Passengers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[trident4370]

1436- 4M- caught from merry hill to Blackheath. Not the best of rides, as was a full bus, unfortunately having too sit where the two seats face each other, very uncomfortable all the way. The b10 lacked power, and does not sound like the b10 I have used in the past.

I know that Bradford place is not useable for double decker buses, but the 4M in particular needs double decker buses during peak times

1436 would sound different as 1431 to 1440 have ZF gearboxes in comparison to Voiths. Never been on one lacking power though.

I would sooner have EITHER type of B10L over an Omnilink, and I am an omnilink fan so that must be saying something... I would also go as far as to say 1436 is one of the better ZF B10Ls in general.

[Liberator9]

Another two Diamond buses - but worth the mention:

S2 - YJ10MFZ - Like MFV, an excellent Solo SR. Nice to get on a different one to MFY, which constantly follows me on the S2. Pleasure to ride on in comparison to MFY as well. Engine sounds excellent and smooth. Suspension was superb - dealt with road surfaces and potholes perfectly. Very few rattles as well. Heating system really good as well.  10/10

S3 - Green Hybrid (shall check reg) Very pleasant ride from Maypole to Solihull - suspension did well along country roads and minimal rattling. Heating performing well and engine/electric gear performing well too. 9/10

[Alex]

The Green Hybrid Versa is 30130, mate

[Liberator9]

Thanks for letting me know  :)

[Liberator9]

More to add from today:

4430 - 957 - Nice Transbus Trident 2 - gearbox smooth and pretty quick bus along the expressway in Small Heath. Little rattling and suspension did well - actually did better at dealing with the potholes and road bumps better than 4949 did later on. 9/10

7030 - 952 - Solid Scania - no rattles at all. Suspension was firm and dealt well with the road surfaces. Engine and gearbox smooth running, with the bus in very good condition externally and internally. 10/10

761 - 654 - Complete opposite to 7030 above. Rattles like anything. I used to think one or two of YW's tridents could rattle badly at times - well this makes them look fine. Abysmal build quality from ADL here - never known a bus make so much rattling, even older ones. Suspension was good - quite bouncy at times but fine overall. Gearbox was very good - actually has a kickdown function - Enviro 400s seem dead in comparison. Engine is fast and good at picking up speed. The retarder on these is strong - no problem braking! Bus in immaculate condition in and out. It was a fun little ride - must say very nippy and if it wasn't for the rattling would be a great bus. So it's 7/10

4301 - 16 - Never ridden one of the Volvo B7TLs with Alexander bodywork, but must say 4301 is a great one. Only a few rattles when on poor roads. Suspension is great - though it is a Volvo so no surprise. Externally and internally immaculate. Engine and gearbox very smooth - engine slow at trying get up hills though. Great bus though and enjoyable ride. 10/10

4949 - 957 - Unfortunately not a great Enviro 400 - first 14 reg I've ridden and not that great. Build quality seems to have declined in comparison to the 2013 BC versions. Rattling constantly upstairs (from loose panel at front) - least it wasn't squeaking. Suspension was poor - didn't deal with potholes very well and was painful going over Lode Lane bumps. Engine fine - although when going into idle did cause a judder/rattle. I'd expect this sort of performance from a 52 reg Trident, but not a 14 reg Enviro 400. 6/10


So really Scania and the older Volvo/Alexander combo win the quality award today. ADL's 14 reg products look smart but the rattling from them is worse compared to Scanias/Volvos, and even their older counterparts. However the Enviro 200 was a fun little ride and lively - if the Enviro 200 MMC doesn't rattle as much then will be a good bus.

