What happended to AMPM and there buses and there drivers
They went bust last year.
The leased buses were sent back to the dealers.
Quote from: D10 on April 25, 2012, 09:41:52 PM
The leased buses were sent back to the dealers.
........ and several of them subsequently found their way to Thandi. Also, at least one AMPM d/d finished up with The Green Bus, I remember seeing it parked up in their yard in Hockley.
None of the darts or deckers in the AMPM fleet were leased. The Trident (T201 CLO) was only parked in Green Bus's yard by Ensign who claimed it back when payments were not kept up. Ensign then sold it to McGill's, Greenock in 5/11. It did then return to Green Bus in 7/11.
The final sales are just taking place after the remaining few vehicles were parked up for nearly a year with VIP taking 3 of them
V700 CBC at Midland was never with AMPM, It went Coakley Bus; Gibson Direct; Midland Classic and them Midland.
The one at AMPM was V800 CBC which is now with Hansons
Quote from: D10 on April 25, 2012, 09:41:52 PM
The leased buses were sent back to the dealers.
Are you talking about the MCV's they had briefly?
r133rly with select buses
I point you to the following:
http://www.staffordbuscentre.com/Buses-For-Sale.html
They are for sale for just £2950! Ridiculously cheap. They are 'out of test' which looks as if it means no MOT.
Low-floor Darts (earlier ones) are cheap in general now anyway because there are so many on the used market. We have no hope of shifting the Marshall ones surplus at our place. Plus these AMPM ones are knackered. These buses are old hat now, and are in abundance in scrapyards.
select have acquired r133rly ex am pm travel.
Ex AMPM Dart P 201 OLX is parked up at GRS yard in Wednesdury still in AMPM sky blue and white but without any fleetnames.
Rather than hijack any other thread, I thought I would start a new one if anyone has any thoughts about this former operator.
AMPM seemed to get off to a promising start, and looked as if it had done its homework. It provided serious competition to NXWM on route 6 with a fleet of smart Dennis Dart SLFs, running every 12 minutes during the daytime. I travelled on an AMPM 6 once, at the Solihull end of the route. It seemed OK and we had a reasonable load.
IIRC NXWM did not retaliate in the form of increased frequency, new buses or special fare offers. So what went wrong with the 6? Clearly the route required several buses and drivers, so did most passengers wait for NXWM or was it simply a case of not enough income to cover costs?
AMPM had built up a loyal following so even when NXWM did retaliate with extra buses they still had there own passengers. Unfortunately when Greenbus asked AMPM for assistance running a couple of routes, these vehicles were taken off the 6 rather than from the spare capacity, this meant letting down passengers who had bought AMPM day tickets who then decided not to buy them again (you can't blame them really) . Then a decision was taken to raise fares to with 10p of NXWM. This also lost some of the loyal passengers, IMHO you can't charge the same price for a inferior frequency or service.
With the loss of so many AMPM regulars the company was unable to compete sufficiently to get a large enough market share to keep the route viable.
Shall we discuss the Tamwroth operation again?
Tamworth was profitable, however the thinking was that the 71 would provide higher profits because it was closer to the depot (when a company is short on money wrong decisions can be made to its own detriment) That was wrong & had it not all gone wrong we would have returned to Tamworth in higher numbers probably competing on the 8 & 9 as well. There were some interesting plans had we returned & no it wasn't just to copy Arrivas routes but to use our new found knowledge to innovate. Yes both sides resorted to the normal competition tactics of cutting routes etc but you the passengers benefitted from lower fares for a while & still benefit from a higher frequency on the Sunday 110.
If I were still in the industry I would definately look at running those ideas with whomever I worked for, well not quite true as there are some operators who don't have the right vehicles for the job.
Am I right in saying that AMPM were excluded the sale and acceptance of n network tickets?
That is correct. It came after another operator complained that AMPM were selling the NBus tickets trio cheap (at the same price as the NX daysaver). The arguement was that the difference is the commission we are losing as Centro is still receiving the full amount owed to them. This then changed into Centro not believing how many NBus tickets were actually being sold they thought the number should be lower (again what difference would that make to Centro as they would actually be gaining money). Eventually Centro agreed the figures were correct & put it before the Centrocard operators group whether to allow AMPM back into the scheme. Since only one operator agreed then AMPM remained barred from the scheme.
