Its a wrap

Unless I have missed this up until now, the latest advert wrap for Plymouth Citybus presented itself to me this evening at Derriford Hospital…

514 WF63LYY

The Great Britain Sail Grand Prix Bus

There were a couple of good reasons why there were no postings over the weekend. First of all I have l a lot less time while I look after my wife as she recovers, but also – there wasn't actually anything to post for the usual Devon & Cornwall Transit posts. No new service changes were registered last week and no services are changing this week. Its been a while since that last happened!

However, one thing that has happened is the new livery wrap on Plymouth Citybus 576 which I think is one of the nicest ones for a while. Thanks to Jason Beverley for the photos.

She was of course formerly the Nancy Astor bus...

Another advert bus for Citybus

Thanks to Brian George we have a few quick phone pics of the latest repaint by Plymouth Citybus:

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Heart FM Enviro

Another Plymouth Citybus Enviro 400 has lost the Red Flash livery and is now in this smart advert for Heart FM

No longer pretending to be a local radio station!

Customer Experience are now closed and back on TUESDAY at 8am -Have a great Bank Holiday weekend to all our customers. Bus Rally at Milehouse on Sunday 10-4 see you there. Don't forget Sunday service on Bank Holiday Monday. ^JB pic.twitter.com/nF9eXm0JbQ

— Plymouth Citybus (@plymouthbus) August 23, 2019

Reminder: We want to wish all our customers a very Happy Bank Holiday weekend. We hope you enjoy the nice weather, Why not take a trip on the OCS open top bus? Don't forget on Monday it will largely be a Sunday service full timetables can be found https://t.co/x1e8GbWJyh pic.twitter.com/Y1oaYGGq1H

— Plymouth Citybus (@plymouthbus) August 23, 2019

Thank you @enigmatorbay for our brand new selfie board. You can tweet your photo's @StagecoachSW tomorrow on Paignton Green for Children's Week? #childrensweek pic.twitter.com/aj4uVQW5HH

— Stagecoach SouthWest (@StagecoachSW) August 23, 2019

Looking like a nice day why not have a ride on one of our open top vehicles (cp). pic.twitter.com/DaKYKCUmz8

— Cornwall by Kernow (@by_Kernow) August 23, 2019

The Sound of the Citybus

 

The latest advert livery to hit Plymouth is Citybus 501 in a new blue based scheme for Radio Plymouth

Both © Jason Beverley. With thanks.

Of course 501 has been blue before…

but was more recently Red Flash

The old Radio Plymouth bus was Volvo East Lancs 401 in a much nicer scheme

I believe this is still in service at the moment but I guess it wont be around for much longer?

Turn up the feel good Plymouth

Former Blue Flash 504 hits the road in a new advert wrap for Heart FM. Pics thanks to Brian George:

 

All © Brian George - with thanks

A reminder of how it used to look

Citybus Citybuses in Full Colour

As I need to clear the decks a bit this week to write up a job application and also set up a web site for my wife I have arranged a series of posts a few days in advance. Following on from yesterdays Life after Plymouth we have a Five Photo Feature on their life whilst in Plymouth....

181 July 2011

189 July 2002

189 December 2007

190 August 2002

197 April 2008

Colourful Citybus Conformity

Five Photos for Friday...

We round off the week with photo feature. There was a time when the bus scene in Plymouth was heading towards a very bland conformity when both Plymouth Citybus and First were buying almost identical buses with Mercedes breadvans and Dennis Dart / Plaxton Pointers. One of the few ways to make this a little bit more interesting was to plaster the Darts with all over adverts. Luckily for us the buying policy for both companies soon separated out giving us different buses again. Representing the Plymouth Citybus Pointer fleet we have five T Reg Darts in advert wraps covering a period between May 2007 and March 2012.

