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The remaining Coventry ones are very close, the charging points are in, just needing enough electricity to use them which we are promised this month. The Birmingham ones are looking like November/December time

We are a few weeks on from this message now, so it must be frustrating to still have so many Coventry electrics waiting to enter service and delaying cascades.

The information is on the NXBus site.

https://nxbus.co.uk/west-midlands/tickets-prices/single-trips-day-tickets

Daysaver (NX only) on the app, cash, contactless, tap&cap, swift
n-Bus (ALL NX Buses + other operators) only cash, contactless or swift

I'm on that Facebook page and according to someone (who I prefer not to name here) in the know, NX have not yet committed to the extension of the £2 scheme.

Hardly "in the know" when it literally says that on the NXBus website....

National Express West Midlands is reviewing whether it will participate in the Government's forthcoming £2 fare cap scheme

Why have PB lost the branding on buses Sutton's 33 101?

CONJECTURE

Early preparation for fleet movements when E164-E333 enter service? Being a brand new garage I would imagine PB will be in pole position to get quite a few of them. 

I'd lost track of progress on 7001 but this recent video shows there's been plenty.



I still retain hope that 3436 sees the light of day before I shuffle off.

The new Yutongs on the T1 in Aberystwyth are very comfortable to travel on. Higher spec than would be expected for urban use though, those useful pop-out coat hooks would be bent out of shape week one.

is there any truth to the rumour i heard at AG

NXWM are not going to continue with the Hydrogen Buses, when the current bunch are off lease they will not be replaced, Electric is the favored vehicle ??

I personally would not be surprised as the additional 124 are being part funded by government who could have stipulated timescales for them all to be delivered and in use.

Theres an article in Route One magazine confirming 170  additional buses from Alexander Dennis / BYD  by the end of 2024.

Link

https://www.route-one.net/orders/alexander-dennis-confirms-further-large-order-from-national-express-west-midlands/

Although the article says that these 170 are part of the 300 announced in January and would take the fleet total to 329 ADL/BYD (E001-E029, E034-E333).

But with the additional 170 announced at the Conservative conference for which Tony has already announced the body numbers (N449/1-30; N455/1-50 & N461/1-90) these would actually take the total to 499 not 329.

Unless I am getting confused by all these 170s

[If]

Right, here is a prediction (not fake news!), If the remaining Platinums from CV are transferred to AG (6951-4, 6965-7, 7540/1), could that lead to 6701-10 to go to WA to keep the 6701-58 batch in one place
OR
Could the remaining Platinums from CV be for the 4 and 4A

Possible but as AG still have 23 Non-Euro6 which are supposed to be gone by May I would guess 7539-41 as being additions, rather than replacements for other Euro 6 vehicles. Maybe if YW get electrics, 7534-7538 may follow? I know guess work is not always favoured on here so I'll bail out.

Tony has confirmed on Facebook that the order for 170 will be more ADL E400EV's, ADL are due to start building this batch in approx the next 6 weeks & they will be numbered E164-E333 (Can't remember exactly where it was posted)

Thanks for that, very good news. As someone who ditched facebook a good while ago I clearly miss some information being released.

The only buses that need to be replaced in the short-term are the non-Euro6 ones, due to TfWM requirements coming into effect from May 2023.

That will be interesting. That's only three months away and by my calculations there are currently around 40 more non E6 double deckers than can be replaced by the E6 double deckers still to be cascaded from Coventry - although replacing some with Coventry single deckers could be an option and if all the Hydrogens can be utilised daily that will also help.

I assume that's the one started by a certain anti-bus-lane MP from the party who have ended the funding. Satire is not dead.

I wouldn't have thought spending money de-branding 2016 vehicles to replace them with 2018 ones is particularly sensible but you never know.

Wild speculation time. Maybe CV Electrics are destined to run the service instead of BC? There are 24 more double deckers on order than CV currently have to replace.

It was E035 going to BC to have all the stuff done on it to get it ready. E034 is now at Coventry in its place

Will the electrics delivered with standard mirrors enter service like that or will they be held back until camera mirrors are fitted?

I was surprised there was no mention of the recall. Also notable that the 144 hydrogen vehicles are described in the article as subject to funding, weren't WMCA shouting from the rooftops in March that they had won the funding?