AndrewTaylor95
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These are all in service
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First Greater Glasgow
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Noted a few E200EVs on the 6.
Noted a E400 low height on a 4, are some back at Caledonia?
Geminis fewer in number, oldest one I noted is 07 plate.
Saw a white wedding B7TL on the M80, are these still with First?
Noted a E400 low height on a 4, are some back at Caledonia?
Geminis fewer in number, oldest one I noted is 07 plate.
Saw a white wedding B7TL on the M80, are these still with First?
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318266
Member
That'll be the preserved 32570 with Prestige Group
Busman84
Member
32570 had been in First colours before it’s withdrawal.
JumpinTrainz
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Does anyone know how well the new E200EVs are holding up on the 6? With the E400s earmarked for Aberdeen and the 6 going single deck - I wondered if the E200EVs could become a regular on those routes or if they’ll stick mainly with the diesel E300s
Like most other routes they have been on the E200evs seem to put in around 12 hours work.
Today's latest trial Is on the 81.
As with all single deck routes the challenge is at the peaks. So some sort of double decks will be needed. In the 6 case on shirt routes avoiding high bridges.
What about bendy buses for the 6, could they handle the route with so many bends
JumpinTrainz
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I don’t think bendy buses are on the cards for any operators.
They were tried many tears ago on the 2, then 62 and didn't pass the test. So doubtful any better now
E400Lover101
Member
I highly doubt that would happen.
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Only thing that would stop it is cost, the route would easily take bendy buses
JumpinTrainz
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I don’t even think the 6 requires deckers anymore. Along with the 4 - it’s a route which has quietened down a lot over the years.
christopherrfc
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Service 41 to get an increase frequency of every 12 minutes from the 24th of September.
www.firstbus.co.uk
Sunday 24th September - Service Changes
From Sunday 24th September, revised timetables will be in place with minor adjustments on the following services:
JumpinTrainz
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Just saw 47462 on the 46. Quite unusual to see a Streetlite around this neck of the woods.
E400Lover101
Member
I had noticed a few weeks ago, that 47626/SN14 DZJ made an appearance on the 4/4A.
Adding to that, 47621 and 47622 are both on the 9 today.
Trnsprt4Sctlnd
Member
That’s a good thing, I just hope the extra demand of filling a higher frequency doesn’t lead to an increase in buses not showing up.Service 41 to get an increase frequency of every 12 minutes from the 24th of September.
Sunday 24th September - Service Changes
From Sunday 24th September, revised timetables will be in place with minor adjustments on the following services:
My best mates stay on Edinburgh road and they told me just recently they’ve noticed the buses being more reliable on the 41 at it’s current 15 minute service, occasionally they use the 38E as well.
Still busy at peaks . I remember at peak from city there is a gap of 15 minutes between services and this was timetabled.
Trnsprt4Sctlnd
Member
Surely a 12 Minute service from Calderwood to Glasgow City Centre would be sufficient using single decker?
Rgy88
Member
Anytime I take the 6, usually from Battlefield/ cathcart to either city centre or up to east Kilbride, it's its usually quite busy
A problem with the 6 though is that quite often two buses come nearly together after 20/30 minute gap with the single decker bus packed and another bus a few minutes later practically empty (this is due to it being one of the longest routes in Glasgow and it passing through a few bad bottlenecks (great western road, the loop round the city centre, Victoria road) and a high chance of road works at some point on the route
The 3 route is particularly bad for this as well with that being a similarly long route
On a Sunday the 6 now seems to be mainly electric single deckers and they seem to be busy on a 20 min Sunday frequency
A problem with the 6 though is that quite often two buses come nearly together after 20/30 minute gap with the single decker bus packed and another bus a few minutes later practically empty (this is due to it being one of the longest routes in Glasgow and it passing through a few bad bottlenecks (great western road, the loop round the city centre, Victoria road) and a high chance of road works at some point on the route
The 3 route is particularly bad for this as well with that being a similarly long route
On a Sunday the 6 now seems to be mainly electric single deckers and they seem to be busy on a 20 min Sunday frequency
E400Lover101
Member
They should take some 71 and 22 plate deckers from Caledonia to boost capacity.
They'd be good on the 6 as they are 13' 9" and can fit under busby bridge.
