Slowly getting a chance to catch up on events.
Thought it best to start with a round up of the Oxford buses for Plymouth Citybus with the confirmed fleet numbers for the whole batch
| No. | Reg | Chassis | Body | Seats | New | Livery |
| 5025 | OE11YNJ | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Jun 2011 | Red |
| 5026 | OE11YNK | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Apr 2011 | maroon |
| 5027 | OE11YNL | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Jun 2011 | Red |
| 5028 | OE11YMY | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Apr 2011 | Purple |
| 5029 | OE11YMZ | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Apr 2011 | Maroon |
| 5030 | OE11YNO | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Apr 2011 | Purple |
| 5031 | OE11YNM | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | May 2011 | Red |
| 5032 | OE11YNN | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | May 2011 | Red |
| 5033 | OE11YNP | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | May 2011 | Maroon |
| 5034 | OE11YNF | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | May 2011 | Red |
| 5035 | OE11YMX | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Apr 2011 | Red |
| 5036 | OE11YNB | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | May 2011 | Red |
| 5037 | OE11YNC | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Jun 2011 | Red |
| 5038 | OE11YNH | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H47/30F | Jun 2011 | Red |
| 5039 | SN60BXW | Alexander Dennis Trident E40H | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 | H45/31F | Oct 2010 | Go CORNWALL bus |
I may not be fully up to date on the liveries for this batch as they are progressing through the paintshop.
5029 seen approaching St Budeaux on service 12 from Bude. 17 May 2024
© Mark Bailey – with thanks
Slightly annoyed these have mainly been put on Cornwall routes, like most things… Thought they were replacing the Scanias?
ReplyDelete5039 is in plain red but carries a bright rear end advert for Plymouth Active
ReplyDeleteAnd front end logo for Cornwall. Make it make sense!!
DeleteIt seems not for long! This week's edition of the Oxford & Chilterns Bus Page has input from Luke Marion, head of the Oxford companies to say that "we will be moving our fleet numbering to a 5 digit system in the not too distant future as part of the roll out of a new Go-Ahead group engineering system which requires all buses nationwide to have a unique number." Ten Enviro 400s newly acquired from National Express West Midlands have been allocated the first such numbers.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! There have been rumours in the past.
DeletePlymouth will be prefixed 7xxxx. Simple numbering expected, 550 would become 70550. 4011=74011 etc
DeleteThat could be quite clever given that there's nine distinct fleets. Is the idea to change the first character if a bus moves from, say, Plymouth to Oxford? Of course, London, currently has an alpha-numeric system but a parallel four digit fuelling number. So Plymouth is 7xxxx and Oxford 8xxxx.
DeleteWhich of course means vehicles will still need renumbering when they transfer between companies, which seems to defeat the point of a national numbering scheme, unless of course the point of the scheme is to immediately identify where the vehicle is allocated.
DeleteIt makes sense from a group perspective and I suppose it was inevitable at some point, but at the same time each subsidiary will lose some of its individually.
ReplyDeleteI did ask this a week or so back but maybe the comment didn't get through. There is now a Megabus service from 27 June from Plymouth to London. One return Th/F/Sa/Su/M - does anyone know who is operating it, and with what vehicle?
ReplyDeletehttps://www.plymouthherald.co.uk/news/plymouth-news/new-megabus-service-connecting-plymouth-9371024
Also First South West's orders for Taunton's ZEBRA2 have been announced as 12 Yutong U11DD, 4 Yutong single-decks and 9 Wrightbus single-decks
https://www.route-one.net/news/first-bus-orders-169-yutong-electrics-for-zebra-2-successful-bids/
First has ordered Yutongs for all its West of England ZEBRA2 awards. As well as the Taunton vehicles, 24 U11DD double-deckers are going to Weston-super-Mare for the X1 and X4, whilst Hengrove Depot in south Bristol will have 67 U11DD for routes 24, 70, 72, 73, 75 and 76 plus seven single-deck Yutongs for Clifton route 8. The Taunton and Weston bids are awarded from the money ring-fenced for rural bids as both local authorities are classified as rural.