I would like to point out (as anyone who caught the buses during this time can confirm), although AMPM received no payments for excepting the network cards they never once turned them away even though they were fully entitled to do so.
Quote from: Steveminor on April 22, 2013, 11:39:31 AM
That is correct. It came after another operator complained that AMPM were selling the NBus tickets trio cheap
Yep, can't imagine for one second how that one came about :) I don't recall that it was the same rate as a daysaver, it was after the nbus went up to £3.70 from £3.60, but am-pm (for some entirely philanthropic reason - i'm sure....) continued punting them at the old rate.
I also know they continued to sell the nbus after they were suspended.... ::)
Yes several drivers were reprimanded for that. Their excuse was that passengers were complaining quite heavily. This didn't go on for very long though. We also offered a £3.70 ticket to cover both Tamworth & Birmingham routes for a while, this was withdrawn after we became aware some people were trying to pass them off as NBus tickets. A NXWM inspector drew it to my attention after he caught one in a 14, I can't see how the driver mistook it for an Nbus as the cross boundary day ticket was not double length.
I loved AMPM at the start of operation. The 6 was a well planned route with branded buses. The 900 was also a great idea, introducing Saturdays only to test the water was a great idea and on the occasions I used it was very busy. The 11 Outer Circle was also good, sadly the frequency could never be frequent enough to build up a regular customer base.
I think they got too big too quickly. As an enthusiast I much preferred travelling on AMPMs Olympians than NXWM Tridents and Geminins.
From memory the 11 was killed when frequency was reduced even further and buses were taken off route for driver breaks instead of relief. The 900 seemed to go from very good loads to running virtually empty when they introduced those all over white MCV Evolution single deckers with baggage facilities and then I think they reverted back to double deckers, took on school contracts over in Coventry again reducing the timetable.
A great start a great shame the way it all ended.
Yes the MCVs there were actually 4 of them leased one of which blew up its gearbox on arrival at the depot & was never used in service. I think to be honest it was the unreliability of the MAN Evos that killed the passenger base on the 900. The Rugby schools really were worth doing one of the schools was priced at what we would expect a bus to take in a whole day, just for doing an afternoon only journey. The 11 was only profitable when it was operated in conjunction with the Greenbus school contracts & never really took off when it stood alone hence the cut backs that caused takings to drop further. A lesson to other small operators, when you start cutting back a service to try & make it profitable, don't bother it will just lose you more money better to cut your losses & move on.
Yes the company grew very quickly however (& this is just my opinion) had the Greenbus contracts been signed & sorted out correctly then the company would have survived. The problem came when all those nice financed Olympians had nothing to do to pay for or justify themselves. This caused a financial Black Hole which ultimately there was no recovery from. At the end there was sufficient money coming in to pay off the bills however the damage was done & the money saving plans that killed the business had already been put into action.
I will say that Mick Singh was totally blameless for the shambles that killed the company & is the only person that really lost out both financially and respectfully. His only guilt is that of the Sikh culture, which is to (publicly)stand by your family no matter what. It's a shame that someone else didn't respect the Sikh tradition of "listening to your Father & doing what he says".
Please please what anyone thinks of AMPM don't judge or blame Mick for it he deserves much better than he has got.
A real shame that AMPM failed as they seemed very promising initially-did they re-emerge as Solihull Travel or was that something different?
All I've heard about this company was that they didn't tax/MOT or insure the buses? Was this true?
Solihull Travel was set up whilst AMPM were still running & that is part of the reason for the downfall. I can't & won't go into it in detail other than what was printed in the press. I was put down as the Director of Solihull Travel & my signature & details were forged on official companies house documents, in effect giving me the company. However I had never signed anything & was not about to be the fall guy for something that someone else had done & was doing. One of the drivers then "decided to set up his own company B'ham Travel" unfortunately this guy stupid enough to agree to be a fall guy was also too stupid to fool the TC as to who was really behind the company & therefore did not allow the licence to be granted.
