Arriva North West - Southport Depot

[CX54 DKD (Moderator)]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
On that, I think Wrexham's 1 will be a good 'case study' to watch unfold. Passenger and media views upon it in recent times have been very unfavourable so it'll be interesting to see how ridership changes, if at all, and then if successful, the transformation, for lack of a better term, of other routes could be based around it. I should add that I'm referring to the marketing and increased reliability of the service rather than the plush refurbishment of the vehicles which obviously wouldn't be feasible for every route.

[B10B6514]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
3309 and 3310 are parked up in the former paint shop in Canning Road. Normally when buses are parked in there they are either withdrawn or long time VOR.

As you have all probably read, the ex-Blue Bus Tridents (4000-4002), are due imminently.

As for the 375 and 385s it has been mooted that Arriva will invest in new buses but in the 2013/4 financial year. The B7s are settling in well and are producing a better mpg than when they were in Speke.

The Marshall Darts are soon to be gradually replaced as the full batch is due for withdrawal. Maybe some of Runcorn's Pulsars wil come over or even Wrexham's.

[K853 MTJ]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot

(25/02/2013 22:37)CX54 DKD Wrote:  On that, I think Wrexham's 1 will be a good 'case study' to watch unfold. Passenger and media views upon it in recent times have been very unfavourable so it'll be interesting to see how ridership changes, if at all, and then if successful, the transformation, for lack of a better term, of other routes could be based around it. I should add that I'm referring to the marketing and increased reliability of the service rather than the plush refurbishment of the vehicles which obviously wouldn't be feasible for every route.

Precisely, the 1 is a good example so hopefully this sort of thing will start attracting customers. In the future I think the Sapphire brand could be a very useful tool when it comes to rebranding and publicising a small number of well known or well used routes that may have previously 'gone down the pan' a bit so to speak.

Thanks for the update B10B6514 as well, interesting about the Palatines, implies to me that the arrival of the Presidents is imminent should the former indeed be withdrawn.

[M113 YKC]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot

(25/02/2013 22:51)B10B6514 Wrote:  The Marshall Darts are soon to be gradually replaced as the full batch is due for withdrawal. Maybe some of Runcorn's Pulsars wil come over or even Wrexham's.

I reckon that it'd be a good idea to refurbish a handful of Pulsars/Pulsar 2s for the 300 as indirect replacements for the Marshalls (Pulsars replace Renowns and they replace Marshalls). Pulsars generally perform well on the 300 as opposed to some of those noisy and uncomfortable (but well-presented, most of the time) Renowns and the Marshalls that have regularly been on there of late (although the Commander is a better bus for the service).

Wrexham's are rumoured to be going to Bangor to join their sisters. Also, I originally heard that the Runcorn examples were going to St Helens last year, although we all know how plans change (especially since new arrivals went into service and depot circumstances changed) and how many rumours take place (of which the St Helens idea may have been one - who knows).

[CX54 DKD (Moderator)]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
What's the benefit of allocating Pulsars? The Renowns don't suffer from reliability issues on the route, offer the same capacity and have, as you admit, well turned out interiors (certainly superior to the likes of a Dart at the very least). A bit noisy, yes, but I wouldn't have branded any of them uncomfortable with the refurbished interiors, which all the Southport Renowns have.

The the Marshalls would be better replaced with similar sized vehicles, which could well be further Darts; full size, single deck, vehicles are required more pressingly elsewhere than they are at Southport (on top of their current contingent that is).

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
Actually I would imagine there is some form of reliability issue with the Renowns on the 300, because the PVR is rarely if ever covered entirely by the type despite the fact Southport have more than enough allocated. The Commander is a regular performer and it is common to see Darts, Pulsars and the two Interurban Enviro200s on there as well. The Renowns aren't hugely common on the town services either from my experience - they do appear but there is generally one or two Renowns unavailable at any one time from the way allocations seem to fall.

I would agree with Michael that Pulsars are a potential improvement. The Renowns aren't the worst buses around but they do suffer from a lack of legroom in places and their seats aren't as well equipped for the relatively long distance trip as the Pulsars' Civics are.

