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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Jul 31, 2017 14:43:06 GMT
Well, time has come for me to embark on my annual summer holiday in Poland, which I always had except for last year. This time though, in the land of Solaris, I cannot resist the temptation to bash some buses a bit like I do here.  …To the shock of my Grandparents, who barely comprehend I'm let loose around the whole of London  I'm no longer the little girl they remember! But one of them gave her permission/approval so far  DDA and low-floor requirement is nonexistent, there are the local-provided municipal services as well as commercial ones, there are zillions of independents who run mini-armies of minibuses (despite many routes that could do with proper buses… but lol no), some coaches as well, and the state of our railways… Run to the ground in most places, you should've seen the fuss made when proper modern trains, Pendolinos, were ordered! Class EN57 is still the dominant train type on our rails and most are from late 60s and 70s, and in the UK people think trains from the 80s are old!!  Excited to be able to do some coverage soon, and have even created a dedicated flickr account for that purpose, which I hope to update soon! www.flickr.com/photos/150303613@N08/The name translates as random/accidental buses girl/female, RBG sounds way more effective in English to be fair |
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Post by snoggle on Jul 31, 2017 14:53:47 GMT
Well, time has come for me to embark on my annual summer holiday in Poland, which I always had except for last year. This time though, in the land of Solaris, I cannot resist the temptation to bash some buses a bit like I do here. …To the shock of my Grandparents, who barely comprehend I'm let loose around the whole of London I'm no longer the little girl they remember! But one of them gave her permission/approval so far DDA and low-floor requirement is nonexistent, there are the local-provided services as well as commercial ones, there are zillions of independents who run mini-armies of minibuses (despite many routes that could do with proper buses… but lol no), some coaches as well, and the state of our railways… Run to the ground in most places, you should've seen the fuss made when proper modern trains, Pendolinos, were ordered! Class EN57 is still the dominant train type on our rails and most are from late 60s and 70s, and in the UK people think trains from the 80s are old!! Excited to be able to do some coverage soon, and have even created a dedicated flickr account for that purpose, which I hope to update soon! www.flickr.com/photos/150303613@N08/Make sure you get lots of snaps of the old bus and rail stuff. It could disappear at the drop of a hat. I really, really regret not going snap crazy when I visited East Berlin before and just after the wall came down. It was more expensive then with film (no digital) but you don't get many chances to capture history in the making. I imagine Poland is still undergoing change and will continue to do so. I look forward to seeing your photos. |
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Post by YY13VKP on Jul 31, 2017 16:30:41 GMT
Well, time has come for me to embark on my annual summer holiday in Poland, which I always had except for last year. This time though, in the land of Solaris, I cannot resist the temptation to bash some buses a bit like I do here. …To the shock of my Grandparents, who barely comprehend I'm let loose around the whole of London I'm no longer the little girl they remember! But one of them gave her permission/approval so far DDA and low-floor requirement is nonexistent, there are the local-provided services as well as commercial ones, there are zillions of independents who run mini-armies of minibuses (despite many routes that could do with proper buses… but lol no), some coaches as well, and the state of our railways… Run to the ground in most places, you should've seen the fuss made when proper modern trains, Pendolinos, were ordered! Class EN57 is still the dominant train type on our rails and most are from late 60s and 70s, and in the UK people think trains from the 80s are old!! Excited to be able to do some coverage soon, and have even created a dedicated flickr account for that purpose, which I hope to update soon! www.flickr.com/photos/150303613@N08/Would be good to see what buses in Poland are like, have followed your new account. Whereabouts in Poland are you going to? I have a friend who's from Elblag and she once sent me a picture of a tram out there and I see what you mean about run down. The tram looked like a Leyland single decker on the inside from the 1970's. Can't be as worse at Mumbai though, trust me they have the worst buses you've ever seen. They still have a full fleet of buses from the 1960's/1970's and no signs of replacing them! |
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Jul 31, 2017 19:46:35 GMT
I'm going to south of Poland; predominantly Kraków, my hometown of Olkusz as well as the Malopolskie and Swietokrzyskie voivodeship areas my family is local to. Oh yes, I'll snap as much as I can - I remember my hometown used to have an ex-bendy bus in a literal sense - the bend was cut off and the bus had a new back attached in an awkward way, giving it a very unusual look from the side as well as odd length. I hope it's still kicking around, that one! I also heard the local minibus drivers are rude cheeky buggers, who drive off when they see people running for their bus; well I hope I don't run into too much trouble, especially given the bus-spotting hobby is nowhere as developed as it is here YY13VKP, I bet it was a Konstal tram - they have the nickname Matchbox here lol. It's 1970s. |
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Post by vjaska on Jul 31, 2017 22:02:24 GMT
Given that my grandfather was Polish and subsequently, I've got a Polish surname despite being as British as queuing, I should go at some point just to say I've done it and maybe even learn a word or two lol.
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Post by Hassaan on Jul 31, 2017 22:17:43 GMT
Lucky sod! Hope you have an amazing time there  This though: I remember my hometown used to have an ex-bendy bus in a literal sense - the bend was cut off and the bus had a new back attached in an awkward way, giving it a very unusual look from the side as well as odd length. I hope it's still kicking around, that one! EDIT: It really sounds like something you'd find on the "Only in Russia" Twitter feed |
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Post by N230UD on Aug 1, 2017 16:20:45 GMT
I've been to Krakow and it was incredible. Beautiful city.
