First time round the bendy

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It does seem from comments left on this site, and elsewhere on 'the net', that First are indeed planning to run bendy buses in Plymouth on the Park & Ride services. There will be 9 coming down from Scotland to replace the current double decker's. It is not known where the Enviros will be going but it has been suggested they are heading out of the area, possibly to Weston-Super-Mare but none of this has been confirmed.
This is not the first time that bendy buses have hit the streets of Plymouth. In fact there have been quite a few over the years but up until now none of them have stayed.
In 2001 First Manchester 2201 (10071 in new money) visited Plymouth and was used for free rides at the Western National Rally, which was held at Seaton Barracks. I don't think it was used in service at anytime.
This bus was brand new at the time. Ironically it looks like it is still newer than the examples which are rumoured to be heading towards Plymouth as we are getting W reg buses.
Having said that, if they are refurbished properly and given non dating registrations most passengers wouldn't know quite how old they are as the Wright body design has aged really well and still looks more modern that most buses we have in Plymouth, although Citybus hope to get their new Volvo Wright buses on the road in April which might just highlight the contrast of Citybus giving us new and First replacing their newest buses with much older second-hand ones.
As always plans can change...

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Going Ahead Strong

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Revenue at the Go-Ahead Group in the first half of it 2012 financial year was up, at £1,199.5million (2011: £1,132.2). However operating profit dropped to £51.7million (2011: £59.0million).

Bus & Coach

David Brown, Group Chief Executive, commented:
“I am pleased to report a good set of results for the first half of the financial year. Growth has continued across all of our businesses as the public seek high quality, convenient and value for money alternatives to the private car.

“In bus, our strategic focus of operating in more vibrant urban areas, predominantly in the South East, combined with innovative local marketing and the promotion of smart ticketing has continued to deliver passenger growth. We recently announced the acquisition of Carousel, a small bus business in High Wycombe, which fits perfectly with our strategy of acquiring bolt-on businesses which provide a solid basis for increasing passenger numbers.

“As London’s largest bus and rail operator we will play a significant role in providing transport services for the Olympic Games. We look forward to demonstrating the quality of our services and staff. In particular our high speed ‘Javelin’ rail services will transport spectators in an impressive seven minutes from St Pancras International to the Olympic Park.

“We have a very strong position in the UK rail market with our long term partner Keolis, with whom we have recently submitted initial bid documents for Thameslink and Essex Thameside. Together, we have been operating trains in the UK for 15 years, running around 5,500 services a day on our three franchises and carrying more passengers each year than on most European countries’ rail networks.

“The Group remains in a good financial position with strong cash generation and a robust balance sheet.

“Looking ahead, whilst we remain suitably cautious about the wider economic outlook, in rail we expect first half revenue growth trends to continue in the second half and in bus we expect a solid performance despite an impact from the implementation of a new contract.

“Overall, we continue to anticipate the Group will deliver full year results in line with management expectations.”

Go Ahead Group

[The planned posting has been postponed as it seems Flickr has gone offline for the evening…]

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Olympians

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Its nice to see the Olympian still serving Plymouth. The latest Volvo Olympian for Plymouth is 34068 P568EFL...
This is a nice design which has stood the test of time and still looks good today. Sadly the original bacth of Volvo Olympians are now down to just the one - 34003

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Bendy to Coypool?

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First Devon & Cornwall are already one of the select few operators of bendy buses within First Group as they operate them on the Eden Project contract. They have now added another one to the fleet with 10133 currently in Plymouth in what appears to be a fresh repaint in standard barbie livery.

I had heard it had been reported as being at The Ride but assumed it was here for repainting for the Eden contract, which I guess is still a possibility but I observed it coming out of the Coypool Park & Ride site on Monday although no passengers were being carried. Could it be a test to see if they would be suitable for the Park & Ride PR2? The only problem I can see is the congestion on the Royal Parade bus stops.

It did look like Citybus were likely to take on some of Go Aheads Mercedes Citaro bendys as it seemed to work on the 21 route but this seems to have been put on hold. Maybe the forthcoming change to the 21 with it no longer going up into Steer Park will make it a more bendy – friendly route?

Sadly I was unable to get a photo as I was sat in McDonalds stuffing my face at the time but thanks to ‘awsnews’ I can bring you a photo of the same bus taken back in July still in Glasgow.

©awsnews. 1st July 2011

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