Passengers - Bus Reviews & Opinions

[Jack]

4928 on the 24 today. What an excellent bus. Picked up speed well compared to others I've travelled on. Good smooth ride. Must say this is the best e400 of that series that I've traveled on. @John can you remember if 4928 was one of your favourites to drive at PB?

Sorry it's a late reply, but I rode 4928 back in April. It was a good one. The worst one I can think of that PB have/had was 4925. That was slow and sluggish. If you want a good one try 4844 and 4846, these are some good ones. Walsall's 4859 is another good one. @Trident 4194

[Jack]

1928 - Scania Omnilink

Had this on the 52 home. Crappy suspension, felt every bump down Birchfield Road. Brakes good. Interior looked smart in Crimson apart from etchings on seat backs and it could do with a 'deep' clean. Grimy floors, I suppose this is from its day on the Stratford Road. Exterior smart. Shame really as its good bus when it pulls away and has a good engine = 8/10

4226 - ALX400 B7TL

Caught this on the 73. This beats 4295 at AG. Great bus, great suspension, the brakes were abit squeaky, as are most ALX400 B7TL's. Interior faded, original TWM interior abit faded. Very clean inside - credit to AG. Nice beastly gearbox which howls while coasting. Exterior is abit tired - original NX Livery with connection bars. Could do with a repaint = 10/10

7023 - Scania Omnilink

Nothing to say about this, shed! Everything about it is crap! = 0/10

[Jack]

1935 - Scania Omnilink

Caught this morning to City. I remember this from the 37, use to be a stalker at AG. Nothing's changed since its days on the 37. Fast pulling away, good suspension and good brakes. The doors are very slow. The interior needs a refurb, seats are all tired and the paint still looks presentable compared to WA's red/white Omnilinks. If you look closely on the windows, you can see where the big 37 stickers use to be. Good bus = 9/10

4283 - ALX400 B7TL

Caught this on the 33, full route. Ridden this one before. Right after I get off 1935 this pulls up. First time riding one of these on the 33, very weird too. Fast pulling away, suspension was naff, the brakes were loud and squeaky. The doors were squeaky aswell. Interior tired, original TWM trim. Paint looks smart, interior lets it down. Not that bad = 7/10

4914 - E400 (E40D)

Caught this on the 80A. I remember this on the Suttons. Fast pulling away, suspension awful (not sure what's happened, never like this at PB) brakes were terrible. Doors fast, interior could do with a 'deep' clean. The Branded looked really smart. The paintwork is looking orange now. Shame = 5/10
WB have ruined this bus.

4656 - Gemini

Caught this on the 5. Great bus, fast pulling away, good suspension, good brakes. Interior smart in Crimson, Exterior is smart. Cooling fans going the whole journey. Doors made a right racket. Low vibrations. Nice kickdown. Good bus = 9/10

[MW]

4656 - Gemini

Caught this on the 5. Great bus, fast pulling away, good suspension, good brakes. Interior smart in Crimson, Exterior is smart. Cooling fans going the whole journey. Doors made a right racket. Low vibrations. Nice kickdown. Good bus = 9/10

Had some good drives on 4656. There was a period when I had it every day for a few days in a row. The final day of which, I was involved in an RTC. Bus was off road for a couple days.

[Jack]

Had some good drives on 4656. There was a period when I had it every day for a few days in a row. The final day of which, I was involved in an RTC. Bus was off road for a couple days.

It was my first time on it. After the doors closed the fans would start going like 4276 does. AG do keep their vehicles in good condition. I am really starting to miss the Presidents.

