Blackheath Bus Services

[Jack]

So you would rather have 14 year old Tridents that are almost at the end of their life than new MMCs?

Hardly at the end of their life when they've got Euro 6 traps and Crimson repaints and interiors... and those MMC's aren't even new, 3 years old isn't new at all, especially for a bus that does route that are busy quite often.

[2206]

Hardly at the end of their life when they've got Euro 6 traps and Crimson repaints and interiors... and those MMC's aren't even new, 3 years old isn't new at all, especially for a bus that does route that are busy quite often.

Whats wrong with the 3 year old MMC.
The ones at BC are still in a good internal condition from what I've seen, no different to the newer 69XX.
And these are mostly used on busy routes such as the X1/X2, X20/X21/X22 and 23/24.

[Jack]

Whats wrong with the 3 year old MMC.
The ones at BC are still in a good internal condition from what I've seen, no different to the newer 69XX.
And these are mostly used on busy routes.

What did I say was wrong with the 3 year old MMC's? Nothing, all I said was they wasn't new anymore.

[richardjones210368]

So you would rather have 14 year old Tridents that are almost at the end of their life than new MMCs?

Yes give me my PN Tridents or B7s back tomorrow on the 140 they were  reliable, never let me down and operated a quality service now I am stuck with over spec rubbish MMCs with stupid seats that when they actually turn up they often break down  so what would you chose to go to work on an old bus running half hourly that runs a reliable service you can rely on or the 20min frequency which is laughable with a heap of over spec rubbish that never turns up  when you want it the Plattys are the most stupid buses ever sourced for routes like the X8/140 I was always happy with a Leyland Lynx or B7 on the 140 not the rubbish that we have on it today. I hate the Plattys with all my heart give me the 13A E400s & Tridents any they are reliabile.

[2206]

Yes give me my PN Tridents or B7s back tomorrow on the 140 they were  reliable, never let me down and operated a quality service now I am stuck with over spec rubbish MMCs with stupid seats that when they actually turn up they often break down  so what would you chose to go to work on an old bus running half hourly that runs a reliable service you can rely on or the 20min frequency which is laughable with a heap of over spec rubbish that never turns up  when you want it the Plattys are the most stupid buses ever sourced for routes like the X8/140 I was always happy with a Leyland Lynx or B7 on the 140 not the rubbish that we have on it today. I hate the Plattys with all my heart give me the 13A E400s & Tridents any they are reliabile.

The ones I regularly use at BC don't break down regularly and I can rely on them . Don't know how often they actually break down, but I don't see them broken down more often than I see any other vehicle type broken down.

[richardjones210368]

The ones I regularly use at BC don't break down regularly and I can rely on them . Don't know how often they actually break down, but I don't see them broken down more often than I see any other vehicle type broken down.

The WN ones are utterly hopeless they remind me of the ex Hull Atlanteans we had on the 140 in.1976 that replaced the BMMO D9s along with the Hull.hulks the Plattys are the worst buses ever to operate on.the route on the 140(X8) even.more worse than a B6LE I can assure you

[BK63 YWP]

The WN ones are utterly hopeless they remind me of the ex Hull Atlanteans we had on the 140 in.1976 that replaced the BMMO D9s along with the Hull.hulks the Plattys are the worst buses ever to operate on.the route on the 140(X8) even.more worse than a B6LE I can assure you

I get platinums mixed in with E400 (63 plates) and hybrids on the 15 and never has one broke down on me. Saw a e400 brokedown on portway the other day and that's the first time I seen NX broke down on THAT route. 15/16/17 are quite reliable barring if roadworks in Stourbridge stop popping up and when the traffic is crap from Stourbridge to Wordsley during peaks.

No bus company is perfect goes for NX, Diamond and all the other operators in the Midlands. Compare the traffic levels between 2000 and 2019, it's got a lot worse hence all the rail/tram extensions, new stations etc to curb people using their car. Various events can take a bus out of action including diamond, shortage of drivers which diamond has got in Manchester that is causing short term problems , late minute sickness or passengers throwing up or spilling something etc.

[mesub]

The ones I regularly use at BC don't break down regularly and I can rely on them . Don't know how often they actually break down, but I don't see them broken down more often than I see any other vehicle type broken down.

One broke down this morning, but generally they are quite reliable.

