Messages

4913 - 97E to Chelmsley Wood Interchange (unsure as to why, as the bus appears to be mostly on-time for a 19:02 97A service)

Note: When I got off at my stop, the display was changed to just a 97, which contrasted the driver's display of a 97A.

Of a night, I can't really see the difference between the Crimson and the Platinum/Red Striped buses. I can really only tell from a much closer distance as to what colour it is. Typically, the first thing I see is the front Hanover display as they're usually pretty bright. Then you've also got the interior lights through the windows. That's just my view on the matter.

4920 - 97E Chelmsley Wood Interchange

2166 - First time I've ever ridden on an Eclipse, and I can honestly see why some much prefer them to the E200MMCs and Omnilinks. Very spacious, not a rattling racket, nice interior. Just a very pleasant experience, probably helped by the refresh they've had after being transferred over from Coventry a while ago now. It is just one bus, but first impressions do count and it's definitely a very good impression at that!

5501 on the 97

I've noticed all of the issues mentioned on the many E400MMCs on the 97/A and X12 routes. Sometimes it's just visual announcements with no audio and sometimes the ones that have it announce "the next stop is..." twice. It does sound a bit odd when we're flying past a stop and then it doesn't finish before skipping onto the next stop on the announcements. I would give fleet numbers but I've honestly stopped trying to keep track as it's been a recurring issue that I thought it wouldn't be worth mentioning. I don't want to turn into that one person constantly complaining about NSA all the time

I do find NSA quite useful at the darker hours when you can sometimes end up losing track of where you are if you're busy reading something or just phasing out for the 30-40 minute ride. I get it's probably a complete pain in the backside to be kept up to date. Being an aspiring software engineer, I can sense the frustration of managing a system like that. It's probably a complete nightmare whenever issues do come up and having to fix and load it onto all the Hanover systems across entire garages worth of buses.

Probably used more fuel, switched back on immediately and the cost of starting the engine up again.

Studies say that stop-start becomes more efficient than idling when the engine is switched off for about 6-7 seconds, for an average road car. Obviously, these buses have much larger engines but the general principle is the same, no matter the displacement. It would be best used when the bus is picking up a large amount of passengers or sat in peak traffic. I can't comment on how it feels to drive with an engine that has stop-start but judging from what's said here, it's quite divisive.

In all fairness, I'm not too worried about the Chelmsley corridor not getting electrics. The E400MMCs from Perry Barr are being trickled down into the other garages, including BC and AG, so we're still getting newer buses, relative to what we've had previously. 

5508 on the 97/A

X13(E) to Castle Bromwich, Clock Garage. Didn't quite catch the bus no.

This does remind me of when I was in college taking the 72 bus. During the afternoon school rush, the buses usually got quite crowded as traffic along Lode Lane and the Wheatsheaf interchange gets rammed, causing them to get spaced out quite badly and heavily off timetable. Pretty much, two buses' worth of people at Solihull had to squeeze onto one bus.

Unfortunately, some quite liked to hang around the very front of the bus rather than taking seats on either deck, causing quite a bit of chaos up front. When we got to JLR, the staff coming off shift would get quite upset seeing a bus go past the stop despite seeing plenty of seats upstairs. As much as there are seats upstairs, it would have been extremely difficult to find your way on and off as the standees on the lower deck made it a maze to get through, no matter how many times the poor drivers told people to move back and sit down.

I think at the end of the day, it is the driver's responsibility to ensure the bus is being operated to a safe capacity. If anything happens due to overcrowding well beyond a safe limit, that will likely fall on their shoulders. A bit of common sense is also required. Like some have mentioned, it's probably not the greatest idea to try and push yourself onto an already rammed bus, as well as not being *that person* who stands at the front of a busy bus despite there being plenty of seats elsewhere. I do understand the newer E400EVs have a smaller capacity and the frequency of some services doesn't help, but there is a trade-off in trying to provide a somewhat profitable service whilst also meeting the environment goals set out by the council/TfWM. I'm sure as the battery technology and placement improves, future electric double decks will be able to have a similar floor space as the current diesel counterparts.

7522 on the 97A has a really bad flickering front display, only flashes the destination for a brief second before going blank again.

6837 on the 97A (towards Airport & NEC) only has audible announcements upstairs. Internal visual display downstairs is working fine however.

One not on the list 6855 yesterday wasn't tracking on X21/X22.

Bus still not tracking today on the 97

I've just personally never understood why people smash up public transport and it's infrastructure. If someone was giving you a lift in a car to head wherever, you wouldn't leave litter on the floor, scratch up the windows, wreak the seats, kick the doors in, etc. So why do the same to a bus? 

Like Stu, I use the buses as a bit of a getaway for the day. Independence at a very good price, especially as a student. As much as I am qualified to drive, it's much simpler to just take a bus into town or a local area. If the few keep destroying and ruining the service that's there, it'll take it away for the majority that use it and need it.

I try to pick up any rubbish off the floor (especially empty cans, they're just annoying as anything rolling around everywhere). Just small simple things to make public transport better for everyone else that uses it. Maybe that logic is just too complex and difficult to comprehend for some.

Apologies if I've gone a bit overboard and off topic, just thought I'd chip in after hearing it was a local service to me that was affected.