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Post by vjaska on Jul 29, 2021 14:02:23 GMT
Even if Abellio doesn't reuse 8118-8121 or 8138-8141, I'm sure other London operators could find them useful for further use on those newish short single deckers with UNO as a one example could acquire a few of them for the 383's new contract next year (if they do retain the route of course) as top-ups to the 2015 E200's on the route especially with a planned restructure of the 383 could mean more buses needed. And to replace 605 (regarding UNO). That's what he was referring to when he says "top ups"
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Post by YX10FFN on Jul 29, 2021 14:20:38 GMT
With the end of the end of V extras and return of the S4's usual allocation, what do we think is the future for the 66 plate MMCs at BC? Surely they won't just be sitting around until a potential gain of a new 439/S2 contract?
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Post by Busboy105 on Jul 29, 2021 14:24:35 GMT
Even if Abellio doesn't reuse 8118-8121 or 8138-8141, I'm sure other London operators could find them useful for further use on those newish short single deckers with UNO as a one example could acquire a few of them for the 383's new contract next year (if they do retain the route of course) as top-ups to the 2015 E200's on the route especially with a planned restructure of the 383 could mean more buses needed. re the 383 restructuring, I think it's to see whether the FMH extension will be permanent.
But you are right, I think one of the 16 reg MMCs could replace the 07 reg Enviro
The FMH extension isn't permanent?
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Post by LondonNorthern on Jul 29, 2021 14:32:41 GMT
re the 383 restructuring, I think it's to see whether the FMH extension will be permanent.
But you are right, I think one of the 16 reg MMCs could replace the 07 reg Enviro
The FMH extension isn't permanent? It was in response mainly to workers having easy transportation to and from the hospital I believe during the Coronavirus period.
I expect it to be permanent however.
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Post by LondonNorthern on Jul 29, 2021 14:35:55 GMT
With the end of the end of V extras and return of the S4's usual allocation, what do we think is the future for the 66 plate MMCs at BC? Surely they won't just be sitting around until a potential gain of a new 439/S2 contract? Could maybe sent off lease, I think judging by other batches of buses around the time that they were ordered (so the C10 batch that went to GAL and further ones that are being decommed from BC, the 481 batch) they are possibly on a lease so financially could make sense to send them off lease or they send them back to BC to then withdraw some of the ex 484 batch on the P13.
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Post by TB123 on Jul 29, 2021 15:20:28 GMT
The FMH extension isn't permanent? It was in response mainly to workers having easy transportation to and from the hospital I believe during the Coronavirus period.
I expect it to be permanent however.
Would think it politically damaging for the FMH extension to be abandoned, given that it was introduced by a Labour Mayor after years of lobbying from both Labour & Tory politicians in Barnet. Not to mention council elections in Barnet are around the corner (May 2022) - hospital buses especially are a politically sensitive matter and this will be taken into account. I am interested to see what is done with the 383/384 - personally feel the Edgware section should be a double deck service, potentially a limited stop route beyond Barnet to Enfield.
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Post by LondonNorthern on Jul 29, 2021 15:37:47 GMT
It was in response mainly to workers having easy transportation to and from the hospital I believe during the Coronavirus period.
I expect it to be permanent however.
Would think it politically damaging for the FMH extension to be abandoned, given that it was introduced by a Labour Mayor after years of lobbying from both Labour & Tory politicians in Barnet. Not to mention council elections in Barnet are around the corner (May 2022) - hospital buses especially are a politically sensitive matter and this will be taken into account. I am interested to see what is done with the 383/384 - personally feel the Edgware section should be a double deck service, potentially a limited stop route beyond Barnet to Enfield. Oh I would agree, Labour and Tory politicans in Barnet do really work quite well together and they especially did when attempting to resist the 384 rerouting.
As for your double decker idea, yes I would agree. The 384 should've been left alone and kept at a 15 minute frequency with a service like the 340 extended to Barnet, Dollis Valley or New Barnet (the advantage of Dollis Valley would be better bus provision in the area compared to the 326) and would attract punters to Stanmore, Harrow, Canons Park etc.
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Post by YY13VKP on Jul 29, 2021 21:56:12 GMT
With the end of the end of V extras and return of the S4's usual allocation, what do we think is the future for the 66 plate MMCs at BC? Surely they won't just be sitting around until a potential gain of a new 439/S2 contract? Could maybe sent off lease, I think judging by other batches of buses around the time that they were ordered (so the C10 batch that went to GAL and further ones that are being decommed from BC, the 481 batch) they are possibly on a lease so financially could make sense to send them off lease or they send them back to BC to then withdraw some of the ex 484 batch on the P13. WL you mean. I'd be surprised if they do go off lease given that they are younger than the ex 484 E200's that are now allocated to the route, however if those have been bought outright and 8343-8347 are leased then it would make more sense operationally to send the latter off lease. For a batch of 5 buses though, you would think Abellio may have purchased these outright (which could explain why these haven't been stood down immediately since the schools ended despite the other MMC's being withdrawn and 8201-8204 returning from GW). In the short term, I would imagine they'll stay as refurb cover for 8201-8207 and 8210-8219 because they still need to be refurbished for their respective contracts. After that, perhaps they'd either return to WL or Abellio could use them for the proposed S4 extension or for the 439/S2. Surely the results of the Croydon consultation aren't far away now. With the thought of them leaving BC soon in mind, I went for a ride on two of the batch after work today having noticed that four of the five were on the 433 today. I missed out on an opportunity to try them on the route in 2017 to see if these were as good as people were saying they were, so now was my chance really. I had 8347 to start with to get to Addington Village which seemed pretty standard and nothing out of the ordinary apart from the fact it felt more stable up the hilly section in Forestdale. The bus was busy for most of the journey though so the driver was probably taking it easy. I caught 8345 back to South Croydon station however, my word that bus was fantastic! Very quick off the mark and handled the hills brilliantly. Would be a shame to see this batch of E200MMC's go off lease.
