First Group have this morning announced that they have placed orders for 385 new buses for 2015/16:
Full press release here:
http://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2015/29-05-15.aspx
http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/alexander-dennis-wins-big-firstgroup-order.127420990
Full details of the First Bus order:
Manufacturer Model Quantity
Volvo B5LH 20
Wrightbus StreetDeck 65
Wrightbus StreetLite 183
ADL Enviro 200 MMC 63
ADL Enviro 400 MMC 47
ADL Enviro 400 MMC GK 5
ADL Enviro 400 MMC Virtual Electric 2
The five E400s marked as 'GK' are obviously subject to a typo as it should say 'GKN', referring to a GKN Hybrid Power flywheel fitment. They are for Stirling; around 110 of the whole order is Scotland-bound, primarily for Glasgow, which is to receive 75 new buses.
The size of the order is hardly very impressive given the size of the First Groups UK bus fleet. Especially considering the amount early low floor single deckers & step entry double deckers that are still left in service.
Quote from: Winston on May 30, 2015, 11:12:05 AM
The size of the order is hardly very impressive given the size of the First Groups UK bus fleet. Especially considering the amount early low floor single deckers & step entry double deckers that are still left in service.
I totally agree - especially the small number of DDs. :(
Half of the Streetdecks are for South Yorkshire. See off all but a handful of B10BLE's plus the remaining Tridents I believe.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/business/business-news/first-announce-5m-investment-in-22-new-south-yorkshire-buses-1-7284921
Quote from: DD12 on May 30, 2015, 11:37:38 AM
I totally agree - especially the small number of DDs. :(
For a fleet of 6400 buses it isn't great at all, they are replacing only 6% of the fleet implying a vehicle life of approaching 16.5 years. It makes NX Groups new bus investment this year look all the more impressive.
I don't see from the quantities on order how First are going to free much if the way of newer stuff to cascade to the the poorer subsidiaries such as Kernow. The majority of the new fleet can only be replacing non DDA single deckers & step entrance deckers at best
Unless they are contemplating disposing of even more of their bus operation!
Quote from: JoNi on May 30, 2015, 03:00:39 PM
Unless there contemplating disposing of even more of their bus operation!
I don't expect them to dispose of any more of their bus operations, they should never have sold off London as they've lost their supply of midlife cascades
Potteries fleet age must be abysmal....a handful of crap streetlites last year and prior to that a handful of omncity's in 2006...lots of tired old single deckers. ..andsome old cascaded deckers plus a few now 11 yr old Gemini's
Pretty p##s poor up there. Does the potteries fleet make any money?
Quote from: Bob on May 30, 2015, 04:15:35 PM
Potteries fleet age must be abysmal....a handful of crap streetlites last year and prior to that a handful of omncity's in 2006...lots of tired old single deckers. ..andsome old cascaded deckers plus a few now 11 yr old Gemini's
Pretty p##s poor up there. Does the potteries fleet make any money?
Obviously not judging by the amount of investment.
I can't see First disposing of any more subsidiaries. In some areas, they have actually started to make an effort.
In Bristol, new commercial routes have been introduced which have seen off a number of Wessex subsidised routes. In Cornwall, First started to make a comeback before Western Greyhound's demise, although the competition on certain routes was a contributory factor in that demise. However, both of these route improvements have come without any major fleet enhancements. It's true that Bristol have received new StreetLites to replace ancient step entrance Darts, but Bristol has not seen a new double decker since 2009, and the latest double deckers are cascaded 58-reg E400's from Leicester. In Cornwall, the First Kernow fleet is a disgrace. I recently caught a P-reg Olympian that shook throughout the entire journey and that was one of the better buses!
One interesting area as far as First is concerned is Plymouth, where Plymouth CityBus (Go Ahead) has recently stepped up competition by introducing new services on the Tavistock and Plymstock corridors (the former with high-spec new buses), and the acquisition of the Liskeard depot of Western Greyhound has also greatly improved Plymouth CityBus services on the Saltash corridor. First have already abandoned the X80 Plymouth to Torquay service after competition from Stagecoach Devon, so it will be interesting to see what happens next with its Plymouth operations. They had not responded to this new completion by bringing in newer vehicles when I was in Plymouth last month.
Quote from: Winston on May 29, 2015, 09:12:59 AM
First Group have this morning announced that they have placed orders for 385 new buses for 2015/16:
Full press release here:
http://www.firstgroupplc.com/news-and-media/latest-news/2015/29-05-15.aspx
http://www.heraldscotland.com/business/company-news/alexander-dennis-wins-big-firstgroup-order.127420990
Full details of the First Bus order:
Manufacturer Model Quantity
Volvo B5LH 20
Wrightbus StreetDeck 65
Wrightbus StreetLite 183
ADL Enviro 200 MMC 63
ADL Enviro 400 MMC 47
ADL Enviro 400 MMC GK 5
ADL Enviro 400 MMC Virtual Electric 2
would be nice to see a break down of where they the new buses going
Quote from: Solo1 on May 31, 2015, 02:20:23 PM
would be nice to see a break down of where they the new buses going
Search the various forums & compile one for us then ;)
As soon as South Yorkshire was mentioned I guess the service number straight away and was correct! I hope they're as speedy as the B9TLs currently on the route, not much point making it look like a fighter jet if it goes like a dead tortoise! ;D
Leicester is another that generally suffers, their last new buses were 54/05 plate ones (though I'm sure the 05 ones were cascades? - First aren't really my strong point), then recently they got the 08/58 reg E400s transferred in from London, half of which have already left. Now they have a few extra B7RLEs, but I'm wondering if they'll last long either.
