|
|
Post by gooderson1 on Jan 31, 2018 19:37:11 GMT 1
A Facebook site and The Edinburgh Evening News are reporting that Lothian Transport are acquiring 40 double deck buses from a London operator. The name of the seller is not disclosed.
|
|
|
|
Post by gooderson1 on Feb 1, 2018 14:57:08 GMT 1
Update:- It is now reported to be 50 Volvo's with Wright Gemini 2 bodywork. 60/61 plate vehicles. 5 from Tower Transit and 45 from Metroline
|
|
|
|
Post by driver6540 on Feb 2, 2018 19:37:55 GMT 1
Seems strange Lothian have gone down this path, given they've a big order in with Wright's comprising a couple of hundred of new deckers, already dubbed "Fleet of the future". Lothian are not traditionally second hand buyers. Indeed the only second hand buses i can recall in recent years are a brace of B7RLE's from an independent in Hamilton(?) and a handful of B7RLE's from Arriva to kickstart their East Coast operations, all now retired to the training fleet i believe. Another thing that surprise's is the fact that all Lothian's deckers are LWB as standard and obviously the incoming London buses are not. If i were to make a guess at what the incoming vehicles will replace, it would be the remaining 40+ Trident/Presidents, all 52-04 reg and possibly some of the oldest B7RLE's (04) reg. I'm of the opinion that this purchase is probably just a stop gap to rid the fleet of pre-euro 5 vehicles until the aforementioned "Fleet of the future" is delivered.
|
|
|
|
Post by gooderson1 on Feb 3, 2018 17:08:03 GMT 1
There is an advantage to purchasing second hand Volvo/Wrightbus deckers to replace the Trident/Plaxton deckers-sourcing of parts from two companies must be more cost effective than sourcing from four companies. If they are a short term measure then perhaps they will operate in two door mode. From an enthusiasts point of view the variety of vehicles disappears.
|
|
|
|
Post by driver6540 on Feb 3, 2018 22:37:48 GMT 1
There is an advantage to purchasing second hand Volvo/Wrightbus deckers to replace the Trident/Plaxton deckers-sourcing of parts from two companies must be more cost effective than sourcing from four companies. If they are a short term measure then perhaps they will operate in two door mode. From an enthusiasts point of view the variety of vehicles disappears. From a touch of research tonight, they will be converted to single door before entry into service and they are to replace the Tridents but, surprisingly some of the 55 reg B7TL's as well. You are correct in your observation's regarding fleet variety, as it means Lothian's decker fleet will consist of near 500 Volvo/Wright Gemini Eclipse buses, with just a mere 15 ADL E400H's in service. |
|
|
|
Post by dwarfer1979 on Feb 5, 2018 9:28:07 GMT 1
There is an advantage to purchasing second hand Volvo/Wrightbus deckers to replace the Trident/Plaxton deckers-sourcing of parts from two companies must be more cost effective than sourcing from four companies. If they are a short term measure then perhaps they will operate in two door mode. From an enthusiasts point of view the variety of vehicles disappears. From a touch of research tonight, they will be converted to single door before entry into service and they are to replace the Tridents but, surprisingly some of the 55 reg B7TL's as well. You are correct in your observation's regarding fleet variety, as it means Lothian's decker fleet will consist of near 500 Volvo/Wright Gemini Eclipse buses, with just a mere 15 ADL E400H's in service. Edinburgh, like all the major Scottish cities and many across England, are planning to introduce either a Low-Emission or Clean-Air Zone which generally (because they are the easiest to pick on it seems) target buses and, less often, HGVs but tend to ignore cars. These zones tend to have phased introduction with the first phase, often coming in very quickly, requiring Euro 4 or better with further phases pushing the standards up to Euro 6 (some can exclude lower frequency interurban services and the like but not all). Timing wise the first phase often gives little notice with most I have seen being some point in 2018 with the final phase some point around 2020 or 2021 (some like Oxford go for a longer term plan and include a timescale for zero-emission some time after that) so to meet those requirements you either have to retrofit exhaust treatment systems or replace the buses quicker than planned and given all those Euro 3 deckers would have been due to be replaced shortly anyway and there is a big batch of vehicles of a type they already run of a higher emission standard to bridge the gap then it's not an illogical thing to do to spread out the replacement slightly. |
|
|
|
Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Feb 10, 2018 21:53:51 GMT 1
Update:- It is now reported to be 50 Volvo's with Wright Gemini 2 bodywork. 60/61 plate vehicles. 5 from Tower Transit and 45 from Metroline These Volvo B9TLs will have started out with former subsidiary First London. So, Lothian Buses will have benefitted from First retreats in the Lothians and London in completely different ways! |
|
|
|
Post by driver6540 on Apr 27, 2018 22:47:53 GMT 1
The first couple have already entered service. They're fully refurbed and repainted. they are 1001/2 and re-reg'd with 7 digit Irish plates. The full batch will be numbered 1001-1050 and will all carry Irish plates. Along with their introduction to service, the latest new B5TL/LH's are being delivered.
|
|
|
|
Post by driver6540 on Dec 24, 2018 23:08:17 GMT 1
These 50 buses are split into 25 for Lothian (city) and the other 25 for Lothian Country and liveried accordingly. The fuel tanks have or are being modified as the range has proved inadequate since entering service. Other forums suggest that due to their substantially lower seating capacity compared to Lothians standard LWB spec buses, they are not popular with passengers especially at peak times.
|
|
