Arriva Buses (including Greenline)

[ANDY90PJ]

Anyone know what has been ordered for Stevenage as they got funding for 27 electric buses?

 

[MedwayValiant]

The restricted route is the 145. Part of it cannot be traversed with longer vehicles (and is already difficult to serve outside of the pure off-peak because of parking, hence it isn't), and indeed when longer vehicles are allocated during the day, it has to omit this section (i.e. as the evening).

I do not believe there is any intention to increase frequency - and even if there was, they are unlikely to have the driver capacity to do so - and that the older vehicles will be retained or used elsewhere. It's worth noting that almost all of the 16xx MPDs (of -04- or -06- vintage) have been withdrawn over the last year and small vehicle availability is very, very low across the entire company.

Thanks, that is much as I imagined.

That loop around Warren Wood Road and Orion Road must be marginal even at the times when it is served. Its five stops are fairly lightly used, most of it is within 5 minutes walk of the Arethusa Road terminus circle (the stop officially called "Primary Academy"), and the top end isn't far from the 101 either. The very fact that it is served on Saturday daytimes (although not on Sundays) suggests that you actually can get round it when most people's cars are present, although not easily.

Some drivers won't go round the terminus circle in a larger vehicle either, so the route clearly does need the new E200s - but on a 12 minute interval, they're not big enough for the loadings. The route needs four buses off peak, and annoyingly, abandoning the loop wouldn't quite prevent that needing to be five if it was a 10 minute interval. Assumng that Arriva are not currently able to add a duty (lack of drivers), I'm not sure where they could "find" that extra bus from another route, but it needs to be done.

 

[47550]

Arriva North West breadvan 4700 was destroyed by fire this morning in Hale, Greater Manchester. The news report says the driver and passengers were all evacuated safely - though must have been quite a shock.

Bus bursts into flames on village high street

The road has been cordoned off by emergency services

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk

"At around 08.30am on Thursday 5 January, firefighters were called out to a bus fire on Ashley Road in Hale.

"Two fire engines from Altrincham and Sale fire stations attended the scene and extinguished the fire using two hose reels and one breathing apparatus.

"Fire crews were on scene for approximately forty-five minutes and left after making the scene safe."

A spokesperson for Arriva said:

"We can confirm one of our buses caught fire in Hale Village this morning the cause is not yet known.
"Our driver evacuated all passengers and himself safely and the Fire Service and Police attended the scene and have dealt with the fire."

 

[ScotGG]

Christ that site is full of rubbish and pop ups to wade through.

 

[RELL6L]

The E400s at Leicester have also begun entry to service.
The Versas to Wycombe are to replace Citaros as a more suitable vehicle type for Town Services there.

Saw Versa 2953 operating from Wycombe on the 850 this evening. I can’t see how they are more suitable than Citaros on any town service or the 800/850. Are they just cheaper to run - until they fall apart? The Citaros are not old enough to be scrapped yet - are they going elsewhere?

 

[philthetube]

Christ that site is full of rubbish and pop ups to wade through.

you can always subscribe and pay for the news instead, the money has to come from somewhere.

 

[Llandudno]

Christ that site is full of rubbish and pop ups to wade through.

Which one, the Manchester Evening News or Arriva one…!

 

[Andy Pacer]

Saw Versa 2953 operating from Wycombe on the 850 this evening. I can’t see how they are more suitable than Citaros on any town service or the 800/850. Are they just cheaper to run - until they fall apart? The Citaros are not old enough to be scrapped yet - are they going elsewhere?

I'd have thought they'd be more suitable than a heavy weight Citaro for town services and probably more reliable, but they wouldn't be my first choice for the Reading corridor.
It has been remarked elsewhere the Citaros are going to Aylesbury, although that wasn't the original plan.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I'd have thought they'd be more suitable than a heavy weight Citaro for town services and probably more reliable, but they wouldn't be my first choice for the Reading corridor.

My thoughts entirely - the Versas are probably ok for the 32 but maybe something more durable for the 800.

 

[duncombec]

Saw Versa 2953 operating from Wycombe on the 850 this evening. I can’t see how they are more suitable than Citaros on any town service or the 800/850. Are they just cheaper to run - until they fall apart? The Citaros are not old enough to be scrapped yet - are they going elsewhere?

I'd have thought they'd be more suitable than a heavy weight Citaro for town services and probably more reliable, but they wouldn't be my first choice for the Reading corridor.
It has been remarked elsewhere the Citaros are going to Aylesbury, although that wasn't the original plan.

