Drivers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[BU07 LGO]

Recently I have had the pleasure of mk1 enviro 400s on the 127/8 they absolutely make short work of portway hill towards Dudley bus station, 25-28 mph on this stretch uphill astonishing for a decker, only Lynx,s and mercs could do that,  when I used to drive metrobuses up hear omg it was hard work for them, I could have left the cab gone home for cup of tea and biscuits and be back to meet it at the top of the hill.
I do hope we get YW remainder of mk1 enviros we all love them down here cab heating best I,ve ever come across , I,ve yet to hear a driver here complain about them with exception of speed bumps.
Most of us hate the MK2s please we don't want any more of those.

I agree they're beats! Im sad Coventry took most of ours

[John]

Finally got 4927 first on Saturday and again this afternoon, completing my list of Perry Barr's Enviro400 MK2 to drive. It is like the others with the awful gearbox setup, but it seemed to have a better turn of speed than some of the others. It has a good 30,000 miles less than some of the other Sutton buses. The majority of the branded buses are at around 110,000 miles, with some of the ticket branded buses a bit less around the 100,000 mark. 4927 only has 76,000 miles on it

Spotless inside and out, apart from the flap over the emergency door button is still black on the inside, from the smoke damage. The CCTV cameras are black instead of having a chrome bezel, and the front upper deck one (the one you see on the screen in the cab) is in a different position. It is nearer the position of the '61' plates camera, where you can not see the front row of seats on either side. It also seems to have a slight burnt smell, but this seems to be slowly going

It has also gained a 'Crimson' seat, downstairs rear N/S seat at the back. I guess it must have had a full retrim with the grey moquette as it would have been drenched and smoke damaged but this one must have being replaced soon after re-entering service. I still remember looking at it on the night it was burnt out and still hours later, water was still dripping out of the upper deck

[Liverpool Street]

Finally got 4927 first on Saturday and again this afternoon, completing my list of Perry Barr's Enviro400 MK2 to drive. It is like the others with the awful gearbox setup, but it seemed to have a better turn of speed than some of the others. It has a good 30,000 miles less than some of the other Sutton buses. The majority of the branded buses are at around 110,000 miles, with some of the ticket branded buses a bit less around the 100,000 mark. 4927 only has 76,000 miles on it

Spotless inside and out, apart from the flap over the emergency door button is still black on the inside, from the smoke damage. The CCTV cameras are black instead of having a chrome bezel, and the front upper deck one (the one you see on the screen in the cab) is in a different position. It is nearer the position of the '61' plates camera, where you can not see the front row of seats on either side. It also seems to have a slight burnt smell, but this seems to be slowly going

It has also gained a 'Crimson' seat, downstairs rear N/S seat at the back. I guess it must have had a full retrim with the grey moquette as it would have been drenched and smoke damaged but this one must have being replaced soon after re-entering service. I still remember looking at it on the night it was burnt out and still hours later, water was still dripping out of the upper deck

Should've stayed burnt.

Hateful things.

[2900]

Yesterday evening I got a ride on 4975 as it was being shunted to the top yard the shunter wasn't hanging about , I thought to myself hes getting this bus to really move I was rather impressed. It's a soho rd branded bus very slim of driving it myself to see what it can do.

Yesterday evening not the most pleasant on Dudley rd I stopped just after the jet petrol station to pick up some teenagers about 4 in number they stood on the platform waiting for there mates who were in the shop ,they kept apologising for holding up  the bus I didn't say a word what's the point I sat there patiently 3 minutes had passed now passengers sat downstairs starting to get frustrated, after another minute or so 6/7 of there mates turned up and on my way I went 5 minutes down and little annoyed but ok.
Coming into city near great Charles st somebody lites up a fag I carry on as usual nothing new smoking on a Dudley rd bus no ones complaining I get to moor st a couple getting off said there smoking upstairs you gona let everything go on your bus , I replied nobody's got my back I,m on my own no real time help, police don't want to know its low level to them, also I find it rich that people who have completed there journeys choose complain then and expect some thing to be done, so it's ok then to inconvenience every one else, selfish tossers, it's extremely rare especially at night for someone to come to the driver and ask for something to be done about anti social behaviour ,end of the day people just want that bus to be rolling along.

[Liverpool Street]

*snip*

It's a vicious circle.

You're bound by the P45 hanging over your head @2900 if you make the wrong decision in situations like that.

Those bunch of scumbags, or 'pieces of shit' as I call them, were clearly taking the piss. Of course back in my day a bit of "offensive" driving would get them off the bus no problem with a tap on the back from the legit passengers and 'ask no questions' from everyone else!

