Messages

To be fair, the bus entered service in Leics just a few hours after leaving Beds.

Really does make no odds. There must've been a plan to use those four, mini E200MMCs in Leicester so presenting them in a suitable standard ought to have been part of that planning process. They're operating routes in Leicestershire which are financially supported by the county council, so having the name of a totally different local authority on the side is rather poor. We've seen time and time and time again where Arriva has transferred motors from one part of its (diminishing) empire to another and they just get end up being kicked out in service, at their new home, with little attention to detail. It says to me that the operator is bothered about just having a 'tick in the box' of a bus on the road and little else. 

I clocked bus 3153 operating the 1525 departure, on service LC16, from Loughborough. On its exterior, offside it still wore vinyls for 'Leighton's Buses' and 'Have a great journey! This bus service is made possible by Central Bedfordshire Council'. Is it really? Arriva's usual attention to detail on delivery reigning supreme then...

E200MMCs 5009 and 5010 ended their Peak District holiday and were both in service from Leicester depot on 28/04/2025.

Rather unusually, despite the route not starting until July, Leicester City Council has put a timetable up for Centrebus service 21T to Thorpebury (via Belgrave Gate, Dysart Way, Catherine Street & Barkby Road) on Haymarket Bus Station stand HT. It will operate seven days a week and have late buses Monday to Saturday. It'll be interesting to see whether First's 4E gets amended when the 21T commences. 

5009 & 5010 are both in service at High Peak. More than likely to do with additional vehicle requirements at the depot, with the short notice commencements of routes 271 / 272, following the demise of Hulley's of Baslow. 

The two routes inter work so it's always going to be a waste of electrics

Specifically, the 5 seems to interwork with the 6 and the 5A and X5 with the 6A.

Thanks both - I must confess, I hadn't appreciated that the two services interworked. Seems to be putting operational convenience above matching vehicle resources to where they're required. Double-deckers on the 6/6A is a waste, a particularly expensive one when the cost of these electric vehicles is factored in. 

They may come off 6/A shortly.

Let's hope that happens, with vehicles workings tailored to meet the range capacity of the electrics and also to provide double-deck capacity where it is actually needed. 

I see 127 is still mostly old E400's today?
Have they got enough electrics now to cover this route in full? (Alongside the 5/5A)? Or are more on order?

I think one of the questions perhaps ought to be, why do so many electrics end up on the 6/6A? Rather than on the 5/5A & 127.

MC3 and 5 don't track wonder if the new minibuses are used on these

They're tracking on bustimes - bus 204 doing the routes today: https://bustimes.org/vehicles/cbnl-204?date=2025-03-22

Looking at the bustimes list, it looks as though bus 203 is tracking as 202.

Versa 770 has been withdrawn.

On 04/03/2025, the latest Mercedes arrivals were noted parked in the yard at Wenlock Way, with vinyls, fleet numbers and fleet names applied. Numbers are:

2006 - RJ74 EYH
2007 - RJ74 EYV
2008 - RX25 TFK
2009 - RX25 TGF

Also present was E200MMC YX18 KNR, freshly painted in Centrebus livery but not wearing fleet numbers or fleet names.

Double-decker 902 departed for scrap on 28/02/2025. It was noted leaving Wenlock Way, on the back of a low-loader, with its roof cut off. 

I don't think so, as they are already registered. That usually happens when a vehicle has been allocated a plate but isn't officially registered with DVLA until after the rollover date.

Generally, yes, but not exclusively. Back in the day, a number of LCT's Dennis Dominators (205, 206 & 226-230) were registered with V suffixes before actually ending up as W-regs.  

I think it's EYV

Correct: RJ74 EYH and RJ74 EYV.

I did wonder though, if they don't enter service prior to March 1st, whether they could end up as 25-plates. 

[Not my job mate to use my common sense, need someone to tell me what to do but unfortunately they sit in an office miles away, but they never get up off their backsides to leave the office to see what's actually happening outside in the real world.]

Not my job mate to use my common sense, need someone to tell me what to do but unfortunately they sit in an office miles away

And that, sadly, pretty much sums it up. But for completeness, I've added a bit to the end:

Not my job mate to use my common sense, need someone to tell me what to do but unfortunately they sit in an office miles away, but they never get up off their backsides to leave the office to see what's actually happening outside in the real world. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/193275301@N05/54292928686/

Nice to see former 4578, now Yorkshire 2008, still celebrating Diwali along Leicester's 'Golden Mile' in its new home, along with a reference to 'Leicester Buses' on its exterior nearside advert. The advert was put on to celebrate Diwali 2023 but has been providing constant reference to the festival ever since. Still, at least it can't quite match 3100 - its exterior rear advert was put on to celebrate Diwali 2022 and there it has remained ever since...

I stumbled across 1904, working a service 127, in Quorn at about 1740 hours on 28/01/2025 and I think poorly presented tat is the best way to sum it up. Side destination sign not working, rear route number sign not working, exterior nearside rear lower corner panel bent out of line and exterior offside rear lower corn panel held on with a bit of riveted plate. Utter dross.