Other bus companies vs NXWM?????

[monkeyjoe]

Is it me of do the other big operators seem a lot more professional than NXWM in terms of the fact they have premium brands and stick with them, these premium brands are consistent across different areas of the country and they get their acts together with new buses and better standards of fleet. Am I wrong to make such assumptions. NXWM really have two  major conurbations and it seems to take ages to get their act together compared to someone like Arriva as an example. Debate tell me if I am wrong?

[Tony]

Is it me of do the other big operators seem a lot more professional than NXWM in terms of the fact they have premium brands and stick with them, these premium brands are consistent across different areas of the country and they get their acts together with new buses and better standards of fleet. Am I wrong to make such assumptions. NXWM really have two  major conurbations and it seems to take ages to get their act together compared to someone like Arriva as an example. Debate tell me if I am wrong?

It is probably just because you live here you notice everything about NXWM
Lets ask a few questions and see which of the big groups these apply to in the UK
Put the big groups in fleet age order?
Which big group has the fewest vehicles not in a version of their current fleet liveries?
Which big group is the only one not operating step entrance buses?
Which big group has replaced the highest percentage of its fleet with new buses in the last 12 months?
Which big group plans to have the shortest vehicle life?

Answering those questions will provide you with the answer to your original question

Find the answers to

[Liberator9]

NX in the last two years have come up leaps and bounds in my opinion. The fleet age is young - much younger and more modern than Arriva, Stagecoach and First. They still all have darts, Olympians etc. in the fleet, with step entrances. NX has none, and some of the older buses are still in fine condition (B10Ls + B6s). NX also now has the fleet nearly all in one livery - there are subtle variations but it is still the same design - First and Arriva in particular still have buses in their old liveries. NX have invested heavily in the fleet - the extensive refurbishment programme underway; the arrival of Scania Omnilinks, Wright Eclipse 2s, Hybrids and the Enviro 200s and 400s. NX are preparing to launch their "Platinum" brand in 2015 - and will certainly be on par with Sapphire. The route branding recently has also been high quality, and better than Stagecoach attempts. NX have also named a proportion of the fleet, in remembrance of individuals or staff relatives - a good move by NX management.

NX in the West Midlands is doing very well - I use YW buses 5 days a week and I am consistently pleased with the reliability of the routes and presentation of the fleet - the majority of drivers are also polite and do their job excellently.

[D10]

The one area that I would like to see NXWM really improve is the presentation of the fleet, in particular older double deckers.A lot of the Tridents and ALX B7's are in a shocking condition inside with worn out faded seats, and poor quality bodywork repairs particularity around the front upper deck windows.

Also the outside condition of many NXWM vehicles is poor, with paintwork flaking off and again poor quality panel and body repairs.

All this doesn't really do much for the image of buses in the public's eyes who see buses as a cheap and nasty form of transport.

This only applies to NXWM though as by comparison NX Coventry always seem to keep their fleet in a far nicer condition.

As for other operators, I think they generally seem better, although Stagecoach seem to have let their Olympians go a bit despite the fact that many of them still seem to see a lot of use.

[monkeyjoe]

I guess I may have my view as I see a lot of the East Brum routes whilst driving about (West or North Brum). Ha ha sorry had to get that one in there.

[CL]

The one area that I would like to see NXWM really improve is the presentation of the fleet, in particular older double deckers.A lot of the Tridents and ALX B7's are in a shocking condition inside with worn out faded seats, and poor quality bodywork repairs particularity around the front upper deck windows.

Also the outside condition of many NXWM vehicles is poor, with paintwork flaking off and again poor quality panel and body repairs.

All this doesn't really do much for the image of buses in the public's eyes who see buses as a cheap and nasty form of transport.

This only applies to NXWM though as by comparison NX Coventry always seem to keep their fleet in a far nicer condition.

As for other operators, I think they generally seem better, although Stagecoach seem to have let their Olympians go a bit despite the fact that many of them still seem to see a lot of use.

Then again, you still have to consider that these buses you are describing are the ones from the early NXWM days, circa 2008/2009. Which we're sure, once the remaining fleet are refurbed & repainted, that these will go back to make the fleet look uniform. However, I only recall this remark as a rumour.

[Liberator9]

I use YW/AG buses most days, and most of the fleet I see from their garages are in good condition. Some of the early NX repaints weren't great as we know, and neither were some of the deliveries paintwork - Enviro 400s at WA/PE in particular. Most of the AG/YW/WA Omnilinks are fine - the panels are in good shape - and only a few of them have a few red panels which aren't so red (WA in particular). They won't need refurbishment till early 2016 I'd say - just push the Geminis and Tridents through ASAP.

However soon as they are refurbished, which they will be (e.g 4519 has gone off now), then the fleet will look excellent. The only problem that I sometimes notice are the paint mismatches - aka. different white shades. Noticed one or two Eclipses have beige panels instead of white at the moment. Seats also can be a problem - I heard a new Enviro 400 now has TWM cushion fitted!? But the engineers I suppose are under time pressure to get buses fixed and back out on the road. Hence why sometimes they resort to spare TWM cushions.

Driver03 made that point in this topic, page 1 (http://wmbusphotos.com/forum/index.php?topic=1711.0)