Stagecoach South & South East

[SeveerYeliab]

I don't *think* they are; the numbers 4 and 6 have been used for many years through. Indeed, before the Triangle route number was established the group was numbered 4, 4A, 6, 6A, 6X. I feel they have decided that they can't go back to that, as routes 4 existed in a different form up until (i think) the last service change, and route 6 still exists. Therefore using 600, 601 etc. instead of 6, 6A etc. seems to be a way of avoiding confusion, due to the fact that the last 7 or so years have seen routes 4, 6 and Triangle take in different routes.

Therefore, I think it is easier for Stagecoach to say they are binning everything and starting with a whole new set of routes, rather than trying to explain how people who currently catch the Triangle will need a route 6, and people who currently catch route 6 need a 6A etc.

 

[M803UYA]

The Canterbury changes are now online with all the new timetables, with details on the Stagecoach website (with a little over a week to go and big changes to the Triangle this does seem a bit late).

Changes can be seen here


Of course, the main change is the Triangle renumbered to 400/401/600/601, with only the 400/600 running between Herne Bay and Whitstable, and Route 6 renumbered to 602/603.

Introduce 4 route numbers to replace one on the Triangle...... how does that not confuse the situation some more then? Triangle has operated for almost 20 years in this form, so would love to know why the change - other than change for the sake of change. You can tell Arriva people are running the show.

 

[SeveerYeliab]

Oh no I fully agree the change of number isn’t necessary, I was just explaining why they will have changed it to 400, 401 etc. rather than to 6,6A.

I feel a lot of this is due to pressure from the local council to serve Estuary View again after the withdrawal of the 4, so they thought there would be too much confusion using one route number for many different routings (although I don’t think this would he too confusing).

 

[NeilCr]

Also, registrations have now come through for the Thanet Changes from June, the headline change of these is the increase of the Thanet Loop frequency from every 10 mins back to its pre-covid every 8 mins (I believe the E200mmcs at Eastbourne will be moving back to Thanet to facilitate this.

Any more details on this?

Rumours going around that there will be changes to the 34 - not going to Minnis Bay any more allegedly

 

[SeveerYeliab]

Any more details on this?

Rumours going around that there will be changes to the 34 - not going to Minnis Bay any more allegedly

Looking at the route start and end points on the new registrations it appears routes 32 and 34 will be partly swapped.

Essentially, Minnis Bay will no longer be served by route 34 and replaced with route 32, and Dane Valley will no longer be served by route 32 and replaced by route 34.

The registrations describe the routes as:
32 Margate - Minnis Bay
34 Margate - Ramsgate via Dane Valley.

32 Registration

32 - Margate to Minnis Bay via Garlinge​

Variation history​

1. • Received19 Apr 24
   • Effective2 Jun 24
   • Registered
   • Routing and timetable adjustments
   Operating between Margate and Minnis Bay given service number 32 effective from 02 June 2024. To amend Route and Timetable.

34 Registration

34 - Ramsgate to Margate Rail Station via Newington, Dane Valley​

Variation history​

1. • Received19 Apr 24
   • Effective2 Jun 24
   • Registered
   • Route and Timetable change
     
   Operating between Ramsgate and Margate Rail Station given service number 34 effective from 02 June 2024. To amend Route and Timetable

 

[NeilCr]

Looking at the route start and end points on the new registrations it appears routes 32 and 34 will be partly swapped.

Essentially, Minnis Bay will no longer be served by route 34 and replaced with route 32, and Dane Valley will no longer be served by route 32 and replaced by route 34.

The registrations describe the routes as:
32 Margate - Minnis Bay
34 Margate - Ramsgate via Dane Valley.

32 Registration


34 Registration

Thank you very much!

 

[Mwanesh]

That's interesting. Personally I very much prefer a number to a meaningless name - something like "Link" would be more suited to a high-frequency interurban route, rather than an hourly rural service linking two minor towns.

The Link was easy for passengers. Though for drivers it was always the 32 because that's what was on the destination board.

 

[LUYMun]

36925, based at Guildford, has been wrapped into RHS Wisley livery consisting of purple/pink (lower), blue (middle) and green (upper) colours. Photo from “Stagecoach in Guildford Fleet List” Facebook Group by Dave Lee Chaston: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/CgzyGhu1rm55AtrF/?mibextid=K35XfP



Stagecoach Portsmouth’s 19099 has also ended up at Aldershot yesterday, and ran local services today. Unsure if on loan or transfer?

