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Just been reading about the new guided bus route in Manchester being operated by first under the premium branding vantage seriously high spec ,most impressive we can only dream about down here in brum.

My question is there any routes in the West Midlands that could be converted into the guided bus system, I quite like idea it's vastly cheaper than trams as well. It should offer super smooth ride rather than the pot hole infested roads of brum, I know there is network of disused railway lines around the West Midlands but I don't know if any could provide useful links.

@2900

Agree with you there - that Vantage brand looks very impressive. That is certainly the advantage of the guided bus system - not restricted by tracks nor the overhead wires, and so is far cheaper. The old Harborne Railway line could be one candidate; another the old South Staffs line between Wolverhampton, Stourbridge and Brierley hill. Also runs from Stourbridge through to Walsall, via Dudley, Dudley Port, Wednesbury, Bescot and Walsall. If you look on google maps can still see the old cuttings and tunnel that it used to run along. Believe that is earmarked for the trams, at some point in the far future...

Wouldn't rule out if the 45XX and 46XX were to move out some going to YW - YW are going to need something to use on the 2 and 3 that is emissions compliant in , and able to replace the Presidents.

Not an easy job to get into - but rewarding and secure if you do. Really to be in the best place to become one you need to do a job of responsibility beforehand (bus driving even). Or alternatively work a couple of years on the railways in another position before applying for driving (station role or guard). The application process is rigorous with aptitude tests and interviews, and you need a decent academic record. The TOCs want the best suited people for the role due to the high level of responsibility involved and the absolute need for the employee to be reliable and dependable. However if you're committed, hard working, have good situational awareness and show a genuie interest in the railways, sure you can do it.  I know someone who is a driver who loves the job who started as a guard at the same company.

What happened to that 5 year deal where NXWM only brought ADL buses?

Been explained somewhere on the forum - it wasn't an exclusive deal just with ADL. NX are free to buy other manufacturer's buses as well.

@Tony

Thanks for posting them Tony - looks very smart and sounds promising.

@Liverpool Street

;) Haha - Know what you mean! Rather interesting when riding an E400 (63 reg) with GoAhead - same ZF gearbox except very good on accelerating - all to do with the gearbox setup really.

Haven't heard a ZF Streetdeck - but the Voiths are pretty good - I know Brighton's versions were slow up hills though but that may've been improved in the latest versions.

@j789

Interesting to hear - I'm right in thinking your Streetdecks are fitted with the D854.6 four speed Voiths?

Will be interesting to see which gearbox the NX example has actually got.

Looks excellent - the livery suits it perfectly (do hope this leads to more Wrights coming into the fleet again in the future).

@Chris

Haha - I get what you mean  :D Yeah - stick a personalised number plate on them and most pax wouldn't notice the difference  ;)

Crimson does give the impression of new buses - however very very unlikely the Soho Road buses will be done for a few years considering they're still fairly new, and there's a far more pressing need to repaint other vehicles in the fleet (e.g Newer BC Tridents, YW Scanias, remaining Geminis etc.)

They don't want to spend the money on staff and maintenance ultimately. A manager there said to me, the longer the money is in Rotala's bank accounts, the more interest they build from it, which is interesting. But yeah, the general impression is they don't want to spend the money, because they've got no competition and they don't need to. If another operator set up in Redditch, then they'd probably sort themselves out, but there isn't enough trade really for another operator I suppose.

Rather telling of Diamond there - they might want to be careful with Signature in the future though - sure the likes of Johnsons (or NX on the off chance) might be knocking if they're not careful.

Personally, I would say Diamond are screwed.

Bus condition wise - I have had 3 Versas lately, fairly new buses coming in at 4 years old.. They were YJ61CHH, YJ61CHK and YJ12GUD. YJ61CHH is fine, it may sound like a combine harvester, but truthfully it is fine, it goes nicely and no warning lights. Howeverm YJ61CHK is the slowest bus I have ever had, I done an 82 on it and for the WHOLE journey the bus was beeping with warnings, not to mention about 6 warning lights on the dashboard, and also.. not to mention the amazing top speed of 15mph (Video here - - Bus is in Limp road, NOT roadworthy)

Then there was YJ12GUD, the Hybrid (Or Sh**ebrid) - ABS warning light, and you could feel it, with the bus juddering VERY bad to a stop, in my opinion, dangerous and CERTAINLY not roadworthy.

