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RV22 DMY, an Ilesbus bodied Iveco demonstrator, was noted parked in the yard at Leicester depot on 25/08/2023. 

The evening of 19/07/2023 saw electrics operating late night services for the first time, with routes 25/26, 38/38A & 88E all having electric vehicles allocated. Looked quite impressive seeing all three in the Haymarket Bus Station together, ready for their 2300 hours departure.

My first post re: The Streetlites was here on 21st May:
https://wmbusphotos.com/forum/index.php?topic=3618.210

Ta. With zero interest in goings on at Diamond, I must confess that I never read that section of the board. I posted here because it was relevant to First Leicester (and not just Diamond). I was made aware of the sale some time ago but was not permitted to say anything until it became common knowledge. Thanks for the post. 

Winston has already posted the full list on here. They are also listed on the main site

Yes - I saw Winston's post after I had made my post. I must admit I hadn't previously noticed an Ensign section on the main site. 

It has been reported that a number of First Leicester's 630xx StreetLites have been sold to Rotala, via Ensign as dealer.

It wasn't just StreetDecks used this year, Kite 63503 - BK23 HCV also took part in proceedings. 

[Timing point]

Timing point departure time - the terminus is the loop. 

910's GPS trace matches your description perfectly - https://bustimes.org/vehicles/cbnl-910?date=2023-04-24#journeys/417643633

[terminus]

I think there's an element of getting confused here with the terminus arrangements up at Evington.

The Evington terminus is a one-way loop and on that loop is a timing point bus stop. For many, many years First (and their predecessors Leicester CityBus) have used the lay-by bus stop at Downing Drive / Chatteris Avenue as the timing point for service 22. As stated, Centrebus use the stop at Downing Drive / Ingarsby Drive as their timing point; something they've continued. There is a certain logic to using the first bus stop on a loop as the timing point because otherwise that stop and the one after it (outside the leisure centre) only have approximate times, which can make gauging what time your bus will arrive tricky if you're using one of those two stops.

On a route with a loop arrangement, what ought to happen is that the bus should start service from the first stop on the loop and, if the bus is on a last journey, it should remain in service until the final stop on the loop. As mentioned, if travelling to Evington on a bus that is on its last journey, there's no reason why a passenger could not travel to Welland Vale Road just because it happens to be after the timing point stop. It should not be a case of reaching Downing Drive / Ingarsby Drive and, "Right, that's it, everyone off!"

'Goodwood' is mentioned because of how stops have been recorded in NaPTAN by the local authority. Personally, I think it's blooming confusing! It's similar to how some stops are described as being in 'Spencefield' and other nondescript names that nobody has a clue about. A timing point doesn't have to be in a lay-by but I'm sure most bus companies wouldn't want to cause an unnecessary obstruction when their vehicle is waiting time. That said, with how certain areas of Leicester are now with regard to unlawful / obstructive parking of cars, which in themselves cause problems which nobody seems to want to get tough on, it can be hard to do anything other than obstruct!

I think regarding Centrebus and their vehicles it has been tricky. I have no idea what the timescale has been regarding implementing the Enhanced Partnership arrangement. Prior to it coming into play, the requirement for double-decks was quite niche at the company and using TfL spec vehicles on that work wasn't a problem. There was certainly no need for deckers on full day stage carriage work. And, as I've said before, if there wasn't such high density of schools on the Evington side of the 22 / 22A, you wouldn't really need deckers at all. Finding good quality, reasonably aged, non-TfL specification deckers on the second hand market is quite a tall order. They're in short supply. It's why when operators like Nottingham City Transport or Lothian decide to offload a batch of deckers, they get snapped up pretty quickly.

Where they do exist, like the, new to Bournemouth, Volvo B5TLs in the link below, you can see the eye-watering price tag!

https://www.busandcoachcentre.co.uk/showroom

Disagree completely. Had 909 and 910 this week and they have horribly hard seats, not to mention the fact they sound like they're about about to fall apart. They also clearly haven't properly been cleaned in ages as the amount of dust coming off the seats is disgusting
580 and (especially) 729 are exactly the same. I've never sat on a bus with seats as uncomfortable as 729 had.

Centrebus have also not improved timings as they completely skipped the 06:24 yesterday morning and both the 06:34 and 06:44 were late. I also missed a bus in the afternoon because the driver clearly didn't know what a timetable was and left Charles Street early.

The change of the start to the route to the Ingarsby Drive stop is frankly idiotic. What is the point in having the proper off-road stop outside City of Leicester if buses are going to sit blocking the road for up to 10 minutes with their engines on.

Their drivers are also really unprofessional. I've had drivers failing to give way to other vehicles, being unnecessarily rude to passengers, using their phone while the engines on and driving on the wrong side of the road after taking a corner when the correct side of the road was completely clear.

While I accept that First wasn't perfect in any way, their buses were significantly better than Centrebus's and their drivers a lot more professional. The 22 has gone from a great route to a terrible one.

Everything I've listed here has happened after just a week of them operating the service. I can't imagine what else will happen over the next months of me using the route everyday.

If you're a regular user of the service provided by Centrebus, I take it you've used your energy to highlight the specifics of your experiences to the bus company directly, via their customer services, rather than posting generic wibble on a forum? If you're that unhappy, perhaps you should be communicating with Leicester City Council too; after all, the change of operator of service 22 was implemented through their Enhanced Partnership plan.

