Issue nr 284
Thursday January 18th, 2024

From the Editor

A full issue for readers with an overseas contribution from Andrew Webb plus and hour at Queens Lane with Andrew Simmonds.

First pictures of the new Oxford Bus City Electroliners launched on Tuesday, January 16th. Oxford's 722 entered service on January 17th.

Questions are being asked about route branding and I have an opinion regarding such matters. I personally query the value of route branding or route type branding/livery as so often such buses turn up working the wrong route. Surely what the customers want is a clean bus with a clear destination scroll, running on time with a friendly welcoming driver whose driving is comfortable and safe. These pages show the regularity of buses working the wrong route.

I wonder what readers think ?

I wonder how the companies stack up on this one?

Is route branding cost effective?

Do let me have your thoughts.

A taster of what's to see in this issue.

In the news this week

Oxford launches major all-electric city bus fleet

Oxford City Sight Seeing goes electric

An hour's spotting at Queens Lane, Oxford on January 11th 2024

TfL to investigate after electric bus caught fire in south London

Readers Write

Coach Visitors to Oxford

Fleet News and Developments

including Arriva route numbering and megabus changes in Oxford

First views of Electroliner 722 working the 700

Rail Replacements by Andrew Webb

Lanzarote by Andrew Webb

Highlands by Nick Ross

Oxford launches major all-electric city bus fleet
Monday, January 16th 2024
Oxford on the evening of Monday launched what will be one of the biggest UK fleet of electric buses outside London.

The £82.5M project will deliver 159 new battery buses onto the streets of Oxford – the first of which have already gone into service. It has also funded two associated electric charging hubs at the city’s bus depots.

It has been funded via a collaboration between Oxfordshire County Council and bus operators Oxford Bus Company, owned by The Go-Ahead Group and Stagecoach. The Council was awarded £32.8M from the government’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) scheme and contributed £6M directly, while bus operators invested £43.7M.

The groundbreaking infrastructure project is a huge boost to Oxford’s vision to creating a more sustainable, decarbonized public transport system and improving air quality.

Oxford Bus Company will deliver 104 electric buses into service and Stagecoach 55. Working with Zenobē, the UK’s leading fleet electrification specialist, Oxford Bus Company has installed 104 charging points at its Cowley House depot, with Stagecoach also installing 55 chargers at the the Network Oxford site. The charging hubs are powered by EDF Energy’s Oxford Superhub network, providing enough electricity to charge all 159 buses, enough for each bus to drive up to 200 miles per day.

To celebrate the historic development key stakeholders gathered for a launch event at Divinity School in Oxford city centre on Monday night where some of the new electric buses were showcased and key representatives delivered speeches.

Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company Managing Director, said: “This is a historic moment in our journey towards transforming our city services to electric. Our first tranche of electric buses is now in service and are already starting to improve air quality and make bus travel an even more attractive option for people to travel around Oxford.

“Decarbonising buses is an exciting project – and we have demonstrated that with the right strategic partnership working between the public and private sector, we can unlock investment to make it happen. We look forward to working with Oxfordshire County Council on important initiatives going forward to encourage people to travel by bus.”

Matt Carney, CEO of The Go-Ahead Group’s bus division, said: “Go-Ahead is proud to be the largest operator of zero emission buses in Britain. Electric buses make an enormous difference to air quality in cities and by decarbonising our fleet in towns and cities across the country, we aim to make a positive contribution to the fight against climate change.

“These new buses in Oxford will form Go-Ahead’s biggest fleet of zero emission buses outside London. The project is an example of bus operators working closely with local authorities to deliver for communities.”

Rachel Geliamassi, Managing Director, Stagecoach West says: “Today is a momentous day for Stagecoach West and for the city of Oxford, marking the beginning of an exciting new chapter in sustainable bus travel. As a business we are fully committed to operating a zero-emission bus fleet by 2035 so the introduction of these electric vehicles onto the roads today is a big step towards this vital goal.

“We must all play our part in improving air quality and reducing C02 emissions in all areas of business and industry across the UK. I hope the introduction of these new electric vehicles will entice new passengers to bus travel and those already travelling with us can rest assured they’re already making a great choice.”

