Arriva Leicester

[Solo1]

Didnt DeCourcey run it with coach seated deckers though and Arriva are sticking E200s on there?

yes they had deckers for X6 but had 2 new singles for X6. not long ago I think 1 of the deckers caught fire

[AlexS]

It was usually singles when Arriva had it before, although the Scanias and the Spectras usually swayed over from time to time. De Courcey started with coaches before receiving 2 brand new Scania N230UDs in 2010, but one was destroyed in a fire in 2015. The other one was still branded but they just stopped putting it on the route after that, and then it went down to singles after then, which then led to the Evolutions arriving in 2017. Still, Arriva's E200s look stupid on it and I honestly don't know what they think's so brilliant about them seeing as Luton were sending theirs onto the 758 from Hemel Hempstead into Victoria just before lockdown (not sure about now).

So what would you put on there?
Considering what the other realistic options are, and the needs of other routes, I don't actually think that using the E200s is that bad an idea.

[Bob]

Its a pity companies dont really have dual purpose vehicles any more isnt it ( think Midland Red Marshall bodied Leopards/Timesaver Metrobuses etc)

[2206]

Its a pity companies dont really have dual purpose vehicles any more isnt it ( think Midland Red Marshall bodied Leopards/Timesaver Metrobuses etc)

Stagecoach gold had coach seats on the Scanias on X4 from Northampton to Corby I think. And the E400 MMC that replaced them.
First Kernow have dual purpose E400 Tridents branded for U1/U2 as well. I caught one on the A4 (St Ives to Newquay via Portreath) route 3 years ago, 33422.

[Tony]

Its a pity companies dont really have dual purpose vehicles any more isnt it ( think Midland Red Marshall bodied Leopards/Timesaver Metrobuses etc)

They do, they have hundreds of them, more than ever.

Stagecoach gold, NX Platinum etc are better spec than most DP pf the 70s/80s

[Bob]

They do, they have hundreds of them, more than ever.

Stagecoach gold, NX Platinum etc are better spec than most DP pf the 70s/80s

Sorry Tony i meant coach seated etc. Think Stagecoach gold seats, or Timesaver seats. Platinums are excellent but seat wise im sure youd prob agree Timesavers would have been more comfy etc  :)

[Tony]

Sorry Tony i meant coach seated etc. Think Stagecoach gold seats, or Timesaver seats. Platinums are excellent but seat wise im sure youd prob agree Timesavers would have been more comfy etc  :)

No, Platinums seats are the same as some coaches have now, Platinums are exactly the modern version of 'DP' a bus with coach seats, the same as stagecoach Gold are

[AlexS]

They do, they have hundreds of them, more than ever.

Stagecoach gold, NX Platinum etc are better spec than most DP pf the 70s/80s

Also some of the original Sapphires in Wales. Which unlike the Poundland equivalents in Leicester actually offered coach style seating which was an obvious upgrade on what went before. I still can't work out what was going through the heads of the management who thought the attempts at Leicester would have had any impact on passenger numbers. If you're going to relaunch a service it obviously doesn't make sense to do so using the same buses that were already operating on the route without even changing the seats and claim it's some new premium experience, especially considering many buses in the fleet already had the upgraded model of the seat in question with headrests.

[Bob]

Also some of the original Sapphires in Wales. Which unlike the Poundland equivalents in Leicester actually offered coach style seating which was an obvious upgrade on what went before. I still can't work out what was going through the heads of the management who thought the attempts at Leicester would have had any impact on passenger numbers. If you're going to relaunch a service it obviously doesn't make sense to do so using the same buses that were already operating on the route without even changing the seats and claim it's some new premium experience, especially considering many buses in the fleet already had the upgraded model of the seat in question with headrests.

The Pulsars that were upgraded in Leicester were positively luxurious compared to the embarassment example Cannock had. Low back seats retrimmed in e leather no next stop announcements etc and a cheap looking paint job. It was then swiftly transferred out

[AlexS]

The Pulsars that were upgraded in Leicester were positively luxurious compared to the embarassment example Cannock had. Low back seats retrimmed in e leather no next stop announcements etc and a cheap looking paint job. It was then swiftly transferred out

By the time the Pulsars were done the Sapphire brand was already tarnished to the point of being no use in Leicester. The first batch of Sapphire B7s in Leicester also had well worn low backed seats retrimmed in e leather and the only other modifications were most (but far from all) of the graffiti on the backs of the seats cleaned off, a cheap vinyl being applied to the staircase, and plug sockets that never really worked installed.

[Bob]

By the time the Pulsars were done the Sapphire brand was already tarnished to the point of being no use in Leicester. The first batch of Sapphire B7s in Leicester also had well worn low backed seats retrimmed in e leather and the only other modifications were most (but far from all) of the graffiti on the backs of the seats cleaned off, a cheap vinyl being applied to the staircase, and plug sockets that never really worked installed.

Cannocks streetlites sockets never worked either. Theyre operating solos with adverts for usb charging on the side and the chargers have been taken out along with a pulsar where the chargers havent worked in months. It just looks poor

[leicesterbusadventurer]

So what would you put on there?
Considering what the other realistic options are, and the needs of other routes, I don't actually think that using the E200s is that bad an idea.

To be honest, thinking to when it did have those Scanias (and I saw a former Dublin ALX400 a few times on it in late 2017), my first choice would have been the B7TLs, but if not, then I'd have stuck with the Pulsars.

[AlexS]

To be honest, thinking to when it did have those Scanias (and I saw a former Dublin ALX400 a few times on it in late 2017), my first choice would have been the B7TLs, but if not, then I'd have stuck with the Pulsars.

Somehow I don't think 14 year old deckers that have been hammered on city work since new would be a good choice for an express intercity route, especially considering they were removed from the X84 and are normally kept away from the X3 for reliability reasons, and that's before considering that the route doesn't need deckers and Wigston has a shortage of deckers for the routes that do. If the route did need deckers I would imagine that it would largely be 4545 and 4546 that were used. I also don't see any real difference in standards between the E200MMCs and the Pulsars so would personally think the 2 are just about interchangeable which means it probably makes more sense to use the E200s as they will be more familiar to those who deal with issues in the Hinckley and Coventry areas as they have regularly operated on Arriva's other services into Coventry for several months.

[LazyGuy222]

The 158 has moved to Haymarket Bus Station with the pedestrianising of Haymarket, with the 50, 51, 104, 152 and 153 starting and finishing on Savoy Street.

[LazyGuy222]

Arriva are closing their travel shop in St Margaret's from tomorrow, and moving everything online.
That's not the best of ideas even when your technology properly works, but in Arriva's case their technology doesn't work and is plagued by issues and poor reviews from customers.
Arriva really are going downhill...