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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2018 20:24:21 GMT
Welcome to this new forum where you can post anything related to Brighton & Hove bus company!
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Post by N230UD on Jan 4, 2018 23:41:26 GMT
I went there a few days ago, and once again their service was really excellent. I do hear from others that they are not as good as they used to be in Roger French days, but thats not been my experience. They also contrast greatly to many other operators in the South East.
From an enthusiasts point of view, they have some of the best routes in the South East. That is the 12/13X coastal route to Eastbourne (particularly the 13X along Beachy Head) - although the vehicles on this route are certainly not my favourite. Also the long 29 route to Tunbridge Wells - beautiful rural scenery, and some really good thrash in places! Also the 77 route to the Devil's d**e.
Their urban routes arn't particularly interesting (although, compared to many towns, they still have great views and very hilly in places). 25/25X is good though because of the articulated Citaros - feels very alien to me to be on bendybuses in the UK!
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Post by vjaska on Jan 5, 2018 2:37:09 GMT
I went there a few days ago, and once again their service was really excellent. I do hear from others that they are not as good as they used to be in Roger French days, but thats not been my experience. They also contrast greatly to many other operators in the South East. From an enthusiasts point of view, they have some of the best routes in the South East. That is the 12/13X coastal route to Eastbourne (particularly the 13X along Beachy Head) - although the vehicles on this route are certainly not my favourite. Also the long 29 route to Tunbridge Wells - beautiful rural scenery, and some really good thrash in places! Also the 77 route to the Devil's d**e. Their urban routes arn't particularly interesting (although, compared to many towns, they still have great views and very hilly in places). 25/25X is good though because of the articulated Citaros - feels very alien to me to be on bendybuses in the UK! Having used them in both pre Roger French & post Roger French era's, there is little difference personally and I still think, like yourself, they are head & shoulders above a lot of other local operators. The 12X is a great route but the vehicles on it are so unsuitable for it - the Streetdecks simply don't have enough power for the many steep climbs on the route particularly the amazing climb out of Eastbourne. I honestly can see these coming off it and being retired to more sedate urban work. That said, Brighton is full of hills itself so even the ones on the 1, 7 & as well as the two recently converted routes I can't remember, they would still struggle with that underpowered engine. I've always wanted to do the 29 & 77 but never got around to doing it. I did do the 21 when it was the only route left allocated the excellent R HCD reg Scania Cityzen's - now there's a bus that could climb hills I also went on the 56? which was a MPD route which literally served every single hill going in the residential areas surrounding Brighton - it was fun though. There's others I've done but I just can't remember them - the Omnilinks are an experience from the back seat if your quite tall though
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Post by snoggle on Jan 5, 2018 10:18:50 GMT
The 12 and 29 are the only routes I've done to any extent in Brighton. I've done a short hop on the 7 too. The 29 is quite a ride although the seats on the Scanias have seen better days to be honest. The full route on a rather plank like seat is not exactly wonderful but the views are good and being able to go more than 10 mph on a bus is fun.
The 12 was in disarray when I used it. I sensibly didn't board the first bus out of Eastbourne as it ended up being rammed full and stopped everywhere. The later bus I was on had a rather quicker, less crowded run back to Brighton.
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Post by zebedee104 on Jan 6, 2018 8:48:38 GMT
Fortunately the 29 uses Geminis now in a really nice version of the new livery (gold base with purple). We did a day from London by going to Tunbridge Wells on the train and using B&H’s Key Smartcard to do the full 29 into Brighton, a great run (especially coming back as we got the peak only 29X even-more limited stop version)
I lived in Brighton back in the 90s so like to get back from time to time. The operation doesn’t seem as slick as it used to, traffic is getting worse to the point where routes are regularly curtailed to the Old Steine instead of Churchill Square, the 12 being particularly prone to this.
Fleet wise there’s still a bit of variety though which is nice from an enthusiast point of view. The new dual door Streetdecks going into the 7 and 49 are better than the ones on the 12 being full height and with a better engine, the originals are gutless as has been said already in the thread.
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Post by wirewiper on Jan 6, 2018 14:37:04 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if new vehicles were introduced on the 12 group in the next couple of years with the Streetdecks reallocated elsewhere in the Go-Ahead Empire (preferably somewhere flat!).
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Post by vjaska on Jan 6, 2018 15:16:30 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if new vehicles were introduced on the 12 group in the next couple of years with the Streetdecks reallocated elsewhere in the Go-Ahead Empire (preferably somewhere flat!). Fingers crossed - would be great if they just swapped them with B9TL’s in the fleet or purchase some B5TL’s instead.
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Post by John tuthill on Jan 6, 2018 16:07:37 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if new vehicles were introduced on the 12 group in the next couple of years with the Streetdecks reallocated elsewhere in the Go-Ahead Empire (preferably somewhere flat!). Fingers crossed - would be great if they just swapped them with B9TL’s in the fleet or purchase some B5TL’s instead.
