West Bromwich Garage

[MW]

I believe the exclusion area now excludes the complete 1 route, so the 1 can keep its Presidents

;D

Am I right then in thinking that this 'exclusion' zone is just within the inner ring road then?

The 1 is an interesting one, as the off peak runs are extended to the Town Hall, so surely it can't be operated by Presidents but Tony's comment suggests the Town Hall is in the exclusion area.

Michael, it looks as though you were right, and looking more likely that Presidents will have be used on the 11A/11C, surely this can only be a interim measure what with the Outer Circle being a famous route, and new double deckers can be ordered later in the year.

Problem is, I can't yet see what's going to replace the remaining Presidents at BC?, unless they intend to replace the Presidents with new B7RLE single deckers temporarily, but I can't see that going down well with passengers on any of BC's routes as they are get so busy

As West Brom seem to be getting more AG gemini's will it mean the presidents will move to AG in return as a swop

No, West Brom are losing B6LE/Mercs and gaining Deckers, to make the 128/129 into a double deck operation. It would be pointless if they were in exchange for Presidents.

I reckon AG will be getting a shed load of ex BC Presidents in the next coming months for use on routes not visiting Birmingham. Having said that, routes like the 1 & 31 have to be operated by Geminis, and with most of the 45** batch left AG, it seems the BX54 ones will be used, with the Presidents on the 11A/C.

A possibly swap is between AG-PB-BC (Geminis, ALX400s, Presidents) or perhaps Walsall as suggested. I think that a possible trade with Wolverhampton is likely, with Presidents moving over there in exchange for Tridents, as that would be easier.

[Stu]

If the inner ring road is the 'borderline', then yes even the 1 would be 'safe', as it terminates on Paradise Circus, on the inner ring road.

And yes, PB could be another transfer option, as they already operate Geminis, but I believe they don't have any Tridents either, but the similar B7TL ALX400s, don't know how much different they are to the Tridents, but they would be non-standard at BC.

I don't work in fleet management, so I'm no expert on the subject  :P, but the more I think about it, as a short-term measure, seeing as NXWM have been investing money in repainting and repairing the Presidents recently, it does make sense that a large number of the Presidents could in time well end up at Wolverhampton garage, who only operate one route into Birmingham (the 126), maybe used to withdraw the awful Optare Spectras, then you'd see their Tridents cascaded elsewhere to garages that already use them, or the similar ALX400 B7TLs..

[KayP]

I think the B7s meet euro emmissions, because they're used on quite a few services in Birmingham... 16, 74, 75, 80, 82, 87, 94, 115, 907...
This is irrelevant, but can someone explain to me why the 9 and 126 don't have a joint Monday-Saturday frequency along the Hagley Road, they have similar frequencies and go the same way from Hagley Road - Colmore Row, just seems strange to me.

[Ossie]

Will the emission requirements affect operators like Sunny, Joes, VIP, Central Connect who run into the city centre, or are they exempt?

[Tony]

Yes it will include any operator wanting to run a service of a frequency greater than every 30 min. Most of VIPs fleet are OK anyway

[Ossie]

Cheers, Tony, thanks for that.

[Stu]

Information here:
http://www.centro.org.uk/newsroom/PressReleases/PressRelease17143.aspx

[MW]

If the inner ring road is the 'borderline', then yes even the 1 would be 'safe', as it terminates on Paradise Circus, on the inner ring road.

And yes, PB could be another transfer option, as they already operate Geminis, but I believe they don't have any Tridents either, but the similar B7TL ALX400s, don't know how much different they are to the Tridents, but they would be non-standard at BC.

I don't work in fleet management, so I'm no expert on the subject  :P, but the more I think about it, as a short-term measure, seeing as NXWM have been investing money in repainting and repairing the Presidents recently, it does make sense that a large number of the Presidents could in time well end up at Wolverhampton garage, who only operate one route into Birmingham (the 126), maybe used to withdraw the awful Optare Spectras, then you'd see their Tridents cascaded elsewhere to garages that already use them, or the similar ALX400 B7TLs..

The inner road is pretty much the 8A/C route isn't it? The A4540, which the 1 crosses at Five Ways, which is why I said it'd be interesting because the 1 crosses the border only at off peak times.

As for the ALX400s, well BC drivers should pretty much all be type trained on the Volvo variants shouldn't they? (except ones that transferred from Lea Hall), Especially as the already operate Presidents, which are very similar in the cabin.

It's a possibility I suppose.

I think the B7s meet euro emmissions, because they're used on quite a few services in Birmingham... 16, 74, 75, 80, 82, 87, 94, 115, 907...
This is irrelevant, but can someone explain to me why the 9 and 126 don't have a joint Monday-Saturday frequency along the Hagley Road, they have similar frequencies and go the same way from Hagley Road - Colmore Row, just seems strange to me.

The 126 links the Bull Ring markets with the rest of the city, along with the 16 and 37 (well it did the last time I was in the City like a year ago!) so it operates a different way into the city.

[Tony]

No - The 8 operates around the 'Middle' ring road, not the inner.

The 126 does not go around the city, just onto Colmore Row the same as the 9, 22, 23, 140 & 141

[uniquicity]

What is the PVR of the Outer Circle? 40 ish?

[Ossie]

This is irrelevant, but can someone explain to me why the 9 and 126 don't have a joint Monday-Saturday frequency along the Hagley Road, they have similar frequencies and go the same way from Hagley Road - Colmore Row, just seems strange to me.

I think that the 9 has a slightly higher overall frequency, i.e. 7 buses/hour daytime compared to the 126's 6/hour.  I know that the 9 and the 141 often seem in practice to run in convoy!

[Tony]

What is the PVR of the Outer Circle? 40 ish?

Just over

[MW]

No - The 8 operates around the 'Middle' ring road, not the inner.

The 126 does not go around the city, just onto Colmore Row the same as the 9, 22, 23, 140 & 141

Ah, getting mixed up with the 'Inner Circle' and Middle Ring Road.

The 126 used to go around then, shows how long I haven't been into the City for!

[MW]

What is the PVR of the Outer Circle? 40 ish?

Just over

42 I think it is.

[uniquicity]

Cheers. Just doing some rough 'calculations'.