As noted previously 37635 has now been repainted with special NHS branding on the front.
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With 61930 having returned do you know if an E500 went in its place?As noted previously 37635 has now been repainted with special NHS branding on the front.
69130 is currently away being repainted, it's expected when 69130 returns they'll make a start on repainting the E500s, some of which will have red branding like the Citaros for the 1/2.20201117_221238
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I think 38203 was quoted to me, but I'm not 100% sure.
The E500s are such nice buses it would be nice to see them get an internal refurb the seats are really worn now.
They were meant to be done in 2016 but it never went ahead unfortunately.
That’ll be interesting I hope this goes ahead.
Have the Citaros been internally refurbished or are they just the same as they were in York?Citaro 11108 has now entered service. Albeit only on the Lochside Academy 22A/22C service.
*Separate Post*
Festive service details are now on the First website, notably the Streetdecks now feature in publicity (pictured below).
Just the same as they left York sadly. They were meant to be getting refurbished and upgraded for LEZ but Covid meant those plans being axed/delyed until next year. Speaking of which the last two Citaros 11112/14 are meant to have left York now. 11108 briefly entered service on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning on the Lochside Academy Service 22A/22C but was off today. Strangely B7LA 10165 has been reinstated despite being off the road for two months.
Agree, it's sad that the refurbishment was pulled. But for the moment it makes sense.
I’d like to hope by the time they need replaced they will be roughly the same age as the E500 so they’ll go together. Hopefully by that point First decide to place an order for new Wright artics for the 1/2. Bendy buses seem like the only suitable replacement.
It's mainly due to the sheer volume of students going to RGU. The Artics are better suited to the 1/1B as they can load faster and have a far higher overall capacity (you can get 160 on the B7LAs vs around 110 on a E500), whereas the E500s are better suited to the 2 as the higher seat capacity is needed for the longer journeys out to Ashwood. Another issue is that lots of people get on for short journeys along King Street in to town so are reluctant to go upstairs meaning the lower deck gets crammed full while the upper deck is half empty. Whereas those same people will happily go right up to the back of a B7LA so you get better usage of space.
Pictured below is a sample timetable from September 2017 showing the off peak frequency, there was actually even more short workings prior to 2016 with most of them going to St Machar Drive. In recent years they've cut the number of offpeak short workings which have lead to severe capacity issues at certain times of day.
I doubt they'll buy Hydrogen Artics. Ideally a 50/50 fleet with 15 Artics and 15 Deckers would work best. But knowing our luck we'll probably just get midlife cascades from elsewhere.
No problem, i agree. Aberdeen will probably keep the E500s and Citaros for as long as possible. They're only 11 years old so they likely have another 5-6 years.
There aren't many options in the artic market here. Maybe new Mercedes Benz Citaros could fit the bill? But like you say, that's a while away
38203 is now back from repaint, although hasn't been branded. Presumably because 38203 was unbranded before so doesn't make sense to brand it when they're planning to reduce the number of branded E500s.
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Looks very smart! Do you know if another E500 has gone in its place?38203 is now back from repaint, although hasn't been branded. Presumably because 38203 was unbranded before so doesn't make sense to brand it when they're planning to reduce the number of branded E500s.
First Enviro500 Repainted (38203)
After much anticipation and a failed attempt with 38210 earlier this year, an E500 has finally been repainted into the new local Aberdeen livery. 38203 has quickly re-entered service after return from repaint at Caledonia, seen here at North Donside Road timing point on the Bridges 2 to Ashwood.
Not too sure, presumably so. If it's not another E500 then it'll be either 63201 or 63215.
Saw it earlier while heading to the shop, looks great in person although i wish the green was slightly further forward so it doesn't cut in to the Ad-blue spill guard.
38210 went down for repaint when 38203 returned.
38210 is currently branded for the Bridges so perhaps this may be the first one to receive the new red front branding.
NatEx has obtained a batch of 20 or so Citaro artics this year, for use at Stansted Airport.