Delete(In case you are wondering, the balance of First's Yutong order is going to Basildon in Essex).
Stagecoach South West Plymouth depot blue Elite i & driver to Taunton where Barnstaple driver (using crew car from North Devon) takes over (as Barnstaple-Bristol Megabus axed). Believe Plymouth driver returns to Plymouth in crew car with same in reverse for return journey from London.
DeleteIs it a Falcon livery coach running the service or a Megabus livery coach?
DeleteStagecoach plymouth 54220 is ment to do the m52 but 54293 been on it this week.
ReplyDeleteOn another note saw 1 of the ex pcb e200 that went to Carousel looks like it due a repaint as still got its last citybus livery but with Carousel on front.
When will the Falcon coaches be replaced there starting to become shabby, the air conditioning doesn't work and there becoming unreliable
ReplyDeleteThe Scottish Citylink (CDG/SC) managed Falcon contract requires new (or is it newer?) coaches in 2025 I believe?
DeleteCame down on the Falcon from Bristol to Plymouth last Saturday morning and from Bristol Airport to Exeter I was the only one on it. Coach was shaking when it got up speed and the air conditioning was broken. The coaches are worn out. Will this service last with the new coaches from Flixbus and National Express
ReplyDeleteI have spent some time looking into the new GA engineering plans through various sources and generally, it seems like a pretty good idea. Initially, the numbering system will indeed take on regional company prefix numbers - it would be much more difficult to renumber buses based on type considering in London alone there's over 2400! There's no indication that the numbers will changes during transfers. It's possible that current numbers may not be within the new system, IE: 148 might not be 70148, but may be different depending on the other buses of it's type in GSW. Time will tell, but certainly interesting times. The next question is, what else is changing...
ReplyDelete2464 now has Plymouth Citybus branding with much larger Part of Go Ahead across the side. Neater. Missing tramlines so wondering if they'll be added at all...
ReplyDelete2464s tramlines have been added now.. in a much better place for neatness of the fleet
DeleteI see that now the school holidays have started, the 34 route has become the dumping ground for the Scanias. Two of them were swapped out for the Oxford deckers at Millhouse at different points today though.
ReplyDeletedon’t understand why! surely the scanias should be binned off now like we hoped, as much as they are classics, they are so so past it.
Deleteas a regular 34 user, I’m fed up of it, I know as long as a bus turns up and takes me where I need to go, thats the main thing, but one of the Oxford E400s turned up the other day and admittedly it was probably the smoothest bus ride i’ve ever had
Responding to my own comment here, but there are five Oxford buses on the 34 today! I’d go get some photos if it wasn’t a beach day!
Deletei guess the Scanias really are EOL now?
DeleteSome of the scanias are being transferred to Dartline ready for september apparently for schools etc
DeleteQuick fleet check looking at last tracking on Bustimes (not the most accurate I know) but these stand out;
ReplyDeleteWonder if 163 has been withdrawn, not seen since start of the month.
150 still out of action from its RTC in January, is this a write-off?
152 out since May, 350 out since March, 2465 out since May (already!), 4006 (since May)
5001,5002 both been out for a fair while now
5001 was in action in Cornwall on Thursday last week
Delete150 is out due to the fatality if the accident, probably in an evidence store until the trail
2437 has been out since April too
There's only 16x left, it might be 165. 163 has bits removed at Milehouse.
Delete150 out during police investigations /trial.
The others I'm not sure but 350/351 phased out by the 20xx series
Correction. 164 is the remaining ex EYMS
DeleteIt's weird how they've not used 350 at all since March.
Delete161,164,168 all still out in use today. Surely can't be long left for the remaining scania's / 08 e200's either?
The e200's are battered now
When are the Falcon coaches being replaced and what with?
ReplyDeleteRequired next year if indeed Stagecoach Plymouth regains the contract (remember SC is minority partner to CDG now in Megabus managed by Citylink)
DeleteOxford deckers on 34 so Scanias can be prepared for Boardmasters
ReplyDeleteScanias are mainly going to Dartline fleet.
Delete