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16683 made it to Willenhall last Wednesday with paper card in windscreen too.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/92409298@N06/7zLun2

What would happen regarding with fare collection if say Stagecoach began to operate in the West Midlands. Would they continue with the fare box or would they reintroduce change giving which presumably the unions would hit the roof about??

I would imagine they would stick to the cash vaults as it would be cost too much time, money and effort to remove all the cash vaults, fit cash trays and brackets for the cash tins as well as converting all the assault shields to accommodate the trays, then there's all the drivers having to adjust to the change.
That's not to say that it wouldn't happen, just that it'd just be trillions times easier if they kept it how it is now, and I imagine they would see it the same way, even before all the drivers grab their torches and pitchforks!

I've never had the experience of a step entrance B6, but I've always had a soft spot for the B6LE!
I do prefer them on the ALX200 body if I'm honest, but the Wright ones aren't far behind! Would have them any day over the new Enviro 200s which are about just as powerless with these gearboxes they stick in them...
I'll definitely miss them when they're all gone, we've already lost them in Coventry & Warwickshire :(

And the West Midlands could have ended up with step entrance buses with service numbers on bits of paper in the windscreen.  Oh sorry that is what I have just photographed actually happening

Here is said Olympian, Quality?
http://wmbusphotos.com/StagecoachUC/16695.html

If some of the other operators were operating a bus like this they would be called cowboys!

Leamington & Stratford Garages don't really seem to bother with sorting their blinds out anymore, N809 DNE & N139 AET immediately spring to mind there, with N139 AET actually being caught out by a VOSA inspector in Pool Meadow! They don't seem to bother swapping the old units for newer ones or bother fixing them for ages if they stop working.

Rugby's 22841 spent Wednesday going round on the 63 & 64 routes with "Hong Kong" stuck showing on the blind
Photo: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1427320537548504&l=dc07b190aa

Nuneaton once had a case with 34628 showing "448" on the blind on one of the via points, rather than "48" on all the others.
You don't normally tend to see Nuneaton's buses in much of a state as their gaffer is very fleet proud and would blow a gasket if he ended up with some of the other states you see around the country! He just spent £58k getting two Transbus Darts that Northampton claimed were "ready for service" up to a standard where they could actually be used in public! To say that it didn't go down very well was an understatement!
Even 34494's blind was fixed quickly and that was an intermittent fault where half the LEDs would blank as it drove along, presumably a loose connection not helped by the constant vibrations from road movement.

It was recently discovered that Leamington's 57/58 plate Solos are in a worse condition than Nuneaton's 04 plate ones, it has been said that the 04 plates are due for replacement at the end of the year by some new stuff, said to be short Enviro 200s.

Does Centro have any sort of control over fare prices within their borders? Operators in South Yorkshire apparently have to ask Travel South Yorkshire's (SYPTE's) permission before they can raise fares, hence Stagecoach & First being so cheap up there (60 or 70p max Child fare up there).

28 branded Enviro on X16 to Willenhall this morning
Driver very sensibly drove over from Stratford with Coventry on the destination display.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/92409298@N06/pm15Ed
Needless to say the photo that came out had no via points showing!

They may have been told similar to what Nuneaton has been told to do on their 55 service, as nobody knows where on earth Horeston Grange is, they've told drivers to display Nuneaton then change the blind over at Nuneaton to Horeston Grange. Some drivers of course just ignore that and display Horeston Grange anyway. Wonder if the X16 drivers have been told the same... The 86 is the really confusing one because it displays "Woodlands" which most people in Coventry see as the Woodlands in Bedworth, not Rugby.

Why do Stagecoach have the 4 programmed into their display? Have Stagecoach ever ran trips on there?

They have several of the pre-Network Review services programmed on the blinds (21C, 32C, 36 etc.), it was for the New Years Day services which were contracted out and won by Stagecoach for the last few years until NX started running them themselves. I was present on 2 occasions, directing drivers.

Cheers for the explanation @Ally

You're welcome! :)

Why do Stagecoach have the 4 programmed into their display? Have Stagecoach ever ran trips on there?

They have several of the pre-Network Review services programmed on the blinds (21C, 32C, 36 etc.), it was for the New Years Day services which were contracted out and won by Stagecoach for the last few years until NX started running them themselves. I was present on 2 occasions, directing drivers.

Stagecoach pretending to be NX Coventry on Foleshill Road...

http://oi57.tinypic.com/wswj1l.jpg

Sorry for the poor image quality, it was a rushed shot as we were trying to get the bus to start as the starter switch had randomly stopped working, hence a driver in the background!

LOL I've gone and posted it in the wrong one   :-[
Silverline NOT Claribels! I shouldn't be allowed on the internet...

[Silverline]

Claribels Silverline Solo YJ56 APK was broken down in the middle of the road at the Wheatsheaf Junction yesterday (Friday) about 11:15, thankfully not in the middle of the junction but in the middle of Lode Lane (is it Lode Lane where the NX 957 turns off? I forget now).

(Posted in the wrong section with the wrong name because I'm a fool! *Puts on Dunce hat*)

I'm relentlessly trying to get in with National Express currently, applied for "Vehicle Dismantler" and "Paint Unit Assistant" on the 13th, heard back about the Vehicle Dismantler one yesterday (19th) saying I have an interview at Perry Barr on Friday so now it's fingers crossed although I won't get my hopes up, best not to!

But National Express seems brilliant to work for especially from how what I've seen. Would be great to get in, if not I'll keep on trying! :)

Another problem with digital blinds is they knacker up more often, I once walked up Trinity Street in Coventry to jump on Stagecoach's 39684 which I forgot at the time has a faulty rear blind, it either shows nothing or the last route displayed, it had 57 on the back but it was actually on the 55 route (both take me home but the 55 goes via half the solar system first).
When the 57 gets into Coventry it swaps to a 55 meaning the rear blind showed 57, I always make sure to also heck the side blind now! I've never noticed this destination problem on a National Express bus, only Stagecoach 39684 & Warwickshire County Council KN04 XCT (Stagecoach 34398).

All blinds have their downfalls though, it's not so easy to update roller blinds and they're a real pain to set if the handle has it's rotating end missing or if it isn't lubricated properly. It once took me about 5 minutes just to set 3 numbers because of a mixture of the above plus they all changed at the same time...

That's a shame! I use the 310 back from Sheffield roughly every month, leaves Sheffield at 17:10. I'd prefer to have de Courcey running it rather than Travelstar European. That journey has very bad overcrowding problems leading to it running late a lot, it usually has no or barely any seats free when leaving anywhere until Coventry.