[richardjones210368]

One broke down this morning, but generally they are quite reliable.

Not on the X8 they are not utter rubbish buses that are not fit for purpose the 15plate E400s on.the PN 9, 140 and 141 were far superior and joy to ride on the WN Plattys are only fit for the scrappers.

[Mike K]

The WN ones are utterly hopeless they remind me of the ex Hull Atlanteans we had on the 140 in.1976 that replaced the BMMO D9s along with the Hull.hulks the Plattys are the worst buses ever to operate on.the route on the 140(X8) even.more worse than a B6LE I can assure you

The Platinums, from a passenger perspective at least, are decent buses. Good seats, excellent legroom and generally decent build quality. I don't understand the issue with them and the WN ones are no different to others in the same batch.

[MW]

If Diamond are so much better than NX, then remind me why all their popular routes are joint with NX (4,4H,16,31,32 and the 50). They use 9-11 year old buses on their popular routes only the 50 and 226 have newer Euro 6 buses. They failed to compete with NX on the 17,37 and the 97. The only popular route that they have that isn't joint with NX is the 226 and that speaks volumes to me.

To be fair to Diamond, the rate of their growth percentage wise is far more than NX. They just invest in new markets rather than existing ones unlike NX who reinvest. In other words, compare Rotala 14 years ago to where they are now and then compare NX and then talk about what speaks volumes. Quality is obviously a trade off, but growth wise, they're doing very well.

[richardjones210368]

To be fair to Diamond, the rate of their growth percentage wise is far more than NX. They just invest in new markets rather than existing ones unlike NX who reinvest. In other words, compare Rotala 14 years ago to where they are now and then compare NX and then talk about what speaks volumes. Quality is obviously a trade off, but growth wise, they're doing very well.

Fair point the West Midlands is a hard market Rotala seem happy with little Organic Growth & Competitive Growth  but mainly growth by acquisitions typified in Stourbridge the new Government  and its AQP & EP's will be more to Rotalas Benefit than NEPLC. NEPLC have worked hard at the synergy's of scale at NXWM and been successfully but growth has still been only about 2%. The savage cuts on Hagley Rd Services on the 12 & 12A compared to the 120 & A and on the 13 & A compered to 127 & 128 and the 9 are well cloaked by the Platinum introductions on the 140 and 9 but there is no denying the PVR cut on the 9 from every 7 Min's to every 10 Min's with just 1 extra 140 per hour to Quinton instead. Its clever but very bad news for passengers as the drive for margins for shareholders outweighs the needs of customers which is why EPs and AQPs will be so important under the new government. The reason I do not like NXWM.so much is because the so called reviews they have mask massive cuts to its core network each time its a very clever PR look at Lion Farm cut from 3 120A's & 2 289s to 4 3s as & 4 140/241 to 3 X8s with the 9 every 10Min's instead of 7 Min's. Clever marketing poor poor results for passengers NXWM is a nasty company running a poor service overall due to its savage synergy's of scale and obsessive vertical integration I hate it

[richardjones210368]

The Platinum's, from a passenger perspective at least, are decent buses. Good seats, excellent legroom and generally decent build quality. I don't understand the issue with them and the WN ones are no different to others in the same batch.

Vile buses with horrid seats that sweat you in summer so dark inside its like being down a coal mine with so many rattles they out do a snake they harbour bad behaviour at the upper rear and are so unreliable give me the old PN 15 plate E400 any day or the B7S nice and comfy they are the worst buses on the 140 since the 1976 Hull Atlanteans how anyone can see these as an improvement on a Trident is beyond me they are just a third rate gimmick and were stuck with the vile hulks of scrap on the X8.

[Trident 4194]

The Platinums, from a passenger perspective at least, are decent buses. Good seats, excellent legroom and generally decent build quality. I don't understand the issue with them and the WN ones are no different to others in the same batch.

Not the best build quality in my opinion. Fair bit of rattles - and no not just on Quinton road where the road is an atrocious state.
See a fair few breakdowns on them too, not sure if that's because how many there are though. Certainly can fly on roads - X8 drivers drive them very fast down the hagley road from my experience

[Jack]

The Platinums are decent buses, the only gripe is the back seats on the older ones (2015 examples) have now gone rock hard after carrying busy loads. But I guess that's to be expected.
I have seen the 2016 ones break down the most out of the rest of the other Platinums.