Bordesley Garage

[Busboy105]

I have done now, yes.
Caught the Washwood Heath Road routes again at about 5PM this evening, overcrowded single deckers on the 55 leaving the City Centre such as 1813 and 1829, a poor and inadequate allocation for a very busy corridor. And old Gemini on the 94.

Shame these routes never receive any investment, while West Birmingham is full of platinums, these very busy corridors get old Tridents/Gemini and single deckers allocated to very busy routes.

NX probably do know the overcrowding issue on the 55 but what are double deckers are going to be swapped with the Scanias? Plus BG doesn't have permission to have double deckers on it so the only solution is to move the 55 to another garage. The 17 is another route that suffers from overcrowding but it can't use double deckers because of the low bridges in Tile Cross.

[Jack]

Are you monkey joe in disguise? It's been noted that the 97 is regularly seeing e400s, 94 gets e400s too

Of course that side never has investment yet the X1/X2 received new Platinums in 2015 and 2016 and still have newer ones on them. The X70 has E400's and a half arsed allocation of Platinums. X12 has Platinums and the 73 has Crimson E400MMC's daily.

I mean some of the North Brum services haven't had new buses in 19 years... the 65. The ever changing 52 has never had an actual upgrade. The 28 hasn't had new buses for 13 years either but you don't hear people whinging, people just use the bus whether it's new or old, threadbare seats or part leather seats...

[2206]

Of course that side never has investment yet the X1/X2 received new Platinums in 2015 and 2016 and still have newer ones on them. The X70 has E400's and a half arsed allocation of Platinums. X12 has Platinums and the 73 has Crimson E400MMC's daily.

I mean some of the North Brum services haven't had new buses in 19 years... the 65. The ever changing 52 has never had an actual upgrade. The 28 hasn't had new buses for 13 years either but you don't hear people whinging, people just use the bus whether it's new or old, threadbare seats or part leather seats...

Much rather have an old Trident on a busy route like the 55 than an awful Omnilink, at least passengers would actually get a seat.

94 still gets mostly Gemini (A few extra 11 year old 09 plate E400 is hardly an investment) and from what I saw today the 97 was mostly Trident (Also saw 1 E400 and 1 B7RLE.
In contrast lots of services in other parts of the City get new buses every few years, such as the 50.

X12 doesn't serve any of the main corridors in East Birmingham - I.E - Alum Rock Road, Washwood Heath Road, or 97. The last time one of the main and busy East Birmingham corridors had any new buses must be the Omnilinks for the 97 back in 2007.

28 could be operated out of BY surely, the terminus at Heartlands isn't far from the depot. Then the 55 could be operated by deckers @Busboy105 Or the 66.

[Steve3229vp]

Much rather have an old Trident on a busy route like the 55 than an awful Omnilink, at least passengers would actually get a seat.

94 still gets mostly Gemini (A few extra 11 year old 09 plate E400 is hardly an investment) and from what I saw today the 97 was mostly Trident (Also saw 1 E400 and 1 B7RLE.
In contrast lots of services in other parts of the City get new buses every few years, such as the 50.

X12 doesn't serve any of the main corridors in East Birmingham - I.E - Alum Rock Road, Washwood Heath Road, or 97. The last time one of the main and busy East Birmingham corridors had any new buses must be the Omnilinks for the 97 back in 2007.

28 could be operated out of BY surely, the terminus at Heartlands isn't far from the depot. Then the 55 could be operated by deckers @Busboy105 Or the 66.

I agree with you entirely about single deckers on the 55, but running the 28 from Bordesley would lead to more running costs due to most buses starting and finishing at the Great Barr end of the route, the same goes with the 66, otherwise i think it would of happened by now.

[Busboy105]

Much rather have an old Trident on a busy route like the 55 than an awful Omnilink, at least passengers would actually get a seat.

94 still gets mostly Gemini (A few extra 11 year old 09 plate E400 is hardly an investment) and from what I saw today the 97 was mostly Trident (Also saw 1 E400 and 1 B7RLE.
In contrast lots of services in other parts of the City get new buses every few years, such as the 50.

X12 doesn't serve any of the main corridors in East Birmingham - I.E - Alum Rock Road, Washwood Heath Road, or 97. The last time one of the main and busy East Birmingham corridors had any new buses must be the Omnilinks for the 97 back in 2007.

28 could be operated out of BY surely, the terminus at Heartlands isn't far from the depot. Then the 55 could be operated by deckers @Busboy105 Or the 66.

The 50 gets new buses because of the new bus lanes. But it's true, some areas of Birmingham receive less investment than others. I think the areas have a huge part to play in that. NX don't wanna risk having their new buses' windows being shattered every time.

[Tony]

The 50 gets new buses because of the new bus lanes. But it's true, some areas of Birmingham receive less investment than others. I think the areas have a huge part to play in that. NX don't wanna risk having their new buses' windows being shattered every time.

I presume you have the stats of which areas the most damage then to know that?

Since platinum new buses have been allocated to routes where the council's are willing to improve the infrastructure. As simple as thay

[richardjones210368]

I presume you have the stats of which areas the most damage then to know that?

