Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot

[LJ51DCX]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot

(10/08/2013 16:06)CX54 DKD Wrote:  It doesn't matter how much it costs? Well, at £20K a pop, we'll have to agree to disagree there. If more than one Sapphire branded vehicle breaking down at once is a regular occurrence at the moment (which I believe is actually due to unreliable electrical systems since the refurbishment) then commandeering a vehicle from the X94 and placing one of the tachographed MPDs on there would be a better alternative for the interim.

So you would go and tell the locals at Llandderfel why the can't get on this bus and they have to catch the next one in 2 hours would you????
The point is that using an MPD during the summer Months on X94 is quite unacceptable as the thing is full and standing before it leaves the stand at Wrexham every morning with people looking for a day at the coast. Any local folks from Corwen to Bala have no chance and with a frequency of 2 hours its a bit of a P155 take. If the press got hold of this they would have a field day.

I do believe the allocation to Wrexham off 4401 would be a big benefit and wouldn't need a full refurb, just change the headrests downstairs and retrim the upper deck along with a deep clean and a repaint possibly, maybe even use it as a spare on the X94!!! remember summer of 2002 with DVV239???
Whenever I have used the Bootle - Aigburth corridor it does seem the loadings would cope easily with a pulsar without much problem, even an MPD at times would suffice.

[MPTE1955]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
However, you obviously don't use the Bootle-Aigburth corridor that often, I use it regularly and most of the time it is busy and will justify a decker. Bootle do have their deckers for a reason. With regards to this problem with the buses in your area, replacing a decker with an MPD is laughable but maybe they should request a normal decker as cover and from the local area.

[wirralbus]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
The X94 in the summer months especially as you say shouldnt have an MPD on it , it should at the least be a full size single decker , in the Winter months it maybe a different matter.

If those passengers who cant get on the bus due to high loadings on a vehicle of low capacity then decide to find another way of getting from A to B you will probably lose them for a generation as in the rural areas the car is king .

[wirralbus]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot

(11/08/2013 08:08)MPTE1955 Wrote:  However, you obviously don't use the Bootle-Aigburth corridor that often, I use it regularly and most of the time it is busy and will justify a decker. Bootle do have their deckers for a reason. With regards to this problem with the buses in your area, replacing a decker with an MPD is laughable but maybe they should request a normal decker as cover and from the local area.

The Arriva should take a double decker from Speke .

[LJ51 DDA]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
what so your telling me that a marshall isnt suitable around Wrexham? if arriva are so 'Safety First' then it would be a lot more suitable to have a Marshall on the 3/4/32/33 runs you see 29 seated MPD's running with atleast 40+ people on thats a good health and safety is it? NO! so a Marshall would be more suitable there refurbished and well worth the use. theve been sitting there since there was T reg Darts in Service.

and a full size vehicle? Wrexham doesn't have any because 2793 is always on the X94 or broke down and 2799 is always out because its covering for that unreliable S**T on the 1, its a spare vehicle? LOL its out everyday of the week, and if not its on the 7/8/27 so if the Volvo can do 7/8/27 why cant we have more full sized vehicles? oh because Wrexham is just suitable for MPD's you say dont make me laugh. i remember the days when Marshall's were on Every route Possible even my local 12/13 had Marshall's back in the day, just Arriva there a waste of time and cant do nothing right. and if you want i will go to my local Council about the Sapphire. you think im saying this as a enthisaust? its what most passengers think of sapphire was on the bus the other day and 4410 broke down so we had to take the passengers and a OAP literally said ''Oh not again this sapphire is useless'' so its not just the enthusiasts is it try living in Wrexham and using our Network regular before you Argue about it.

I Guarantee wants the 18 Months have passed Caego will say good riddance to Sapphire and so will i. Bring back the Commander's, DAF's, Darts on the 1 they produced a much better service. and another thing the S-JUA DAF's where more reliable than this 58 Plate Scrap!!

[Garsty]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
Arriva have never really cared about Wrexham, which is something I don't think anyone can disagree with. As stated there is no reason not to have larger vehicles than the MPDs, even my local route the 10/11 could take full size single decks, or even going back many years double decks were not uncommon.

The largest town in North Wales being made up of over 50% MPDs with the newest being on a 51-plate is terrible. The issue is (and across North Wales), there is not really any competition for Arriva, so they can trundle along doing what they like.

I said this before the entire 'Sapphire' treatment was pointless, all that was needed was normal (reliable) double deck vehicles.

In terms of Arriva Buses Wales as a whole it does seem to be receding, look at Aber. Another thing to notice the only recent investment in Wales has been on the two routes which could easily be operated by Chester depot (Rhyls Gemini's and Wrexham ADLs).

[Raawwwrrr!]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot

(10/08/2013 15:32)LJ51 DDA Wrote:  exacly and the Duty that the MPD was covering would of took all the School's if it wasnt the summer holiday's.

I go to a college in the middle of Widnes on the site of a former coal mine, quarry and currently farmland, most like that of the 1 route.
The college finishes at 4.30 each day, and the first Arriva bus to arrive is at 5pm in both Liverpool and Warrington directions. if that bus fails to arrive, the next bus is at 6pm. An hour and half wait for all students after the college day.
If I had to wait 12 more minutes for a Double decker with leather coach seats and wifi, I really would not be ar*ed, as would most people.


However, Wrexham is in need of slightly larger buses, which I do agree, however, it's a case of Wales not being a profitable enough town for arriva to get new singles, and no other area at the moment is cascading them, despite the ones which are in scrap, of which not all are runners remember! (A few of the GL laid up ones do need some form of work to them)

[Raawwwrrr!]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot

(11/08/2013 08:12)wirralbus Wrote:  

(11/08/2013 08:08)MPTE1955 Wrote:  However, you obviously don't use the Bootle-Aigburth corridor that often, I use it regularly and most of the time it is busy and will justify a decker. Bootle do have their deckers for a reason. With regards to this problem with the buses in your area, replacing a decker with an MPD is laughable but maybe they should request a normal decker as cover and from the local area.

The Arriva should take a double decker from Speke .

Although your joking, Speke are currently 2 buses short at the moment, hence the supposed arrival of 2732,33 (or will be once the summer PVR end and the 81 and 699 increase the number of buses required)

[LJ51 DDA]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
Don't get me wrong i love darts and i like having them around but it is about time something got done to Wrexham, we get nothing new the newest bus we have are 09 plate Solo's which are honestly Heaps a S**T 5mph up my hill will about 5 passengers is ridiculous, im very friendly with a driver at Caego and even he said its Embarrassing working for them and hes a sapphire driver and finds it embarrassing when one of them S**t heaps break down he also even calls the Wrexham engineering Cowboys's says a lot dont it... i remember when one of the doors on the darts got a smashed and they fixed it with tape and weekly tickets? seriously? and i remember that because it was LJ51DDA! i mean They cant even apply the right color logo to the front this is how bad our depot is (black logo on LJ51DDA)

as Garsty has ust said i remember having Deckers on the 11 and Marshall's, Paladin's, EL2000's all inter working on the 10/11/12/13 it is about time Arriva Actually looked at Wrexham and noticed how bad things are here. something needs to be done.

[M393VWX]

RE: Arriva Buses Wales - Wrexham Depot
The Sapphire was a pointless waste of time, they should have just refurbished them in the new moquette, all this work done on a route thats less than an hour the X94 is a much longer route it deserves properly refurbished buses, the 12 in Rhyl would have been a better choice for Sapphire its a longer, busier and nicer route and it requires double deckers more than the 1 and yet Pulsars mainly do it the 1 was a bad choice