First Bus - Leicester

[47609FireFly]

36622 was also out (providing 6 electric deckers in total). It ran a few journeys in the afternoon on 14A/14.
It didn't track

It tracked erroneously as 35180 and later worked onto the late night service 15. I viewed it at 2115 hours.

https://bustimes.org/vehicles/flei-35180?date=2024-05-13

Well done to First for having their deckers out on lates; something that Arriva has yet to manage. 

[Glenfieldmathk1]

More out today..
Equally 35179/80 and 35186 have cascaded out the depot onto new areas. I assume in order for more buses to come to Leicester the depot is now full and needs some vehicles out.
Although I still disagree with what they are doing.. should have been a lot more double deckers and a few less single deckers.

[47609FireFly]

Was told by a driver who I know there's 5 there now.. 2 are ready for service.. and more due this week.
It's expected that only when they all arrive will the other old DD's go starting with the E400's to Essex. Although not sure if all 8 will go or if 2 will remain (for Amazon). Streetdecks have a little longer before leaving.

So that comment aged well then... 

[RobertJ21a]

More out today..
Equally 35179/80 and 35186 have cascaded out the depot onto new areas. I assume in order for more buses to come to Leicester the depot is now full and needs some vehicles out.
Although I still disagree with what they are doing.. should have been a lot more double deckers and a few less single deckers.

Not really much justification for any more double deckers. All are quite short routes, often full of those with buggies, walkers, shopping trolleys etc.
Too few passengers would bother going upstairs for such short distances.

[Glenfieldmathk1]

So that comment aged well then...

I would assume a full depot means they need to get vehicles out?
Like you said before, drivers don't always get things right.
I don't work for the company.

[Glenfieldmathk1]

Not really much justification for any more double deckers. All are quite short routes, often full of those with buggies, walkers, shopping trolleys etc.
Too few passengers would bother going upstairs for such short distances.

Was no issue in the past though?
37 Double deckers operating until Summer last year (up until the start of the gb kite rollout).. over50 double deckers in mid 2000's/early 2010's..
The council wants to encourage bus travel, you've got to provide capacity to do so! People don't want to be crammed in (ok for a short hop, but not for a longer journey). Service 4 for example is busiest on its shortest part between city and melton Road, yet that sees double deckers, it shows people do use both decks. 

[Magikrabby]

They ordered the kites with the original zebra funding, before they got the extension funding for the deckers. Presumably they thought that the kites would run alongside the diesel deckers for a long while, so maybe it was decided by some higher up that more electric kites and fewer diesel streetdecks would be better for publicity - saying that a higher percentage of buses at the depot are electric.