First only really seem to care about a few of their divisions and even that's not very much! I think the only place in the entire group that they actually make more than half an effort is Glasgow, which is further reinforced by this latest order.
Personally, I'm glad I don't live in an area served by First, while they have much better types of buses (bar the Street**ites). If the services do actually by some miracle actually show up, they won't get far before breaking down, bursting into flames or whatever else.
Bring back the B10M (ex-Mainline ones!).
Quote from: Ally on May 31, 2015, 09:06:13 PM
As soon as South Yorkshire was mentioned I guess the service number straight away and was correct! I hope they're as speedy as the B9TLs currently on the route, not much point making it look like a fighter jet if it goes like a dead tortoise! ;D
Leicester is another that generally suffers, their last new buses were 54/05 plate ones (though I'm sure the 05 ones were cascades? - First aren't really my strong point), then recently they got the 08/58 reg E400s transferred in from London, half of which have already left. Now they have a few extra B7RLEs, but I'm wondering if they'll last long either.
First only really seem to care about a few of their divisions and even that's not very much! I think the only place in the entire group that they actually make more than half an effort is Glasgow, which is further reinforced by this latest order.
Personally, I'm glad I don't live in an area served by First, while they have much better types of buses (bar the Street**ites). If the services do actually by some miracle actually show up, they won't get far before breaking down, bursting into flames or whatever else.
Bring back the B10M (ex-Mainline ones!).
By all accounts, the Streetdeck goes like drink and was liked by OG drivers once it was working. Rotherham apparently just break it (the words of a Sheffield spotter)
There is little concrete info as to where the order is actually going, bar 32x StreetDeck for Rotherham, the two virtual electric E400s to Glasgow and the five flywheel E400s to Stirling.
The remainder of the StreetDecks are supposedly for Bristol and there are various other releases detailing 'X new buses for Aberdeen' and such, along with forum postings, but First has not put anything out detailing where everything is going. However, the initial release and the quote from Giles Fearnley suggests that not all of its business units will receive new buses.
Quote from: barry619 on June 01, 2015, 08:50:35 AM
There is little concrete info as to where the order is actually going, bar 32x StreetDeck for Rotherham, the two virtual electric E400s to Glasgow and the five flywheel E400s to Stirling.
There's only 22 Streetdecks for Rotherham, for the re-branding of the X78 route.
Quote from: barry619 on June 01, 2015, 08:50:35 AM
There is little concrete info as to where the order is actually going, bar 32x StreetDeck for Rotherham, the two virtual electric E400s to Glasgow and the five flywheel E400s to Stirling.
The 2 virtual electric buses are for Bristol as per the First press release which reads :-
Amongst the First Bus order are:
· Two 'virtual electric' (part hybrid, part electric) buses, which will enter service in Bristol from December as part of FirstGroup's support of Bristol Green Capital.
· Five double deck buses, scheduled to operate in Stirling, will be fitted with flywheel technology originating from Formula 1. The technology is designed to recapture energy that would otherwise be lost during braking so it can later be used to help accelerate the bus and save fuel.
But nothing for First Worcester to replace there ageing Plaxton Presidents that range from T reg - 51 reg and then places like First Sheffield are scraping 02 reg Presidents?
Quote from: Reece on June 01, 2015, 12:53:37 PM
But nothing for First Worcester to replace there ageing Plaxton Presidents that range from T reg - 51 reg and then places like First Sheffield are scraping 02 reg Presidents?
Sheffield aren't scraping Presidents, one was scrapped with fire damage. Others have been transferred out. Both the Tridents and B7TL's are limited to certain routes because of unreliability and terrain. The Tridents only come out monday to Friday mostly, Saturdays as a last resort.
The plan is to get rid of most of the above when the Streetdecks come.
Quote from: Reece on June 01, 2015, 12:53:37 PM
But nothing for First Worcester to replace there ageing Plaxton Presidents that range from T reg - 51 reg and then places like First Sheffield are scraping 02 reg Presidents?
Quote from: Ashley 60171 on June 01, 2015, 01:18:31 PM
Sheffield aren't scraping Presidents, one was scrapped with fire damage. Others have been transferred out. Both the Tridents and B7TL's are limited to certain routes because of unreliability and terrain. The Tridents only come out monday to Friday mostly, Saturdays as a last resort.
The plan is to get rid of most of the above when the Streetdecks come.
Let's just confirm something here - the only President that we've scrapped in Sheffield was 33123 LT02NVK. This was because it caught fire and had been robbed for spares. Prior to it's departure to Barnsley, it donated it's rear to accident damaged 33052 LN51GKJ. We've not scrapped any others, have no plans to scrap any others. Some of them have transferred elsewhere, there's some that have transferred to Glasgow and others that have gone to Bristol (or at least somewhere down south) as we're trying to get rid of them.
