Refurbs

[Ash]

About time they de branded the Tridents from the 14 and refurbish them as they've been trashed i think

A few buses need refurbs but the worst ones I have seen are the soho road alx400's. The seats are so worn there bald in places and flat. The buses interiors are generally dirty but once they have been refurbished they look very smart but i think once WB have sorted the presidents out i think these may be on the list for the next buses to be refurbed from the garage.

[BU07 LGO]

The Soho road and 14 are the least desergving of refurbs though. I think they should just refurb the downstairs on the dodgy routes that way only the decent passengers will benefit

[Gareth]

The Soho road and 14 are the least desergving of refurbs though. I think they should just refurb the downstairs on the dodgy routes that way only the decent passengers will benefit

I use the 14 most days. I sit upstairs most of the time. I dont deserve new retrimmed seats? Why not? I'm not decent?

[Tony]

4712 is now being done, so that completes the toothpaste Geminis and means all WB geminis are now red/white

[monkeyjoe]

The Soho road and 14 are the least desergving of refurbs though. I think they should just refurb the downstairs on the dodgy routes that way only the decent passengers will benefit

That is slightly on the ignorant side. I would suggest if you are going to make such statements, you should at least get your spelling right.  :D

[ilovetea4370]

I've seen people getting beaten up on the 14, people dealing drugs on the 14 (all during the daytime btw, drivers are always understandably too scared to call the police or say anything) and whenever I've had the misfortune to use the 74, there's always been groups chavs and/or nutters on there, and the music they like to share with the bus just makes it worse. They are hardly the safest routes in birmingham and a lot of the time I do not feel comfortable being on there. The buses they have now are quite well suited, why waste an expensive refurbishment on a bus that's going to get ruined?

[Ash]

I've seen people getting beaten up on the 14, people dealing drugs on the 14 (all during the daytime btw, drivers are always understandably too scared to call the police or say anything) and whenever I've had the misfortune to use the 74, there's always been groups chavs and/or nutters on there, and the music they like to share with the bus just makes it worse. They are hardly the safest routes in birmingham and a lot of the time I do not feel comfortable being on there. The buses they have now are quite well suited, why waste an expensive refurbishment on a bus that's going to get ruined?

Ok I guess on the 74 and 75 your referring to the section between Birmingham and West Bromwich what about the people who use the  Dudley/Wednesbury and West Bromwich sections only. Do they deserve the scruffy buses that dont get the refurb becuase of the people that use the buses between West Bromwich and Birmingham. Also its all the alx400's not just the soho road ones and alot of them get used on service like the 5/48/49 which don't go into Birmingham. I understand what your saying and totally agree why give people new or refurbed buses when they will wreck them but with the 74/75 these services carry on past West Bromwich.

[Stu]

The solution for the 74/75 Soho Road services as I see it, would be to follow the example of other routes such as the 6 and 37, where they get converted to single deck operation with a frequency increase to compensate for the lack of capacity. The 6 and 37 saw a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour, as smokers and troublemakers can't hide away upstairs.

[Lukeee]

About time they de branded the Tridents from the 14 and refurbish them as they've been trashed i think

A few buses need refurbs but the worst ones I have seen are the soho road alx400's. The seats are so worn there bald in places and flat. The buses interiors are generally dirty but once they have been refurbished they look very smart but i think once WB have sorted the presidents out i think these may be on the list for the next buses to be refurbed from the garage.

To me the soho road ALX400's look no worse than the ex BC examples at PB.

[Ash]

The solution for the 74/75 Soho Road services as I see it, would be to follow the example of other routes such as the 6 and 37, where they get converted to single deck operation with a frequency increase to compensate for the lack of capacity. The 6 and 37 saw a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour, as smokers and troublemakers can't hide away upstairs.

Just over 10 years ago the 74/78/79 back then used mercs,b6le's/mercs respectively and there were very few short workings. Yes the buses got full quickly but they coped and even when the tridents were introduced on the 79 mercs were still kept on the 74 for a quite a few years after. The mercs were in no where near the state the alx400 are in so i agree single deckers reduce anti-social behaviour, smokers and trouble makers but also the buses that are used on the Soho Road were not new to WB and might not have been in the best condition when delivered to WB.

[MW]

The solution for the 74/75 Soho Road services as I see it, would be to follow the example of other routes such as the 6 and 37, where they get converted to single deck operation with a frequency increase to compensate for the lack of capacity. The 6 and 37 saw a significant reduction in anti-social behaviour, as smokers and troublemakers can't hide away upstairs.

Just over 10 years ago the 74/78/79 back then used mercs,b6le's/mercs respectively and there were very few short workings. Yes the buses got full quickly but they coped and even when the tridents were introduced on the 79 mercs were still kept on the 74 for a quite a few years after. The mercs were in no where near the state the alx400 are in so i agree single deckers reduce anti-social behaviour, smokers and trouble makers but also the buses that are used on the Soho Road were not new to WB and might not have been in the best condition when delivered to WB.

I remember when the 74 was converted to an ALX400 operation. It was way better in terms of a passenger as it meant more of a chance of actually getting a seat!

If they were to convert them back again, they'd have to use 1750 onwards due to the emissions ruling anyway, so it's better to keep it as it is for now.

If it reverted back to a single deck operation, they would need to double the frequency in peaks to keep up with demand!

[ilovetea4370]

Well Ash I use the 74 to get from Dudley to West Bromwich, I daren't stay on past there and I always get the metro instead if I ever need to get to brum. The 74 is a rough route from start to finish!
The single deckers on the 6 do seem to have worked quite well and I think the single's on the 2 and 3 were working well until they went and cut the frequency. The thing is Single Deckering a route isn't the foolproof solution, it works for some routes and doesn't work so well for others. I remember merc 74's were a nightmare just trying to get on sometimes was a challenge.
I think though overall some of the worst conditioned buses in the fleet are at BC, there are Tridents there in much worse state than the B7 ALXs at PB or WB.

[JackC]

I remember my mother showing me an article in the local paper last year about someone getting mugged at knifepoint on the top deck of a Soho Road service.

[Ash]

Well Ash I use the 74 to get from Dudley to West Bromwich, I daren't stay on past there and I always get the metro instead if I ever need to get to brum. The 74 is a rough route from start to finish!
The single deckers on the 6 do seem to have worked quite well and I think the single's on the 2 and 3 were working well until they went and cut the frequency. The thing is Single Deckering a route isn't the foolproof solution, it works for some routes and doesn't work so well for others. I remember merc 74's were a nightmare just trying to get on sometimes was a challenge.
I think though overall some of the worst conditioned buses in the fleet are at BC, there are Tridents there in much worse state than the B7 ALXs at PB or WB.

I agree that past West Bromwich heading towards Birmingham on the Soho Road is rough but the part between Dudley and West Bromwich isnt that bad was on one yesterday between Dudley and West Bromwich and was quiet no problems even though the bus was quite full and this was around 6pm.

[Gareth]

People getting mugged, knifed, shot, dealing drugs (although smoking is fairly common) are not every day occurrences.

I have used the 14 almost every day for over 20 years and have never seen any of that. Admittedly its not the nicest service in Birmingham, but its not the worst.

Most people who tend to slag it off, along with the Inner Circle, have never used it or very rarely use it. There is still a mentality that seeing a chav in a hoodie or someone who looks a bit rough equals trouble.

The biggest problem on the 14 seems to be fare evasion. And buggie overloads! How I love it at Saltley Gate when inspectors and police are waiting en masse!