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Post by eggmiester on Aug 30, 2011 20:06:45 GMT
Shame the same doesn't apply to newer ones, which roar whenever. Btw what is the engine size and horsepower of the ELS's on the 42. Horsepower is 230 or 270 bhp on a nine litre engine, same units as their DD. Being a 02 reg though, i'm not sure if they have five or six cylinders (five cylinders being the newer engine). The ELS's are first production Scania Omnitowns on the N94UB Chassis so will have the 6 Cylinder engine also used in the N94UD Omnidekkas.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 29, 2011 19:33:23 GMT
VAS is a Stagecoach term for Vehicle Allocation Supervisor, they appear to allocate buses and attend/substitute broken buses to evaluate the situation for the engineers. Only happen to know as I bumped into one last year and asked the same question ;d We have them at Go-ahead as well, but we just call them Allocators. As far as i know.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 27, 2011 0:17:14 GMT
Depends what youre looking for.
Go-ahead - if youre looking for a professionl approach, clean and modern vehicles. RM, RML, and DRM (doored) available, as well as Open toppers. Not Cheap however!!!
The London Bus Company - if you're looking for a varied choice, a more Sedate appearence, and traditional looks. Thier prices are not too bad either and i do see thier buses a lot so they do get a hell of a lot of work.
Sullivan Buses - Varied fleet old and modern, buses only i beleive though. Not sure of thier pricing structure.
Ensign - again Varied choice, Modern or Vintage. Again not sure on thier pricing.
Travelmasters - if youre looking for Cheap No Frills Coach Hire. They also have some ex london B7TL's so can hire them out as well. Reasonable Prices.
Go-Coach (not related to Go-Ahead) - if youre after modern Coach or Bus hire. They also have an RM. Not Sure what thier prices are like.
DJ Coaches - Very Popular round SE london and north Kent. Coach and Minibus hire, see thier vehicles a lot. Prices arent too bad either so i'm told.
The Little Bus Company - Used them personally, Seriously no frills bus hire, very cheap, but you get what you pay for!! None the less they will go anywhere, friend of mine booked them to take 20 of us to Brighton for a night out, they turned up on time as booked, with a Dennis Dart! None the less it got us there and back no problem!
Traditional Travel - Run by a family of Bus enthusiasts, have a couple of RM's they hire out. Very Professional looking and reasonable prices.
Then you have the usual Coach operators (if its coaches youre after) like Clarkes, Kings Ferry (now National Express owned), Reliance nd Redwing (Addison Lee owned). All very Clean and professional but all very expensive.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 21, 2011 23:48:58 GMT
Sunday 21st August Southeastern, Lewisham - Hayes Go-ahead with: DWL25 - BX SE66 - BX (Loaned from BV) SE70 - BX (my bus ) SE73 - BX SE82 - BX SE83 - BX SE84 - BX DP192 - NX LDP274 - NX LDP276 - NX
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 16, 2011 14:27:00 GMT
9735 was an odd one. It had severe impediments on itss acceleration between 0-20mph, then all of a sudden the turbo would come on and it accelerated normally. It would seem the majority of the Tridents are revving normally now. 9759 was probably the worst for overrevving, now been fixed. 9757 is still a very powerful bus, it has the same aggressive acceleration that 9764 had. It's no longer in transition. 9765 is also an overrevver. 9770 is still overrevving and has picked up that strange flapping type sound that 9764 had. 9765 is in a very advanced stage of transition and 9754 is also in the transition stage. I think the rest of them are normal now? Pondering which garage I will apply for if my PCV test goes well. WL is close to home, but I'm not sure I fancy driving any acceleration restricted EDs. Wouldn't mind a go on the Vs or TAs however. BC is far from home, but I like the selection of vehicles. The whole of Abellio's fleet are expected to be speed restricted, though not all at 30mph as some will be at 40mph. The E200s and E400s are already done and the TAs are in the process (9763 being one of them already restricted to 30mph, resulting in it barely touching 5th gear). I'm assuming the Volvos won't escape treatment either as with the new buses (whatever they are) that are destined for the 3 (and eventually the 211 if retained). Slightly off topic, i believe even the euro3 DWs from Arriva's CN are speed restricted to 40mph. The engine sounds like it doesn't go over a certain revv when in top (3rd) gear along the 40mph section of Mitcham Common. I believe the RIBAS can be switched off at any time for railway replacements or special duties which require the bus to use 50mph, 60mph and national speed highways. RIBAS cannot be switched off in the cab. It can however be or remain De-Latched, which basically means its not logged into a praticular drivers account. This is done by either a). not using the login key from the start or b). switching the bus off for approx 30 secs to allow the RIBAS unit to log-off (De-Latch) then turn the bus on again but dont use the Login key. Were told to do this on the commercial panel if our run necessitates the use of roads with speed limits greater than 40mph, so that it doesnt become detremental to us on the RIBAS log.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 15, 2011 14:29:50 GMT
Sunday 14th August Southeastern Dartford - Plumstead All from BX E56 PVL57 PVL65 PVL71 PVL73 PVL88 PVL175 PVL178 PVL346 PVL349 PVL367 (my Bus ) WVL350 WVL355 WVL366 Beaver obviously not out to play then, or would be 1 BV Having checked the paperwork i gather Beaver was having a well earned weekend off!