Come on how stupid did Mel Kang think the TC's are. (Not slander as it is all documented & has been made public through the press) He contacted the TC pretending to be me using his own mobile without withholding his number. The contact number for B'ham Travel was the same number. Now the TC knew this was Mel Kangs number as it was on file as his personal contact number for AMPM Travel.
Yes it's a real shame AMPM failed but in a way it's also a good thing as "due to intentionally attempting to deceive the office of the Traffic Commisioner Mel Kang is prohibited from holding an operators licence indefinatly."
Cowboys like him do not deserve the right to run buses & I can honestly say, if it weren't for me & Mick constantly having to reign him in AMPM would have gone to the wall a lot sooner. Is it a coincidence that it fell apart the first time I went on holiday I'll leave that for you guys to decide.
Since I am no longer in the bus industry I honestly don't particularly care lol
BCMobile that is not true the vehicles that were purchased by Solihull Travel already had MOTs and were insured by Solihull Travel.
The problem lies with a company with 10 discs & buses trying to insure 30.
I'm sure you guys can figure out the rest of the story.
Quote from: Steveminor on April 23, 2013, 09:33:50 PM
BCMobile that is not true the vehicles that were purchased by Solihull Travel already had MOTs and were insured by Solihull Travel.
The problem lies with a company with 10 discs & buses trying to insure 30.
I'm sure you guys can figure out the rest of the story.
I see. Quite an issue occurred.
Was any company a true threat to TWM/NXWM?
With a combined fleet total of 30 I would think not indeed after the war on the 6 there was never really any animosity between NX & AMPM we they just sort of left us alone. Now Rotala maybe a different matter we took the 71 off them the 178 177 & 175 & were planning an assault on the S3, which they knew about. What was not know by them was the preparations to take on the 70 in redditch and an extension of the X50 to take in more of the 57/58 maybe similar to what Greenbus are now planning however with the added advantage that First had approached us wishing us to accept their tickets if they accepted ours in return. Of course this would have had to go through the OFT but with the councils backing of the scheme this shouldn't have been a problem.
What happened to the AMPM olympians? Did they get sold on for further use? I know the two L reg Palatines went to archway travel in lancashire, one is now being cannabalised, the other is a school bus with a surround sound stereo system
Quote from: Ashley 4569 on May 09, 2013, 10:10:12 PM
What happened to the AMPM olympians? Did they get sold on for further use? I know the two L reg Palatines went to archway travel in lancashire, one is now being cannabalised, the other is a school bus with a surround sound stereo system
Thandi bought a couple of the ex Dublin bus Olympians
AMPM Travel's singles some are with Thandi
London St VIP travel have some
Anybody know what happended to the AM PM buses? Ive seen a some with GRS & one with ECS, anybody know where the doubles went ?
Quote from: Solo1 on May 12, 2013, 10:46:13 AM
AMPM Travel's singles some are with Thandi
London St VIP travel have some
Thandi are now called E.C.S ?, so it says in Bilston under the 334
Does anyone on this forum know what the registration number of the fourth MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution bus that AMPM had was. I am sure that i remember hearing that AMPM had four of these buses but on the fleet list that
@Tony has on the main site it only lists three of them (AE56 UTH / AE56 UTJ / AE56 UTK - all of which are now with Autocar who are based in Five Oak Green and operate in Sussex and Kent) but not the fourth one. At a guess i would say that it could have been AE56 OUV but i am not really that sure. Thank you.
Don't know the reg as it had trade plates on when it arrived but broke down on our drive so never entered service and was towed away 2 days later.
@Steveminor - Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Do you know what happened to this MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution bus after it got towed away. Did it get repaired or did it get scrapped. Thank you.
Quote from: countryliner on January 11, 2016, 04:21:58 PM
@Steveminor - Thanks for the info. Much appreciated. Do you know what happened to this MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution bus after it got towed away. Did it get repaired or did it get scrapped. Thank you.
Why would you scrap a 9 year old bus (at time of writing) which was DDA simply because it broke down...
Quote from: T840MAK on January 11, 2016, 06:49:19 PM
Why would you scrap a 9 year old bus (at time of writing) which was DDA simply because it broke down...
