Centrebus

[joieman]

E200 587, previously at Luton, has been at Grantham for a month. Somehow it completely passed under my radar, leading to me being taken by surprise by the Top 10-branded bus when I passed it on the 127 in Loughborough when it was running the service 8.

[Magikrabby]

These look quite short? I assume they are shorter than regular?
Perhaps would be good for the 162 route? Was thinking an E100EV would be good for that route when they go electric.

Yes they are very short, I believe they are the 8.9m version which would make them the same length as the circleline solos. They probably would be good for the 162, and I'd imagine they will get used sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if they regularly sneak into other routes too like those solos sometimes do.

I was thinking they might go for a Yutong E9L for the 162 when they electrify it. I believe it will be a council-owned EV since it's a tendered route, and they already own a number of Yutongs of other varieties

[Magikrabby]

E200 587, previously at Luton, has been at Grantham for a month. Somehow it completely passed under my radar, leading to me being taken by surprise by the Top 10-branded bus when I passed it on the 127 in Loughborough when it was running the service 8.

Think it might be a loan, but not sure how long for

[RobertJ21a]

Yes they are very short, I believe they are the 8.9m version which would make them the same length as the circleline solos. They probably would be good for the 162, and I'd imagine they will get used sometimes. I wouldn't be surprised if they regularly sneak into other routes too like those solos sometimes do.

I was thinking they might go for a Yutong E9L for the 162 when they electrify it. I believe it will be a council-owned EV since it's a tendered route, and they already own a number of Yutongs of other varieties

Not sure what Yutongs the council owns - any idea?
.

[Mayfield]

All the ones Centrebus and Robert's operate

[Mayfield]

E200 587, previously at Luton, has been at Grantham for a month. Somehow it completely passed under my radar, leading to me being taken by surprise by the Top 10-branded bus when I passed it on the 127 in Loughborough when it was running the service 8.

Amazing isn't it that of all the buses they operate in Luton they sent one with route branding on it 

[Magikrabby]

Not sure what Yutongs the council owns - any idea?
.

All of the ones currently in Leicester. That is 10 E12s for Park and Ride, 5 E12s for Hospital Hopper, 4 E10s for Orbital, 2 E10s as spares, and 3 E9s for Hop.

[joieman]

All of the ones currently in Leicester. That is 10 E12s for Park and Ride, 5 E12s for Hospital Hopper, 4 E10s for Orbital, 2 E10s as spares, and 3 E9s for Hop.

And it's somewhat peculiar that the city council opted for Yutongs - then First and Arriva went full on with Wrights.

[Tony]

And it's somewhat peculiar that the city council opted for Yutongs - then First and Arriva went full on with Wrights.

Why?

Both are traditional Wrights customers.

[Magikrabby]

And it's somewhat peculiar that the city council opted for Yutongs - then First and Arriva went full on with Wrights.

I don't think the Electroliner range had even been unveiled at the time the Park and Ride yutongs entered service. I believe the main reason they were chosen was because at the time they had the longest range of any electric bus. The only real alternatives were BYD Enviros and Optare EVs. If they were choosing today they may well have gone with Wrights

[Mayfield]

They've been in service for nearly 3 years but were delivered a lot earlier and were originally allocated 21 plates and would have been ordered at least 6 months before then if not longer 

[Magikrabby]

They've been in service for nearly 3 years but were delivered a lot earlier and were originally allocated 21 plates and would have been ordered at least 6 months before then if not longer

It looks like the Park and Ride ones were ordered before June 2020! I can't seem to find much information about when the hospital hoppers were ordered, but I'd imagine not far behind.

Interestingly the article states that 13 were ordered, but only 11 were initially delivered. I wonder if the order was shrunk later on, or if 2 of them got diverted to become hospital hoppers?

https://www.route-one.net/operators/yutong-battery-electrics-for-leicester-park-and-ride/

[Glenfieldmathk1]

Yes, you probably are correct E9L..
That's fairly new to market as before the E9 had the middle doors (which is why it hasn't been operated on any other route). 

[47609FireFly]

At lunchtime on 17/09/2024, E200 592 was noted in the yard at Wenlock Way; it was still wearing 'High Peak' fleet names. 

[Magikrabby]

At lunchtime on 17/09/2024, E200 592 was noted in the yard at Wenlock Way; it was still wearing 'High Peak' fleet names.

The uni shuttle is back to the full service starting Monday, so is probably in preparation for the increased PVR! I expect that 620 will return from Chaserider shortly too