 

[nw1]

Are the numbers 400/600 historic to these corridors pre-Triangle?

Seems odd to use such high numbers when everything else in the area seems relatively low.

I do know that East Kent used to have numbers in the 60x range in around 1988 / 1989 when I visited the area.

The university buses, for example, were around 601-604 if I remember right, and all (I think) continued northwards to the coast towns.

 

[duncombec]

I do know that East Kent used to have numbers in the 60x range in around 1988 / 1989 when I visited the area.

The university buses, for example, were around 601-604 if I remember right, and all (I think) continued northwards to the coast towns.

600 series numbers do have a small degree of history in the area, as Canterbury services were allocated numbered in the 600s during the NBC (National Bus Company) era, many of which stayed on for some time afterwards (and indeed, still do in Arriva territory).

However, the 400 was a service between Canterbury, Ashford and Hastings (Hastings was 400s), now the 1 corridor (traditional East Kent number), 2A and 29, and memory escapes me what the 600 did.

It seems more likely that these are variants of the previous 4 and 6 numbers, with 400s being the group of services leaving Canterbury via St Dunstans, the University and Blean, whilst the 600s leave via Sturry.

 

[RDP]

I don't think there ever was a service 600. Service 601 was Canterbury-Ashford until replaced by an extension of the 400. If I recall correctly other routes in the 600 series were

602 Canterbury-Ashford (limited stop), 603 Canterbury-Faversham, 604/5 Canterbury-Whitstable-Herne Bay circular (clockwise), 606/7 Canterbury-Herne Bay-Whitstable-Canterbury circular (anticlockwise) 608 Canterbury-Margate, 610 Canterbury-Ramsgate, 611 Sandwich-Ramsgate, 612/3/4 Canterbury-Deal, 615 Canterbury-Dover, 616/7 Canterbury-Folkestone, 620 Canterbury-Hastingleigh (still runs as such operated by Regent Coaches), 621 Canterbury-Nonington, 622 Canterbury-Plucks Gutter, 625 Canterbury-Seasalter via Tyler Hill, 626 Canterbury-Herne Bay via Hoath, 637/8 Faversham-Whitstable (the latter still runs as such) 645 Herne Bay-Reculver, 660 Faversham-Stalisfield Green (an extended version of this still runs incorporating the former 637 route) 661 Faversham-Chilham, 666 Faversham-Ashford (still runs as such) and 667/8 Canterbury Charing (a truncated service 667 Canterbury-Challock still runs operated by Regent Coaches) while Canterbury city routes used the series 649-659 and the Faversham town service was the 676.

There were almost certainly others not on this list.

 

[OptareOlympus]

Between 1998-2001, the main Canterbury-Whitstable-Herne Bay-Hillborough service was provided by routes 100/101/200/201. Operated by Thanet and Dover depots, these ran direct (not via UKC or Greenhill) as part of the hourly Kent Compass circular which operated both ways around East Kent from Dover - Canterbury - Whitstable- Herne Bay - Margate - Ramsgate - Sandwich - Deal - Dover. Between Canterbury and Hillborough there was a 30 minute frequency and journeys around the full 4 hour circuit operated from 0500 until midnight arguably providing the best bus links the area ever had.

As an aside, the 101/201 was also the first route in East Kent to see low floor operation with Dart SLFs in July 1998.

 

[nw1]

I don't think there ever was a service 600. Service 601 was Canterbury-Ashford until replaced by an extension of the 400. If I recall correctly other routes in the 600 series were

602 Canterbury-Ashford (limited stop), 603 Canterbury-Faversham, 604/5 Canterbury-Whitstable-Herne Bay circular (clockwise), 606/7 Canterbury-Herne Bay-Whitstable-Canterbury circular (anticlockwise) 608 Canterbury-Margate, 610 Canterbury-Ramsgate, 611 Sandwich-Ramsgate, 612/3/4 Canterbury-Deal, 615 Canterbury-Dover, 616/7 Canterbury-Folkestone, 620 Canterbury-Hastingleigh (still runs as such operated by Regent Coaches), 621 Canterbury-Nonington, 622 Canterbury-Plucks Gutter, 625 Canterbury-Seasalter via Tyler Hill, 626 Canterbury-Herne Bay via Hoath, 637/8 Faversham-Whitstable (the latter still runs as such) 645 Herne Bay-Reculver, 660 Faversham-Stalisfield Green (an extended version of this still runs incorporating the former 637 route) 661 Faversham-Chilham, 666 Faversham-Ashford (still runs as such) and 667/8 Canterbury Charing (a truncated service 667 Canterbury-Challock still runs operated by Regent Coaches) while Canterbury city routes used the series 649-659 and the Faversham town service was the 676.