Not nowadays, you're just lucky each passenger didn't spit over you instead of the old-fashioned 'thank you'.

Bit bitter this evening , apologies lads.

[BU07 LGO]

6757 - enviro mmc

I had the misfortune of this thing today for over 4 hours! It was quite honestly the worst bus ive driven, don't get me wrong it was smooth and ok once it got moving but it had no character or anything going for it! It was soo sluggish pulling away it was almost danagerous especially at kingstanding circle! The doors took ages to fully close and the door interlock to release and the assault screen rattled! It seemed to be a gearbox issue with it keep selecting the wrong gear, when I went to pull away then had to stop due to traffic lights changing the bus juddered and I was fighting it to get it to stop!

One thing ive noticed with the later platinums is that the led on the staircase is purple instead of blue!?

[Liverpool Street]

6757 - enviro mmc

I had the misfortune of this thing today for over 4 hours! It was quite honestly the worst bus ive driven, don't get me wrong it was smooth and ok once it got moving but it had no character or anything going for it! It was soo sluggish pulling away it was almost danagerous especially at kingstanding circle! The doors took ages to fully close and the door interlock to release and the assault screen rattled! It seemed to be a gearbox issue with it keep selecting the wrong gear, when I went to pull away then had to stop due to traffic lights changing the bus juddered and I was fighting it to get it to stop!

One thing ive noticed with the later platinums is that the led on the staircase is purple instead of blue!?

You could always express your disgust in the cab.....

[Ronnoc]

You could always express your disgust in the cab.....

There's so much to complain about in newer ADL vehicles. The last 'best' thing in ADL vehicles was the older Enviro 400's which were actually fast, nowadays they're slow as hell.

[Liverpool Street]

There's so much to complain about in newer ADL vehicles. The last 'best' thing in ADL vehicles was the older Enviro 400's which were actually fast, nowadays they're slow as hell.

Just say something in the cab, they record everything you say so....

[domino.99]

Just say something in the cab, they record everything you say so....

Love it

[John]

There's so much to complain about in newer ADL vehicles. The last 'best' thing in ADL vehicles was the older Enviro 400's which were actually fast, nowadays they're slow as hell.

It's not the buses themselves, just how the gearboxes have been set up since within the past year (saving fuel and wear on parts I guess).

When I first started driving nearly 2 years ago, the MK2 Enviro400s were a lot better than they are now. But now, the gearboxes have been altered to change up a gear at around 1500rpm. This is too low as you can not pick up enough speed in a gear before the box changes up, then you can feel the engine struggling to pick up speed because it is in too high a gear for the road speed. There is also a delay sometimes in pressing the accelerator and the bus moving off, about a second, but sometimes this can make the difference between re-entering traffic in a gap or not (again they were not like this before the changes were made)

[Ronnoc]

6757 - enviro mmc

I had the misfortune of this thing today for over 4 hours! It was quite honestly the worst bus ive driven, don't get me wrong it was smooth and ok once it got moving but it had no character or anything going for it! It was soo sluggish pulling away it was almost danagerous especially at kingstanding circle! The doors took ages to fully close and the door interlock to release and the assault screen rattled! It seemed to be a gearbox issue with it keep selecting the wrong gear, when I went to pull away then had to stop due to traffic lights changing the bus juddered and I was fighting it to get it to stop!

One thing ive noticed with the later platinums is that the led on the staircase is purple instead of blue!?

The most character you'd get in an E400 MMC is probably a hoover or a little growl from the engine, like 6142. I know it isn't a 100 percent guarantee that it will be absolutely reliable but after all that promotional work by ADL, I'm quite ashamed.

[John]

The most character you'd get in an E400 MMC is probably a hoover or a little growl from the engine, like 6142. I know it isn't a 100 percent guarantee that it will be absolutely reliable but after all that promotional work by ADL, I'm quite ashamed.

The one thing I do like about them is the turbo whine in some of the Mk2s when accelerating, happens more when the engine is cold after just leaving garage in the morning.

The Mk1 Enviro400's engine is a lot more meatier sounding though, and these do have some power. A shame I very rarely get one any more

[GeminiFan1991]

I really want to know the answer this question and so here it is, which is the fastest bus ! I.e if their was a drag between a Plaxton, Gemini, E400 etc.... who'd win ?! I know a single deck would win due to lower weight but which !

[Ronnoc]

I really want to know the answer this question and so here it is, which is the fastest bus ! I.e if their was a drag between a Plaxton, Gemini, E400 etc.... who'd win ?! I know a single deck would win due to lower weight but which !

It depends really. Different buses are faster/slower then others, that also goes for buses with the same engine.