[Vbg111v]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
The Renowns are very reliable on the whole. The reason they don't always appear on the 300 is that they are regularly allocated to the 42/3/4/6, with Pulsar or Marshalls making up the deficit.

[M113 YKC]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot

(27/02/2013 21:08)CX54 DKD Wrote:  What's the benefit of allocating Pulsars? The Renowns don't suffer from reliability issues on the route, offer the same capacity and have, as you admit, well turned out interiors (certainly superior to the likes of a Dart at the very least). A bit noisy, yes, but I wouldn't have branded any of them uncomfortable with the refurbished interiors, which all the Southport Renowns have.

I've sampled a few of Southport's Renowns on the 300 recently and I completely disagree - only one or two have been nice to ride on and the others have been loud and uncomfortable (particularly on the route between Southport and Maghull). It's something positive that they look nice, but it's something else when they ride badly! Pulsars, on the other hand, have offered a better ride, in comparison. I haven't sampled a Marshall on the 300 for some time (one Sunday when the SPDs hadn't been refurbushed and, yikes, what ride!), although the 300 and the 311 are similar services and I can absolutely safely say that a Pulsar is the desired bus...!

MY idea was based on the fact that Pulsars from a few depots seem to be becoming free (plenty of potential and rumoured destinations for them) and that the 300 was on the line to be upgraded with Welsh Volvo/Eclipses until recently when their mileage opposed against that, as we know. I was just expressing MY opinion based on my use and sightings of the service.

(27/02/2013 21:13)507009 Wrote:  Actually I would imagine there is some form of reliability issue with the Renowns on the 300, because the PVR is rarely if ever covered entirely by the type despite the fact Southport have more than enough allocated. The Commander is a regular performer and it is common to see Darts, Pulsars and the two Interurban Enviro200s on there as well. The Renowns aren't hugely common on the town services either from my experience - they do appear but there is generally one or two Renowns unavailable at any one time from the way allocations seem to fall.

I would agree with Michael that Pulsars are a potential improvement. The Renowns aren't the worst buses around but they do suffer from a lack of legroom in places and their seats aren't as well equipped for the relatively long distance trip as the Pulsars' Civics are.

From what I see of the service, it seems to be about 50/50 (Renowns V Other) these days. The variety even continues on Sundays (surprised that Marshalls make it out on a Sunday)!

I'll use the 311 as an example here... Once, the service was allocated some awful, horrendous sheds that made the ride unbearable at times. Bootle started allocating several Pulsars per day to the service and, as a regular user, the service has definitely improved somewhat! I don't find the Cadets to be much of an improvement in any way, shape of form - their suspension varies from a fairground ride to a back-breaking nightmare, their interiors are not pleasant (one issue is legroom - another is vandalism at the back) and their ride-quality is far from great.

[dave4jackie]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot

(25/02/2013 22:51)B10B6514 Wrote:  3309 and 3310 are parked up in the former paint shop in Canning Road. Normally when buses are parked in there they are either withdrawn or long time VOR.

As you have all probably read, the ex-Blue Bus Tridents (4000-4002), are due imminently.

As for the 375 and 385s it has been mooted that Arriva will invest in new buses but in the 2013/4 financial year. The B7s are settling in well and are producing a better mpg than when they were in Speke.

The Marshall Darts are soon to be gradually replaced as the full batch is due for withdrawal. Maybe some of Runcorn's Pulsars wil come over or even Wrexham's.

saw 3310 working a school service today

[B10B6514]

RE: Arriva North West - Southport Depot
Reading the recent posts, I have to admit that the Volvo B10BLE chassis underneath the Wright Renowns is far and away more superior than the DAF (VDL) SB200 under the Pulsars.

As for the Dart/Marshalls, 7652 and 7656 (especially) are probably the best of these buses in the whole ANW&W fleet.

Further to my previous comments about 3309 and 10, the former paintshop in Canning Rd seems to be used for extra parking space as PVS picked up 2110 and the ex-gas buses 2291-2294 last week.

Nevertheless the Olympians will be gone in the next 4-6 weeks, apparently for sale for further service as they have just been recently MOTd.