There were almost certainly others not on this list.

Ah ok. For some reason I remember 601 as serving the university but looking at this, perhaps not, it looks like it would have been 604-7.

I do remember actually using the bus (East Kent immediate post-deregulation livery VRs) to get to and from the university.

Conceivable that I saw a 601 in the city centre, and misremembered it as being a university bus.

 

[OptareOlympus]

If I remember rightly, 600 was used internally as the number for the City Centre to Coach Park shuttle (publicly the C7).

 

[LUYMun]

Stagecoach Portsmouth’s 19099 has also ended up at Aldershot yesterday, and ran local services today. Unsure if on loan or transfer?

Confirming from a local Stagecoach staff, as a result of Optare Solo 47307 being withdrawn, 19099 is a permanent transfer to replace that.

 

[timbobean]

Ah ok. For some reason I remember 601 as serving the university but looking at this, perhaps not, it looks like it would have been 604-7.

I do remember actually using the bus (East Kent immediate post-deregulation livery VRs) to get to and from the university.

Conceivable that I saw a 601 in the city centre, and misremembered it as being a university bus.

32 was originally the university shuttle. It became 650 (extended to Thannington) in NBC (National Bus Company) days.

 

[Typhoon]

The Triangle will be ceasing as a route number from 5th May, with services in the Canterbury area revised (known for a while now but the timetables have only just come up on bustimes).

The Triangle will become services 400, 401, 600 & 601, each running every 30 mins (every 60 mins on Sundays), which maintain the current frequency.
Route 400 will not serve the University of Kent (but run via Estuary View, currently only served by route 638 a few times a day after the withdrawal of service 4) - buses will terminate at Greenhill and run through to Canterbury via Herne Bay as a route 600.
Route 401 will continue to serve the University (and not run via Estuary View), but buses will terminate at Tankerton.
Route 600 & 601 will run the current routing, however, service 601 will start from Herne Bay Station (not Greenhill), thus the true loop of the triangle will reduce to every 30 mins.

Also from this date, Route 6 will drop from every 30 mins to every 60 mins and be renumbered to 602 (school journeys numbered 603).

There will also be minor revisions to a few services in Canterbury:
Service 3/X3 will have extra running time added, with more trips running past Faversham to Canterbury.
Service 89 will drop to hourly outside the peaks, and no longer serve Bridge Village.

Canterbury City Services, as well as the numerous school services, will see minor timetable revisions.

The timetables for the new triangle routes are available to view on bustimes here, and registrations for other changes here

Apologies for messing up your thorough description but it is a little more complicated than this. Early morning and evening and all day Sunday the 400 will serve the University but not Estuary View (although it has an Urgent Treatment Centre open seven days a week).

I've included that as I read the following quotes from the Stagecoach website:

Everyone loves the Triangle service, but it can be confusing when buses all have the same route name - whether they are going in one direction or the other, or serving different places at different times.

The main problem is Herne Bay Rail Station, otherwise it depends on which side of the road you are on (much like most routes).

We hope these new arrangements will make travelling by bus even easier and the timetable more resilient to the impacts of roadworks and traffic congestion.

There are four main areas of congestion as far as I can see - the crossings by Canterbury West and Sturry stations, Sturry Road and Whitstable High Street (vehicles loading and unloading) I am not certain what difference the changes will make. Sending the 6 round Broad Oak would have restored the link lost when the 7 was cut, there is a park home site along the way. Sturry has 8 other buses an hour to Canterbury.

 

[Flange Squeal]

I don't think it has been mentioned here yet that several timetable amendments are seeing some services become free on Sundays and Bank Holidays at certain times.

Sundays and Bank Holidays in May - free travel on Basingstoke to Newbury route 32 (formerly The Link until yesterday).