Paul Davies, Alexander Dennis President & Managing Director, said: “We are delighted to support Stagecoach and Oxfordshire County Council as they introduce a cleaner and greener bus fleet for Oxford with our next-generation Enviro400EV, improving the lives of passengers and residents as well as accelerating decarbonisation.

"These new buses introduce latest advances in technology including a highly efficient driveline and a future-proof battery system, while guaranteeing first-class aftermarket support throughout the vehicle’s life with AD24.

"This investment keeps funding from the Government’s ZEBRA scheme in the country, supporting skilled jobs and apprenticeships in our facilities and across our extensive domestic supply chain.”

Councillor Andrew Gant, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport Management, said: “I'm proud and thrilled that the county council is backing its ambitions with political and financial capital, alongside our partners, to deliver a safer, cleaner, greener, better county for residents and visitors.

“Together with policies such as traffic filters to hugely increase bus efficiency, we are delivering on our vision of a better future. This is an exciting and important moment for us all."

Councillor Anna Railton, Cabinet Member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, Oxford City Council, said: "I am delighted that the first tranche of ZEBRA electric buses has now arrived in Oxford and are serving Oxford's communities. Electric buses not only help to clean up Oxford's air but they are a crucial mode of transport in our city - especially for those who do not have access to cars. I am looking forward to seeing these buses on our roads."

Jean-Marc Gales, CEO of Wrightbus, said: “We’re delighted to be supporting Oxford Bus Company in the drive to transform transport in the city and help build a more sustainable future.

“We’re proud to say our StreetDeck Electroliner BEV is the world’s most efficient double deck battery-electric bus and we have taken that technology into the development of our single deck, which has also been classed as the most efficient on the UK’s roads.

“We’ve created the most efficient vehicles by combining optimum power with a class-leading rapid charge, meaning our electric buses spend more time on the road than any other. We’re confident passengers in Oxford will enjoy the experience.”

Oxfordshire was one of only 12 local authorities to successfully apply for ZEBRA funding. The Oxford Bus Company vehicles have been manufactured by Wright Bus in Northern Ireland, with the Stagecoach vehicles manufactured by Alexander Dennis in Scotland. Oxfordshire County Council has committed to help reduce bus journey times by at least 10 per cent in the city to ensure the investment is viable for bus operators.

An hour's spotting at Queens Lane, Oxford on January 11th 2024
from Andrew Simmonds

I saw these p[icture4s from Andrew and felt they made an excellent record of buses and coaches at this central location in Oxford. Ed.

TfL to investigate after electric bus caught fire in south London
TfL to investigate after electric bus caught fire in south London | UK News | Sky News

Three fire engines and around 15 firefighters attended the scene in Wimbledon, where witnesses said they heard a "loud bang".

Go Ahead Optare MetroDecker EV Me12 caught fire in Wimbledon early on 11 January whilst working route 200, an event that made national headlines, presumably because of its location in the capital. As an apparent consequence of the fire Go Ahead have taken the batch of 17 off the road and are operating route 200 with a hastily assembled batch of hybrid and straight diesel vehicles. Interestingly, unlike a previous fire involving the model at Potters Bar in May 2022, other operators of the type have not sidelined the type.

Blinds are not available so various pieces of paper are in use to inform passengers with varying levels of information as can be seen in these photos taken in Wimbledon on 13 January

E204 has been borrowed from route 36, a number it still displays as it heads for Raynes Park.

Route 265 has recently started using electric buses from the SEe class,
freeing up this batch of straight diesel Enviro 200s to help out. SE134 is heading for Mitcham.

Despite the claim on the blind, SE138 was in service and heading for Raynes Park

Usually to be found on route 476 in north east London,
WVN9 was also heading for Mitcham although the blind suggests it was headed for Limehouse in distant east London!

The day after Go-Ahead Me12 was involved with a fire in Wimbledon another Go-Ahead bus EH 161 was totally destroyed by fire outside Henley Road Garage which I think is Ilford.

Somewhat of concern in view of the new electric busers entering service throughout the UK. Ed.