I don't know this end of the Shires very well, but could this just be a product of Arriva's RAG - Random Allocation Generator - rather than any lasting regular allocation?

 

[67thave]

After pulling out of Sheppey's local network a while back, Arriva will stop operating its Sittingbourne town services (347 and 349) on February 13th, with Chalkwell taking over operations of these two routes.

Chalkwell to Take Over 347, 349 and 647 Bus Routes

Chalkwell to take over Sittingbourne bus routes.

chalkwell.co.uk

Chalkwell are delighted to be taking over the 347, 349 and 647 bus routes, which are currently operated by Arriva. These changes will come into effect from Monday 13th February 2023.

The 347 route connects Milton Regis and Kemsley with Sittingbourne Bus Hub, while the 349 route operates between Murston and Sittingbourne. Both of these will operate Monday to Saturday at similar times to those provided by the present operator.

The 647 operates on school days only, providing an essential link between Iwade, Kemsley, Milton Regis and various Sittingbourne schools.

Managing Director, Roland Eglinton, said “We are very pleased to be taking over these routes as they provide essential services for the community. As a Sittingbourne-based family business we are in a good position to deliver a quality service, and we very much luck forward to getting started”.

Further details will be availble in the weeks leading up to the change.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

After pulling out of Sheppey's local network a while back, Arriva will stop operating its Sittingbourne town services (347 and 349) on February 13th, with Chalkwell taking over operations of these two routes.

Chalkwell to Take Over 347, 349 and 647 Bus Routes

Chalkwell to take over Sittingbourne bus routes.

chalkwell.co.uk

Not a shock - if anything, I'm surprised they waited so long.

 

[MotCO]

After pulling out of Sheppey's local network a while back, Arriva will stop operating its Sittingbourne town services (347 and 349) on February 13th, with Chalkwell taking over operations of these two routes.

Chalkwell to Take Over 347, 349 and 647 Bus Routes

Chalkwell to take over Sittingbourne bus routes.

chalkwell.co.uk

Are these commercial?

 

[67thave]

Are these commercial?

I believe they are.

 

[duncombec]

Not a shock - if anything, I'm surprised they waited so long.

I strongly suspect the date is actually key. The Kent County Council (KCC) budget changes come into force the previous day, so this would provide a neat alternative employment for Chalkwell drivers who would have lost out with the withdrawal of their existing Sittingbourne services, which would be a substantial chunk of the existing network. Equally, it would save Arriva a few duties and a lengthy ferry car journey from Maidstone, where these services are now based.

Are these commercial?

I believe they are.

The Arriva services are commercial. The Chalkwell replacements have been registered with part subsidy from KCC.

If anyone isn't aware, at the bottom of the operator's list of services on Bustimes is their license number. Clicking on that gives you a list of registrations, and by picking your service you can then see whether or not it is supported in whole, in part, or not (which is where the above information comes from).

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

I strongly suspect the date is actually key. The KCC budget changes come into force the previous day, so this would provide a neat alternative employment for Chalkwell drivers who would have lost out with the withdrawal of their existing Sittingbourne services, which would be a substantial chunk of the existing network. Equally, it would save Arriva a few duties and a lengthy ferry car journey from Maidstone, where these services are now based.

I don't doubt you're right about the date and its significance. I was just surprised that they lasted as long as 18 months after Sheerness closed.

 

[overthewater]

With all these cuts, you have to wonder wonder how long until 334 goes and Chalkwell takes over the truck route between Sittingbourne and Sheppey?

 

[londonteacher]

With all these cuts, you have to wonder wonder how long until 334 goes and Chalkwell takes over the truck route between Sittingbourne and Sheppey?

I would say probably watch this space. The service is so unreliable along with pretty much every Arriva service in Medway. Maidstone garage, anecdotally only here mind, seem to be more reliable and able to offer an almost full service. Gillingham definitely struggles on a daily basis some through bad management and some through the Medway traffic mayhem.

 

[Qwerty133]

I'd have thought they'd be more suitable than a heavy weight Citaro for town services and probably more reliable, but they wouldn't be my first choice for the Reading corridor.
It has been remarked elsewhere the Citaros are going to Aylesbury, although that wasn't the original plan.