Sunday 26 and Monday 27 May PLUS every Sunday in June - free travel on Alton to Guildford route 65 and Winchester to Romsey route 66.

Basingstoke Route & Timetable Improvements from 5 May 202412 Apr 2024 to 31 May 2024​

Service 1 : Brighton Hill to Town Centre
Revised timetable to aid punctuality.
Service 1 Timetable from 5th May 2024
Service 5 : West Popley & Oakridge to Town Centre
Improved daytime timetable, with buses running every 15 minutes.
Revised route in Oakridge, with buses running via Norn Hill and Oakridge Road, towards West Popley. Normal route, via Vivian Road, is retained for journeys towards the Town Centre.
Service 5 Timetable from 5th May 2024
Service 13 : Basingstoke to Hook, Odiham, Alton, Bordon & Whitehill (including services 113 & 123)
We have been advised by SSEN that the electricity supply works will be suspended during the school exam period.
From Monday 6th May, the route along the B3004, serving East Worldham and Kingsley will be reinstated on services 13, 113 & 123.
The works will be suspended until 28th June 2024.
After this date, services 13, 113 & 123 will revert to the diversion via Selborne, on journeys between Alton & Bordon.
The electricity supply works is scheduled for completion in September, when buses will resume normal route via East Worldham and Kingsley.
Service 13 Timetable from 5th May 2024
Service 32 (Link) : Basingstoke to Newbury
All journeys numbered 32 instead of Link. Improved timetable with additional journeys during the peak and later journeys, Monday to Saturday.
Buses will now run 7 days a week, with the provision of a new Sunday timetable.
Buses will run hourly on Sundays & Public Holidays.
To celebrate the introduction of the new Sunday service, for the first four Sundays & May bank holiday Mondays, service 32 will be completely free to use!
Service 32 Timetables from 5th May 2024

Basingstoke Network Map - from 5th May 2024

General Basingstoke Updated 03 May 2024, 16:05

Source (32): https://www.stagecoachbus.com/servi...rticle?SituationId=ID-12/04/2024-09:29:51:788

New timetable on route 65 (Guildford to Alton) from 26th May 202422 Apr 2024 to 15 Jun 2024​

From 26th May 2024, we'll be introducing a revised timetable on route 65 between Guildford, Farnham & Alton.

In partnership with Hampshire County Council and Surrey County Council, and with funding from the DfT's Bus Service Improvement Plan+ (BSIP+ grant), we'll be running a few extra journeys on weekdays and Saturdays, as well as running an hourly service on Sundays & Bank Holidays. This means buses will run roughly every hour, seven days a week.

An earlier journey will run from Farnham to Guildford on weekdays, leaving Farnham at 05:50. There'll also be a new journey from Guildford to Alton at 20:10 on weekdays & Saturdays. Due to very low usage, the current journey at 06:06 from Farnham to Alton will be withdrawn. There'll also be revised timings on most journeys to help buses run punctually.
To celebrate the introduction of the new Sunday service, the buses will be completely free to use on the 26th & 27th May, and all Sundays throughout June!

We look forward seeing you on board!

You can view the new timetable here.

Route Timetable Updates Guildford and Woking Updated 03 May 2024, 10:05

Source (65): https://www.stagecoachbus.com/servi...rticle?SituationId=ID-22/04/2024-12:14:38:834

Changes to The Spring and Winchester to Romsey service 66 from 26th May 202418 Apr 2024 to 08 Jun 2024​

Working in partnership with Hampshire County Council, and with funding from the government's Bus Service Improvement Plan+ (BSIP+) grant, from Sunday 26th May we are making improvements to service 66 with buses running half hourly during the day on Mondays to Saturdays with new earlier and later buses on Sundays. The buses which run via The Straight Mile, Crampmoor, Woodley Lane and Cupernham Lane on Mondays to Fridays only will all follow the standard route via Jermyns Lane, Abbotswood and Winchester Hill making the service more consistent for users.
To celebrate the buses on service 66 will be completely free to use on the 26th & 27th May, and all Sundays throughout June!
The Spring service will have minor timetable changes to try to ensure that buses can run punctually and will revert to being numbered as service 6, as numbers work better with digital tracking systems and App's than names.
View the new service 6 timetable
View the new service 66 timetable
View the new network map

Route Timetable Updates Winchester Updated 03 May 2024, 16:05

Source (66): https://www.stagecoachbus.com/servi...rticle?SituationId=ID-18/04/2024-11:17:00:266

 

[duncombec]

Ah ok. For some reason I remember 601 as serving the university but looking at this, perhaps not, it looks like it would have been 604-7.