Since platinum new buses have been allocated to routes where the council's are willing to improve the infrastructure. As simple as thay

I do not think it is an area problem it is a social problem @Tony I was recently on a PN6 at Dudley Top Church when a brick splintered a Streetdeck window which I duly made a full report to WMT and ccd in. TFWM.

[Stu]

Caught the Washwood Heath Road routes again at about 5PM this evening, overcrowded single deckers on the 55 leaving the City Centre such as 1813 and 1829, a poor and inadequate allocation for a very busy corridor. And old Gemini on the 94.

I don't use the 55 or 94, though I am familiar with the area, and the routes these take.

During the daytimes, my understanding is that the single deck operated 55 runs every 10 minutes, while the double deck 94 also runs about every 10 minutes. Thus the two routes should somewhat combine together and offer a frequency between every 5 to 10 minutes.

The question that needs to be asked and answered, to be able to understand this situation and resolve it, is why are the buses on the 55 overcrowded? And along which part of the route?

The 55 and 94 follow the same route between city centre and Hodge Hill. Is it the case that when gaps appear, people are just cramming themselves onto the single decks because they're the first ones to stop, despite the fact there might be a double-deck on the 94 just behind?

Are the single-decks actually overcrowded, or do they just appear to be, because so many people would rather stand in the narrow gangway than sit on any available seat if it means having to sit next to someone else?

That has certainly been my own experience, fighting my way onto a seemingly overcrowded single-deck bus, then finding after forcing my way through the crowd congregated in the gangway by the driver, that there are in fact seats available towards the rear of the bus. That's the aspect that really pisses me off, especially when the driver sees a large crowd right by them, and thus decides to drive past stops.

Shame these routes never receive any investment, while West Birmingham is full of platinums, these very busy corridors get old Tridents/Gemini and single deckers allocated to very busy routes.

I think it would be delightful if National Express West Midlands could replace all 1600 vehicles in its fleet every couple of years, but sadly economics of scale make that impossible. I thought you were better than to repeat monkeyjoes tired rhetoric about 'lack of investment'.

For your information, in my area of south Birmingham (Billesley and Yardley Wood), with the exception of the Outer Circle, the newest buses we have are the Scania Omnilinks on the 27, all the other routes (2, 3, 18, 27, 49 and 76) mostly use battered old Tridents.

Going back to the 55, it sounds like the remedy would be to do what was done with the 6, and use double-decks instead. But the problem is that BY can't have double-decks, and even if so, there aren't enough double-decks in the fleet to be able to do this.

[Tony]

Going back to the 55, it sounds like the remedy would be to do what was done with the 6, and use double-decks instead. But the problem is that BY can't have double-decks, and even if so, there aren't enough double-decks in the fleet to be able to do this.

And even if Bordesley could operate Double Decks and some were transferred in which route would the Scanias be put on?

[don]

And even if Bordesley could operate Double Decks and some were transferred in which route would the Scanias be put on?

Could you do it when 1750-1773 get withdrawn, by moving Scanias across with new double deckers on the A47 corridor? Just wondering as some of the Dundee ones seem to be falling by the wayside.

[Tony]

Could you do it when 1750-1773 get withdrawn, by moving Scanias across with new double deckers on the A47 corridor? Just wondering as some of the Dundee ones seem to be falling by the wayside.

There is going to be some use for 1774-1787, they are still only 13 years old.

The Bordesley Scanias are unique for another reason as well. They are maintained by MAN, not directly by NX, that is why those 49 never move now. 1876/7 are actually allocated to BC for maintenance but are permanently working from Bordesley as cover for painting and trap fitting

[winston]

And even if Bordesley could operate Double Decks and some were transferred in which route would the Scanias be put on?

NX should expand their UK bus portfolio whilst they're in a stronger position than their piers, it's a buyers market at present.

They could use any acquired businesses to cascade & re-balance the proportion of single deckers within NXWM.

[don]

There is going to be some use for 1774-1787, they are still only 13 years old.

The Bordesley Scanias are unique for another reason as well. They are maintained by MAN, not directly by NX, that is why those 49 never move now. 1876/7 are actually allocated to BC for maintenance but are permanently working from Bordesley as cover for painting and trap fitting

I shall watch with interest (and less blood pressure than a certain other subject 😬👍)

[Stu]

And even if Bordesley could operate Double Decks and some were transferred in which route would the Scanias be put on?

Exactly, you'd find yourself in the same predicament you have at YW, with a surplus of single-deck vehicles being used on routes that do need double-decks at times, eg the 2, 3 and 18.

Just out of interest Tony, would NX ever consider selling such vehicles they had a surplus of on the second-hand market?

[Tony]

Exactly, you'd find yourself in the same predicament you have at YW, with a surplus of single-deck vehicles being used on routes that do need double-decks at times, eg the 2, 3 and 18.

Just out of interest Tony, would NX ever consider selling such vehicles they had a surplus of on the second-hand market?

If the price you could get match the book value yes. But Euro 3/4 heavy weight single decks are virtually worthless.