Bus Shite

[Split_Pin]

That bus with the Calibra lights looks like a Renault Grande Espace plus plus!

[RoadworkUK]

 

"Inspired" by the early '90s Pontiac Trans Sport. Every single detail has been enlarged by 150%.

 

Badly.

 

[hammy]

 

East Lancs bodied Dodge S56, something so wrong about this bodywork 'design'.

 

Duple quality aside, why the silly windows on these Dominant III's?

 

Urgh the Nottingham 'standard' - seriously horrible buses and made to look so old fashioned, this didn't look good in 1970 but to be building this design on a 1988 chassis is so wrong!

 

Now I think this ticks all the autoshite 'bus shite top trumps' boxes. It's a CVE Omni - built in the N.E of England by CVE from about 1990 or so, it was a low floor minibus design and on that point deserves merit, it achieved this by being front wheel drive and using a Land Rover 2.5 diesel engine. So apart from the appalling unreliability which almost totally bankrupted CVE, when fitted with comedy destination boxes they looked stupid too. Few amassed long service lives particularly the few like this that entered full daily PSV use rather than as welfare buses, even tin-pot operators got pissed off with them and most were scrapped. You can still find the odd one on eBay converted to a camper/limo bus project but I don't recall any still in service.

 

Another favourite, the Gulliver Technobus - not devoted to loud dance music but a bizarre electric 9 seat bus imported in small numbers in the UK during the late 1990's when EC money for silly ventures was splashing around. Bristol had a couple for a pointless park and ride service - they featured LHD and doors on both sides. Gulliver where I believe an Italian company and plenty of these work in Italian cities.

 

I nominate this as future shite, even more so than the London bendy-buses which are now some of the best value chicken coups money can get you. First acquired these 'FTR's (text speak for future apparently) which are Volvo B7s with tram look-a-like bodies for a service in York. The driver who sits up front is sealed away from the passengers and when the York service started they had onboard ticket machines - however customers soon realised that because they didnt speak to the driver they could get on without paying. First then had to employ "customer hosts" or as they used to be known "bus conductors". So the bus of the FTR was now the bus using something from the PST (text speak for past?). Now in York, a change of local authority means that these 5 year old buses are to be withdrawn and replaced by standard service buses because the new Labour authority thinks they are an unwieldy pain in the arse to be driving round a small city.

[fiatdaft]

Really enjoying these bus and truck threads,the talk about car lamps on them reminded me of an italian registered coach i was behind about 10 years ago,it had tipo rear lamps that looked tiny on its huge white rear end.

 

Beulas Stergo, normally sold in the UK on Iveco chassis... (shite pic, sorry)

PICT06355 by keith299, on Flickr

 

Think the metrorider has mk5 cortina front lights and indicators.

 

I think the Optare Starider has mk3 Granada headlights and indicators.

 

Coach-spec StarRiders also had upside down mk3 Granada tail lights; the StarRider E used the standard Merc T2 front.

 

 

I'm sure there are others I can't remember; IIRC the Titan/National 2/Tiger/Olympian all use the same dashboard and instruments, but nothing is sourced from the car ranges.

 

 

Thats the one,they really did look small .

[dollywobbler]

Wow. Fantastic post! Some great super-shite buses there.

 

They've got some futuristic looking bendy buses in Swansea, but they can't compete with the Gulliver.

[quicksilver]

I agree with Hammy's choices being shite but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Marshall Minibus yet. Intended as a Dennis Dart rival, these things were truly shite - IIRC they used ERF parts and reliability was notably lacking. Can't be many left on the road now.

BuzzCoOp-R706VLX-Harlow-260899 by Michael Wadman, on Flickr

 

In a similar vein to the Omni, the Pullman was Talbot's attempt at a front wheel drive low-floor minibus. Great in theory but it suffered from the same issues as the Omni.

Luton and District . 84 E717UNA . Luton . by AndrewHA ., on Flickr

 

There are few things more shite than a diesel Omni, except maybe an electric one. I'm not sure these beasts were ever used in anger.

