I saw a T1 at the Tesco roundabout at 16,30 bound for Camborne, rather than Truro, not very full. I also saw a Tinner-liveried bus depot bound around 16.00, my first thought being 'student service' til I remembered the date!
The chacewater diversion was still in place today, T1s were also badly delayed as usual at the West Cornwall shopping centre
With the proposed management changes, they could be replacements for the Wessex ALXs (which are rumoured to be in their last year) & 32343
Good point.
They will be staying at Minehead and are due to have Exmoor vinyls in due course and I think the two open back E200s will also receive Exmoor Sunseeker vinyls as well. The vinyl man I heard a while back was recovering from a hospital operation so I think they have a bit of catching up to do.
Some Geminis are 2005 but think FSW are focusing on having a more modern fleet
I'm not surprised. The Exmoor Coaster was running full midweek in June.
It really is testament to the superb work done by First South West in terms of marketing, and the commitment of the drivers at Minehead. I was really impressed by the drivers when I enjoyed it last year (and on the 28). Whilst there had been a previous incarnation with Quantock and First previously, they really have shown how to exploit what was an untapped market.
Tweets suggest full today.
Likewise the Land's End Coasters I travelled on today were full. Very full.
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From my last visit to Bournemouth, only middle of last week, most of the Yellow bus fleet sounded in very poor mechanical condition.
First are purchasing secondhand from outside the group - the various ex London e400s and B9s that have arrived to refresh the open-top fleet in First South West are testimony to that (as well as e200s for Essex and Cymru) though this builds on a good relationship with Ensign.
That one has always been a bit of a pup. 53826 seems to have been the best one but all seem rather tired.
The services finish in under four weeks time so probably not, at least for this year.
In a way I do see where you're coming from. At least by the start of next season more things will be in place by then. I'm excited about what will come for Minehead as well!
Interesting, in view of what I've just seen. I spent twenty minutes sitting on a bench at the top of Market Jew Street reading a report I'd just received, but looked up whenever a bus approached. At 12.37 a Lizard-liveried d/d came up the street on The Mousehole, with no-one atop and four or five inside. It was followed by a GCB 3 to Roscadghill Parc that had 75-80% seat occupation. At 12.44 a further Gemini on The Mousehole came up the street, and this time it only had three on board. The only other bus I saw during this time was a Penzance-bound 8.
The Lizard one, which I caught from Newlyn Bridge towards PZ had about 35 on board, made up of those waiting for the previous bus that didn't show, minus those who would have been waiting in vain at Mousehole harbour.
That's now at Minehead as a spare for the Exmoor Sunseeker, with Mousehole branding removed.
The Information Centre was closed this morning, presumably due to staffing issues.
That doesn't surprise me, at that time of day there's much more traffic in that direction. You'll have a GCB 5A to help every two hours before too long, which I suspect may become hourly in fairly short order.
What are the chances that they’ll be another service recast next year though and they’ll never be used on the current services. Like what happened with the original Newquay single deck Sunseekers, and the DayTipper livery buses.