The Streetdecks for the X78 will displace the B9 Geminis...10 are staying in Rotherham for the 1/2 Rotherham - Maltby, displacing the ALX400s.
The main focus at this point is for the Streetdecks to displace vehicles to replace the B10BLEs which must be replaced by the end of the year as they are NOT DDA compliant. There's talk of Sheffield's 8 Y-reg BLEs to recieve DDA mods - how true this is I'm not sure but it's definitely feasable considering that 22 Streetdecks cannot displace enough vehicles to get rid of 30 odd - unless we're also due some Streetlites.
The replacement of some of the Tridents which have transferred away has been helped by Doncaster having a PVR decrease, meaning that some of their ALX400s have transferred to Sheffield.
Quote from: T840MAK on June 01, 2015, 04:45:57 PM
Let's just confirm something here - the only President that we've scrapped in Sheffield was 33123 LT02NVK. This was because it caught fire and had been robbed for spares. Prior to it's departure to Barnsley, it donated it's rear to accident damaged 33052 LN51GKJ. We've not scrapped any others, have no plans to scrap any others. Some of them have transferred elsewhere, there's some that have transferred to Glasgow and others that have gone to Bristol (or at least somewhere down south) as we're trying to get rid of them.
The Streetdecks for the X78 will displace the B9 Geminis...10 are staying in Rotherham for the 1/2 Rotherham - Maltby, displacing the ALX400s. The main focus at this point is for the Streetdecks to displace vehicles to replace the B10BLEs which must be replaced by the end of the year as they are NOT DDA compliant. There's talk of Sheffield's 8 Y-reg BLEs to recieve DDA mods - how true this is I'm not sure but it's definitely feasable considering that 22 Streetdecks cannot displace enough vehicles to get rid of 30 odd - unless we're also due some Streetlites.
The replacement of some of the Tridents which have transferred away has been helped by Doncaster having a PVR decrease, meaning that some of their ALX400s have transferred to Sheffield.
So I take that as a no then to First Worcester getting some new Deckers then this year any chance of some new single Deckers then? Also any chance of the 54 reg ALX400s at Worcester getting a repaint and Retrim any time soon?
All the same it's become a slate First off thread.
Once again theres a comparison to NX Group
If its not Crimson or Platinum, why does it get a pasting on here?
Quote from: Ashley 60171 on June 01, 2015, 05:35:15 PM
All the same it's become a slate First off thread.
Once again theres a comparison to NX Group
If its not Crimson or Platinum, why does it get a pasting on here?
I am not talking about NXWM ALX400s I am talking about First Worcester ALX400s which are as follows 33401, 33402, 33403, 33404 and 33405.
@Reece I wasn't referring to your post. I am fully awake of the First Wyvern fleet.
Leicester are to get 9x 11.5 Streetlites and 9x Streetdecks (2 of those may come to Wyvern)
Quote from: Reece on June 01, 2015, 05:01:33 PM
So I take that as a no then to First Worcester getting some new Deckers then this year any chance of some new single Deckers then? Also any chance of the 54 reg ALX400s at Worcester getting a repaint and Retrim any time soon?
I can't see why you're asking me. I've not seen where anything's going, I've not been to Worcester either and I don't know what their fleet's like. I can only say wait and see for the list of what's going where.
Quote from: Reece on June 01, 2015, 05:01:33 PM
So I take that as a no then to First Worcester getting some new Deckers then this year any chance of some new single Deckers then? Also any chance of the 54 reg ALX400s at Worcester getting a repaint and Retrim any time soon?
REECE - I like your post -
I would love to see NEW deckers allocated to Worcester, but I don't think it's very likely -
the last time that happened was 47 years ago ! (6092-6096 LHA592-596F)
(Ignoring one delivered to Astons in 2000).
I saw some of 33401-33405 delivered new - to the Worcester parking area in 2004 when the "Wyvern" head office was still at Heron Lodge, but I didn't get excited because I guessed they'd be for Redditch !
I too would like them to be repainted and re-trimmed - First managed to keep them looking smart for their first 8ish years, but they need a bit of t.l.c. now.
Quote from: Ashley 60171 on June 01, 2015, 05:35:15 PM
All the same it's become a slate First off thread.
Once again theres a comparison to NX Group
If its not Crimson or Platinum, why does it get a pasting on here?
Do you ever stop moaning?
The First Group order is pathetic considering the number of elderly vehicles that still need replacing that are non DDA, step entrance. There is a large concentration of buses that date between 1998-2000 when First were ordering massive quantities.
@Winston, from what
@Ashley 60171 was saying, he wasn't moaning about First, he was saying that people were moaning about them!
Quote from: the trainbasher on June 01, 2015, 09:16:17 PM
@Winston, from what @Ashley 60171 was saying, he wasn't moaning about First, he was saying that people were moaning about them!
Point out the obvious! We're all entitled to our opinions whether Ashley agree's with it or not.