Electric Omni's by standerwick2001, on Flickr

[cms206]

I agree with Hammy's choices being shite but I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Marshall Minibus yet. Intended as a Dennis Dart rival, these things were truly shite - IIRC they used ERF parts and reliability was notably lacking. Can't be many left on the road now.

BuzzCoOp-R706VLX-Harlow-260899 by Michael Wadman, on Flickr

 

 

I've had the misfortune of actually driving one of these! Originally they were Perkins Phaser powered IIRC, though the one I drove had a 3.9l 4-cyl non-turbo Cummins 4B engine. Woefully underpowered, drove like it was on castors rather than wheels and was just generally unpleasant. The company who owned it bought three, used one, and eventually scrapped all three after nicking everything that would fit their similarly bodied Dennis Dart SLFs.

[Split_Pin]

There's a pic on Traveller Dave of someone using a Gulliver as their home. Stark bollock barmy.

 

There used to be a Marshall Minibus in service in Linlithgow. I think it was with Passenger Transport who got dry humped by the Inspectors for being late all the time.

[mk2_craig]

Plaxton also had a knack of using the same airvents as used on the Mk3 Fiesta/Mk4 Escort on their 90's spec coaches.

 

And this V-reg Super Pointer Dart, which I photographed a few weeks into my brief professional driving career (so circa 2003):

 

Taken while waiting for the breakdown crew to arrive after I killed it on the A90.

[RedSparrow]

Yeah there used to be loads of those omnis about. So I guess they sold well as one of the low floor buses. And apart from that feature they were shit.

[mk2_craig]

Now I think this ticks all the autoshite 'bus shite top trumps' boxes. It's a CVE Omni - built in the N.E of England by CVE from about 1990 or so, it was a low floor minibus design and on that point deserves merit, it achieved this by being front wheel drive and using a Land Rover 2.5 diesel engine. So apart from the appalling unreliability which almost totally bankrupted CVE, when fitted with comedy destination boxes they looked stupid too. Few amassed long service lives particularly the few like this that entered full daily PSV use rather than as welfare buses, even tin-pot operators got pissed off with them and most were scrapped. You can still find the odd one on eBay converted to a camper/limo bus project but I don't recall any still in service.

 

Hey I'm sure I saw one of these in a driveway that day we went from Bicester to Didcot the scenic route in your Fiat Coop last year, I wanted to see if I could spot it on Google Shiteview but I can't remember which route we took and consequently don't know which village it was.

[Split_Pin]

Just to punctuate all the munters, anyone think that Optare produced some of the best looking buses in the late 80's - early 90's?

 

I remember seeing this at Lathalmond in 2010:

 

 

It had a pretty extensive restoration

 

On a different note - I remember reading an article in Bus magazine in 1999 about the Dublin Bombardiers. I think they were so shite they were dangerous. Unstable, ferocious acceleration from the 2 stroke engine and the bonnet lid flapping in the slipstream. Reportedly, the vicious brakes then made the door leaves slam against the bulkhead when opened before stopping. Legendary, I think

 

[dollywobbler]

The MCW Metrobus Mk1 was famous for 'slamming' doors. The pair folded to the front, and drivers always seemed to open them just before they stopped.

 

Your Bus in the Midlands ran a load of those Optare DAFs. Think they came from Manchester way? They seemed very advanced to a lad who'd grown up with WMT Fleetines and Metrobuses!

[rml2345]

Duple quality aside, why the silly windows on these Dominant III's?

 

A poor Duple copy of the fabulous Alexander M-type coaches. They got the little windows on the insistence of the Scottish Bus Group, who wanted them.

Preserved Eastern Scottish XS750A MSF 750P by buses7675!, on Flickr

 

Thats the real thing there.

Incidentally, I've been on one of the (IIRC 3) Marshall Midibuses that Passenger Travel had. Went to their depot yard once, to find a chap with fewer IQ points than teeth standing under a running Optare Solo with a gas axe...

[mk2_craig]

Really enjoying these bus and truck threads,the talk about car lamps on them reminded me of an italian registered coach i was behind about 10 years ago,it had tipo rear lamps that looked tiny on its huge white rear end.