JumpinTrainz
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I would highly doubt they have the range to operate the 6. In fact they wouldn’t be able to operate most routes out of Scotstoun other than the 77.
I thought they couldn't fit under the bridge.
Caledonia must have a low height double decker back, as I saw one on the 4.
Yes, that's the problem with 6 and other routes. I have seen 4 buses in a row at times. You used to get more people using the 6 (66) up to East Kilbride. I remember there was Busby to City Centre which made the service every 5 minutes back around 2007.
Jordan Adam
Established Member
On what basis? Route length is irrelevant when it comes to vehicle range, its average speed that matters.
You could have one route that's 10 miles long and another that's 20 miles long, but if the average speed for both routes is the same then there's not going to be any difference in terms of vehicle range and how long the vehicle can be out for before returning to depot.
Trnsprt4Sctlnd
Member
The way Glasgow has had issues has not particularly been the cause of route length or average speed but the length of time the bus is out on the road from 5am till late at night for example.
The drivers right foot and winter conditions have also blighted problems with range, BYD products to have surplus range to fall back on during winter months with ease.
Some of this problem with electric buses also seems to be the strategic placement of depots in Glasgow in relation to out of service journeys to and from the terminus points to and from the depot, service 9/9A is a good example of this where buses run light in the morning to Paisley/Braehead and by the time they’ve completed that journey before even going on service have used between 5-10% of charge.
Caledonia to Kirkintilloch, Lennoxtown or Kilsyth also another issue with running an electric bus without surplus range to do so.
Where First Glasgow has had the problem has been prematurely buying to many electric buses without suitable surplus range, they only did so because the funding had been there at the time and they’ve worked the theoretical range very tightly to the distance the buses travel.
When you understand that by waiting a little longer First Glasgow would’ve had to the choice to superior products by ADLs own electric Enviro 400NXT or Volvo BZL, to bypass this problem First could fitted electric charging ports at the depot for future use but purchase more E6 Diesels, a perfectly viable option until at least 2030.
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First would have had to pay for it, as they would not have got funding without buying the electric buses. They would have been council/government pressure to buy electric buses anyway as Scotland was falling behind other places as far as low and zero emission buses go.
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Jordan Adam
Established Member
However that still ultimately comes down to average speed, if the average speed is lower then less mileage is covered over the same period of time and therefor the vehicle will be able to stay out longer. It is for that reason that Battery Electric buses tend to be better suited to slower start stop traffic. My point there was just that route length on its own isn't really a factor.
I agree, although waiting times regarding the next generation Enviro400EV wouldn't have made that possible given the delivery deadline for the funding allocated. From what i have heard waiting times for the next generation Enviro100EV and Enviro400EV are still well in to next year and that is for vehicles ordered a considerable time ago. It does confuse me though why they ordered more BYDs especially for the higher mileage routes at Scotstoun when the issues regarding range were already know and equally it was already well known that the Yutong was a much superior product; hence why Aberdeen pushed for them.
You just have to compare the situations in Aberdeen and Glasgow. In Aberdeen the Yutongs are out 20+ hours per day daily and get utilised at all times, contrast that to Glasgow where the BYDs get replaced by 10 year old single deckers and (up to) 15 year old double deckers in the afternoon/evening.
Trnsprt4Sctlnd
Member
That doesn’t seem to have blighted our Capital City’s Operator..
Where it comes to political pressure it actually makes very little difference when a private operator does or doesn’t do something based on that pressure, time and time again First have removed routes despite pressure from the outside.
Having spoke to many of the managers within First Group you get the sense that “Common Sense” was not on the cards when many of there decisions are made, they come purely from boardroom men who have never turned a wheel in there life and often on the ground that approach creates problems.
A met-in-the-middle approach is what I am talking about, the shortest yet most frequent, easiest to run dead to routes in Glasgow is what should have been electrified initially, Routes such as the 5, 7, 61 and 75 are prime examples of these.
JumpinTrainz
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I was being widely optimistic hoping that after their successful trial in Glasgow that Scotstoun would see 50 Yutongs and move on the current E200EVs elsewhere within the network
E400Lover101
Member
I believe so.
When Blantyre and Overtown go electric, I think Yutongs would be the far better option for the 201, 240, etc.
They have the range for at least a full day of workings on those routes.