Arriva take over Midland

[PM]

They should send all but about 2 or 3 buses straight for scrap-or sell them to VIP/Travel Express/GRS-which is essentially the same as selling them for scrap :D

[ARRIVA CK SI]

Fleet numbers are not going to be easy for me to remember now there all over the place,fleet numbers were much easier to remember when with MIDLAND

[andy]

Totally agree with Bob. NEWEST is 8 years!!!!! And theres only one vehicle this age

There are only two vehicles with the 'new style' registrations introduced in 2001, 11 years ago, tells you how bad it is

I can see 6?

I'm sure Arriva have made the acquisition for the contracts and presence, not the old Darts and Solos. They have proved elsewhere that they are not afraid to invest in large amounts of new stock and I would be amazed if some new buses dont arrive for Cannock and Midland at some point in the near future, although I'm sure there will be a minor amount of experimenting before the whole thing settles down.

Why do people on here always go straight for the jugular when it comes to the state / age of Arriva vehicles when there are photos appearing on a daily basis of the likes of NXWM's 1643, and that is just one of many examples.

Arriva get lambasted for the state of theirs yet a knackered and awfully presented NX vehicle is celebrated as a classic and cherished. I'm not defending either operator, if they put scrap on the road they should be fair game but a bit of balance guys please!

[PM]

Totally agree with Bob. NEWEST is 8 years!!!!! And theres only one vehicle this age

There are only two vehicles with the 'new style' registrations introduced in 2001, 11 years ago, tells you how bad it is

I can see 6?

I'm sure Arriva have made the acquisition for the contracts and presence, not the old Darts and Solos. They have proved elsewhere that they are not afraid to invest in large amounts of new stock and I would be amazed if some new buses dont arrive for Cannock and Midland at some point in the near future, although I'm sure there will be a minor amount of experimenting before the whole thing settles down.

Why do people on here always go straight for the jugular when it comes to the state / age of Arriva vehicles when there are photo's appearing on a daily basis of the likes of NXWM's 1643, and that is just one of many examples.

Arriva get lambasted for the state of theirs yet a knackered and awfully presented NX vehicle is celebrated as a classic and cherished. I'm not defending either operator, if they put scrap on the road they should be fair game but a bit of balance guys please!

I agree with Andy when it comes to why they bought Midlands. Some NXWM buses are not perfect however tatty mercs and b6s and b10ls-most really arent tatty-are amazing buses unlike darts and solos. Ok, maybe not b6s but you get the drift. Its not just the state of arriva's buses-they are overall a lot worse such as the b10bles are newer than nxwm's b10ls but you definitely wouldnt think so! But also, NXWM's buses are better-no darts with flimsy pointer bodies, no mpds and the darts we have are epic

[John]

Wouldn't it make more sense to operate the 560 from wednesfield

They may change it in the future, when Arriva have settled into the operations at Wednesfield. It would make a lot more sense.

[Bob]

Totally agree with Bob. NEWEST is 8 years!!!!! And theres only one vehicle this age

There are only two vehicles with the 'new style' registrations introduced in 2001, 11 years ago, tells you how bad it is

I can see 6

I'm sure Arriva have made the acquisition for the contracts and presence, not the old Darts and Solos. They have proved elsewhere that they are not afraid to invest in large amounts of new stock and I would be amazed if some new buses dont arrive for Cannock and Midland at some point in the near future, although I'm sure there will be a minor amount of experimenting before the whole thing settles down.

Why do people on here always go straight for the jugular when it comes to the state / age of Arriva vehicles when there are photos appearing on a daily basis of the likes of NXWM's 1643, and that is just one of many examples.

Arriva get lambasted for the state of theirs yet a knackered and awfully presented NX vehicle is celebrated as a classic and cherished. I'm not defending either operator, if they put scrap on the road they should be fair game but a bit of balance guys please!

Midland? Presence?? What a handful of low rent two bit routes?

[andy]

Totally agree with Bob. NEWEST is 8 years!!!!! And theres only one vehicle this age

There are only two vehicles with the 'new style' registrations introduced in 2001, 11 years ago, tells you how bad it is

I can see 6?

I'm sure Arriva have made the acquisition for the contracts and presence, not the old Darts and Solos. They have proved elsewhere that they are not afraid to invest in large amounts of new stock and I would be amazed if some new buses dont arrive for Cannock and Midland at some point in the near future, although I'm sure there will be a minor amount of experimenting before the whole thing settles down.

Why do people on here always go straight for the jugular when it comes to the state / age of Arriva vehicles when there are photo's appearing on a daily basis of the likes of NXWM's 1643, and that is just one of many examples.

Arriva get lambasted for the state of theirs yet a knackered and awfully presented NX vehicle is celebrated as a classic and cherished. I'm not defending either operator, if they put scrap on the road they should be fair game but a bit of balance guys please!

I agree with Andy when it comes to why they bought Midlands. Some NXWM buses are not perfect however tatty mercs and b6s and b10ls-most really arent tatty-are amazing buses unlike darts and solos. Ok, maybe not b6s but you get the drift. Its not just the state of arriva's buses-they are overall a lot worse such as the b10bles are newer than nxwm's b10ls but you definitely wouldnt think so! But also, NXWM's buses are better-no darts with flimsy pointer bodies, no mpds and the darts we have are epic

OK I'm going to bite the bullet and say it, and watch my karma score plummet.....The NX B10L's are complete sheds that should have been up the road a long time ago. Does anybody here ever actually have to travel on one like I do?

