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Been thinking of how unusual the bus operator mix is where I currently live feels, and wonder how unusual it actually is. Haddington, East Lothian has an official population of ~10,000 (probably more like 15,000 after recent expansion) and is currently served by four operators: East Coast...

I'm curious and wondered if anyone could offer any insight. According to a combination of memory and googling, the original Dennis Dart was launched in 1989, the SLF version in 1996, followed by the Trident in 1997. If you follow the Darts lineage it appears to continue, through various owners...

Moderator note: split from https://www.railforums.co.uk/threads/lothian-group-discussion-lothian-city-lothian-country-bus-and-east-coast-buses.208948/page-212#post-5785224 North Bridge misery set to continue...

Just for discussion so not to mess up the under-rated thread. Routes today with the wrong allocations in your opinion. For example: Minis where Midi's would be better? Lightweights where Heavyweights would be better? Single instead of decker? Old vehicles on premium routes? Bus Seated...

As someone that works outside the industry but have a keenness in understanding it, I wanted to ask these engineering type questions knowing fine well there won't be a hard and fast answer, just looking for general responses. Big fleets (Stagecoach/First/Arriva/NX Group/Lothian etc) all...

So I mean at an industry or spotter level. Not oh my grandad used to call Citaros "Zippos" because they always catch fire I mean unofficial terms that you could use and the vast majority would know what you meant. For example, the original First Group corporate livery circa 1998 dubbed near...

Started this as a new thread as I don't want to derail the UK bus builder thread which prompted the thinking. Obviously the UK government has revised the decarbonisation target for road vehicles a few times. LEZ and ULEZ and such zones are springing up around the country. Operators are having...

Qualifying criteria: lessor seen signage on a public highway that is specific to buses and/or coaches only... I'll start off proceedings with this which I noticed the other day and it got me wondering what else is out there? Caption: road sign reading "Saloon Buses Only" - prior to the...

Been thinking about this so wanted to see what the general feeling is. How different to your pre-COVID travel do you think your post-COVID travel will look like and why? Will it be by the same modes (eg car, train, bus, walk, cycle etc) or do you see your "mix" changing? I work in an office and...

I'm looking to omit vans and other general support vehicles and look for the more obscure - do any operators keep their own full towing rigs these days? Tree loppers? That sort of thing? I open with the beachball horsebox: https://www.flickr.com/photos/david_love/4717526850/ As per comments...

Was originally going to post my specific question but throwing it open as we all may learn something - who knows! I think my question is in the infamous "rivet counter" category but it's something I've been meaning to ask for ages so here it goes... Wonky wipers... I'm pretty sure there is a...

Didn't want to clog up the Lothian / ECB thread (although they may warrant separating, in which case perhaps this thread could be East Lothian Operators?) For now this is to cover the East Lothian Independent operators e.g. NOT East Coast Buses nor Borders Buses etc. I note from a Flickr...

Here's the challenge - the lowest seated capacity vehicle capable of "normal service" on a publicly accessible route. Can be modern day or historic. I'm going to define the qualifying criteria as: * Proper fitted destination blind/display * Power door(s) * Ticket machine fitted Question...

Similar to the re-entering fleet discussion, any examples of vehicles being sold on by their operators, only for them to come back to haunt their former owner in service for a direct competitor? Whether the sale was direct (quite unlikely) or via other parties counts I would say. Direct...

I remember in the 80s and 90s the term "dual purpose" was generally used for coach seated vehicles that were able to run bus routes. Alexander T and TE bodied Leopards, Tigers and Dorchester's in SBG territories for example. The term seems to have fallen out of use, but coach seated buses at...

Following on from a similar brain teaser I wanted to ask this one. I don't have the answer it's just asking out loud: looking for public service vehicles that have had a long list of owners. Transferring within the same corporate organisation doesn't count - but acquisition by a new parent...

Was wondering today who would hold the record for most repainted vehicle? I'm thinking due to reallocation, change of corporate colours or paint refresh and not due to accident damage. Lothian/ECB 09 and 10 plate Gemini 2s went past me today both in their third livery which seems a lot...

For me reliability is a combination of the quality of the product, the maintenance regime undertaken and a reflection on how hard a unit is worked. That said, for all the panning of rattly Streetlites, poor selling Optares and underpowered B5s - what is there out there now (and gone in recent...

Wonder if someone can help satisfy my curiosity? Why did the equivalent Dennis products outsell their Volvo counterparts throughout the 90s and 00s by such massive margins? Price? Weight? Running costs? Engine options? Bodywork options? Something else? When you think of their coach and deckers...

Starting a new thread for this so I don't take another off topic! I find it questionable that taxis are deemed the same as buses, and allowed to use bus lanes to skip the traffic etc and not like private cars which in my mind are what they act as - chauffeur driven ones! My analysis is: Bus...