40 T140FJ May 2007

38 T138EFJ October 2007

39 T139EFJ June 2009

34 T134EFJ August 2010

29 T129EFJ March 2012

Recommended Reading

• East Anglian Rail Scene: Fleet ~ AbellioGreaterAnglia
• Focus Transport: £80million Order for New Stagecoach Vehicles Stagecoach Group has announced passengers are to benefit from an investment of more than £80million in new buses and coaches for services in the UK and mainland Europe.
• Ipswich Bus Blog: 32487 ON THE 60/61 AGAIN AND 65579 LIKES THE 53!
• Norwich Buses: Oddball Wednesday - E101VWA and F616CWJ
• Norwich Buses: Big changes ahead at Sanders
• Portishead Update: Sheepway to lose X3
• Public Transport Experience: TWSW - Trucks With Short Wheelbase? Troubles With Snowy Weather?
• Public Transport Experience: TWSW - Elementary my dear Watson? Stagecoach Initiatives Impress
• Southampton Bus Update More Woolston routes divert from Monday
• Steves Bus and Train Page: All The Best Laid Plans!
• Steves Bus and Train Page: New Bus For BorderBus and 32061 on road

Take the bus

Not really anything to do with Plymouth, but these adverts are brilliant. This is the way to advertise bus travel!

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Recommended Links

Durham County Council has installed a brand new bus shelter with flag, pole, litter bin and timetable frame at a bus stop without buses. How utterly daft can you get? Public Transport Experience

Well LT2 has been in service for a whole week and when I was on it on Friday it was still attracting a huge amount of attention. I am taking this opportunity to deal with some myths. Leon Daniels

So, Mail On-line, your map is WRONG, utterly. Buses do serve this stop. Public Transport Experience

With the risks come rewards. It’s two years since (Transdev) Yellow Buses introduced its Glo smartcard. It proved popular right from the start. The number of smart transactions has seen a 70 per cent year-on-year increase. Omnibuses

In fact both sections of the line were closed to passengers before the Good Doctor's report was accepted as Government Policy; so he can't be blamed in the slightest. Even the subsequent closure for freight was "on the cards" before Dr Richard chose to champion his chopper! Public Transport Experience

The main reason for my trip to south west Wales was a very welcome early event in the 2012 rally season, the Swansea Bus Museum's 'Regent 30' running day, commemorating the withdrawal of the final South Wales Transport AEC Regent Vs in 1982 Transport Illustrated

It is exactly two years since fbb wrote his first blog. It was sons numbers 1 and 3 who persuaded him to start. "But no-one will read it," complained "Pops", "and how will anyone know it's there?" Public Transport Experience

Is there no stopping Go Ahead in its acquisition of England’s smaller operators? After a general lull in activity, Go Ahead seems to have taken up the mantle with its buying spree. Omnibuses

Last week, First Hants & Dorset announced on VOSA and the unofficial First Hants & Dorset forum that Eclipse wouldn't be the only massive route change taking place from Monday 23rd April. This is a date from which First services across the south coast will change hugely. Southern England Bus Scene

Something fishy

Just a very quick post with a couple of rushed photos taken with my phone last night on the way home. Seeing how dark it was getting I am surprised that they came out at all. Plymouth Citybus 425 Y828TGH now sports this smart wrap for the National Marine Aquarium.

 

I will catch up on the links etc tomorrow – I have just checked my Reader account and I have over 1000 entries to go through- and its getting very late!

Getting back Down to Business

Managed to get an hour in town this week to catch up on a few photos. Citybus have a new advert bus out:

The brand new sound…

The Citybus workshop staff have been busy putting the Volvo B7Ls into service over the last few months, all of which have been repainted and tided up internally before being placed into service. The latest one to be sorted out is 401

© B George

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As well as having the advert wrap applied for Radio Plymouth (well timed seeing as 'heart' have finally all but finished off the old Plymouth Sound station) this bus is the first one to have the centre exit door to be removed. Looks good and I am sure will provide useful extra seating capacity on these fine buses. Its also nice to see an advert that does not cover up all the windows.