 

Fiat Ducato rear clusters?

 

 

Same vehicle type, Iveco Cargo front lamps I reckon?

 

London Borough of Redbridge . V304JGW . Ley Street Depot , Ilford , London . Saturday 06th-August-2011 . by AndrewHA ., on Flickr

 

I suspect the windscreen is also common to some truck but no idea what.

[RedSparrow]

Round these part there are shitloads of these still in service:

 

 

Skoda Tseries.

Some diesel, some electric, some bendy. I love 'em but they are gradually being phased out as we speak.

[hammy]

Some great bus Shite nominations, the Dublin Bombadiers were definate shite - 2 stroke shite at that!

 

Yes I agree Optare has until recently led the way in style, right from their inception as the new owners of the Charles Roe factory in Leeds in the 1980's they've produced some stylish and innovative designs - the Solo midi/mini bus really being the first small bus to offer a low floor layout without being a total pile of bilge on an extended FWD van platform. What did let them down was the quality of their offerings, particularly the Excel. Their recent designs have got a little OTT too.

 

Ah the Marshall Minibus, the poormans Dart SLF - sold in small numbers due to Marshall PSV having a limited customer base (Stagecoach were never going to be buying much from them) and hastily developed. I know most operators who had them new got rid, and most that had them 2nd hand kept one for spares to keep others going. No great suprise that it didn't help Marshalls out and they folded.

 

Now that brings me on to my last idea for shite buses - the Dennis Falcon V decker of the 1980's. On paper nothing special, a rear engine Double Deck chassis but unlike the ploddy Dennis Dominator, it was powered by a Mercedes V6 diesel engine. 7 were made in total, 3 for GMPTE and 3 for Nottingham with (you guessed it) Nottingham Standard design body and one demonstrator. The demonstrator wound up as a Playbus in Stevenage and later Banbury, 1 GMPTE example was preserved and all the others were consumed by engine fires one by one - a problem with the Mercedes engine fuel lines. It would take several more years for Dennis to crack the double deck market in any sizeable number with the Trident chassis.

 

[catsinthewelder]

Generally known as Rough'n' bumpy this is our local operator

 

 

Duple 425 RIL 3702 by Brother Ernie, on Flickr

 

R & B Travel HIL 2550. by turnerbusman, on Flickr

 

R & B Travel BU53 RBT. by turnerbusman, on Flickr

 

Wright Contour Bedford YNT LBZ 6311 by Brother Ernie, on Flickr

 

I've not seen this one but the pictures only from 2005

 

R & B Travel G738 JOX. by turnerbusman, on Flickr

[Split_Pin]

 

What was the deal with these Optare Alero's? I've only seen one or two.

 

Didnt the Optare Solo Slimline on the shortest wheelbase not kind of fill the gap?

[cobblers]

I used to see stacks of those Optare Areo jobs running up and down with trade plates, Optare used to have a garage just up the road (Hellaby) so I'd guess they were test driving them?

 

I saw about as many being dragged back broken down as I saw on the road

[Vin]

Duple quality aside, why the silly windows on these Dominant III's?

 

 

On odd occasions I used to go to school on one of these. Similar vintage with the same side windows. It was the newest coach on the companies (Wilby's of Hibaldstow) fleet and was their 'Executive' (it had a TV in it...) They had a couple of similar vintage MANs too, which made the most awesome noise as they drove off.

 

Usual school transport fare were their 70's Bedfords and Leylands.

 

Sometimes they used the old H reg AEC (I don't know what type) which everyone nicknamed 'the antique', and grumbled when it occasionally pulled up the bus stop on a morning. I liked it though

[RoadworkUK]

That Wright Contour was quite a long way ahead of its time at launch in the early '80s, note the resemblance to the Plaxton Excalibur in profile.

 

The Duple 425 was a terrific looker, much better with its original fascia, the the Plaxton Profile style replacements just don't gel. Do these have something like Granada rear lights? I know the LAG Galaxy and Panoramic did at the beginning, but I've a suspicion these might have, too. Or at least they should have done...