Or even better if it were this type!! Happy Days Attachment Deleted(Not my photo)
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Post by redexpress on Jan 6, 2018 17:11:13 GMT
I wouldn't be surprised if new vehicles were introduced on the 12 group in the next couple of years with the Streetdecks reallocated elsewhere in the Go-Ahead Empire (preferably somewhere flat!). That would be nice, but it's worth noting that they've just introduced an extra 3 Streetdecks to the 12s, so it doesn't look as if the company view them as being unsuitable. At least they're not as bad as those awful low-height things on the 1s. Sounds as if they're still having trouble with congestion on the 12. I used it once from Eastbourne last summer - ended up waiting over an hour for a bus on the seafront. Turns out most of the buses were curtailing in the town centre because of congestion, but not being local I wasn't aware of that practice. At one point I called them to ask what was going on; the helpful lady on the phone spoke to the controllers, who promised that there would be a bus at the Pier within 10 minutes. That turned out to be a big fat lie! When I called again the lady was most apologetic, but said "the controllers don't like being told what to do" The silver lining, when the bus eventually turned up, was that it was a nice B9TL instead of a Streetdeck, but my opinion of B&H went down quite a bit that day.
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Post by vjaska on Jan 6, 2018 17:18:53 GMT
Fortunately the 29 uses Geminis now in a really nice version of the new livery (gold base with purple). We did a day from London by going to Tunbridge Wells on the train and using B&H’s Key Smartcard to do the full 29 into Brighton, a great run (especially coming back as we got the peak only 29X even-more limited stop version) I lived in Brighton back in the 90s so like to get back from time to time. The operation doesn’t seem as slick as it used to, traffic is getting worse to the point where routes are regularly curtailed to the Old Steine instead of Churchill Square, the 12 being particularly prone to this. Fleet wise there’s still a bit of variety though which is nice from an enthusiast point of view. The new dual door Streetdecks going into the 7 and 49 are better than the ones on the 12 being full height and with a better engine, the originals are gutless as has been said already in the thread. The ones on the 12 are full height models whereas the ones on the 1 are low height. What's the power rating of the 1's Streetdecks & 7's Streetdecks compared to the 12 groups Streetdecks?
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Post by zebedee104 on Jan 7, 2018 8:21:06 GMT
No idea about power of the new ones as I have no interest in engines, gearboxes or the engineering side of buses, my interest is in their operation (scheduling, etc.J ... not meant as an insult btw. They just /feel/ better suited to Brighton conditions than the original batch. Guess the proof of the pudding would be if one ever did the 12!
I’d totally forgotten about the 12 batch being full height as well as I tend to stay in the city more when I’m down there - the 12 is a total nightmare of a route as it’s an OAP day out route with their passes. Thanks for the correction.
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Post by planesandtrains on Jan 7, 2018 11:20:11 GMT
No idea about power of the new ones as I have no interest in engines, gearboxes or the engineering side of buses, my interest is in their operation (scheduling, etc.J ... not meant as an insult btw. They just /feel/ better suited to Brighton conditions than the original batch. Guess the proof of the pudding would be if one ever did the 12! I’d totally forgotten about the 12 batch being full height as well as I tend to stay in the city more when I’m down there - the 12 is a total nightmare of a route as it’s an OAP day out route with their passes. Thanks for the correction. Not only that, but the 12 attracts tourists going pub hopping and visiting tourist attractions such as Beachy Head and the Severn Sisters. Not to mention many just go to ride it because it's a beautiful route in places.
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Post by vjaska on Jan 7, 2018 12:40:15 GMT
No idea about power of the new ones as I have no interest in engines, gearboxes or the engineering side of buses, my interest is in their operation (scheduling, etc.J ... not meant as an insult btw. They just /feel/ better suited to Brighton conditions than the original batch. Guess the proof of the pudding would be if one ever did the 12! I’d totally forgotten about the 12 batch being full height as well as I tend to stay in the city more when I’m down there - the 12 is a total nightmare of a route as it’s an OAP day out route with their passes. Thanks for the correction. No insult taken, we've all got different things we like after all. Gearboxes and engines is what primarily got me into buses over time which is probably why I generally ask about them more. I'm more of a novice with scheduling and that side of things though I should really try and learn more about it in all honesty.
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Post by redexpress on Jan 7, 2018 13:25:09 GMT
No idea about power of the new ones as I have no interest in engines, gearboxes or the engineering side of buses, my interest is in their operation (scheduling, etc.J ... not meant as an insult btw. They just /feel/ better suited to Brighton conditions than the original batch. Guess the proof of the pudding would be if one ever did the 12! I’d totally forgotten about the 12 batch being full height as well as I tend to stay in the city more when I’m down there - the 12 is a total nightmare of a route as it’s an OAP day out route with their passes. Thanks for the correction. No idea if they have different engine specs, but the 12's vehicles are longer than the ones on the 1, 7 etc., so should be a bit heavier. It'll be interesting to see if the three new Streetdecks on the 12 are any better than the original batch.
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Post by ohdear on Jan 7, 2018 23:41:54 GMT
There seems to be a very strange reluctance to try any other manufactures vehicles.
However whatever is thought of the streetdecks B&H appear to be happy with them.
When I use them to and from Eastbourne they do get up he hills so they are doing their job.
Unless anyone knows different .......................
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