I do remember actually using the bus (East Kent immediate post-deregulation livery VRs) to get to and from the university.

Conceivable that I saw a 601 in the city centre, and misremembered it as being a university bus.

The 601 was indeed the University Bus (branded "The Beagle" - a reference to Darwin, after whom one college is named) in 1990. It fitted in a logical order, because in much the same sense as until last weekend, the 602 and 603 were services to Faversham, so the "1" was the first service out of Canterbury to the north, then Faversham, the 604-607 group to Whitstable and Herne Bay, 608 to Margate, etc. - fitting the traditional East Kent pattern.

The 600 was, in 1986, a summer bus to Howletts zoo, which was resurrected for a few years in the mid 2010s under the number 200. It never seems to have taken off on either version, though.

 

[nw1]

The 601 was indeed the University Bus (branded "The Beagle" - a reference to Darwin, after whom one college is named) in 1990. It fitted in a logical order, because in much the same sense as until last weekend, the 602 and 603 were services to Faversham, so the "1" was the first service out of Canterbury to the north, then Faversham, the 604-607 group to Whitstable and Herne Bay, 608 to Margate, etc. - fitting the traditional East Kent pattern.

The 600 was, in 1986, a summer bus to Howletts zoo, which was resurrected for a few years in the mid 2010s under the number 200. It never seems to have taken off on either version, though.

Ah OK. What I do remember from 1989 is that there was a 15-min headway, with all buses heading north beyond the university (none terminated there); they headed down the university access road to the stop, then turned back and resumed their journey north.

So the 601 was a dedicated university bus (like the 18 in Bath, for those familiar with it)? By then, did the coastal-towns buses still serve the University?

Source (65): https://www.stagecoachbus.com/servi...rticle?SituationId=ID-22/04/2024-12:14:38:834

Interesting the 65 has gone back to an hourly service. For a good while it seemed to have a rather erratic, less-than-hourly pattern.

 

[Class450/4DES]

ALX 400 18379 has just caught fire doing route 18. She is now withdrawn.

 

[duncombec]

Ah OK. What I do remember from 1989 is that there was a 15-min headway, with all buses heading north beyond the university (none terminated there); they headed down the university access road to the stop, then turned back and resumed their journey north.

So the 601 was a dedicated university bus (like the 18 in Bath, for those familiar with it)? By then, did the coastal-towns buses still serve the University?

I'll have to unbury the box again, but there is probably something in there to check (unless anyone else gets there first).

Whilst being slightly fuzzy on the details that far back (too young to have experienced), the University service as a standalone service never really seems to have taken off until the invention of the current Unibus, now on it's second or third iteration. Certainly in my first year, 2004/5, it was an erratic service numbered 4U (like the 4, just to the University), which IIRC operated mostly off-peak, disappeared at school times, and had the mankiest 'deckers going (possibly F-reg?). Post Unibus, ridership increased by double-digit percentages in the first year or so.

I have wondered why the 5 doesn't get diverted via Darwin College on occasions, but presumably there isn't enough use from south Whitstable to make the deviation worth it. (And if you can afford Tyler Hill, you don't need the bus...)

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what ridership is like at present - the Vice Chancellor announced a highly unpopular list of course closures earlier this year, pushed half through and then resigned (apparently she has form...), and the university has dropped in both UK rankings and suffered from "EU relationship adjustments" - having marketed itsself as the "UK's European University" doesn't seem to be working now! It's quite possible ridership from areas other than the city centre has declined a bit.

 

[OptareOlympus]

The 601 was indeed the University Bus (branded "The Beagle" - a reference to Darwin, after whom one college is named) in 1990. It fitted in a logical order, because in much the same sense as until last weekend, the 602 and 603 were services to Faversham, so the "1" was the first service out of Canterbury to the north, then Faversham, the 604-607 group to Whitstable and Herne Bay, 608 to Margate, etc. - fitting the traditional East Kent pattern.

The 600 was, in 1986, a summer bus to Howletts zoo, which was resurrected for a few years in the mid 2010s under the number 200. It never seems to have taken off on either version, though.