Good morning to you all, I'd like to thank everyone of John's friends that came yesterday to his funeral, it was so nice to have met you all. that would have meant so much to John as it did to me and our family. many thanks again.
Best Wishes to you all Joan Ann

Many thanks for using the snow pix in issue 283. I thought the addition of the Wikipedia link was brilliant. Brought back memories of a wonderful 3 week cruise up and down the Norwegian coast. The ship took 625 passengers but there were only just over 60 of us aboard. Spoilt now for other cruises!

Just to let you know that the ADL Demonstrator was at Horspath Road back in December has returned to Horspath Road again arriving today 11th January 2024 .

It appears that this bus was used for the Oxford Electricbus launch on January 16th. Ed.

Everyone is talking about fleet numbers for Pulhams. Just to clarify the fleet numbers are only for office use and won’t appear on the vehicles. We always go by the registration at Pulhams.

Bus Stops in MK are now stickered with Arriva X6 and Stagecoach X6 to differentiate between the two different routes with the same number.

Two white MCV Volvos were at Red Rose/Red Eagle base at Dinton today as well. 110124

I received a leaflet for the new Flightline 102 service in the post today, very well presented leaflet and exciting to see how the service can further develop!

I also noticed the Carousel logo has changed to 'Carousel Country', do any readers have insight into this? Could it possibly be that Carousel is further expanding their operations or just a rebrand ?

Thanks for your hard work on the page, I don't contribute often but really look forward to reading it each week!

Chris Huntingford has a suggestion the bus companies might find interesting ?

“Last week, I had to get some bulky items across Oxford, so I drove into town for once. What was noticeable is a couple of times a bus stopped right behind me, and what you see in the rearview mirror is very different to if a car stops. The raised chassis height means you see the metal under a bus windscreen, and (in Oxford) likely the word “City” or “Stagecoach”. How about if the two-pound scheme was advertised here? A sentence something like “Relax onboard - maximum fares – just two pounds”. Indeed, it could be printed in reverse, so it looks the correct way around in the mirror.”

As shown in last weeks newspage, Arriva renumbered it’s Aylesbury area routes from January 7^th 2024. Here are a selection of shots showing some of the new service numbers. Apologies for quality of photos, seldom a happy medium at this time of year. Either dull or full on low sunshine!

Taken on Friday 12/1/24 Milton Keynes 3108 working the X6 formally X60, except the Bus must be feeling nostalgic
for it’s former service number, as it still proudly shows X60!

Taken 2 minutes later is Aylesbury 3730 working the X5 formally 500, for many years past it was London Transport/London Country 301

Taken as is obvious brilliant sunshine on 15/1/24 Milton Keynes 3871 wearing ‘sapphire livery’ now without branding working the X4 formally 150.
Interestingly the new number and X suffix on this route, are not new to Aylesbury.

The X4 served the town in a totally different form some 30 years plus ago( anybody interested, read Oxford Chiltern Bus Page 46) And the 150 used to be numbered for many years the X15.

In far from ideal conditions for photography at this angle, is Milton Keynes 3873 correctly showing the new X6 on 16/1/24.

Looking tired and in need of a wash and brush up, 63314 also working the X74 on the same day.

The red Sprinters see irregular outings 978 seen in Bridge Street on January 16th

Generally six Sprinters provide service each weekday with 984 seen in Bridge Street on January 16th

Carousel now working the service to Wycombe Wanderers as seen by 218 on January 13th.

Thames Travel 850 is seen at Carousels yard on January 13th, believed to be for Engineering attention,

BJ73WXK is 722 and is H44/26F – I think this has the revised body. No body number yet but AV186 would be my guess.

There should be 70 including 722 to come (104 including 5 Kites and the 8 OT’s) which are likely to be 722-791 – AV186-255 possibly – Wright normally leave one Job number between batches for the parts order and AV257-61 are the Kites

I have just been out and about in Grovelands Kidlington this morning and managed to get a few images of OBC 722 BJ73WXJ arriving and leaving on its 700 service to Thornhill P&R.

The first City Electroliners, 722, seen on its second day in service working the 700 on January 18th.

722 has a new design of windscreen and lower front panels, unlike 701-21 which are of the previous design also used on Streetdecks.