And owned by a large leasing company with the money and the contractors to fix it
@Tony @T840MAK - I have known some bus operators to scrap even newer buses just because they have broken down instead of repairing them.
Quote from: countryliner on January 11, 2016, 07:39:44 PM
@Tony @T840MAK - I have known some bus operators to scrap even newer buses just because they have broken down instead of repairing them.
Name one that has scrapped a 4 year old bus because it has broken down! we are referring to a 2006 built bus in 2010, and as I pointed out in my original reply it did not belong to the operator anyway to make the decision
Quote from: countryliner on January 11, 2016, 07:39:44 PM
@Tony @T840MAK - I have known some bus operators to scrap even newer buses just because they have broken down instead of repairing them.
Something for you to do
@countryliner, let us know the operators and vehicles concerned. Otherwise, as they say, you appear to be talking a load of twaddle.
Well there is one from the same batch in Alan Hardwick scrap yard in several pieces so yes they do get scrapped so not such a stupid comment by
@countryliner really
Quote from: Steveminor on January 11, 2016, 10:17:08 PM
Well there is one from the same batch in Alan Hardwick scrap yard in several pieces so yes they do get scrapped so not such a stupid comment by @countryliner really
Now, yes, but not 6 years ago, and not because it's broken down
The only similarity, and its really not, is with Stagecoach, who will sometimes scrap a perfectly usable bus if it's involved in more than one fatal collision, which I guess makes sense, otherwise it's renumbered and moved away, but that's not because it's broken down...
The MAN/MCV combo is very unreliable and has resulted in quite a lot being exported to New Zealand.
I believe some MCVs have been repowered with Cummins engines but that may also include other bodied similar MANs.
@Tony @Bryan @T840MAK - Often it can be easier for bus operators to scrap newer buses that are unreliable or break down. They will often use a bus for spare parts to repair another bus that has broken down before sending it to the scrap yard to get scrapped. Sometimes depending on what problem that the bus has developed it can be very expensive to repair. I am not saying that this happens very regularly but it does certainly happen and i have personally known it to happen with quite a few vehicles.
@Steveminor - Thank you. Yes newer buses do get indeed get scrapped sometimes such as the example that you have given.
@justlookingaround - That is interesting to hear. From my experience i have never known for MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses to be that unreliable. I can certainly think of far more unreliable types of buses. Sometimes it can depend on the vehicle. Sometimes some buses can be very reliable whilst other buses from the same batch can be very unreliable.
Quote from: justlookingaround on January 12, 2016, 03:09:52 AM
The MAN/MCV combo is very unreliable and has resulted in quite a lot being exported to New Zealand.
I believe some MCVs have been repowered with Cummins engines but that may also include other bodied similar MANs.
I think it is a MAN thing in general to be unreliable tbh, especially in warmer weather. With Stagecoach's old MAN / Alexander (later Transbus and then ADL)s buying habit its quite fun to see the impact that warmer weather than what we have now has on the buses - on really warm days they start dropping like flies ;)
Seems to be becoming a common thing now I've noticed to be re-engining MAN's (of all modern day varieties!) with Cummins engines - again going back to the Stagecoach example they were starting to do the majority of theirs, although I'm not sure what the latest is as it seems to have stopped, in Yorkshire at least.
@T840MAK - Thanks for the info. That is interesting to hear.
Yes, MAN buses seem to be very poor, but I am still waiting for
@countryliner to tell me one bus scrapped ar near 6 years old because it had broken down, shouldn't be too difficult as there are 'plenty of them'
@Tony - Sorry i forgot to answer that question. Here are some examples.
SN08 AAF - We had this bus at Sussex Bus however although that it was quite new it could be very unreliable and broke down many times. This bus was then stripped for spare parts and then it was scrapped (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
AE06 VPZ - We had this bus at Countryliner and then Sunray Travel and then Buses Excetera. This bus could also be quite unreliable and broke down and it was decided to strip it for spare parts (to repair AE06 VPY (J60 ETC) which had also broken down) and then scrap it (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2013).
GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) / GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) / SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) - These three Transbus Enviro 200 prototypes at Buses Excetera were very unreliable and also very hard to repair as it was difficult to get the spare parts that were needed. It was then decided to send them to the scrap yard (they were sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
So as you can see quite a few newer buses do get scrapped when they have broken down because they can be very expensive and difficult to repair and often the spare parts are needed to repair other buses. I can think of about ten examples off the top of my head. I am not saying that it is a regular occurance but it certainly does happen.
Also i have driven quite a few MAN buses (including MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses) and whilst they can occasionaly be unreliable i do not think that they are that unreliable. I can certainly think of far more unreliable types of buses that i have driven.
Quote from: countryliner on January 12, 2016, 06:44:40 PM
@Tony - Sorry i forgot to answer that question. Here are some examples.
SN08 AAF - We had this bus at Sussex Bus however although that it was quite new it could be very unreliable and broke down many times. This bus was then stripped for spare parts and then it was scrapped (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
AE06 VPZ - We had this bus at Countryliner and then Sunray Travel and then Buses Excetera. This bus could also be quite unreliable and broke down and it was decided to strip it for spare parts (to repair AE06 VPY (J60 ETC) which had also broken down) and then scrap it (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2013).
GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) / GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) / SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) - These three Transbus Enviro 200 prototypes at Buses Excetera were very unreliable and also very hard to repair as it was difficult to get the spare parts that were needed. It was then decided to send them to the scrap yard (they were sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
So as you can see quite a few newer buses do get scrapped when they have broken down because they can be very expensive and difficult to repair and often the spare parts are needed to repair other buses. I can think of about ten examples off the top of my head. I am not saying that it is a regular occurance but it certainly does happen.
Also i have driven quite a few MAN buses (including MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses) and whilst they can occasionaly be unreliable i do not think that they are that unreliable. I can certainly think of far more unreliable types of buses that i have driven.
None of which are/were six years old at time on scrap
Quote from: countryliner on January 12, 2016, 06:44:40 PM
@Tony - Sorry i forgot to answer that question. Here are some examples.
SN08 AAF - We had this bus at Sussex Bus however although that it was quite new it could be very unreliable and broke down many times. This bus was then stripped for spare parts and then it was scrapped (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
AE06 VPZ - We had this bus at Countryliner and then Sunray Travel and then Buses Excetera. This bus could also be quite unreliable and broke down and it was decided to strip it for spare parts (to repair AE06 VPY (J60 ETC) which had also broken down) and then scrap it (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2013).
GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) / GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) / SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) - These three Transbus Enviro 200 prototypes at Buses Excetera were very unreliable and also very hard to repair as it was difficult to get the spare parts that were needed. It was then decided to send them to the scrap yard (they were sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
So as you can see quite a few newer buses do get scrapped when they have broken down because they can be very expensive and difficult to repair and often the spare parts are needed to repair other buses. I can think of about ten examples off the top of my head. I am not saying that it is a regular occurance but it certainly does happen.
Also i have driven quite a few MAN buses (including MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses) and whilst they can occasionaly be unreliable i do not think that they are that unreliable. I can certainly think of far more unreliable types of buses that i have driven.
AE06 VPZ doesn't surprise me it is an MCV/MAN, S13 ETC; S12 ETC & S40 ETC were 12 years old (built 2013), so hardly scrapped young.
What on earth did Sussex bus do to SN08 AAF there was nothing wrong with this bus when it was in the Midlands. First were happy enough to use it on the 144 Birmingham-Worcester service and no other Enviro 200s have suffered this indignity
Quote from: Tony on January 12, 2016, 07:01:55 PM
AE06 VPZ doesn't surprise me it is an MCV/MAN, S13 ETC; S12 ETC & S40 ETC were 12 years old (built 2013), so hardly scrapped young.
What on earth did Sussex bus do to SN08 AAF there was nothing wrong with this bus when it was in the Midlands. First were happy enough to use it on the 144 Birmingham-Worcester service and no other Enviro 200s have suffered this indignity
E300 SN08AAF came to Sussex Bus from Lloyds Coaches via Ensign, it hasn't been that long since it was on demonstration with FMR @ WR. You can understand the prototypes going due to been non-standard, parts have to come by & I believe they were sat around the ADL factory for years
Quote from: countryliner on January 12, 2016, 06:44:40 PM
@Tony - Sorry i forgot to answer that question. Here are some examples.
