Hydrogen vehicles

[windy miller]

presumably  All hydros currently running on the 51 services?    are there any plans for these hydro buses  to work on other walsall based services?

[Solo1]

presumably  All hydros currently running on the 51 services?    are there any plans for these hydro buses  to work on other walsall based services?

think they are only allowed to run on 51 service 

[Stu]

So after a long wait, I was finally able to sample a ride on one of these Wright Hydroliner buses today.

From a passenger point of view, I found the experience a little disappointing.

Granted, it was nice to ride on a shiny 'new' bus, and I'm sure regular passengers may appreciate these more compared to the older Enviro400s.

I boarded and sat upstairs, compared to the BYD E400EVs, or even the E400MMCs, the interiors 'feel' a little more cramped, and darker too, no doubt due to the smaller windows. Headroom seems more restricted too. The seats also don't feel as comfortable to sit on either.

The ride was fairly smooth, though the vehicle was noticably noisier than the E400EVs are, especially once up to speed.

I don't know whether this was unique to the bus I travelled on (H1017), but the next-stop announcements were quiet, and sounded quite 'tinny', like being played through cheap speakers.

Others may have their own opinions of course, but I found this experience a little underwhelming to be honest.

[Tony]

So after a long wait, I was finally able to sample a ride on one of these Wright Hydroliner buses today.

From a passenger point of view, I found the experience a little disappointing.

Granted, it was nice to ride on a shiny 'new' bus, and I'm sure regular passengers may appreciate these more compared to the older Enviro400s.

I boarded and sat upstairs, compared to the BYD E400EVs, or even the E400MMCs, the interiors 'feel' a little more cramped, and darker too, no doubt due to the smaller windows. Headroom seems more restricted too. The seats also don't feel as comfortable to sit on either.

The ride was fairly smooth, though the vehicle was noticably noisier than the E400EVs are, especially once up to speed.

I don't know whether this was unique to the bus I travelled on (H1017), but the next-stop announcements were quiet, and sounded quite 'tinny', like being played through cheap speakers.

Others may have their own opinions of course, but I found this experience a little underwhelming to be honest.

Seats and legroom are identical, so not sure why the seat are less comfortable. Headroom is actually better, specially in the lower saloon (no mind your head notices on them). They are much better built than Alexander Dennis and I find the ride smoother on poor road surfaces. Most of the 51 route has recently been resurfaced so not much scope for pothole testing!

[GoldenSquid]

Will the Hydrogen Buses be out on weekends, or will they be out on weekdays only?

[cardew]

think they are only allowed to run on 51 service

If the cross city service is indeed at least 6 months away it would be a waste not to use them on other services in the meantime. It's not as if the 51 needs twenty buses.

[Westy]

If the cross city service is indeed at least 6 months away it would be a waste not to use them on other services in the meantime. It's not as if the 51 needs twenty buses.

Are they still training drivers?

[Tony]

Are they still training drivers?

No, as people leave they will have to be taken off the road because no one will be able to drive them.

[ellspurs]

If the cross city service is indeed at least 6 months away it would be a waste not to use them on other services in the meantime. It's not as if the 51 needs twenty buses.

I believe they're Birmingham City Council funded, so they'd want them at the very least to be on Birmingham services and not getting vandalised on the 29. I guess having them do X2 runs would be too wasteful unless they were temporarily rehomed in Birmingham somewhere, which would then bring the driver training issue into a more acute effect.

[Stu]

Seats and legroom are identical, so not sure why the seat are less comfortable. Headroom is actually better, specially in the lower saloon (no mind your head notices on them). They are much better built than Alexander Dennis and I find the ride smoother on poor road surfaces. Most of the 51 route has recently been resurfaced so not much scope for pothole testing!

I guess its all a matter of perception. The upper deck just didn't 'feel' as light and airy as on the E400EVs. I'm not the tallest of fellas, but just walking down the aisle, my head seemed closer to the ceiling than on other vehicles.

No complaints about the legroom though.

If I think back to my first experience of travelling on an E400MMC and then an E400EV, I was pretty impressed, so maybe my expectations were set a little too high on this occasion!

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they are necessarily 'bad' buses, will probably just take a little longer to get used to them.

[Tony]

I guess its all a matter of perception. The upper deck just didn't 'feel' as light and airy as on the E400EVs. I'm not the tallest of fellas, but just walking down the aisle, my head seemed closer to the ceiling than on other vehicles.

No complaints about the legroom though.

If I think back to my first experience of travelling on an E400MMC and then an E400EV, I was pretty impressed, so maybe my expectations were set a little too high on this occasion!

Don't get me wrong, I don't think they are necessarily 'bad' buses, will probably just take a little longer to get used to them.

The new EV's for Coventry have an improved seat over the original 'platinum' ones I haven't sat in one long enough to give an opinion on whether they are comfier, so something for discussion when they enter service

[DJ]

I don't know whether this was unique to the bus I travelled on (H1017), but the next-stop announcements were quiet, and sounded quite 'tinny', like being played through cheap speakers.

I did notice the same with the speakers when I last rode on one, back when they first entered service. Other than that, I was impressed, and they're a great improvement over the old E400s.

I've been saying for ages that newer ADL products are lacking when it comes to build quality, E400 MMCs in particular tend to rattle and creak a lot on the interior, whereas I don't notice anywhere near the same amount of issues with newer Wright products. They've definitely stepped up their game lately.

[mesub]

Is the "new bus smell" is there?

[Stu]

Is the "new bus smell" is there?

Sadly no, not after six months or so!

[Westy]

Don't suppose there's any chance of seeing one at Aston Manor this weekend is there?