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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Aug 11, 2018 14:46:33 GMT
What’s the Solaris Urbino like? I actually had one fake example when I owned a few operators as part of a paperbus fantasy site. They can be on either Voith or ZF, I liked the Voith one better *if* my gearbox estimation was right in the first place The older ones seemed to be more interesting in general. The current ones in Olkusz, some of them are quite clapped out, at least one must've had a blocked exhaust as it was making farting noises every so often I have it captured on film somewhere, so at some point will share I can't help but to wonder if the shoddy maintenance wasn't the reason why 2 went up in flames in winter, as I mentioned before... They are okay but not as good as Citaros. There is also an electric variant, which was rather plain; and hybrid - which astonishingly proved a total beast and best hybrid bus I've ever done That was among MPK Kraków fleet, last summer. An evening journey on route 172 btw
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Post by busaholic on Aug 11, 2018 21:35:36 GMT
I'm also back in Poland, but other than 4 minibuses + 1 bus, I haven't done much at all so far But at least I got a shot I'm happy with: Over the winter, they've somehow managed to let 2 buses burn, so the above Solaris Urbino 12 (longer than usual 10s!) and another example were drafted in. And now shock horror - the entire municipal fleet of my hometown of Olkusz is due to get replaced with new stuff! Here's a note I made earlier: 23 buses to be purchased. Ergonomic seats, air conditioned, ticket machines, CCTV, and accessibility means for elders and the disabled. Will also have GPS units, wifi and USB sockets. Bigger buses will be from Solaris and smaller from Autosan. Biggest stops will also have countdown displays installed.Urm, that means a town of just over 40K inhabitants in south of Poland will have buses to a better spec than TfL First, congratulations on your new appointment within the forum - I'm sure you weren't just a Random choice.
Second, I don't know whether you, or others who might be interested, know that the Spanish manufacturer CAF signed a deal in July to buy Solaris Bus and Coach. CAF are known for trams, so buses will be a new venture for them. It's subject to regulatory approval from Polish and German governments.
Third, just a personal reflection of when I worked for London Transport getting on for fifty years ago, at 55 Broadway and a few other offices. I often came across Polish men (there were never any women) of around 50 to 60 years old working there, particularly on the Underground side, most of whom I might add were extremely hard-working and delightful people, and when I once asked why, in those still pre-Common Market days in this country, why LT employed so many Poles I was told that the Managing Director (Underground) Charles Cope had been in the RAF during the Second World War, had flown with many Poles and had a very high opinion of them such that those of them who requested and were allowed to stay in this country after the war were guaranteed an office job by him: I believe his brother John was second-in-command and effectively head of personnel recruitment. I've never seen any of this in writing, so can't verify the truth of it, but the person who told me this I trusted implicitly and he was quite high-ranking himself. I hope that might be of interest, but, if not, sorry to stray off topic.
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Aug 28, 2018 10:55:39 GMT
First, congratulations on your new appointment within the forum - I'm sure you weren't just a Random choice. Second, I don't know whether you, or others who might be interested, know that the Spanish manufacturer CAF signed a deal in July to buy Solaris Bus and Coach. CAF are known for trams, so buses will be a new venture for them. It's subject to regulatory approval from Polish and German governments. Thank you, and sorry for the late response. Yes I've heard of the CAF takeover. That don't seem too good. There are few major native Polish companies as it is, and we've just lost one of the most notable ones in my eyes. Shame to see really. Wonder what that means for the future of the buses they make... And nice to hear the story. The Polish link with the UK is wayyyy older than the EU days, something I think many people don't realise
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Post by John tuthill on Aug 28, 2018 12:49:47 GMT
First, congratulations on your new appointment within the forum - I'm sure you weren't just a Random choice. Second, I don't know whether you, or others who might be interested, know that the Spanish manufacturer CAF signed a deal in July to buy Solaris Bus and Coach. CAF are known for trams, so buses will be a new venture for them. It's subject to regulatory approval from Polish and German governments. Thank you, and sorry for the late response. Yes I've heard of the CAF takeover. That don't seem too good. There are few major native Polish companies as it is, and we've just lost one of the most notable ones in my eyes. Shame to see really. Wonder what that means for the future of the buses they make... And nice to hear the story. The Polish link with the UK is wayyyy older than the EU days, something I think many people don't realise A visit to the war memorial at Northolt on the A40 would be a good starting point
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Post by busaholic on Aug 28, 2018 15:56:33 GMT
Thank you, and sorry for the late response. Yes I've heard of the CAF takeover. That don't seem too good. There are few major native Polish companies as it is, and we've just lost one of the most notable ones in my eyes. Shame to see really. Wonder what that means for the future of the buses they make... And nice to hear the story. The Polish link with the UK is wayyyy older than the EU days, something I think many people don't realise A visit to the war memorial at Northolt on the A40 would be a good starting point The three Polish-born people I particularly remember in my L.T. days all lived in either Ealing or Hounslow boroughs.
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