|
Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 2, 2024 11:19:09 GMT
Tonight I regrettably have to say goodbye to Arriva running the 325 for literally half of my existence. I have mentioned in the past that prior to 2010, the 325 was terrible and Stagecoach simply weren't up to scratch in terms of reliability. I wasn't in London on March 6th 2010 due to a confirmation retreat, much to my dismay, but I was melancholic when my mum called informing me of the change. ¨The new buses are clean and quick! I see it is more frequent now, that probably explains me getting a seat! I will do more errands in East Ham now.¨ Very bitter to hear my non-ehtusiast mum experiencing these things, but sweet to hear the new ushering of an era. For 14 years I have used the 325 for school, college, church and most of my local leisure activities. Most of my life at one time hinged on me relying on this specific bus and it was a torrid time before 2010. After Arriva the 325 was a joy to use almost to a point it was nondescript, a certified compliment when in contrast to the Stagecoach days. I'm not saying everything was perfect; the first 18 months or so saw controllers instruct buses to run light via Upton Park to make up time. Trouble was buses weren't serving the busiest part of its route (Upton Lane). That eventually stopped but beyond that, virtually no problems consigned to the route. Be it roadworks, accidents, West Ham matches at the old Boleyn group and most notorious of all, traffic from the A13; buses on the 325 were run surprisingly well. I'm struggling to remember bunched buses over 14 years, that's saying a lot for a high frequency route! And yes there was a period where cleaners at DX were sloppy with the mop, but the overall presentation was brilliant by Arriva. Tonight ENL61-74 will retire in the only garage they've ever worked out of, something rather unique in the industry. As they do, DX will usher in the SL2, the first hybrids at DX and more notably the first buses with power blinds at the garage. I will cast eyes over the 325 as I always do every weekend from the shop I volunteer at in Forest Gate. I will likely hop on a GAL bus tomorrow as well but likely won't do an end-to-end until the electrics are in service. Goodbye to fourteen years of fantastic service, goodbye to Arriva's presence in the heart of Newham. Goodbye to Arriva running the 325. The 325 still to me is Stagecoach with Dennis Dart SLF's with on the side. You do realise there was still a few drivers from who was at [DX] driving the 325 and are now going to [RR] I thought the SEe's would have been delivered or some others would be on the route. But it is 100% SE at the moment. There was one cleaner at [DX] she was one of the best I saw, when she finished with a bus you would think WTF, she used to shampoo wet the floors, very foamy, thoroughly clean grabrails, damp wipe the seats etc. Sadly she did not stay in the cleaning game long and left to work outside of the bus industry.
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 2, 2024 11:22:59 GMT
Last Arriva 325 bus is currently going to be ENL74 on running number 52. Last departure will be 00:30 from Beckton Savacentre. Last bus from Prince Regent is the 00:20 departure, Running number 55 on ENL67 DX 52 is now ENL66 It would be, as they usually get changed in the evening. Drivers had tend to keep the same bus for the first half and take break at Beckton instead of going back to [DX] where they were meant to take break. That way they had end up with a much longer break.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2024 11:29:34 GMT
I thought the SEe's would have been delivered or some others would be on the route. But it is 100% SE at the moment. Even if they had been delivered, they wouldn't be out as there are some ongoing issues with the charging infrastructure at RR.
|
|
|
Post by dave12345 on Mar 2, 2024 11:39:50 GMT
It would be, as they usually get changed in the evening. Drivers had tend to keep the same bus for the first half and take break at Beckton instead of going back to [DX] where they were meant to take break. That way they had end up with a much longer break. The 150s annoying do that as well MF.
|
|
|
Post by ThinLizzy on Mar 2, 2024 12:10:12 GMT
It would be, as they usually get changed in the evening. Drivers had tend to keep the same bus for the first half and take break at Beckton instead of going back to [DX] where they were meant to take break. That way they had end up with a much longer break. The 150s annoying do that as well MF. it's not really annoying- it's not really an issue if a driver an keep their bus for the whole duty and have a longer break.
