It has been a number of years since First South West took delivery of any new coaches, but in late May three Yutong GT12s entered service on new Flixbus UK049 route from Penzance to London. They are numbered 27001-3 (YH25 CZP/R/S).
I photographed two of them this afternoon on Western Approach. 27002 is seen arriving from Penzance for the 1555 departure to London.
27003 is seen departing to Penzance, timetabled to leave Plymouth at 1425 but actually at 1643, 2 hours 18 mins late! I'd been tracking this coach and positioned myself to photograph it passing the Copthorne Hotel on its way in, only to find the driver had not followed the prescribed route for coaches (from North Cross down Western Approach) but sneaked down Mayflower Street and negotiated what is a very sharp left turn into the coach station.
Kind regards Mark Bailey – thanks as always for the excellent photos
Both photos © Mark Bailey
National Express needs to up there game in the South West. There still using coaches that are 7 years and over on their routes to Birmingham and London
ReplyDeleteNew coaches are on order
DeleteParks of Hamilton still running them or are defecting over to Flixbus
DeleteStill Parks. Theyre being stubborn.
DeleteI caught one of these back from London on Saturday night last week. The service was full from London to Exeter and Still busy into Plymouth.
ReplyDeleteFor a Chinese coach (I was a bit cautious beforehand) I have to say it was a really good experience. It was comfortable, the driver was very friendly and finally with all the people on the bus and the temperature that night. The air con was sublime. Finally, the coach arrived at the station about 20 minutes earlier which meant that I got to my bed 20 minutes earlier than planned.
I'm really glad the service is getting well used, long may it continue. we need more options in the south west to get about at night than just the national express and the gwr sleeper.
Operators buy Yutong coaches because of their high quality.
DeleteYutong coaches (and buses) are Chinese-built, but are fitted out by Pelican Bus and Coach in the UK who also handle the sales and aftercare - apparently the service Pelican provides is second-to-none, which is one reason why Yutongs are proving popular.
DeleteDoes anyone know what time the Plymouth transport preservation group rally starts at rame tommorow?
ReplyDeletePelican is doing a good job but the main reason sales are strong is the price. The one big unknown is how long the vehicles will last. My fear is the damage that is being done to bus building in the UK. Plaxton has given up and ADL is looking to close Falkirk completely. It doesn't seem right that government money being paid to operators through schemes such as ZEBRA is not required to be spent within the UK and is benefiting overseas manufacturers at the expense of jobs in the UK.
ReplyDeleteIt's not just price. McGills, who are based in Greenock, and have acquired operators elsewhere in Scotland, should be a natural customer for ADL products. Here's why they went for Yutong electric vehicles instead.
Deletehttps://www.greenocktelegraph.co.uk/news/25269067.mcgills-group-bus-order-china-instead-adl/
Have you any evidence that these purchasing decisions are based purely on price? These vehicles need to last at least 15 years and operators are not going to buy them if they have any doubts that they won't last as it would turn out to be a very expensive mistake irrespective of any upfront savings. The reality is that the capital cost is only one factor in any vehicle purchasing decision. Other main factors are build quality, performance, delivery lead times, warranties and after-sales support. Yutong/Pelican are strong in all these.
DeleteWrightbus is able to compete effectively with imports and is expanding. Why can't ADL?