39 and 40 continue in service promoting the Ashmolean in Oxford seen on the 13th and 10th January.

Seen not quite working their branded route, 376, 614 and 612 in recent January days.

I have attached Electroliners 701/2/4/9/11/12/13/16/17 to this email, I think these were all that were in service on Sunday.

On January 17th the following vehicles left the Oxford Bus Group fleet and moved to Go South West:

251 - [HW63 FHC]
252 - [HW63 FHD]
254 - [HW63 FHF]

253 - [HW63 FHE] is due to follow suit in the coming days.

There are four news Volvo/MCV saloons entering service in the last few days. Ed.

More Redline buses are being moved from Redline and I am awaiting full details from the company. Ed.

Former Stagecoach Witney's 11234 (SN69 ZDR) on my long 10 between Bristol Parkway and Severn Beach this evening, seen at Southmead Hospital.
Currently all bar two of the batch have transferred over and are in service, with 239 on loan to Oxford and 242 still at Witney in anticipation of the delivery of 11761.

Jack Cooper

Purchased for the 700 service when Stagecoach took this route over some 10 years ago,
10070 now see service working a variety of routes such as the 10, seen turning off St Aldates into Speedwell Street on January 13th.

10432 one of the few early MMCs remaining at Oxford seen turning off St Aldates into Speedwell Street on January 13th.

Few and far between the few remaining Hybrids generally work the 10 but above 12010 is seen in Gloucester Green
probably working as Staff Bus on January 10th.

The most recent repaints into local livery, 15752 is seen by The Randolph is working an S7 on January 12th.

Banbury bound, 27712 is seen by Debenhams is working an S4 on January 12th.

Jack Cooper

50435 turns off St Aldates into Speedwell Street on January 13th.

Sometime later 50453 from the depot follows on the same day.

Peter Edgar

A nice study of the Poppy tube 50452 seen at Lewknor on January 13th.

Jack Cooper

Megabus has changed the timetables of services through Oxford, these changes had taken place from Monday 8th January.

Services through Gloucester Green are now the M81 & M82. These services operate at the following times

M82: Portsmouth to Newcastle via Manchester - 10:45

M81: Bristol to Newcastle via Nottingham - 12:20

M81: Sheffield to Portsmouth - 13:15 (operated by Linburg)

M82: Newcastle to Portsmouth - 17:15

M81: Portsmouth to Sheffield via Nottingham - 19:25 (operated by Linburg)

M81: Leeds to Newport via Bristol - 21:25

The Megabus from Oxford Parkway is still operating, numbered M17 and runs at the following times

Glasgow to Southampton - 08:00

Southampton to Glasgow - 12:45

London operations

Andrew Webb

Engineering work on lines around Staines and Weybridge during the weekend of 13+14 January saw trains replaced by buses west of Hounslow with a wide range of operators participating. Two of the operators were from the Chilterns

A to Z Travel of Stoke Mandeville sent this Mercedes minibus.

Whilst Chiltern Automotive had this Alexander ALX400 Volvo B7TL which started life with First in Bristol and Bath.

A familiar sight on this work is Mortons, now part of National Express.
At least three of these Enviro 400 MMCs were in use.

Master Coaches are based locally in Hounslow and used this bright Wright bodied VDL
which started life as DW296 with Arriva London.

All are seen at Hounslow on 14 January.

Ben Christie

P635FFC with Harris of Pengam taken in Bargoed South Wales, Harris have a few of these ex Oxford Buses still giving daily service.

Lanzarote by Andrew Webb

Lanzarote Bus Routes and Timetables | LanzaroteGuide.com

Lanzarote is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, 125 kilometres off the north coast of Africa and 1,000 kilometers from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering 845.94 square kilometers, Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago.

Lanzarote is one of the Canary Islands - politically part of Spain but continentally closer to Africa. With a warm dry climate throughout the year, a visit over New Year provided sunny blue skies for bus photography, the clouds and storms in the UK being just a distant memory.

Interurban services across the island are provided by Intercity Bus from a hub bus station in the capital Arrecife. Backbone of the fleet are a batch of Iveco Crossways with dual doors, the centre door includes a wheelchair lift. A typical example is seen on New Year's Eve leaving Teguise, site of a very large Sunday market.