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Post by mkay315 on Jul 29, 2021 21:58:56 GMT
Could maybe sent off lease, I think judging by other batches of buses around the time that they were ordered (so the C10 batch that went to GAL and further ones that are being decommed from BC, the 481 batch) they are possibly on a lease so financially could make sense to send them off lease or they send them back to BC to then withdraw some of the ex 484 batch on the P13. WL you mean. I'd be surprised if they do go off lease given that they are younger than the ex 484 E200's that are now allocated to the route, however if those have been bought outright and 8343-8347 are leased then it would make more sense operationally to send the latter off lease. For a batch of 5 buses though, you would think Abellio may have purchased these outright (which could explain why these haven't been stood down immediately since the schools ended despite the other MMC's being withdrawn and 8201-8204 returning from GW). In the short term, I would imagine they'll stay as refurb cover for 8201-8207 and 8210-8219 because they still need to be refurbished for their respective contracts. After that, perhaps they'd either return to WL or Abellio could use them for the proposed S4 extension or for the 439/S2. Surely the results of the Croydon consultation aren't far away now. With the thought of them leaving BC soon in mind, I went for a ride on two of the batch after work today having noticed that four of the five were on the 433 today. I missed out on an opportunity to try them on the route in 2017 to see if these were as good as people were saying they were, so now was my chance really. I had 8347 to start with to get to Addington Village which seemed pretty standard and nothing out of the ordinary apart from the fact it felt more stable up the hilly section in Forestdale. The bus was busy for most of the journey though so the driver was probably taking it easy. I caught 8345 back to South Croydon station however, my word that bus was fantastic! Very quick off the mark and handled the hills brilliantly. Would be a shame to see this batch of E200MMC's go off lease. If you're ever on the other side of the river the W19 enviros are like that too albeit they're in the classic body as opposed to the MMC.
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Post by YX10FFN on Jul 30, 2021 14:24:53 GMT
Did find it interesting to see 8809 finally returning to TF. The last of the batch that temporarily worked the P5 and served as a general spare at WL, and it hadn't worked at TF since October 2019.
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Post by barrypotter on Jul 30, 2021 14:39:18 GMT
Even if Abellio doesn't reuse 8118-8121 or 8138-8141, I'm sure other London operators could find them useful for further use on those newish short single deckers with UNO as a one example could acquire a few of them for the 383's new contract next year (if they do retain the route of course) as top-ups to the 2015 E200's on the route especially with a planned restructure of the 383 could mean more buses needed. If this is mentioned elsewhere, apologies, but Ribble Enthusiasts have 8118-21 now with Vision of Blackrod, and at least 8121 has appeared on bustimes.org.
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Post by MetrolineGA1511 on Aug 1, 2021 7:27:49 GMT
Could maybe sent off lease, I think judging by other batches of buses around the time that they were ordered (so the C10 batch that went to GAL and further ones that are being decommed from BC, the 481 batch) they are possibly on a lease so financially could make sense to send them off lease or they send them back to BC to then withdraw some of the ex 484 batch on the P13. WL you mean. I'd be surprised if they do go off lease given that they are younger than the ex 484 E200's that are now allocated to the route, however if those have been bought outright and 8343-8347 are leased then it would make more sense operationally to send the latter off lease. For a batch of 5 buses though, you would think Abellio may have purchased these outright (which could explain why these haven't been stood down immediately since the schools ended despite the other MMC's being withdrawn and 8201-8204 returning from GW). In the short term, I would imagine they'll stay as refurb cover for 8201-8207 and 8210-8219 because they still need to be refurbished for their respective contracts. After that, perhaps they'd either return to WL or Abellio could use them for the proposed S4 extension or for the 439/S2. Surely the results of the Croydon consultation aren't far away now. With the thought of them leaving BC soon in mind, I went for a ride on two of the batch after work today having noticed that four of the five were on the 433 today. I missed out on an opportunity to try them on the route in 2017 to see if these were as good as people were saying they were, so now was my chance really. I had 8347 to start with to get to Addington Village which seemed pretty standard and nothing out of the ordinary apart from the fact it felt more stable up the hilly section in Forestdale. The bus was busy for most of the journey though so the driver was probably taking it easy. I caught 8345 back to South Croydon station however, my word that bus was fantastic! Very quick off the mark and handled the hills brilliantly. Would be a shame to see this batch of E200MMC's go off lease. You have got me hoping that 8343-47 will be on route 433 on August Bank Holiday. They may as well work route 433 on Sundays as route S4 does not run then.
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Post by 10121ddo on Aug 1, 2021 13:43:46 GMT
Probably been mentioned before but it’s the first time I’ve seen anything of this kind on a bus in London.
There’s a placard (seems permanent) in front of the driver on 2519 saying “this vehicle is for routes 427 and N207 only” ….. whilst currently being on the 207 ! Never seen this before…. Any reason for this bus needing to be restricted to those routes?
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Post by YX10FFN on Aug 1, 2021 14:50:07 GMT
I wonder if the turning circle at Hampton Sainsburys has caused types to fail route tests on the 285 or 290, perhaps this is why LTs only serve the 285 in short increments?
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Post by vjaska on Aug 1, 2021 15:13:30 GMT
I wonder if the turning circle at Hampton Sainsburys has caused types to fail route tests on the 285 or 290, perhaps this is why LTs only serve the 285 in short increments? Surely if a LT failed a route test on the 285, it wouldn't be out full stop. Presumably, they were short for whatever reason and a LT was used instead
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