Wheelchair accessible vehicles are available

Advertising the opposition

I did manage to get out yesterday with my camera to try and catch up on the transport scene. It was freezing cold down at Marsh Mills and I am amazed I didn't get frostbite on my hands, but I still managed to take 384 photos in all, which included my 1000th photo with the new camera - not bad for three weeks! I am sure it will take me ages to get them all sorted and online but I have managed a few including Citybus 39 which has eluded me so far. It is in this bright yellow advert wrap for a local taxi firm. I have made my feelings known about the wisdom of advertising the opposition before so I wont go one again (much). Having said that, I have to admit it is a bright well thought out design (on the off side at least) which does its job very well, unlike many of these advert wraps. I do like the message on the nearside, by the door: "Wheelchair accessible vehicles available" - almost as good as a bus then!

Further Reading Omnibuses: Look behind the headline Transport of Delight: Good news for NX PTOTPA: M52HOD Leon Daniels: Old bus for London Omnibuses: A softer approach Omnibuses: Overlap Part 2 TGP: Royal Albert Bridge First on Twitter / Facebook 5th Feb 14:34 PLYMOUTH: Diversion of ugobus service 6 around Holwood Avenue due to waterworks for 4 weeks from Monday 8th February 6th Feb 11:56 Don't forget if you're in Tavistock today pop down to our park and ride event at Bedford square. Lots of freebies & you can see the P&R bus 7th Feb 10:27 TAVISTOCK: don't forget there's a new timetable for service 89 from tomorrow. See the service changes section of www.firstgroup.com/devon Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 5 Feb 2010 nothing to say!

Its a wrap - but smarter

First get smarter with their advert buses?

I have never been a fan of buses with large advert wraps plastered all over their windows as it can make for a miserable experience for the passengers inside, especially on wet days where it can become all but impossible to see out through them. When I first saw this example, and I think there is more than one, it struck me as a slightly better compromise in that at least it left most windows free. It was only when I had a closer look at the photo that I realised how smart First have been. It actually looks like there is some sort of frame around the advert, rather than just being stuck over the windows. This makes it tidier and I guess easier to apply to the bus. I have been a passenger on this bus, and at first I didn't even notice the advert which I guess is an improvement. Maybe if I was sat on the seats right next to it I may have done, but back in my normal seats the bus seemed just as bright and airy as these buses normally do.

Further Reading Plymouth Local History: Obliske - fascinating stuff! Plymouth Local History: Tamerton Foliot Highton-Ridley: Dartmoor Thaw TGP: Give us a hand TGP: Go Ahead Oxford and Newquay First on Twitter / Facebook 27 Jan 2010 17:20 Dont forget we now operate services to Plympton, Chaddlewood, Estover, Mainstone and Ernesettle from Plymouth City Centre - why not give our Ugobus services a try Citybus on Twitter / Facebook 27 Jan 2010 nothing to see here!

Its a bad choice of wrap for Citybus

Citybus suggest you get a taxi instead

Citybus 126 seen last April urging everyone to catch a taxi instead. I have no idea if this bus is still in this livery, although I have not seen it for a while now. I never did understand why Citybus were happy to accept the advert contract either. I can see that its very handy income but it does seem odd to the telling potential passengers that a taxi is a good idea! Well, last week I saw a new advert bus at a distance so I didnt know who or what it was advertising. I have now seen it in its full glory, and yes, you have guessed it, Dial a Cab! this time in a very bright all over yellow livery - you cant miss it. (I would like to be able to say I have not posted a photo of the bus as some sort of high principle against this sort of thing - but the reality is I have not seen any photos of it yet - and am still sans-camera)  The bus is number 39 which is no stranger to advert liveries seen here in its previous guise: So the message is clear - if you want to go somewhere, its late, its dark, its cold, Go Ahead - book a taxi...