First Bus - Leicester

[LazyGuy222]

It is not that simple to 'Just upgrade them to Euro 6' It is also not cheap.

I don't know of a Euro 3 B7RLE that has had the upgrade yet, and the first one of any new type one of the retrofit companies does is expensive as there are all the development costs. It will also depend on the life expectancy of these vehicles. Why retrofit a vehicle spendimg a five figure sum on it when it can be run for the rest of its life unfitted.

What will Doncaster do to them?

[Tony]

What will Doncaster do to them?

Run them until they are life expired

[LazyGuy222]

Well, fair enough. It appears that 66964 and 66966 are the first to go.

[LazyGuy222]

First will be rising ticket prices from the 24th November. Day tickets rise to £4.50, with young person ones going up to £3.90. All mobile pricing will go up to the same as how it is onboard the bus, and year tickets will increase to £560.
They also have introduced a 2 trip ticket, for £4.20, which is diabolical considering for 30p more you can go on the bus for the entire day.

[LazyGuy222]

An allocation I've never seen on Mondays - Saturdays. A double decker, in the form of 35192, went onto the 17! It replaced 66304, which replaced 35192 on the 16/74.

[47609FireFly]

StreetLite 63388 - SL16 RDX is now at Abbey Lane depot, from South Yorkshire.

[leicesterbusadventurer]

StreetLite 63388 - SL16 RDX is now at Abbey Lane depot, from South Yorkshire.

No regard for Matthew Kitching's memory or his family then when this was brought down.

[Ian Hardy]

On the EM Buses group.io forum Neil Eggleton (MD of First Leicester) posted this:

We're looking after some repairs for Sheffield - more to come. 63388 is for a head gasket replacement.

Nigel

So it will be going back to South Yorkshire after the work.

[47609FireFly]

37111 - YK07 AYJ is now at Abbey Lane depot.

[LazyGuy222]

37111 - YK07 AYJ is now at Abbey Lane depot.

That's a Sheffield vehicle, I'm guessing it's here for repair. Strange considering we've never had B9's, plus Leicester hasn't got the perfect record for maintenance does it.

[47609FireFly]

That's a Sheffield vehicle, I'm guessing it's here for repair. Strange considering we've never had B9's, plus Leicester hasn't got the perfect record for maintenance does it.

Go on then, spill the beans with facts and evidence rather than making wild statements or are you just an armchair expert?

In reality, Leicester's maintenance record is rather good.

[LazyGuy222]

Go on then, spill the beans with facts and evidence rather than making wild statements or are you just an armchair expert?

In reality, Leicester's maintenance record is rather good.

3 fires since 2015, poorly looked after buses (mainly the B7L's), with 66319 having an engine failure. Oil leaks on 4 year old Streetlites, in the form of 63350. 32644 and 32645 both always have their fans on, 32646 had a strange noise going through the bus from the electrics.

If this isn't proof our maintenance isn't on point, I don't really know what is. What are you, a driver or something.

[47609FireFly]

3 fires since 2015, poorly looked after buses (mainly the B7L's), with 66319 having an engine failure. Oil leaks on 4 year old Streetlites, in the form of 63350. 32644 and 32645 both always have their fans on, 32646 had a strange noise going through the bus from the electrics.

If this isn't proof our maintenance isn't on point, I don't really know what is. What are you, a driver or something.

A bus is a vehicle is which is subject to an incredibly arduous working life in the form of long days and difficult conditions in stop/start traffic, particularly in a city like Leicester. Good preventative maintenance (which First Leicester has) and drivers being on the ball (with first use checks and being aware of how their bus is behaving whilst out on the road) are two factors which deal with many vehicle related faults. You will never be able to deal with everything though.

66319 is an old bus, which has worked hard and owes the company nothing. Full on engine failures are incredibly rare. Sometimes oil leaks happen; StreetLites and StreetDecks are a relatively new vehicle type. As such experience is still being gained with them. Gone are the days when there are years and years of testing before a vehicle enters normal use, as per London's Routemasters in the 1950s.

32644 and 32645 have worn fan drives - when they're at this point the fans work flat out and lose the ability to vary their speed. No, it isn't the best because the engine is put under increased load, which in turn increases fuel consumption. They're not in any way unsafe though. Someone will be looking at cost of a new unit versus the age of the vehicle. Like it or not, it's an accountancy led culture at the moment, particularly in these unpredictable times for First. 32646? Well - who knows; electricity is generally silent though.

Finally, no, I'm not a driver. I'm a realist who is a little bit informed and aware.

[LazyGuy222]

Fair enough

[DD12]

Thanks very much LazyGuy for expressing your opinions (which might be similar to other people's), and FireFly, for your intelligent and informed replies, and perspective.

Unfortunately, on bus enthusiasts forums we don't get enough of the latter, and it's a matter of great importance to me, here in Worcester, that our vehicles are as reliable as possible, because traffic jams are frequent but very difficult to predict where and when, and First is mainly carrying only passengers who have no other option of how to travel. (IMHO).

Presumably, the maintenance budget would have to be increased by 100% say, to achieve maximum vehicle reliability, so I find all this very frustrating.
:'(