More modern additions to the fleet represent Turkish manufacturer Otokar
including this Territo U seen in Arrecife on 3 January whilst working route 3 from Puerto del Carmen.

The Vectio U is also represented in the fleet, this example in Arrecife was one of two working route 21 on the same day.

Also in the fleet are Mercedes Intouros, including this vehicle seen in Arrecife.

Local services in Arrecife are provided by the city council, although information is hard to find and services appear to be irregular. Bus are branded Guaguas Urbanas, the term 'guaguas' is believed to originate from Cuba but is widely used across the Canary Islands, but not elsewhere in Spain, to describe buses.

On 3 January this MAN NL273F with Castrosua New City body is seen pausing on the city's waterfront whilst working route 1.

Also in the fleet are Scania N230UBs carrying a Hispano Habit body painted green.
One is seen in the same location, albeit four years earlier on 31 December 2019.

Three of these Karsan e-JEST electric buses have recently entered service, one of which is seen on 3 January.

The Turkish manufacturer has recently announced plans to launch the model in the UK following the successful launch of a right hand drive version in Japan.

Tourism is a major part of Lanzarote's economy, providing good business for coach operators running transfers between the airport and resort as well as day excursions for travellers.

One of the largest operators is Grupo 1844 who operate across the Canary Islands with a fleet of distinctive orange coaches. Spanish manufacturer Irizar is well represented in the fleet, it being possible to see a range of the company's models.

Fleet number 407 carries a Century body on Scania chassis, seen arriving in Playa Blanca on 2 January.

Successor to the Century was the Irizar PB, as illustrated by 474 in Playa Blanca on 30 December.

Whilst British operators can only buy Irizar products as integral vehicles or mounted on Scania chassis, in Europe a wider range of chassis are available. This example is on Merced chassis.

Noge is another Spanish builder, its range includes the Touring H mounted on a MAN 12.250 chassis.

466 typifies the type as it scurries between hotels in Playa Blanca on 2 January.

This impressive tri axle coach is bodied by Castrosua on a MAN chassis.
It was also captured in Playa Blanca on 2 January

Dutch manufacturer VDL has also supplied vehicles to Grupo 1844 with a batch of FHD2,
including this one seen awaiting Jet 2 customers in Playa Blanca on 30 December.

A few minutes later this Irisbus Magelys PRO from the fleet of Lanzarote Bus arrived at the same location.

This company is another with a varied fleet, many coming from Spanish manufacturers.

This Irizar i6 and double deck Ayats are both seen departing Teguise on 31 December whilst on excursions to the Sunday market

Bus Leader are another operator of services for tourists,
examples of their fleet of Irizar PBs are seen at Teguise on New Year's Eve.

In the same location is another Irizar PB from the Veguita Bus fleet,
the black and green livery seemingly giving the coach a more pronounced 'bulge' at the front.

Buikk 32 wear this purple livery as seen on the Irizar PB bodied Mercedes
collecting Jet 2 passengers in Playa Blanca on 5 January

Tour operator TUI like to transfer their passengers in coaches painted in the company's blue livery.

Two examples are seen in Playa Blanca on 31 December. It is not clear who is the operator of these coaches.

A first class report which I thank Andrew who tells me he enjoys preparing. Ed.

Reader's visits outside our area

Nick Ross

Two images from the Highlands for your excellent website

City Link's Uig bound coach YT23 YHL crosses the busy Skye Bridge in good weather on January 9th 2024.

Stagecoach Aberdeen's Enviro loads up outside Inverurie's town hall on service 9 from the granite city on January 11th 2024.

BJ73WVW	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000411	Wt AV263	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	190
BJ73WVX	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000412	Wt AV264	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	191
BJ73WVY	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000413	Wt AV265	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	192
BJ73WVZ	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000414	Wt AV266	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	193
BJ73WWA	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000415	Wt AV267	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	194
BJ73WWB	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000416	Wt AV268	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	195
BJ73WWC	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000417	Wt AV269	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	196
BJ73WWD	Wt StDk Elr SC5DDREXU23000418	Wt AV270	PO??/??F	/2024	Tappins	197