|
|
|
Post by enviroPB on Mar 2, 2024 12:14:07 GMT
Tonight I regrettably have to say goodbye to Arriva running the 325 for literally half of my existence. I have mentioned in the past that prior to 2010, the 325 was terrible and Stagecoach simply weren't up to scratch in terms of reliability. I wasn't in London on March 6th 2010 due to a confirmation retreat, much to my dismay, but I was melancholic when my mum called informing me of the change. ¨The new buses are clean and quick! I see it is more frequent now, that probably explains me getting a seat! I will do more errands in East Ham now.¨ Very bitter to hear my non-ehtusiast mum experiencing these things, but sweet to hear the new ushering of an era. For 14 years I have used the 325 for school, college, church and most of my local leisure activities. Most of my life at one time hinged on me relying on this specific bus and it was a torrid time before 2010. After Arriva the 325 was a joy to use almost to a point it was nondescript, a certified compliment when in contrast to the Stagecoach days. I'm not saying everything was perfect; the first 18 months or so saw controllers instruct buses to run light via Upton Park to make up time. Trouble was buses weren't serving the busiest part of its route (Upton Lane). That eventually stopped but beyond that, virtually no problems consigned to the route. Be it roadworks, accidents, West Ham matches at the old Boleyn group and most notorious of all, traffic from the A13; buses on the 325 were run surprisingly well. I'm struggling to remember bunched buses over 14 years, that's saying a lot for a high frequency route! And yes there was a period where cleaners at DX were sloppy with the mop, but the overall presentation was brilliant by Arriva. Tonight ENL61-74 will retire in the only garage they've ever worked out of, something rather unique in the industry. As they do, DX will usher in the SL2, the first hybrids at DX and more notably the first buses with power blinds at the garage. I will cast eyes over the 325 as I always do every weekend from the shop I volunteer at in Forest Gate. I will likely hop on a GAL bus tomorrow as well but likely won't do an end-to-end until the electrics are in service. Goodbye to fourteen years of fantastic service, goodbye to Arriva's presence in the heart of Newham. Goodbye to Arriva running the 325. The 325 still to me is Stagecoach with Dennis Dart SLF's with on the side. You do realise there was still a few drivers from who was at [DX] driving the 325 and are now going to [RR] I thought the SEe's would have been delivered or some others would be on the route. But it is 100% SE at the moment. There was one cleaner at [DX] she was one of the best I saw, when she finished with a bus you would think WTF, she used to shampoo wet the floors, very foamy, thoroughly clean grabrails, damp wipe the seats etc. Sadly she did not stay in the cleaning game long and left to work outside of the bus industry. I am aware that some are making the small pilgrimage to RR. A few drivers at the bike shop I volunteer at have come by in recent weeks asking for two wheels, due to the limited parking space for staff at River Road. I hope you don't mind if I respectfully disagree, the high standards etched into the 325 by Arriva is something I will envisage for a while yet. If you'll excuse me, I'm off to see if I can spot any of the 325's drivers on the SL2!
|
|
|
Post by ! ALEED on Mar 2, 2024 12:33:18 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better Attachments:
|
|
|
Post by YY13VKP on Mar 2, 2024 12:52:21 GMT
Saw one of the former 312 EMC’s being driven along Purley Way headed for storage at Sidney House. Couldn’t quite see which one it was as I was waiting for a 439
|
|
|
Post by capitalomnibus on Mar 2, 2024 13:01:38 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better Wow, first days seem busier than ever. Seems as busy as last days used to be some years ago when we had special buses.
|
|
|
Post by ! ALEED on Mar 2, 2024 13:06:26 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better Wow, first days seem busier than ever. Seems as busy as last days used to be some years ago when we had special buses. Very true! Wonder if the SL4 will have this sort of crowd once the route is brought to service, after the Silvertown Tunnel is complete.
|
|
eal1ngvolvo483
Driver
Bus Enthusiast based in Ealing, enjoys many stuff like reality shows, Eastern European and Iranian.
Posts: 298
|
Post by eal1ngvolvo483 on Mar 2, 2024 13:09:54 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better Saw that at Barking!
|
|
|
Post by vjaska on Mar 2, 2024 13:30:46 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better It seems there may be issues in procuring blinds in general as the changes in Sutton & Croydon have seen buses across three different operators struggle for fully blinded vehicles for the most part. It’s really an issue for TfL to sort out if multiple operators are struggling to procure blinds on time
|
|
|
Post by londonbuses on Mar 2, 2024 13:34:47 GMT
All of this talk about blinds... it really proves that LED blinds are the way forward. More expensive to install but cheaper in the long run, especially as the newer electric buses may last longer than 15 years in London.
|
|
|
Post by SILENCED on Mar 2, 2024 13:40:05 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better Bustimes, not the most reliable source of liveries as anyone can amend, but often a good indication is reporting HA39 & HA53 in SuperLoop colours as well. HA53 is evidenced by picture on Twitter, that I have seen, HA39 evidenced by a Facebook photo, which leads to The Londoner group, which I am not a member, so cant see.
|
|
|
Post by ServerKing on Mar 2, 2024 14:07:14 GMT
SL2 has started questionably with Arriva. We see buses have not completely been blinded yet and are simply only showing the SL2 numbering, I believe only HA45 and 52 have been branded and the rest are yet to get them. But I do believe most of the buses will already have received USB chargers by now! There's also an appearance of DW333 on the route! The service of the route seems to be generally okay though, but we see young enthusiasts fighting and pushing around to make a FRV of the route. Overall, not the worst but DX could do better That is terrible but not surprising the Slipboard Kings are at it again all those HAs that were sitting around could have gotten new blinds, let alone branding I am assuming FRV is First Ride Video?
|
|