Diamond said they are making an improvement; clearly not if buses in a state like YJ61CHK/YJ12GUD are in.

@bensweeney14

Glad I'm not the only one who finds the Versas shocking half the time. There's been loose wheels, suspension at the front not raising up causing it to judder, the low air pressure warnings, and the engines sounding like they're on death's door. The Solo SRs ain't much better - MFY cooling fan, MFZ slow as hell, having to use the manual gear settings to get the revs up to get up hills, however MFV and MFX are fine - although MFV is only due to the 'new' engine its got considering it spent most of 2015 OOU.

They've always been tempermental buses - one of the SRs when a year old had engine issues which took ages to resolve. I honestly hope the Streetlites on order replace this lot on the Signatures, although I'd much rather be seeing some Volvo B8s coming in considering Volvo are durable. I've always compared the ageing of the Solo SRs to the couple of months older NX Scanias at YW - the Scanias are still pretty much the same as when new - seats and paint are due a refurb but mechanically doing well and ride wise still the same as when delivered I've found!

With regards suspension a lot of the time it's the state of the road

@karl724223

Very true - state of some of the roads is abysmal at times.

The article fails to point out some of the high performing operators that have thrived over the last decade or more - Oxford Bus Company achieved 92% in 2012 for passenger satisfaction, and most of the Go Ahead companies perform very well. Stagecoach in certain areas perform highly, as do First in parts. In a way companies like Stagecoach probably benefit from the high profit margins in the city operations to help run some of the countryside, low profit yield services. Really there are many companies such as Anglian Bus and Transdev that perform admirably as well.

In local terms NX are improving now - with the fleet investment and the new flexible fares and Swift, satisfaction will hopefully continue to go up. Central and Johnsons do a good job as well, showing how smaller operators can impress as well. In the future working with the local authorities to develop bus infrastructure and new ticketing systems is the way forward - using partnerships such as the West Midlands Bus Alliance is a good example of this. Working together on a collaborative basis is probably the best way forward for now; at the end of the day passengers want the bus to run on time, be reliable and be in a reasonable state. Private companies are capable of achieving this, and I think crucially the way to ensure things continue to improve is to invest in bus priority, smart ticketing and subsidising potentially loss making services.

Also caring for and investing in the staff should be a high priority of implementing new alliances etc.; amazing what a difference positive, supportive management culture as well as decent pay can do for staff morale on the front line. So this also needs to be monitored and a system of allowing drivers to give feedback to improve services in regions more strongly promoted.

At the end of the day, some operators are better than others - it's about trying to get bus service quality to a consistent level - some private operators are excellent, others less so. The deregulation has in areas led to viable competition, e.g Derby/Nottingham, where Trent Barton are continally battling against Yourbus, keeping them on the ball, and Manchester where First and Stagecoach are up against each other.

In the West Midlands this isn't the case; the situation has just never arisen and as of yet no operator has made any intent to NX. So the system needs to be more flexible, rather than promoting competition, it needs to try and promote schemes that ensure bus quality is consistent, of a high standard, with viable and affordable ticket systems.

@2900

I know some people who find them quite 'posh' in comparison to other NX buses - these being non-bus interested people so I think some do notice a difference. The Platinums are worth going on - really notice the difference then.

The suspension on them is ok - feels better and more refined than the MK1 E400 but still not up there with a Volvo or Scania really. Don't rattle as much as a MK1 which is good but still occurs; but the heaters as you say are better. I probably prefer the E200MMC redesign as opposed to the E400MMC, the E200 feeling more powerful and better suspension - although they couldn't have gone backwards with the E200MMC considering the MK1 quality....

By the way have you driven any of the new Scania arrivals at WB yet 2900?