[Liverpool Street]

804 - 99 - BC - Travelled on this the other day, just remembered to post a review! The service I caught of an evening was running a few minutes late and we had a young driver who wasn't scared of speed shall we say. Or of judging gaps in traffic, come to think of it. Anyway, after the initial pull away the bus picks up speed well, but doesn't seem to hold its speed after the driver came off the throttle for a split second.. Down gear changes were abysmally slow, its as if you could fit another gear between each one! Up changes were fine, and also held its revs quite high, and gave a lovely turbo whine in second gear. The suspension was horrendous. It seems as if the shocks had some sort of incorrect damping; it would rock like a boat after potholes and bumps, and when turning corners, and pretty much all what suspension is supposed to do it didn't do anything well. But the worst thing, the absolute worst thing was the damn interior noise!!! Not only was the engine sound extremely loud internally, (like they've fitted the engine inside the bus with no sound damping) but the rattles were headache inducing!! Everything was rattling. The vault, the wayfarer, the ticket machine, the CCTV screen, the poles, the ceiling, every access panel in the saloon - even the windows were rattling!! I had the unfortunate task to answer the mobile telephone whilst aboard this vehicle, I ended up shouting down the microphone and had to call the recipient back has I was unsuccessful in holding a conversation. Oh, some panels worked their selves loose within the saloon - I told the driver when I got off that his bus was falling apart - he just laughed and said "you wouldn't believe it was only 2 years old". He also apologised for chucking me forward under smooth braking, a known issue about the sharpness of the retarder. 4/10 for the engine and upchanges. 0/10 for Passenger Comfort

[don]

I have one I forgot to post as well.

I travelled on 4256 on the 7, from Villa Park (Witton) to Livery Street just before Christmas. It was a full and standing load. The bus was very tidy inside and out, seats in good condition. Very smooth ride with good suspension and felt powerful on pulling away with smooth starts and stops - no jerkiness.

I was extremely impressed - this bus has the short connector bars so not repainted/re trimmed that recently.

The only thing that let it down was the interior of the windows were extremely badly steamed up - although as it was so full and at times making slow progress owing to traffic congestion at Witton it's not surprising I guess.

9/10 - excellent.

[Trident 4194]

1665- 244 absolutely awful. It is so slow, and struggled to get up the hill from halesowen bus station. It juddered as it moved up a gear, and was a very bad ride. Interior smart on the other hand.
4/10 for looks
1/10 for ride

[Liberator9]

4109 - 49 - Well in comparison to the above mentioned Enviro 400, this is miles better. Quiet engine - really smooth running ZF gearbox. Suspension dealt with the roads very well - certainly over the bumps - only lost it in a bad pothole or two. Heating system working well as always on the Presidents and in a smart condition. 9/10

Interesting to see you mentioned the strong retarder as well LS - ADL seem awful at putting these buses together. To be fair I'm probably being kind giving 761 a 7/10. Feel sorry for the drivers who have to put up with some of these things - They should issue them all with noise cancelling headphones  ;D

[Liverpool Street]

4109 - 49 - Well in comparison to the above mentioned Enviro 400, this is miles better. Quiet engine - really smooth running ZF gearbox. Suspension dealt with the roads very well - certainly over the bumps - only lost it in a bad pothole or two. Heating system working well as always on the Presidents and in a smart condition. 9/10

Interesting to see you mentioned the strong retarder as well LS - ADL seem awful at putting these buses together. To be fair I'm probably being kind giving 761 a 7/10. Feel sorry for the drivers who have to put up with some of these things - They should issue them all with noise cancelling headphones  ;D

Yeah I've noticed the retarder a lot on new ADL products. Even the 400's to an extent are fairly sharp. Not as bad as those 200's though. And I agree, build quality seems to be reduced for a higher turn out of vehicles.

[Liberator9]

The build quality certainly has suffered on them - I mean the 13 reg Enviro 400s on the 957 are fine - not much rattling and suspension most of the time is fine - except it feels like it's detached over the road bumps. The 14 reg I rode the other day was much worse - I mean they look very smart, but the ride quality towards the front felt terrible most of the time, much like one of YW's Tridents. Rattling was much worse as well - I just hope the Enviro 200 MMC is better than the current one - i.e a lack of constant rattling. I can accept minor rattles when going over rough surfaces or into potholes, but no continuous amounts which make a racket.