Presumably they are having to re look at things as it is becoming increasingly clear that Leicester will not be able to give up anything like 28 of the 16 plate E400MMCs any time soon given the ongoing issues with the older vehicles in the fleet. Given the rate at which the B9s are failing and that it is becoming an increasingly lengthy job to return them to service after failure it would be absolutely unacceptable for the fleet to remain at the current levels (which is currently 3 higher than the planned level due to the first of the new deckers having entered service before anything has been transferred away) given breakdowns are already causing boards to be cancelled for the rest of the day and it is not unusual for boards to not even make it out of the depot in the morning due to a lack of serviceable buses.

 

[childwallblues]

Arriva North West and Wales have started to receive 21 new MCW Evoras of which 11 are for Bangor for route 5/X5 and 10 are for Bootle.

 

[TheSel]

Arriva North West and Wales have started to receive 21 new MCW Evoras of which 11 are for Bangor for route 5/X5 and 10 are for Bootle.

See posts above, including #1277 which includes a pic of 3193 in Bootle.

Further to this, the first two VDL/Pulsars to be 'ousted' by these new vehicles have moved from Bangor to Speke - 3169/70 (CX14BYG/H). 3170 last worked from Bangor on Thursday, 3169 worked two early trips yesterday. Both are in use from Speke depot today, on Belle Vale circulars 188/166 respectively.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Presumably they are having to re look at things as it is becoming increasingly clear that Leicester will not be able to give up anything like 28 of the 16 plate E400MMCs any time soon given the ongoing issues with the older vehicles in the fleet. Given the rate at which the B9s are failing and that it is becoming an increasingly lengthy job to return them to service after failure it would be absolutely unacceptable for the fleet to remain at the current levels (which is currently 3 higher than the planned level due to the first of the new deckers having entered service before anything has been transferred away) given breakdowns are already causing boards to be cancelled for the rest of the day and it is not unusual for boards to not even make it out of the depot in the morning due to a lack of serviceable buses.

8 Versas have moved despite only 6 E200MMCs entering service, so I gather they're only 1 higher than planned, although there was also a PVR reduction from 3rd Jan.

 

[RogerOut]

I didn’t realise how
many cuts Tunbridge Wells is making , with evenings and Sunday services being withdrawn. How will people get to Knights Park ? Surely that’s a busy place for workers and customers?
How are Arriva allowed to do this?
Will these services ever be reintroduced?

 

[Deerfold]

I didn’t realise how
many cuts Tunbridge Wells is making , with evenings and Sunday services being withdrawn. How will people get to Knights Park ? Surely that’s a busy place for workers and customers?
How are Arriva allowed to do this?
Will these services ever be reintroduced?

They're allowed to do it because bus services are deregulated. There's no legal requirement for them to do any particular services. If the local council deems the services as essential, if they have any money, and they can find someone willing to run them, they will fund them.

 

[RogerOut]

But isn’t the government supposed to be encouraging people to use buses? If they’re not running, people will stay in their cars. If they have one that is.

 

[A0wen]

They're allowed to do it because bus services are deregulated. There's no legal requirement for them to do any particular services. If the local council deems the services as essential, if they have any money, and they can find someone willing to run them, they will fund them.

Even in regulated days there was no legal requirement to run particular services and support from local authorities was commonplace for rural or late night / Sunday services.

 

[londonteacher]

But isn’t the government supposed to be encouraging people to use buses? If they’re not running, people will stay in their cars. If they have one that is.

If the government wants to encourage people to use the bus then they need to pay bus companies to run the services if they are not viable on a commercial basis.

 

[Deerfold]

But isn’t the government supposed to be encouraging people to use buses? If they’re not running, people will stay in their cars. If they have one that is.

Is it? I'd like it to be doing that, but there's not a lot of evidence of it.

 

[Typhoon]

They're allowed to do it because bus services are deregulated. There's no legal requirement for them to do any particular services. If the local council deems the services as essential, if they have any money, and they can find someone willing to run them, they will fund them.

And Kent County Council don't (which is why something like 50 subsidised services are finishing in February. I believe that what is happening in Kent now is what has happened in many shire counties for several years now.

There is government money for pointless initiatives which come to nothing, but none to keep marginal services going.

To be honest, if they were viable, one of the local independents might step in.

Is it? I'd like it to be doing that, but there's not a lot of evidence of it.

None. Speeches at Cop-whatever get you newspaper headlines, keeping a late night bus going in some provincial town doesn't.

 

[Titfield]

Is it? I'd like it to be doing that, but there's not a lot of evidence of it.

I though the £2 fare was the incentive to use the buses. Notwthstanding of course the NCTS for those 65 and over.