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Serious looking incident ongoing on Northfield Road, Harborne, at the moment with a 23/24 branded bus on the 23 (6876 I think) either involved or caught up in what's happened.

The road has been blocked off by police and the bus has been there for over an hour with its hazard lights on. Numerous police vehicles in attendance and posts on Facebook suggest there are armed police at the scene.

EDIT - the posts about armed police are total bullshit apparently. I've been told it was a collision between the bus and a car.

Buses behind were diverting via Tennal Road and West Boulevard to California.

Bus not involved and has finally escaped!

For clarification, I had mentioned the new electric buses entering service from 29th May. The chargers are planned to be switched on Wednesday 29th May and 14 will hopefully then be available to use on Thursday 30th

Unless they have a 390/1 and a 390/0 coupled up together. That's longer than the Cali Sleeper the longest train I believe that serves Euston and only stops at Crewe and Preston in England. 20 cars wouldn't fit at any platform anywhere In the UK. I think even Eurostars that stop in England aren't as long. The ones that don't aren't 20 cars though might be wr9nh

Same as bustimes see things in reality, not of a tracking system. All that will have happened is a unit swap due to a defect and the original unit not removed from the system so both show.

It's rather a long list at the moment as none had been reported since the beginning of the month, and one engineer is currently fitting the new kit to the electrics, but will hopefully get shorter when the list I reported yesterday get looked at.

Full list already reported are:-

AG:- nil
BC:- 4843; 4874; 4896; 4898; 4899; 4903; 4907; 5506; 5518; 6855; 6861; 6949; 7520; 7532
CV:- 2157; E058; E070; E091; E127; E143; E154; E160
PB:- 1819; 4777; 4780; 4800; 4802; 4806; 4807; 4809; 4811; 4849; 4853; 6804; 6808; 6816; 6961
PN:- 826; 2098; 6918; 6926; 6928; 6933; 6937
WA:- 1838; 2129; 2134; 6717
WB:- 816; 817; 4480; 4481; 4484; 4486; 4525; 4688; 4691; 4694; 4696; 4738; 4747; 4768; 4951; 4975; 6991
WN:- 2012; 2018; 2022; 2025; 2079; 2080; 4595; 4980; 4990; 5411; 5420; 5429; 6762; 6765; 6768; 6782; 6788; 6789
YW:- 4615; 4733; 6904; E010

Is 4905 getting a touch up ready for Birmingham pride?

Yes

[E165]

BC: 2071; 3305
PB: 2141
PN: 4825
WA: 4959; E062
WB: 4489
WN: 731; 870; 4829; E055

WA (loans for service): 1930; 4696; 4775; 6761

Paint: 2021; 2157; 2203; 2205; 4905; 4991 (4775 is also due to go into paint)

Cummins, Leeds: 2211
Hartshornes, Pensnett: 2069; 2106; 5502; 5518

Current locations of 103 electrics so far delivered

PB	BC	WA	WN	PN	Aston	MS	Roberts	ADL
E165	E253	E166	E173	E229	E164	E169	E174	E231
E167	E255	E171	E178	E236	E168	E176	E175
E170	E256	E218	E184	E242	E191	E196	E177
E172	E258	E220	E189	E238	E198	E199	E179
E200	E259	E221	E194	E239	E201	E203	E180
E207	E262	E222	E195	E240	E204	E213	E181
E227	E263	E244	E197	E241	E205	E219	E182
E230	E264	E246	E208	E243	E225	E223	E183
	E265	E247	E210			E224	E185
	E266	E249	E211			E226	E186
	E267	E250	E216			E232	E187
	E268	E254	E228			E245	E188
		E257	E235			E248	E190
			E237			E251	E192
			E252			E260	E193
			E261				E202
							E206
							E209
							E212
							E214
							E215
							E217

The B8 Seats 45 the E200 Seats between 33 and 39

Standing capacity on the B8 is much more as well

What would you show you from an open top that couldn't be done from an old disused Euro 6 Double Decker

Well the Glasgow open toppers attract a good crowd and bring enough in to support 9 brand new electric open toppers, and Glasgow has never been known as the biggest tourist attraction city in Scotland.

Here's a photo I took last week of one almost full
https://wmbusphotos.com/NONWM/Craig/12409.html

4991 off to Walsall for repaint

A couple of days ago as reported by BN

Went on bus times and 6744 was tracking as the first bus on the 4 service. Definitely a mistake as double deckers cannot run on that service.

If you have a look at the map you will see it clearly isn't. 

It's not a 'mistake' the 4 is always used to check replacement ticket machines and new destination programming as it is the easiest service number to type in.

Bus times has changed so now only experts can make edits, weird....

It's not weird when you see some off the changes admin have had to reverse 

I'm guessing they are still unavailable then because they haven't come back into service this week

They're available, but staff have to be found to get them fuelled first

He is only a couple of weeks into the job but I think Richard Parker is being rather disingenuous, given his appearance on the BBC One Midlands "Politics Show" this morning and this article on the BBC News website.

New mayor outlines bus reform plans

I do not see how you can have a franchising system, without the operators involved making a surplus in return.  The London regulated franchise system of course is operated by private companies who are in course in business to make a return on their capital employed.

The only way all of any "surplus" for West Midlands services can be reinvested entirely in the West Midlands and for the customer is for everything to be owned by WMCA, including buses, drivers, garages and operational staff...but that is not franchising as in London or the model being put in place in Manchester. (TfL own some assets like the Borismaster buses and lease them, but not all Londons vehicles and garages)

Parker needs to show his working and explain the incentive for companies like Metroline, Transdev, Transport UK Group, Wellglade and others to come into the West Midlands and break the effective Mobico (formerly NX Group) monopoly on local bus services in the conurbation.  Plus demonstrate what would be in it for Mobico for their Leadership Team to continue in operating buses in the West Midlands....rather than walking away to put their money elsewhere leaving Parker having to take everything over to keep the wheels turning. I suspect that would cost rather more than £75 million and the current Government will not help him if the decision was taken before the upcoming General Election.


It is also revealing that TfWM have done so little to prepare a plan. It is almost as if they'd not expected Parker to win the Mayoral vote. "A dereliction of duty" from them I think and that is being kind at best.

Yes, operators can make a higher percentage on franchising than they can commercially in many areas

Aren't the electrics capable of doing a full days work, if so what is the point in buying them and if they can why aren't they ?

You buy them because they are extremely reliable and much cheaper to operate.
When you use them you may need to change running boards to match their capabilities, but that is easy enough to do.

Six more electrics have been registered, E251; E252; E253; E255; E256 & E257
details here  E001 upwards (wmbusphotos.com)

These are planned to see first use on the Bristol to Glastonbury shuttles next month