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 14, 2011 23:39:42 GMT
Sunday 14th August Southeastern Dartford - Plumstead All from BX E56 PVL57 PVL65 PVL71 PVL73 PVL88 PVL175 PVL178 PVL346 PVL349 PVL367 (my Bus ) WVL350 WVL355 WVL366
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 11, 2011 12:40:49 GMT
Are Go-Ahead definetly going all-red? Has it actually been confirmed by a notice from TfL? No one at operational level knows. If they are, its all being kept hush hush!!!
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 11, 2011 8:37:26 GMT
I'll break it all down for you all.
12 is due to convert to DD as planned on 5th Nov. Using Part E-400's oringinally destined for it and some oringinally destined for the 453. The Plan is for the 12 to be entirely diesel operated (i.e. no Hybrids)
The 436 will convert to DD as planned on 19th Nov, with Hybrids. As Planned, E-400's and E-400H's destined for it will start the route, plus some diesels of the 453 which will be displaced by Hybrids, which should be in service by this time.
The 453 will convert to DD Early on 24th September. For the purpose of the conversion it will initially use Diesel E-400's originally destined for the 12. When the B5LH Hybrids arrive (which could be as early as October) they will start to displace some of the Diesels for the 436.
I beleive the early conversion of the 453 has something to do with a deal struck between LG and Evobus for early termination of the lease on the 453's bendies (as they are newer) not sure how true this is though.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 10, 2011 22:37:57 GMT
the 453 will be using the diesel buses destined for the 12. The Hybrids will be delivered at a later date cascading some of the diesels onto the 436.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 9, 2011 4:15:12 GMT
WVL126 currently the subject of a SKY News camera crew, abandoned in Ealing, route N11. Appears to be the bus that was 'car jacked' and crashed. TFL NTC on scene.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 6, 2011 13:34:40 GMT
Its actually been confirmed within another group that the X26 and 465 are getting Citaros Would the 465 warrent a 12 metre bus? I thought the E-200's (or an equivilant sized vehicle) were adequate.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 5, 2011 16:03:22 GMT
All i'm going to say, when was the last time QL lost a TFL route???
The 413??? How long ago was that??
In my view they are a proper professional outfit and must be doing well to keep retaiining and gaining work from TFL.
Thier buses also appear to be very smartly presented, which is typical of a coach derived operator, way different to the likes of Go-Ahead, London United and Metrobus.
I wish them well, its good to see the Independants taking on more TFL work now after years of the 'Big Group monopoly', i hope more independants see TFL as a possible operating venture.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 5, 2011 5:58:24 GMT
Bus Mechanics..... Don't know If theres any on here? But its just something I`ve been looking at recently. I`d really love to be involved in the 'Business' somehow and as much as I`d love to be a Bus Driver, It requires the patience of a saint which is something that I just don't have ;D ;D Now as I`m at college doing mechanics (Automotive Technology my arse! Love it to bits though.) and about to start a Level 1 diploma in September, I'm just wondering how you would go about getting into it, I`ve read on the Arriva website about their Apprenticeship scheme but just wanted some thoughts about it? No doubt our resident Mechy, slr, will be able to guide you.
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Post by eggmiester on Aug 5, 2011 2:47:58 GMT
hi all do London bus firms change there bus info on vosa if so what area do i click thanks What kind of changes?? Service Changes are thourgh TFL (as london services are regulated). Only commercial and non london services would be vosa registered. Operator Changes (like names, addresses, operating centres etc) are registered with Vosa for all operators in london. The area you need to look in is the South Eastern and Metropolitan area.
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