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Now I'm getting greedy! It would be nice if they were destined for the 1 in Birmingham (from Town Hall to Acocks Green), as it used to be a 'showcase' route, and was last upgraded with refurbed Presidents!  ::)

However using some on Wolverhamptons 1 would be a nice idea, as its a regular well-used route linking Wolverhampton and Dudley, don't think they'd need all 21 though, BC get away with using 18 on both the 22 and 23 routes.

They've just had 40 brand new single-decks in the last couple of months, no need to get greedy!  :P

The priority is unfortunately going to be in the Birmingham area, I'm afraid. I reckon next year we'll see a load of new double-decks for the 11A/C Outer Circle.

594 and 595 were both getting a bit 'tired' when they finished duties at AG, I think they were only repainted back into red/white before they left there, still they were in much better condition than some other B6LEs out there!

They're older than the Presidents, so probably not.

No problem, I'm sure you'll be the first to let us know once you know yourself!  ;)

I quite like the look of the ADL Darts that they use in the Hotel Hoppa fleet that you pictured recently (Enviro200?), it wouldn't surprise me if they bought more of those.

Thats good to hear! But do you know:
a) if they will be delivered before the summer?
b) what model they will be?

Thanks!

Seems a waste of time and money repainting it!  :(

With all the recent discussion about emissions requirements and Birmingham Central having to transfer out its Plaxton Presidents, has anyone considered the fate of the 636 service, which is currently operated with Volvo B6LEs?

Its been suggested here and elsewhere that due to the nature of this route, that only these small single-decks (and the Dennis Darts used previously) are suitable for this service, and whenever BC have sent out an Omnilink, that they can struggle in parts.

As there are no immediate plans for NXWM to purchase new 'midibuses' before the Summer, when the new emission requirements come into force, what are the plans for the 636 service? Will it be rerouted to miss out the parts that the Omnilinks struggle with, or would it be more practical to revise this route so it no longer enters the city centre, but maybe terminates at Birmingham Town Hall instead?

Any more out on the road yet in addition to 4177 on the 97? Does any one have any idea whether NX are considering a wholesale change to the fleet livery if not what exactly are they doing, it can't be cheap to put  'one offs' on the road?

Its probably cheaper to do a 'one-off' than repaint half the fleet and then decide to change the livery!  ;D

It would be funny if someone at NXWM was actually reading through our suggestions, most of which make sense!

Tony is right, there are plenty of double-decks in the fleet to go round, look at Wolverhampton. They have plenty of Tridents, yet only operate one route into Birmingham.

And with the money and time invested in repairing and repainting the Presidents, they're not going away for withdrawal any time soon. More likely they'll get transferred to another garage that may have operated them in the past (Walsall or Yardley Wood?), introduced at a garage that hasn't used them before (Wolverhampton), or kept at Acocks Green for the Outer Circle.

At the moment, NXWM are rightly concentrating on withdrawing the older battered single-decks that are really showing their age (funny how double-decks seem to last much longer!) and definitely aren't suitable for use in the city centre.

My only concern, and as this topic may have gone off at a tangent already might justify a new one, is what will happen to the 636 and its allocation of B6LEs.

1) I make it that AG would need 65 Presidents (57 plus 8 spare) if they used them solely on the 1, 11 and 966. They currently have 39. Obviously they need 26 from somewhere.

I believe that from 1st April the frequency of the 11 is being reduced slightly, this may mean not as many buses being required for this route.

The 126 is operated by a different garage (Wolverhampton) which is probably why it doesn't 'combine' with the 9, 140 and 141 as you might expect it to.

Having said that, the 9 and 126 are pretty frequent during the day anyway, so no need to really. The Hagley Road is well served anyway, there is also the 120, 127 and 128 which serve parts of it, as well as Bearwood.

Information here:
http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/PressReleases/PressRelease17143.aspx

If the inner ring road is the 'borderline', then yes even the 1 would be 'safe', as it terminates on Paradise Circus, on the inner ring road.

And yes, PB could be another transfer option, as they already operate Geminis, but I believe they don't have any Tridents either, but the similar B7TL ALX400s, don't know how much different they are to the Tridents, but they would be non-standard at BC.

I don't work in fleet management, so I'm no expert on the subject  :P, but the more I think about it, as a short-term measure, seeing as NXWM have been investing money in repainting and repairing the Presidents recently, it does make sense that a large number of the Presidents could in time well end up at Wolverhampton garage, who only operate one route into Birmingham (the 126), maybe used to withdraw the awful Optare Spectras, then you'd see their Tridents cascaded elsewhere to garages that already use them, or the similar ALX400 B7TLs..

I believe the exclusion area now excludes the complete 1 route, so the 1 can keep its Presidents

;D

Am I right then in thinking that this 'exclusion' zone is just within the inner ring road then?