former Greater Manchester Leyland Olympian C233 ENE fleet no
3233 on September 9th 2023
