Arriva X31

[4504]

It'll be intersting to see what happens in Sept,  the X31 isnt totally short of customers

I've seen it rammed before and other times completely empty, but yeah, it will be interesting to see what happens

[Bob]

435 journey was 15 min late today but left bham pretty busy so i guess quite a few are using it despite horrendous timekeeping

[4504]

435 journey was 15 min late today but left bham pretty busy so i guess quite a few are using it despite horrendous timekeeping

That's why I said it could be reduced to peak times, because I don't really see it packed any other time

[Bob]

2.30 & particularly 3.30 can be very busy

[andyr]

Have just got off the 0735 dep from New Invention. Just 10 pax on the bus all the way to Birmingham. The bus 3766 was clean and warm and the driver very smart and polite. Its the first time i have used the service usually going via Walsall and then the x51, was impressed, just a pity not more people.

[Discodave]

see arriva are ready for getting rid of the X31 shitty Mpd on it yesterday realiy good for motorway running not!!

[Bob]

935/1035 are usually pretty busy. Maybe their triling smaller buses on it

[Discodave]

come on mpds are not really that good for motorway running need a more heavy duty bus any suggestions

[Bob]

prob have the right num of seats tho?

[Discodave]

they do yes but going on experiance on a long route not very comfortable for long routes for either passenger or driver used on the 76 lots of times hated them engines always screaming at top end on fast sections if a maker could get the right mix between a midi size bus but with long distance routes in mind (good engine and transmission) a smaller version of a omnilink would be good scania make good trucks and buses plus a good range of engines.

[Bob]

THe 52 plate and onward darts with the ISBe engines are loads quieter than the earlier B series engines, i would imagine they would be better long distance. The X31 should have dual purpose seated buses it was always a coach years ago

[Discodave]

before my time but was told by some of the old school it was royal tigers and they could shift at very naughty speeds

[Bob]

Nope in the 80s it was Willowbrook bodied V reg Leopards coaches, DP olympians both in Midland Express livery and also old DP Marshall bodied leopards and occasionally standard Nationals. Rebodied East Lancs Tigers from the early 90s but at some point around that time it was renumbered 31 and rerouted down the A34. Anyone know exactly when it stopped going down the motorway the first time round? The A34 version finished around 1995/96 i think

[andy]

I'm pretty sure it stopped being the X31 in about 1991 shortly after direct train services came back online for Cannock and passenger numbers went seriously downhill.  The idea was to focus growth of passenger traffic on the Bloxwich and Walsall sections as Chase and Green Bus were the predominant operators at the time. It failed as the service was unreliable due to it getting delayed in Birmingham which was at the time ten times worse than it is now as all MRN services followed a laborious circuit once inside the city which if you were particularly unlucky could take half an hour to get round!

[Bob]

Chase & Green bus werent the predominant operators btwn cannock bloxwich & walsall tho in 1991, nor btwn bloxwich & brum, it would have been WMT they were competing with :-)