First Worcester Volvo Citybus

[47609FireFly]

It is still at Worcester parked at Padmore Street. It has been there for months. Shame really because it is in good condition for its age, and also had a fairly recent interior refurb, but there isn't a need for it at Worcester. We have pinched Leicester Gemini 32645 for almost a year now (don't know why this just doesn't become a permanent transfer) so I think if any further deckers were needed we would get another one of those. I am surprised 38125 wasn't sent to Cornwall with the new routes they got from Western Greyhound.

I understand your logic about 38125 going to Cornwall due to it being in good condition and such like. It's a solid, robust chassis type for the Cornish operating environment too. There would be one massive downside to it going down there though: HEIGHT! At 14' 11, it would be a real pain in the rump to operate with low trees. Most Olympians are more or less a foot shorter. Personally, I hope 38125 finds its way into preservation as way to represent the last buses Northampton bought before the company was sold by the local authority.

[jc]

I think the big problem with 38125 is simply 'book value', with the interior refurb it had, this put its value to the company up quite high and at the time was a School Bus, there was rumours of someone bidding for it for preservation but sadly i think they couldn't agree a price

[barry619]

The Citybus had a huge amount of money spent on it while it was with Potteries including a complete reupholstering and at least one new floor(!). It has done comparatively little work since that was undertaken, having been used almost exclusively on schools only when in Staffordshire.

It would make an excellent buy for someone in preservation, subject to them being able to agree a price with First.

[47609FireFly]

Both "jc" and "barry619" have hit the nail on the head.

It shows that the accountants still rule the roost! The amount of work that 38125 has had done means they've increased its book value. That being the case, as an asset, the vehicle should be being "sweated". By that I mean the company really ought to be using it to get a return on the money they've invested in it, rather than having it parked up. Some of the work it has had undertaken makes it a much more robust machine for a preservationist. Other jobs on it (the re-upholstered seats for example) wouldn't be all that attractive to a preservationist, who would probably want something more original.

I'm fairly sure that K125 URP is the last one of these surviving, so I really hope it does find a safe home. Sister buses K123 URP & K126 URP were sold by Diamond to Willenhall Commercials. I'm assuming they were scrapped.

[barry619]

What will sadly end up happening to the Citybus if no preservationist is able to strike a deal with First is that it will sit, slowly rotting, until it is fully depreciated to scrap value, and then be towed away to Barnsley. The unfortunate thing is that Citybuses are still highly rated by small operators as school buses as they are reliable, and high capacity thanks to the mid-engined layout, and First would probably have little difficulty selling it for further use if it made the effort, especially considering the work that has been done to the bus.

Absolute madness, but the exact same happened to numerous Scanias with Potteries which suffered either suffered major mechanical failure or were no longer required prior to being 15 years old, and thus were not fully depreciated. Park them for a number of years, slowly strip parts off as required, then when they turn 15 call PVS to come and take them away. Nothing more than a waste.

[Dylanbusboy45]

The citybus is still sat at the back of the depot on the withdrawn row in the yard with Trident 32854 and E300 67602 in front of it. On the window on a piece of paper it said that 67602 had gearbox issues if anyone is wondering.