SN08 AAF - We had this bus at Sussex Bus however although that it was quite new it could be very unreliable and broke down many times. This bus was then stripped for spare parts and then it was scrapped (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
AE06 VPZ - We had this bus at Countryliner and then Sunray Travel and then Buses Excetera. This bus could also be quite unreliable and broke down and it was decided to strip it for spare parts (to repair AE06 VPY (J60 ETC) which had also broken down) and then scrap it (it was sent to the scrap yard in 2013).
GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) / GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) / SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) - These three Transbus Enviro 200 prototypes at Buses Excetera were very unreliable and also very hard to repair as it was difficult to get the spare parts that were needed. It was then decided to send them to the scrap yard (they were sent to the scrap yard in 2015).
So as you can see quite a few newer buses do get scrapped when they have broken down because they can be very expensive and difficult to repair and often the spare parts are needed to repair other buses. I can think of about ten examples off the top of my head. I am not saying that it is a regular occurance but it certainly does happen.
Also i have driven quite a few MAN buses (including MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses) and whilst they can occasionaly be unreliable i do not think that they are that unreliable. I can certainly think of far more unreliable types of buses that i have driven.
SN08 AAF isn't scrapped and is in service in Brighton: https://www.flickr.com/photos/119889737@N03/16459611093/in/photolist-s4dRVc-rJXqD4-rJXq84-rJXqtV-s4dSkR-r5tNWa-rNV2cZ-riq22B-rkb5CJ-r9oSsf-ruAkXg-rndqCg-pX5odm-pvR41E-oTn3ed-pbk8uU-i3MGvX-e3iYme-dYKceB-dYKbKe-eJ3J5Y-djxYw1-bWRmdk-c5csbJ-9UBC2G-bjYRbx-9FwQXP-t56JbK-78bZnR-dLLS53-738SAV-6ZowJc-pZhcJC-r5naLs-rmVyw2-6znYz2-6ugBtA-6tBoxe-6uFpSR-7B2zP3-6YFT9p-515smA-511fyi-ak9Yfx/
And no surprise with the three E200 prototypes given that they were a unique design with unusual chassis layout and bear little resemblance to the bread and butter E200.
Quote from: 646 on January 12, 2016, 07:39:52 PM
SN08 AAF isn't scrapped and is in service in Brighton: https://www.flickr.com/photos/119889737@N03/16459611093/in/photolist-s4dRVc-rJXqD4-rJXq84-rJXqtV-s4dSkR-r5tNWa-rNV2cZ-riq22B-rkb5CJ-r9oSsf-ruAkXg-rndqCg-pX5odm-pvR41E-oTn3ed-pbk8uU-i3MGvX-e3iYme-dYKceB-dYKbKe-eJ3J5Y-djxYw1-bWRmdk-c5csbJ-9UBC2G-bjYRbx-9FwQXP-t56JbK-78bZnR-dLLS53-738SAV-6ZowJc-pZhcJC-r5naLs-rmVyw2-6znYz2-6ugBtA-6tBoxe-6uFpSR-7B2zP3-6YFT9p-515smA-511fyi-ak9Yfx/
That photo was from April 2015 with Sussex Bus
Quote from: Winston on January 12, 2016, 07:13:46 PM
E300 SN08AAF came to Sussex Bus from Lloyds Coaches via Ensign, it hasn't been that long since it was on demonstration with FMR @ WR. You can understand the prototypes going due to been non-standard, parts have to come by & I believe they were sat around the ADL factory for years
I'd be astonished if SN08AAF has been scrapped, it's pretty new, of the newer E300 design and when I caught it on the 144 a few years back seemed a great motor, as Tony says it raises questions about the operator after Lloyds Coaches!
@Tony @Winston @MW @646 @DiamondDart -
At Countryliner (and later at Sunray Travel and Buses Excetera) we had 8 MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution (and 2 Dennis Dart MCV Evolution) buses and although AE06 VPZ caused a lot of problems and broke down regularly some of the other ones ran very well and never caused any problems at all. So whilst these buses can be unreliable it does not mean that all of them are.