[Jack]

4287 - ALX400 B7TL

Rode it this morning on the 52, been a while since I last rode 4287. Had the new ticket machine. Was running 5 minutes late. Was the only passenger for the whole journey. Suspension good, brakes good, bell sounded weird and the gearbox had a nice whine while changing gears. Doors fast, interior mainly original twin peaks but few grey dot replacement seats. Nice bus = 8/10

4479 - Gemini

Ran for it on Bull Street on the 52A. Real treat, it was one of my stalkers on there. First Gem I've ridden on the 52/A since May. Suspension good, brakes abit squeaky, doors were creaky. Cooling fans blaring down Turnberry Road. Driver battered it = 7/10

4503 - Gemini

Rode it again on the X12 today. Beast! Driver thrashed it round Damsonwood and the Airport. It got stuck down Chipperfield Road. Lovely and whiny. Pretty much the same as last time on the 5 = 10/10

[Trident 4194]

I'm sick of catching stupid slow omnilinks. Don't get me wrong they are smoothish buses but they quite simply have the worlds slowest doors, the worst acceleration and seem incapable of running above 20 mph despite running late.

The WA mk1 b7rles are simply excellent in comparison. Very powerful buses, excellent acceleration and seem very good at maintaining speed

Diamond buses of course have insane power

[Tony]

I'm sick of catching stupid slow omnilinks. Don't get me wrong they are smoothish buses but they quite simply have the worlds slowest doors, the worst acceleration and seem incapable of running above 20 mph despite running late.

The WA mk1 b7rles are simply excellent in comparison. Very powerful buses, excellent acceleration and seem very good at maintaining speed

Diamond buses of course have insane power

Is it 'post rubbish Saturday ' today?

[Jack]

I'm sick of catching stupid slow omnilinks. Don't get me wrong they are smoothish buses but they quite simply have the worlds slowest doors, the worst acceleration and seem incapable of running above 20 mph despite running late.

The WA mk1 b7rles are simply excellent in comparison. Very powerful buses, excellent acceleration and seem very good at maintaining speed

Diamond buses of course have insane power

Lol, they're not that bad. The Euro 4's (1788-1907) are better than then the Euro 5's. The Euro 4's are simply a more smoother rider, whereas a Euro 5 you'll be jumping all over the place! I pretty much like all the Euro 4's, the Euro 5's I like but they're quite a bumpy ride.

[Trident 4194]

Lol, they're not that bad. The Euro 4's (1788-1907) are better than then the Euro 5's. The Euro 4's are simply a more smoother rider, whereas a Euro 5 you'll be jumping all over the place! I pretty much like all the Euro 4's, the Euro 5's I like but they're quite a bumpy ride.

I've only sampled the euro 5 ones. Another thing is drivers sometimes have to open the doors as soon as they are closed, I think this might be to do with the ramp not coordinating or the kneeling?

[Jack]

I've only sampled the euro 5 ones. Another thing is drivers sometimes have to open the doors as soon as they are closed, I think this might be to do with the ramp not coordinating or the kneeling?

The ones on the 4 are Euro 4. The door issue are drivers being impatient and trying to rev to make the doors move faster but instead they reopen and close. The Euro 4's are way better especially the '58' plates (1848-1877) are my favourite batch as they are really nice but I like all the Euro 4's.
1850, 1853, 1854, 1861, 1865 and 1872 are some good ones.

[Trident 4194]

1897- finally found a fast omnilink

[MW]

1897- finally found a fast omnilink

Really? I found that the ex AG batch were nippy. Irritating doors, but once going, they're quite nippy.
Maybe you're getting these buses when they're on time/early so the driver isn't booting it. Not as good as the B7RLEs overall, but the Ines I've driven are pretty quick.

[Trident 4194]

Really? I found that the ex AG batch were nippy. Irritating doors, but once going, they're quite nippy.
Maybe you're getting these buses when they're on time/early so the driver isn't booting it. Not as good as the B7RLEs overall, but the Ines I've driven are pretty quick.

1897 had quite fast doors to for an omnilink. A lot does depend on the driver. Can't remember the last time I caught an ontime omnilink

[DJ]

1897 had quite fast doors to for an omnilink. A lot does depend on the driver. Can't remember the last time I caught an ontime omnilink

The ones on the WA 11/13 are generally punctual when they aren't on peak, but there's usually a lot of traffic between Dudley and Tipton at peak times, and I'm guessing the M5 junction near Wednesbury doesn't help too. They don't seem sluggish by any means, but I still prefer a B7RLE.