Looking at the timetable carefully, I cannot see where a bus would get 10 minutes to sit blocking the road, engine running or not. Maybe there's a reason that the timing point has been moved to the first stop on Downing Drive (Ingarsby Drive) that you're unaware of? 

Sadly, all bus companies, just like every other area of life from supermarkets to police forces, have an element of rogue employees that I wouldn't employ if I owned or ran a bus operation. That applies to First equally as much as it does to Centrebus. In a post lockdown world of bus driver shortages, which has impacted most operators across the UK, companies probably have employed people who, in an 'ideal world', they wouldn't have touched with the proverbial barge pole, just to keep the wheels turning.

Are you suitably qualified to judge the professionalism of the drivers or the maintenance standards of the vehicles? If I was a betting man, I would be having a punt that there's a lot of subjectivity in your perspectives and posts in general. It's fine to have opinions but it's far better to maintain objectivity where possible.

Looks as though Centrebus E200s 504, 505, 506, 530, 531 & 532 have transferred out of Leicester to D&G. Presumably as additional vehicle resources to deal with Arriva's retrenchment.

It looks as though E200s 504, 505, 506, 530, 531 and 532 have transferred out of Leicester to D&G. Presumably as additional vehicle resources to cover the routes that Arriva are coming off of. 

Also, a picture here (not mine) of Centrebus 925, which is currently in use at Grantham. The blurb states that sister bus 924 is currently away being repainted:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/acbestphotography/52829488952/

2 "new" 09 plate double deckers have arrived in Leicester for the 22 service. Not known if they'll be used all day or just during busy periods. There's 4 on the service currently running with First, so will mean there will still likely be singles on the service also.

Grantham allocated 912, which was new to First London, was noted in the yard at Wenlock Way on 13/04/2023. Suggestions are that this is being loaned to Leicester and is likely to appear on the 22. Don't forget, Leicester depot also has three other double-decks, in the shape of 909, 910 & 931. All three of these are dual-doored and have their wheelchair access ramps in the rear doors but as the 22 departs from Charles Street, rather than a bus station, there would be nothing to stop them appearing on the 22 too. The only hindrance would be gaining access to the ramp, whilst on stand in the city centre, due to the metal railings by bus stop CC.

They're both ex Yellow Buses Volvo B9TL's
924 - GX09 ZZS
925 - GX09 ZZT

I'd hazard a guess they'll be used all day at first to see if demand requires them or for additional deckers to be drafted in.

Yes, both ex Yellow Buses, Bournemouth (fleet numbers 5034 and 5035), and most recently with Xela (fleet numbers 561 and 562), but both were new to Bus Vannin, Isle of Man (fleet numbers 164 and 165).

I'm not sure what demand really needs to be seen though - the 22 / 22A serve four, rather large secondary schools (Crown Hills, Judgemeadow, City of Leicester and St. Paul's). On top of that, there are a good number of parents who take their primary aged kids to schools on the route, namely Linden and Mayflower. I would be very much surprised if the change of operator caused all of those school flows to just vanish! After all, it is because of the school flows that the double-decks are needed at all. One would imagine that Centrebus has been out and done the diligence with regard to loadings. Quite easy to go for a ride on First's morning journeys to check loadings. However, as this change of operator has been instigated as part of the 'Enhanced Partnership', one would presume that loadings data would freely be available from First to Centrebus, via Leicester City Council. Let's not forget too that First often threw a single-deck vehicle at the route, when reliability went down the pan and there was chronic bunching. And certainly between school times, at school holidays and at weekends, I'd imagine a 10-minute service with single-decks would do the job adequately.

[they can just run from the stand directly onto Burleys Way (when they go that way)]

First have yet to announce the changes but fingers crossed the reliability of the 14's improves as they can just run from the stand directly onto Burleys Way (when they go that way)

Yes, which is great operationally. And yes, running on time to provide reliability is a huge part of growing consumer confidence in a service, which helps to increase patronage. However, it is not the only factor. Where do passengers really want to go? Do they want to be turfed off at St. Margaret's or would they like to go further? Now they have the option to alight at either but it sounds like in the future they will not have that choice. If I was 85, suffering from arthritis and wanted to get some shopping at Wilko's, I would probably be a bit miffed at the trek from St. Margaret's to get there. It's a bit like the dross written on Arriva's information about their April 16th service change, where folk from Sturdee Road, in Eyres Monsell, can walk to Lutterworth Road for routes 84 & 85. 

[A shame, as First has ran the route very well.]

Well according to this the 22 won't be operated by First come the 16th April: https://www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk/search/find-registered-local-bus-services/details/608152/

A shame, as First has ran the route very well. We will have a much worse service with Centrebus running it with (allegedly) single deckers.

In other news the 38 and 38A will be starting from Haymarket Bus Station as of the same date, and will run at an every 5 minute frequency combined with Arriva's new service 37.

You are joking, aren't you? Have you not witnessed the daily, poor service delivery in vehicles running together, vehicles regularly running not in service and a general inability to deliver the timetable?

The one good thing about First, until the recent change of MD, was that they provided the best presented vehicles, both in internally and externally, by a long way. That's slipped since the departure of NE and vehicle allocation has also gone awry too. Shame.

Noted in Centrebus' Wenlock Way depot yard, Leicester, on 10/03/2023 were, dual-doored, Yutong E9s:

YD23 FML
YD23 FMM
YD23 FMO

These all carry external vinyls for the free 'Hop!' service, around the city centre, which starts on April 3rd.