With the Transbus Enviro 200 prototypes - yes these are certainly very different to normal Enviro 200 buses - although it is a shame that they left as i remember i often drove these on rural countryside routes at Buses Excetera where they were very popular with the OAPs due to their full low floor design throughout the bus. I believe that the fourth (unregistered) prototype still exists and is in storage at Alexander Dennis in Guildford (we considered purchasing this as well at Buses Excetera but in the end we decided not to).
I am not sure why SN08 AAF became so unreliable. I remember driving it during its first week at Sussex Bus and it was fine but within a few months of purchasing SN08 AAF it started to become quite unreliable and broke down many times. I can confirm that this bus has definetly 100% been scrapped. I remember when it left the Sussex Bus depot to go to the scrap yard (although i can not remember which scrap yard it went to off the top off my head). It was in service until around May 2015 and it went off to the scrap yard a few months after that (some time around June / July / August 2015 - i cant remember off the top of my head). It is a shame as it was a very nice bus but they can be expensive and hard to repair.
Is someone going to tell ebay there is a fraudster on there?
He is advertising a bus that has been scrapped
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alexander-Dennis-Enviro-200-Prototype/172059781336?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Dc167ae9ff3ad4deb91dc524dd196af52%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D172059781336
@Tony - I have just checked and yes SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) does indeed still exist - it is no longer at the Buses Excetera depot though - it has now gone to the Coaches Excetera depot. It was GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) and GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) that were scrapped. Apologies about that. I was just getting the registration numbers mixed up and i could not remember which of these three had been scrapped. But i can confirm that the other two have definetly 100% been scrapped.
Quote from: Tony on January 13, 2016, 08:18:28 AM
Is someone going to tell ebay there is a fraudster on there?
He is advertising a bus that has been scrapped
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alexander-Dennis-Enviro-200-Prototype/172059781336?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3Dc167ae9ff3ad4deb91dc524dd196af52%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D172059781336
Sorry to go off topic, but what is that?! That looks hideous, even the E200MMC looks nicer than that :-\
@T840MAK - It is a Transbus Enviro 200 prototype demonstrator bus. Only four of them were ever built (of which three of them we used to have at Buses Excetera). Personally i really like it - i think it was a great design especially with the full low floor throughout the bus - it is a shame that they were not more popular.
Quote from: T840MAK on January 13, 2016, 03:25:43 PM
Sorry to go off topic, but what is that?! That looks hideous, even the E200MMC looks nicer than that :-\
I agree with you
@T840MAK It looks like a fat Plaxton Primo.
It looks more like a design which would be suited to the rest of Europe with its rear doors. That is if they created a left hand drive version of course!
@Adam 404 - The positions of the doors would have made these much better for busier routes though as it is easier for passengers to alight from the bus. Also they are very good for OAPs and disabled passengers due to their full 100% low floor from the front to the back of the bus. The six Neoplan N4421 articulated bendy buses that were at Stansted Airport were also built to this same design and layout.
Quote from: countryliner on January 13, 2016, 03:37:09 PM
@T840MAK - It is a Transbus Enviro 200 prototype demonstrator bus. Only four of them were ever built (of which three of them we used to have at Buses Excetera). Personally i really like it - i think it was a great design especially with the full low floor throughout the bus - it is a shame that they were not more popular.
I'm aware of what it is - I don't think you quite understood the saying. Generally use it for when something looks awful. I don't know about its insides, mechanics, or whatever, but aesthetically talking, that is probably
the ugliest bus I've seen. I'm not sure whether to be glad or not that the Enviro200 came from that its so bad.
Quote from: countryliner on January 13, 2016, 03:13:10 PM
@Tony - I have just checked and yes SN54 GRU (S40 ETC) does indeed still exist - it is no longer at the Buses Excetera depot though - it has now gone to the Coaches Excetera depot. It was GX56 BKY (S13 ETC) and GX56 BKZ (S12 ETC) that were scrapped. Apologies about that. I was just getting the registration numbers mixed up and i could not remember which of these three had been scrapped. But i can confirm that the other two have definetly 100% been scrapped.
When Tony or somebody else posts pictures of these vehicles in service or for sale today will you suddenly remember you these registrations mixed up aswell.