The Howletts service also ran as the 177 in school holidays around 1996/7. Again short lived. From memory it was worked by a Thanet depot bus on daytime layover in Canterbury between Pfizer contract runs.

 

[Flange Squeal]

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue service have posted an article stating that a bus caught fire in Bordon today. The Hants & Surrey bus blog have posted on their Facebook page that they believe it is Stagecoach Aldershot depot's Trident 18379 registration MX55 KRN, which was on the 1302 Aldershot to Bordon route 18 at the time.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue: https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/double-decker-bus-blaze-in-bordon-tackled-by-on-call-crews/

Double-decker bus blaze in Bordon tackled by on-call crews​

A double-decker bus blaze in Bordon was tackled by on-call crews this afternoon.
Firefighters from Bordon, Liphook, Grayshott and Alton were alerted to the incident on Camp Road at around 2pm.
Fortunately the driver and passengers safely evacuated.
The bus was destroyed in the fire which was extinguished by firefighters in breathing apparatus sets using jets and hose reels.
The stop message came in shortly after 3pm.

Hants & Surrey Bus Blog 7 m ·
Hampshire Fire & Rescue dispatched four appliances (one each from Alton, Bordon, Grayshott and Liphook) to a bus fire at around 1400 in Bordon today. The fire service report that all those on board were evacuated safely. Looking at the tracking, it appears this was likely Stagecoach’s Aldershot-based Trident 18379 (MX55 KRN) while working the 1302 Aldershot to Bordon & Whitehill route 18 service, on Camp Road between Bordon crossroads and Ennerdale Road. The fire service have shared the following photos.

 

[DunsBus]

With the news of its fiery demise at Bordon this afternoon here is 18379 in happier times, at Guildford working service 20 on 10th August last year. This was one of two Tridents which I travelled on that day whilst on holiday in the area, the other one being 18515.

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue service have posted an article stating that a bus caught fire in Bordon today. The Hants & Surrey bus blog have posted on their Facebook page that they believe it is Stagecoach Aldershot depot's Trident 18379 registration MX55 KRN, which was on the 1302 Aldershot to Bordon route 18 at the time.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue: https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/double-decker-bus-blaze-in-bordon-tackled-by-on-call-crews/

Good to see a report which states the facts, rather than the melodrama which the press resort to doing whenever a bus goes on fire ("fire crews raced to the scene... passengers fleed... traffic chaos...").

Having seen the photos of the remains of 18379 in the link, there's next to nothing left of it.

 

[LUYMun]

What I think is grime on @DunsBus's photo of 18379 is a tad concerning for me, given that it's on the fuel pipe. Perhaps that's the root cause of the fire?

 

[JD2168]

The Hampshire Fire and Rescue service have posted an article stating that a bus caught fire in Bordon today. The Hants & Surrey bus blog have posted on their Facebook page that they believe it is Stagecoach Aldershot depot's Trident 18379 registration MX55 KRN, which was on the 1302 Aldershot to Bordon route 18 at the time.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue: https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/double-decker-bus-blaze-in-bordon-tackled-by-on-call-crews/

This looks quite a serious fire to destroy the bus like this with almost nothing salvageable from it. Thankfully the driver & passengers were able to get off & away from the vehicle.

 

[DunsBus]

What I think is grime on @DunsBus's photo of 18379 is a tad concerning for me, given that it's on the fuel pipe. Perhaps that's the root cause of the fire?

I never noticed that until you mentioned it. That could likely be what caused the fire.

 

[fgwrich]

I never noticed that until you mentioned it. That could likely be what caused the fire.

Tridents have been notorious for overheating and catching in the past, so given how particularly warm it’s been wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if that’s the cause of the fire, particularly as they are still dampening down the engine Bay Area.

 

[DunsBus]

Tridents have been notorious for overheating and catching in the past, so given how particularly warm it’s been wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if that’s the cause of the fire, particularly as they are still dampening down the engine Bay Area.

For the entire bus to be wiped out, I suspect it could have been a combination of electrical and fuel issues.

EDIT: BBC website now carrying the story.

BBC News - Bordon: Passengers flee burning double-decker bus

Bordon: Passengers flee burning double-decker bus

The bus was consumed by flames within two minutes of the fire starting, a witness says.

www.bbc.co.uk