Bendies on the 4

[Sandy Lane]

The last bendie got a mention on BBC Coventry radio at tea time.

[Coventry Transport Dude]

Well, i knew this day had to come eventually and sadly today was it, with the final withdrawal of Coventry's last Bendi-bus ! (6021).  It got a great send off by the many enthusiasts who ventured into Town to travel on it for one last time and it was also nice to meet up with lots of enthusiasts from this forum, who had traveled over from Birmingham, West Bromwich and beyond to make what i thought would be a sad day, into a really enjoyable one !  The Bus itself ran brilliantly and was driven brilliantly to by our Driver Shaun, for the final 4 hours or so of its time left on the road ?  I'd only planned to go on it for a couple of round trips, but as i went to get off it, a friend of mine got on and this happened on a couple of occasions during the afternoon, so by the end of the day, i stayed on it with them and ended up being on it for "5 HOURS" in the end !!!!! (It's a very sad life i live !!!lol).  My thanks must go to Driver Shaun and to the National Express Publicity Photographer (Brian) and to Sam Houlders (Manager) from Wheatley Street Garage, who made sure that all the enthusiasts were able to get the photographs that they wanted and went out of their way to make sure that everybody did so, both at the terminus at each end of the route and later outside Wheatley Street Garage itself at the end of the day !  One very nice thing that these three guys did (a real compliment indeed !), was when arriving at the Arena Tesco terminus at the end of its final run, they allowed us all to stay on the Bus (which was still three quarters full at this time !) and run back "OUT OF SERVICE" down to Pool Meadow Bus Station.  They then allowed us all time to get off and walk the 2 minutes down near the front of Wheatley Street Garage itself, ready for everyone to get in position and photograph 6021 as it then pulled off and came slowly down the driveway into the Garage !  One nice thing i must mention before i start boring you all on here (lol) and that is that even some non-enthusiasts (normal passengers !) got caught up in all the fun with the enthusiasts on 6021 today and they enjoyed it so much, that even they stayed on board and came back down to Pool Meadow on the sadly "OUT OF SERVICE FOR GOOD" 6021 !!!!!!lol. (Great to see that was !). "THANK YOU" Shaun, Brian, Sam and to all attending enthusiasts, for an enjoyable and certainly an unforgettable day today !!!!!!!!!!

[Michael Bevan]

Well, i knew this day had to come eventually and sadly today was it, with the final withdrawal of Coventry's last Bendi-bus ! (6021).  It got a great send off by the many enthusiasts who ventured into Town to travel on it for one last time and it was also nice to meet up with lots of enthusiasts from this forum, who had traveled over from Birmingham, West Bromwich and beyond to make what i thought would be a sad day, into a really enjoyable one !  The Bus itself ran brilliantly and was driven brilliantly to by our Driver Shaun, for the final 4 hours or so of its time left on the road ?  I'd only planned to go on it for a couple of round trips, but as i went to get off it, a friend of mine got on and this happened on a couple of occasions during the afternoon, so by the end of the day, i stayed on it with them and ended up being on it for "5 HOURS" in the end !!!!! (It's a very sad life i live !!!lol).  My thanks must go to Driver Shaun and to the National Express Publicity Photographer (Brian) and to Sam Houlders (Manager) from Wheatley Street Garage, who made sure that all the enthusiasts were able to get the photographs that they wanted and went out of their way to make sure that everybody did so, both at the terminus at each end of the route and later outside Wheatley Street Garage itself at the end of the day !  One very nice thing that these three guys did (a real compliment indeed !), was when arriving at the Arena Tesco terminus at the end of its final run, they allowed us all to stay on the Bus (which was still three quarters full at this time !) and run back "OUT OF SERVICE" down to Pool Meadow Bus Station.  They then allowed us all time to get off and walk the 2 minutes down near the front of Wheatley Street Garage itself, ready for everyone to get in position and photograph 6021 as it then pulled off and came slowly down the driveway into the Garage !  One nice thing i must mention before i start boring you all on here (lol) and that is that even some non-enthusiasts (normal passengers !) got caught up in all the fun with the enthusiasts on 6021 today and they enjoyed it so much, that even they stayed on board and came back down to Pool Meadow on the sadly "OUT OF SERVICE FOR GOOD" 6021 !!!!!!lol. (Great to see that was !). "THANK YOU" Shaun, Brian, Sam and to all attending enthusiasts, for an enjoyable and certainly an unforgettable day today !!!!!!!!!!

I fully agree with @Coventry Transport Dude here! The staff at NX made it such a brilliant day, and such a good send-off for 6021! They went out of their way to make sure we got the photos that we wanted! I just want to thank the guys at NX for holding such a brilliant and enjoyable farewell event for the bendies! I had good fun with people on the bus too which made the day even more enjoyable!  :)

[craighu]

19 total years of West Mids bendi operation closes if you include the 1999 start for the Perry Barr ones. Some kind of record for an operator maybe?

Also, was 6021 the very last Mercedes bus in service for NX in the Midlands ? There have been Merc products on the road continuously since 1997 with the Minibuses and then 0405Ns etc. Not from today.

[Tony]

19 total years of West Mids bendi operation closes if you include the 1999 start for the Perry Barr ones. Some kind of record for an operator maybe?

Also, was 6021 the very last Mercedes bus in service for NX in the Midlands ? There have been Merc products on the road continuously since 1997 with the Minibuses and then 0405Ns etc. Not from today.

Still have the Health Bus

[Gareth]

Reading the comment above about being allowed to stay on the bus back to garage, reminded me of what was supposed to be the last Metrobus day in February 2010. When 2654 finished in service, we were allowed to stay on board and run back to Perry Barr. The remaining Metrobuses at AG were only going to stay as school service buses, but regularly ran in service until withdrawal a few months later.

[dingding]

Wish I had known about this!!

[V89MOA]

https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/last-bendi-bus-making-its-14434677
The day got a brief mention in the Coventry telegraph.

[JoNi]

Very enjoyable well done to NX. Some passengers were quite lively including a dude who didnt realise he could switch off the flash on his camera!

[Coventry Transport Dude]

Very enjoyable well done to NX. Some passengers were quite lively including a dude who didnt realise he could switch off the flash on his camera!

I learnt a lot about my Camera yesterday JoNi that i never even knew ???lol. (God only knows how many people i've blinded with that flash over the years ?lol).  I still haven't downloaded any of yesterdays photo's yet, so i dread to think what they're gonna turn out like when i do eventually do them ?  Will be very surprised if my interior shots on 6021 don't show its passengers all having red eyes (from my camera flash !), especially the bearded little old man with a woolly hat and a funny Southern accent (possibly a Kent one ?), who was sitting directly infront of Me when the flash went off !!!lol.

It certainly did turn out to be a good day though, on what fast became the party Bus that was 6021 ! (A great atmosphere and laugh all round was had on that Bus yesterday !).

[Shaunboyce2015]

Yesterday was a great day and I was honoured to drive the last bendy bus in service, glad you all enjoyed it and thanks for the mention aswell 👍

[Sandy Lane]

How long before the Bendies leave the depot for the last time? Do you think one of them could go for preservation?

[Steveminor]

It would be an extremely expensive hobby.

[Tony]

I believe there is an offer in for one of them, but NX are checking they don't need them anywhere else first

[JoNi]

Hey dude,
In Brighton on packed Bendibus with aircon full on like a fridge!
Glorious!