Quote from: T840MAK on January 13, 2016, 08:04:36 PM
I'm aware of what it is - I don't think you quite understood the saying. Generally use it for when something looks awful. I don't know about its insides, mechanics, or whatever, but aesthetically talking, that is probably the ugliest bus I've seen. I'm not sure whether to be glad or not that the Enviro200 came from that its so bad.
Which was exactly what I said as well
@countryliner . I was not on about the inside layout whatsoever and If you do want a low floor vehicle, you just sit near-ish the front. Also, I heard some elderly people talking on a bus once that the company's don't care for elderly peoples need. If you watch BBC's Countryfile from Sunday, A bus Operator commented how it wasn't possibly to run a Saturday service as there was too many OAPS and there passes don't give them much money.
Not, this Demonstrator has absolutely nothing to do with AM/PM last time I checked.. Just saying.
Link to Countryfile on BBC I-Player http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b06wj3s0/countryfile-hertfordshire
The Bus part of the Video starts at 8 mins through and then 28 mins through the programme.
@Adam 404 - neither does your post have anything even remotely to do with AM/PM - can we all get back on topic & stop stirring / passing comment to provoke a response.... Winston
Just out of interest when AMPM had their MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses does anyone know if they were allocated to any specific routes. Thank you.
No bus at ampm was assigned a set route. I kept allocating them to the 900 during their short stay but could have gone on any route. One was even allocated on the 40 from time to time.
@Steveminor - Ok. I see. Thanks for the info. Just out of interest what were AE56 UTH / AE56 UTJ / AE56 UTK like at AMPM. Were they reliable as i know that the 4th one broke down. They seem to be doing well at Autocar though.
They all had major issues which is why they didn't stay long
@Steveminor - Thanks for the info. I know that they could be quite unreliable when they first came to Autocar but they seem to be quite reliable recently. Do you know how long that AMPM had them for.
Only in use for a couple of months but spend longer broken in the depot
@Steveminor - Thanks for the info. It is a shame that they were not more reliable as they are certainly very nice buses.
No they're sacks of s@$t
@Steveminor - That is a shame. I assume then that your low floor Darts were probably much more reliable. I often find that some older buses can be much more reliable than some more modern buses.
Yes we're finding that at sunny travel now the elderly darts that have now gone for scrap were much more reliable than the newer buses.
@Steveminor - Yes i have definetly found that with a lot of buses that i have driven with different operators that i have worked for. For example some older mk1 and mk2 Dart SLF buses can be a lot more reliable than newer buses such as Enviro 200 and Plaxton Primo and MAN 14.220 MCV Evolution buses.
Quote from: Steveminor on February 07, 2016, 03:03:07 AM
Yes we're finding that at sunny travel now the elderly darts that have now gone for scrap were much more reliable than the newer buses.
I sense trolling :D
@Kevin - I am not trolling at all. I was just asking questions.
Quote from: countryliner on February 08, 2016, 04:09:11 PM
@Kevin - I am not trolling at all. I was just asking questions.
I wasn't suggesting it was you doing the trolling
Are you suggesting I am
@Kevin as I'm just stating things from my personal experience.
Quote from: Steveminor on February 08, 2016, 06:57:26 PM
Are you suggesting I am @Kevin as I'm just stating things from my personal experience.
Fair enough, genuinely thought you were taking the piss. My bad
Quote from: Steveminor on February 06, 2016, 08:24:52 AM
No bus at ampm was assigned a set route. I kept allocating them to the 900 during their short stay but could have gone on any route. One was even allocated on the 40 from time to time.
Ironically one was on the 40 the same day as the last day as the metrobus at AG
Quote from: Steveminor on February 06, 2016, 08:24:52 AM
No bus at ampm was assigned a set route. I kept allocating them to the 900 during their short stay but could have gone on any route. One was even allocated on the 40 from time to time.
Oh, so you were responsible Steve, for taking those brilliant Olympians off the 900 and replacing them with those dreadful single deckers that seemed to have more luggage rack than seats!! I used to love my runs out to the Airport and back on those great buses.
Well the dockers were doing a lot of private hire work so it was either them or the darts at the time & I didn't feel the darts were quite upto the job