Diamond Bus - Discussion

[John]

They were bought off roadrunner werent they? Maybe it was them who didnt look after them as having seen a picture on flickr they didnt look in great nick

No sure where they came from, but they saw service with Wessex prior to being stored at the Tividale overflow bus park

Does anyone know the registrations of these Ex Travel London Darts?

[Tony]

They were bought off roadrunner werent they? Maybe it was them who didnt look after them as having seen a picture on flickr they didnt look in great nick

No sure where they came from, but they saw service with Wessex prior to being stored at the Tividale overflow bus park

Does anyone kno the registrations of these Ex Travel London Darts?

BU05HDO/V

[PM]

They were bought off roadrunner werent they? Maybe it was them who didnt look after them as having seen a picture on flickr they didnt look in great nick

No sure where they came from, but they saw service with Wessex prior to being stored at the Tividale overflow bus park

Did they? They werent in wessex livery when they arrived-they were white with a blue skirt

[Solo1]

What are the E300's going to be replacing
or are they extra buses

[PM]

http://www.sigmaplantfinder.com/dennis-dart-pointer-9-3m.html they could buy to replace some of the older MPDs at tividale they have got at least 10 for sale-a good buy in my opinion if a little overpriced??

You never know, you might have seen those darts with NXWM if they had never sold their London operations, to replace older B6LEs, been Ex-Abellio/Travel London!  ;)

Exactly John and I would have been really happy about that as these darts look to be in amazing condition-right length for many of diamonds routes, nice seating and generally good nick-dda and euro 3 as well. They could even have replaced the existing ex london darts at west brom although if they were leased in the first place which these seem to be then they would probably just have returned to the leasor

Looks like Dawson Rentals are trying all sorts of places to get rid of there very large collection of buses that no-one seems to want to buy. Shows how difficult it is to sell Citaro bendis when a 54 plate plate dart is for sale at £45500 and the 05 plate bendis for £29000.

Also of interest if the older bendi shown is BX02 YYU which is one currently with CT Plus on park & Ride in Bristol so is presumably not actually for sale

It does doesnt it!! They and other leasors do seem to have masses of unwanted buses especially artics. At least with all the leased citaros operators havent been left to foot the bill for them. They are great value though the citaros even considering the fuel consumption and costs for operators that can run them such as mcgills and go north east who have acquired young mercs for dirt cheap prices. I've never heard of the dealer though who I posted the link to-never seen an advert in any of the trade magazines. This is why the darts are probably unsold is people dont know they are for sale. They would be perfect for the diamond tividale fleet though to get rid of some of the old red diamond and red and white MPDs which are really starting to show their age now. I guess leasors may have already made their money back on the buses they lease but with more and more companies leasing there will be more and more ex lease buses for sale. At the moment, there are darts, citaros and even young tridents and omnicitys even some ex london geminis!! Good news for companies on a budget who can buy newer buses at reasonable prices. I guess though the KS03 solos do show that maybe some ex lease buses arent the most reliable-maybe operators havent really looked after them particularly well, and so some operators stay away from them

[bwsau cymru]

If I had a few hundred thousand of pounds spare I would buy those citaros and stick them straight on the 51 and the 529! both routes (51 with a very minor adjustment) can accomadate them and they are iconic too (thanks to borris)! The can pick up massive loads and with the right marketing the Mercedes badge on the front can work wonders!

Ive been screaming out for 4 years for another operator to come on the 51, and with even further cutbacks on the route by nxwm I really think there is a chance for someone to come it! I would love rotala but more realisticly think Arriva!

[Trident 4609]

57 plate Solo on the 226W today. Usually branded darts isn't it?

[PM]

57 plate Solo on the 226W today. Usually branded darts isn't it?

Theyre probably broken lol

[Tony]

If I had a few hundred thousand of pounds spare I would buy those citaros and stick them straight on the 51 and the 529! both routes (51 with a very minor adjustment) can accomadate them and they are iconic too (thanks to borris)! The can pick up massive loads and with the right marketing the Mercedes badge on the front can work wonders!

Ive been screaming out for 4 years for another operator to come on the 51, and with even further cutbacks on the route by nxwm I really think there is a chance for someone to come it! I would love rotala but more realisticly think Arriva!

If you think a little round symbol on the front of a bus will attract passenger to wait for you you are very much mistaken. Nobody,  other than bus enthusiasts give a **** who makes their buses, or if they do it is because they want British built buses to keep British people in work..

Perhaps you might like to tell what the cutback are you are on about. There are more buses running between Walsall and Birmingham on the 51/X51 now than there has ever been before with extra buses still to be introduced between the Scott Arms and Birmingham in a months time.