[Liverpool Street]

The build quality certainly has suffered on them - I mean the 13 reg Enviro 400s on the 957 are fine - not much rattling and suspension most of the time is fine - except it feels like it's detached over the road bumps. The 14 reg I rode the other day was much worse - I mean they look very smart, but the ride quality towards the front felt terrible most of the time, much like one of YW's Tridents. Rattling was much worse as well - I just hope the Enviro 200 MMC is better than the current one - i.e a lack of constant rattling. I can accept minor rattles when going over rough surfaces or into potholes, but no continuous amounts which make a racket.

Annoyingly, I can't remember the last modern new bus without some sort of irritating rattles. The Omnilinks bin, the Enviros complete body, the B7RLE cab door and a few panels, urm... Possibly the last time I remember a 'good' new bus was the Trident E400's!

[Liberator9]

You're right there - every new bus type NX gets seems to have some sort of irritating rattle. The Enviros all over are fairly bad - though some of the 07 ex PB versions are pretty good - 4718 in particular. The 56 reg Eclipse Urbans are probably the best - still barely rattle and ride very well. The newer 61 reg plus ones rattle much more, and sound lifeless - the joys of Euro 5......I still like the Tridents - certainly since my first trip on PB's 4301, the Voith/Volvo set up. Well built and smooth riding. Some of the Tridents still barely rattle - only real source usually is the upper deck destination covers.

I don't know why they just don't remove the Omnilinks ticket bin - no one uses them (most prefer the floor or wedging in them in between seats). YW have tightened some back up before now - 1912's squeaked badly for a while early last year and being fair to YW they tightened it back up, although it's starting to squeak again now. But apart from than that they are good buses - engine has power, chassis is good and the design attractive. The AG/YW versions beat the equivalent age Optares Diamond have. The Solo SRs they have on my local route are terrible reliability wise - breakdown this morning stranded me high and dry. Rarely see Scanias parked up broken down  ;)

[Tony]

You're right there - every new bus type NX gets seems to have some sort of irritating rattle. The Enviros all over are fairly bad - though some of the 07 ex PB versions are pretty good - 4718 in particular. The 56 reg Eclipse Urbans are probably the best - still barely rattle and ride very well. The newer 61 reg plus ones rattle much more, and sound lifeless - the joys of Euro 5......I still like the Tridents - certainly since my first trip on PB's 4301, the Voith/Volvo set up. Well built and smooth riding. Some of the Tridents still barely rattle - only real source usually is the upper deck destination covers.

I don't know why they just don't remove the Omnilinks ticket bin - no one uses them (most prefer the floor or wedging in them in between seats). YW have tightened some back up before now - 1912's squeaked badly for a while early last year and being fair to YW they tightened it back up, although it's starting to squeak again now. But apart from than that they are good buses - engine has power, chassis is good and the design attractive. The AG/YW versions beat the equivalent age Optares Diamond have. The Solo SRs they have on my local route are terrible reliability wise - breakdown this morning stranded me high and dry. Rarely see Scanias parked up broken down  ;)

Not as Trident! The Voith/Volvo tells you that, Dennis built Tridents

[Liverpool Street]

You're right there - every new bus type NX gets seems to have some sort of irritating rattle. The Enviros all over are fairly bad - though some of the 07 ex PB versions are pretty good - 4718 in particular. The 56 reg Eclipse Urbans are probably the best - still barely rattle and ride very well. The newer 61 reg plus ones rattle much more, and sound lifeless - the joys of Euro 5......I still like the Tridents - certainly since my first trip on PB's 4301, the Voith/Volvo set up. Well built and smooth riding. Some of the Tridents still barely rattle - only real source usually is the upper deck destination covers.

I don't know why they just don't remove the Omnilinks ticket bin - no one uses them (most prefer the floor or wedging in them in between seats). YW have tightened some back up before now - 1912's squeaked badly for a while early last year and being fair to YW they tightened it back up, although it's starting to squeak again now. But apart from than that they are good buses - engine has power, chassis is good and the design attractive. The AG/YW versions beat the equivalent age Optares Diamond have. The Solo SRs they have on my local route are terrible reliability wise - breakdown this morning stranded me high and dry. Rarely see Scanias parked up broken down  ;)

Not as Trident! The Voith/Volvo tells you that, Dennis built Tridents

Easy mistake. ALX400 is I'm sure the correct terminology.