[vinh1000]

Totally agree with Bob. NEWEST is 8 years!!!!! And theres only one vehicle this age

There are only two vehicles with the 'new style' registrations introduced in 2001, 11 years ago, tells you how bad it is

I can see 6?

I'm sure Arriva have made the acquisition for the contracts and presence, not the old Darts and Solos. They have proved elsewhere that they are not afraid to invest in large amounts of new stock and I would be amazed if some new buses dont arrive for Cannock and Midland at some point in the near future, although I'm sure there will be a minor amount of experimenting before the whole thing settles down.

Why do people on here always go straight for the jugular when it comes to the state / age of Arriva vehicles when there are photo's appearing on a daily basis of the likes of NXWM's 1643, and that is just one of many examples.

Arriva get lambasted for the state of theirs yet a knackered and awfully presented NX vehicle is celebrated as a classic and cherished. I'm not defending either operator, if they put scrap on the road they should be fair game but a bit of balance guys please!

I agree with Andy when it comes to why they bought Midlands. Some NXWM buses are not perfect however tatty mercs and b6s and b10ls-most really arent tatty-are amazing buses unlike darts and solos. Ok, maybe not b6s but you get the drift. Its not just the state of arriva's buses-they are overall a lot worse such as the b10bles are newer than nxwm's b10ls but you definitely wouldnt think so! But also, NXWM's buses are better-no darts with flimsy pointer bodies, no mpds and the darts we have are epic

OK I'm going to bite the bullet and say it, and watch my karma score plummet.....The NX B10L's are complete sheds that should have been up the road a long time ago. Does anybody here ever actually have to travel on one like I do?

Get them frequently on my local bus route :L

[Bob]

The NXWM ones despite being 3-4 years older are in LOADS better nick than the V reg Arriva ones! Threadbare seats tired sounding engines, one of them has got masking tape on keeping a window secure! So the Midland tat should fit right in

[2200 Bus]

The NXWM ones despite being 3-4 years older are in LOADS better nick than the V reg Arriva ones! Threadbare seats tired sounding engines, one of them has got masking tape on keeping a window secure! So the Midland tat should fit right in

I'd very highly doubt they'd send a bus out with masking tape holding a window in place, the NXWM ones are awful with fag burned seats, sluggish performance and etched windows you can't see out off

[Bob]

Yes they do have one with masking tape, V609 DBC , i think thats the one. Ive been on it. Etched windows, etc fag burns, none of Walsalls are that bad, must be the ones that go through the trampier  areas of Brum. Its the scummier element of passengers that etch windows etc

[sconehead85]

Well if and when Cannock get new or newer vehicles , put them in my "Arriva Cannock depot happenings thread" !

sconehead85

[PM]

The NXWM ones despite being 3-4 years older are in LOADS better nick than the V reg Arriva ones! Threadbare seats tired sounding engines, one of them has got masking tape on keeping a window secure! So the Midland tat should fit right in

Totally agree. The NXWM ones-even before many were refurbed are tonnes better than the v....dbc's. These are complete sheds not the nxwm ones. The seats are really threadbare, they rattle, the engines sound worn out-tbf theyve probably done more miles relative to their age than the NXWM ones as there mostly on interurban as opposed to urban routes but still

[andy]

The NXWM ones despite being 3-4 years older are in LOADS better nick than the V reg Arriva ones! Threadbare seats tired sounding engines, one of them has got masking tape on keeping a window secure! So the Midland tat should fit right in

Totally agree. The NXWM ones-even before many were refurbed are tonnes better than the v....dbc's. These are complete sheds not the nxwm ones. The seats are really threadbare, they rattle, the engines sound worn out-tbf theyve probably done more miles relative to their age than the NXWM ones as there mostly on interurban as opposed to urban routes but still

Guys, you're missing the point, which is that these buses are well past their sell by date and give an extremely poor image, doing nothing to entice commuters out of their cars. This is the problem I am talking about. It shouldn't be about a competition between Arriva and NX to see who's Volvos are the least awful!  The days of running around on 15 year old boneshakers should be gone.

[PM]

The NXWM ones despite being 3-4 years older are in LOADS better nick than the V reg Arriva ones! Threadbare seats tired sounding engines, one of them has got masking tape on keeping a window secure! So the Midland tat should fit right in

Totally agree. The NXWM ones-even before many were refurbed are tonnes better than the v....dbc's. These are complete sheds not the nxwm ones. The seats are really threadbare, they rattle, the engines sound worn out-tbf theyve probably done more miles relative to their age than the NXWM ones as there mostly on interurban as opposed to urban routes but still

Guys, you're missing the point, which is that these buses are well past their sell by date and give an extremely poor image, doing nothing to entice commuters out of their cars. This is the problem I am talking about. It shouldn't be about a competition between Arriva and NX to see who's Volvos are the least awful!  The days of running around on 15 year old boneshakers should be gone.

I broadly agree with you. However, as I have said before, we mustnt get too worked up about vehicle age more about vehicle condition. As, for instance, with Go North East's refurbished T.... CBW renowns, as they have been refurbed, passengers often imagine them to be new or newish buses.