I would like to bet anybody competing against NXWM on the 51 with these would be off within a few months. The bulk of the passengers are between Perry Barr and Birmingham where you have to find a gap in between the 3.5 minute frequency of the 51/33 to find cash payers and a lot of people between the Clifton and Walsall will wait for an X51. Competeing against the X51 you would have to provide a very good service as a good percentage of X51 passengers have travelcards.

There is good reason why Diamond came off the 51 and why no-one else has gone on there. It is because it is a difficult route to compete and make money on.

[PM]

If I had a few hundred thousand of pounds spare I would buy those citaros and stick them straight on the 51 and the 529! both routes (51 with a very minor adjustment) can accomadate them and they are iconic too (thanks to borris)! The can pick up massive loads and with the right marketing the Mercedes badge on the front can work wonders!

Ive been screaming out for 4 years for another operator to come on the 51, and with even further cutbacks on the route by nxwm I really think there is a chance for someone to come it! I would love rotala but more realisticly think Arriva!

If you think a little round symbol on the front of a bus will attract passenger to wait for you you are very much mistaken. Nobody,  other than bus enthusiasts give a **** who makes their buses, or if they do it is because they want British built buses to keep British people in work..

Perhaps you might like to tell what the cutback are you are on about. There are more buses running between Walsall and Birmingham on the 51/X51 now than there has ever been before with extra buses still to be introduced between the Scott Arms and Birmingham in a months time.

I would like to bet anybody competing against NXWM on the 51 with these would be off within a few months. The bulk of the passengers are between Perry Barr and Birmingham where you have to find a gap in between the 3.5 minute frequency of the 51/33 to find cash payers and a lot of people between the Clifton and Walsall will wait for an X51. Competeing against the X51 you would have to provide a very good service as a good percentage of X51 passengers have travelcards.

There is good reason why Diamond came off the 51 and why no-one else has gone on there. It is because it is a difficult route to compete and make money on.

Not going to argue about the 51 bit as I agree with Tony but people do care about the badge thats why oxford bus make a great play of having mercs on the X3 with branding saying "on a merc" and people look at this and get the impression of luxury. It is a marketing tool that can and has been used to great effect

[the trainbasher]

57 plate Solo on the 226W today. Usually branded darts isn't it?

MX57UPW

[nitromatt1]

57 plate Solo on the 226W today. Usually branded darts isn't it?

It was 20914 I spotted it remember!

[the trainbasher]

57 plate Solo on the 226W today. Usually branded darts isn't it?

It was 20914 I spotted it remember!

And 20002 KP02PUY was on it too

[Ash]

There probably just been given a rest they must clock up a fair few miles on the 226.

[Stu]

If I had a few hundred thousand of pounds spare I would buy those citaros and stick them straight on the 51 and the 529! both routes (51 with a very minor adjustment) can accomadate them and they are iconic too (thanks to borris)! The can pick up massive loads and with the right marketing the Mercedes badge on the front can work wonders!

Ive been screaming out for 4 years for another operator to come on the 51, and with even further cutbacks on the route by nxwm I really think there is a chance for someone to come it! I would love rotala but more realisticly think Arriva!

If you think a little round symbol on the front of a bus will attract passenger to wait for you you are very much mistaken. Nobody,  other than bus enthusiasts give a **** who makes their buses, or if they do it is because they want British built buses to keep British people in work..

Perhaps you might like to tell what the cutback are you are on about. There are more buses running between Walsall and Birmingham on the 51/X51 now than there has ever been before with extra buses still to be introduced between the Scott Arms and Birmingham in a months time.

I would like to bet anybody competing against NXWM on the 51 with these would be off within a few months. The bulk of the passengers are between Perry Barr and Birmingham where you have to find a gap in between the 3.5 minute frequency of the 51/33 to find cash payers and a lot of people between the Clifton and Walsall will wait for an X51. Competeing against the X51 you would have to provide a very good service as a good percentage of X51 passengers have travelcards.

There is good reason why Diamond came off the 51 and why no-one else has gone on there. It is because it is a difficult route to compete and make money on.

Not going to argue about the 51 bit as I agree with Tony but people do care about the badge thats why oxford bus make a great play of having mercs on the X3 with branding saying "on a merc" and people look at this and get the impression of luxury. It is a marketing tool that can and has been used to great effect

You may have a point, but speaking as a monthly-paying NX Faresaver pass holder, if a clapped out old B10L suddenly appeared on the 37 (which did used to happen!) I'd get on that, rather than waiting for one of the 'shiny newer' buses to appear.