The municipal transport company of Krakow has a very modern bus fleet, including electric buses. They mostly had Solaris vehicles.
I thankfully went snap crazy with the trams though - they do have a lot of modern low-floor trams, but still have a huge fleet of elderly step-entrance trams, including communist-era Polish-built Konstals, some ex-Vienna trams, some ex-Dusseldorf Duwags, and some ex-Nuremburg MANs. There were a lot of white minibuses, seemingly from independent / one-man-band operators which go outside of Krakow - I even saw a Plaxton Beaver 2-bodied Mercedes.
In terms of trains, some very modern trains (particularly on the Airport - Krakow - Wieliczka train), but I did spot some of the elderly EN25 commuter trains - beautiful in my eyes!
I would happily visit Poland again - beautiful cities and countryside. Hopefully it will be Warsaw or Wroclaw next.
Most of Western Europe no longer has any step-entrance buses or trams, so Eastern Europe is the place to go! Its all changing very quickly though. Although, my recent trip to Belgium, I saw some vintage low-floor Van Hool buses, and some 1970s commuter trains covered in graffiti.
I've also been to Bulgaria, where some of the active fleet of transport includes buses from the 1960s, and I believe they've over the last few years they've only just ended steam-operated trains in normal public service.
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Aug 2, 2017 13:15:17 GMT
N230UD - I've seen your Flickr, excellent stuff! Also, Kraków really is the best, not just cause it's my most local city Warsaw was largely levelled during WW2, so instead is littered with grey communist architecture, meh. Yesterday I've snapped some plane-to-terminal airport shuttles - bizarre wide things with 3 pairs of doors on both sides, that I suspect might be Spanish due to some resemblance to the Caetano Levante - but might be wrong of course. Bizarrely, they carried no registration plates. flic.kr/p/XhbVkNAnd then on an evening walk with Grandma, managed to snap some Solarises 
Olkusz || Firma Natan: 22 | KCH4XF9 by Przypadkowa Dziewczyna od Autobusów, on Flickr This morning Grandparents agreed to give me lifts to two notable termini at our town (after we got back from the countryside where they had to water and harvest some crops), where I snapped more Solarises, numerous MAN NG 313s and Jelcz Veros - closest you can get to Solos here. And of course - loads of minibuses, most with laminated paper destinations, but some with dot displays or/and in our town's livery they've decided on getting few years back - basically a rip off from the capital, yellow and red. I think I attracted some attention for I doubt any bus spotter ever stepped a foot in my hometown before, but didn't have anyone bug me either Still want to bag some rides now, as well as snap some passing trains - not easy when only one an hour shows up! And there was too much of a gap between 9:40 and 10:50 for us. The railway station building was a mess and the crossing above the tracks was still locked out as half of it belongs to the Council and half to the National Rail, and subsequently only half of it was repaired and fit. Yes, only in Poland.
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Post by redexpress on Aug 2, 2017 13:34:58 GMT
Yesterday I've snapped some plane-to-terminal airport shuttles - bizarre wide things with 3 pairs of doors on both sides, that I suspect might be Spanish due to some resemblance to the Caetano Levante - but might be wrong of course. Bizarrely, they carried no registration plates. flic.kr/p/XhbVkNNice pics! The airport shuttle bus is a Cobus 3000 (German not Spanish) - probably the most common airside shuttle bus anywhere. Their width means you're unlikely to see one on a normal road! It's quite normal for vehicles not to be registered if they're only used airside. |
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Post by N230UD on Aug 2, 2017 22:37:34 GMT
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Aug 12, 2017 19:28:40 GMT
Don't expect new Flickr photos till thursday at least - I messed up and broke my phone which is my sole access to the internet Typying this from Grandparents' tablet... I've managed to get some observations out though (thanks to FB-sharing these pics before and being able to dig them out), look at these weird buses! #2 I actually rode, driver said it is Turkish. Nice AC and got up to 65mph |
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Post by moz on Aug 14, 2017 21:08:58 GMT
Don't expect new Flickr photos till thursday at least - I messed up and broke my phone which is my sole access to the internet Typying this from Grandparents' tablet... I've managed to get some observations out though (thanks to FB-sharing these pics before and being able to dig them out), look at these weird buses! #2 I actually rode, driver said it is Turkish. Nice AC and got up to 65mph Otokar is a Turkish bus builder. They recently supplied a significant number of buses to Malta and they were far better quality than the King Longs out there! Moz |
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Post by galwhv69 on Aug 10, 2018 9:18:31 GMT
Currently in Poland aswell City:Łódź (Also occasionaly pronounced Lodz) First thing I can say is that the company (MPK Łódź) operating all the trams and buses have lots of temporary routes unlike TFL which don't have many at all. Nice selection of buses but is limited to Solaris,Jelcz And Mercedes.The only model in London And Lodz is the Mercedes Benz Citaro 0530 Fares are cheaper and are based on how long you're travelling for.Example:Travelling for 20 mins or under you get the 20 minute ticket and validate it at start of journey.Tickets are 20 mins,40 mins & 1 hour Also has been an order placed for 24 new minibuses (might fit on H2 and are roomy)Unfortunately the article is in Polish but I sahll leave the link here anyways v.ht/tY8eWill probably post further updates |
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Post by RandomBusesGirl on Aug 11, 2018 10:22:50 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  |
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Post by vjaska on Aug 11, 2018 12:30:42 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 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. |
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I'm no longer the little girl they remember! 