[hammy]

 

What was the deal with these Optare Alero's? I've only seen one or two.

 

Didnt the Optare Solo Slimline on the shortest wheelbase not kind of fill the gap?

 

The Alero was launched at a time when Optare didn't do a 7.1M Solo or a Slimline version of the 8.8 or 9.2M Solos - they didn't come along until 2005 or thereabouts.

 

The Alero was an inhouse design which used Iveco runnning gear, I believe they might have been front wheel drive too. There was certainly no step in the bus until you got to the back end of the thing and the floor was flat so there was not a propshaft to the back. Inside they were well kitted out. Two were purchased for a local bus route near me in Bedfordshire, inside they were very nice and they had CD players so the drivers on the route would be going around with the radio playing late at night. The driver used to sit in front of the door and would have to spin round to sell tickets. What I can remember of them is that they didn't have move along - they were stick box examples rather than automatics.

 

However typical Optare style over substance afflicted them, and they pretty soon started to break down with predictable routine. In the end Arriva who ran the service gave in and just put smaller low floor Darts on the route, the Aleros got sold on to some minor operator somewhere. They are quite common on eBay as 'camper conversion or limo/party bus' fodder but again I'm not aware of many still in daily service with anybody.

 

[Justin Case]

Iveco Minibus a long way from home by geoffp5, on Flickr

 

Walsall is along way from the isle of Mull. Magical Mystery Tour comes to a sudden end?

[mk2_craig]

Almost certainly new to Edinburgh Council about the time I moved there!

[Split_Pin]

 

What was the deal with these Optare Alero's? I've only seen one or two.

 

Didnt the Optare Solo Slimline on the shortest wheelbase not kind of fill the gap?

 

The Alero was launched at a time when Optare didn't do a 7.1M Solo or a Slimline version of the 8.8 or 9.2M Solos - they didn't come along until 2005 or thereabouts.

 

The Alero was an inhouse design which used Iveco runnning gear, I believe they might have been front wheel drive too. There was certainly no step in the bus until you got to the back end of the thing and the floor was flat so there was not a propshaft to the back. Inside they were well kitted out. Two were purchased for a local bus route near me in Bedfordshire, inside they were very nice and they had CD players so the drivers on the route would be going around with the radio playing late at night. The driver used to sit in front of the door and would have to spin round to sell tickets. What I can remember of them is that they didn't have move along - they were stick box examples rather than automatics.

 

However typical Optare style over substance afflicted them, and they pretty soon started to break down with predictable routine. In the end Arriva who ran the service gave in and just put smaller low floor Darts on the route, the Aleros got sold on to some minor operator somewhere. They are quite common on eBay as 'camper conversion or limo/party bus' fodder but again I'm not aware of many still in daily service with anybody.

 

 

Interesting wee bit of info there.

 

Funny, I saw one on Sunday morning whilst driving along the M9.

 

It was painted bright pink and had 'HEN NIGHT' on the destination display!

[willswitchengage]

"Bredamenarinibus"

 

 

Saw loads of these in Italy whilst travelling last year, LORDZ!!!111 they made an amazing sound, although sadly we were demoted to sluggish old IVECOs which fortunately had 1,000,000KW of air conditioning power.

 

Travelled on loads of MANs too, new ones were a bit boring but the early 90s models in Ljubljana were lovely.

 

Favourite UK bus:

 

"East Lancs Maxci", basically a copy of an early Scania N113CLL design:

 

 

First Leeds has one but otherwise they're dead rare.

[Conrad D. Conelrad]

Another looker

World's most Ugly PSV? by geoff7918, on Flickr

 

Standing room only

BCT025 by geoff7918, on Flickr

[Split_Pin]

 

 

Sat for 5 minutes, still cant think of anything original to say about this brilliant machine.

[quicksilver]

 

 

Sat for 5 minutes, still cant think of anything original to say about this brilliant machine.

 

It is rather epic and has a GR12 name too - the Walker Fineline, although the styling doesn't so much walk a fine line as cross way over it. I have a scale drawing and one of these days I'm going to try and build a model of one, being such a box it shouldn't be too difficult.