Bus Shite

[SunnySouth]

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Walking over to my mums for dinner earlier and a bus went past. On Christmas day? I wasn't quick enough to get a picture but it said 17X on the front. The normal route is just a plain 17.

A quick look on Google shows there is indeed an hourly service and it looks exactly the same as a normal 17.

 

So a quick look on their website shows three routes running. 

 

The 17 and 18 are the same as normal but the 1X is an amalgam of the 1 and 2 going all the way to Winchester via Eastleigh. 

Seems the only difference to a normal service is the price. 

But £3.50 flat fare seems entirely reasonable to me on Christmas day considering the alternatives. 

No wonder First Bus are pulling out of the city, they can't compete with service like that. Good for Blue Star, I've never known anybody run services on Christmas day before. 

It has to be said, Bluestar are a damned good operator! Nice fleet and a decent service, overall.

[Asimo]

As commended in TDW’s eBay thread. Well photographed, worth a look.

https://www.lesanciennes.com/annonce/isobloc-648-dp-autocar-1954-a551031?ftype=vo&fcat=autres&rec_prixf=4000

[High Jetter]

Cold clippie?

[Yoss]

1 hour ago, SunnySouth said:

It has to be said, Bluestar are a damned good operator! Nice fleet and a decent service, overall.

They do come across as by far the better operator. If I have to go in to town, which is thankfully not too often, I always use them over First Bus. Nicer, and bigger buses. They were the first to introduce tap in, tap out, First followed out of necessity I think. And £1 flat fare after 6pm is great too. 

It is a shame that First Bus is the withered stump of what is left of Southampton Corporation Transport but First themselves won't be missed at all. 

[Metal Guru]

8 hours ago, Remspoor said:

Those on the top deck paid less  to travel and they did not sit there fora working day unlike the driver.

When they got to work they probably spend all day working in the rain so it didn’t really matter if they arrived wet through.

[HarmonicCheeseburger]

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

They do come across as by far the better operator. If I have to go in to town, which is thankfully not too often, I always use them over First Bus. Nicer, and bigger buses. They were the first to introduce tap in, tap out, First followed out of necessity I think. And £1 flat fare after 6pm is great too. 

It is a shame that First Bus is the withered stump of what is left of Southampton Corporation Transport but First themselves won't be missed at all. 

First is going as an operator?

[SunnySouth]

6 hours ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

First is going as an operator?

Yessss. Dedicated website for it:

https://www.firstbus.co.uk/southampton/news-and-service-updates/leaving

[Yoss]

8 hours ago, HarmonicCheeseburger said:

First is going as an operator?

In Southampton, yes. Despite taking over by far the biggest network in the city sometime in the mid 90s (I forget exactly when). They've been slowly running it down ever since. 

[martc]

'Coaches Welcome' stopping at a pub on the way home from the seaside.

[martc]

Ikarus of Hungary turned out some really nice looking coaches. This one is the 630.

[martc]

Friedrichstraße, Berlin - Hauptstadt der DDR, 1966. That's a VEB Waggonbau Bautzen Do54 double decker if you were wondering.

[busmansholiday]

16 minutes ago, martc said:

'Coaches Welcome' stopping at a pub on the way home from the seaside.

Been there, seen it, done it. Coach on left looks like a Ford R226 with Plaxton Panorama Elite II. The one on the right is one of the most beautiful coaches ever built, an AEC Reliance with Harrington's Cavalier bodywork (must get out more often).

[Eyersey1234]

20 minutes ago, martc said:

'Coaches Welcome' stopping at a pub on the way home from the seaside.

Isn't this from Carry on at your Convenience?

[martc]

6 minutes ago, Eyersey1234 said:

Isn't this from Carry on at your Convenience?

Could be, talking of which...

[busmansholiday]

I was spot on, was new to Crump of Iver Heath.

[quicksilver]

Those are from the Jack Crump fleet. He was the local operator to Pinewood Studios so if coaches were needed for anything filmed there they would inevitably be his. The Harrington Reliance is probably BMK 341A, which also featured in the film 'Please, Sir' and I believe there's also a Crump coach in at least one episode of 'Porridge'.

[Leyland Worldmaster]

Because reasons, a You Tube\Internet Search wormhole thing did happen. 

I found this:

 

[busmansholiday]

25 minutes ago, Leyland Worldmaster said:

Because reasons, a You Tube\Internet Search wormhole thing did happen. 

I found this:

 

Didn't realise that had actually been saved. I remember travelling on it when Kemp's had it, amazing beast. One of only three coach chassis built with AEC'S V8 (originally called the BL Sabre) and the only survivor, it also carried the prototype ECW coach body that's more recognisable with the big grill on the front on RE (and Leopard) chassis.  The engine was used in a few trucks as well, that's made my Xmas.

[High Jetter]

3 hours ago, martc said:

Could be, talking of which...

Great stuff! Long overhang at the rear, is that a Leopard? 

[busmansholiday]

12 hours ago, High Jetter said:

Great stuff! Long overhang at the rear, is that a Leopard? 

Ford R226

[lisbon_road]

Continuing on the Southampton scene, @Yoss and others, it will be interesting to see if Go-Ahead take over the new First Depot in St Denys.  For those outside the area, the old Southampton Corporation main depot was in Portswood and was huge and it was sold off to Sainsburys and a decent enough new depot built.

I agree with all the sentiment about Go-Ahead being an improvement and how lucky we are to have them here to take over.  But the way that the buses all do dead milage from the Go-Ahead depot in Chandlers Ford is indeed crazy and one way and another, can't help with driver recruitment. 

First never seemed to look after the buses in Southampton, and the last Atlanteans were especially scruffy.  Not the one in the picture - that's taken on the last Atlantean Running day - a proper event for nutters and looks good. 

[SunnySouth]

On 12/27/2022 at 5:41 PM, busmansholiday said:

I was spot on, was new to Crump of Iver Heath.

There were some cracking names about in the coach industry of olden tymes! 

Regarding the stopping at pubs thing, my old man occasionally repeats a mildly humourous tale of stopping at a random hostelry and asking the landlord if it was OK to bring a coach in. Landlord more than happy as he rubs his hands together, until 10 minutes later he asks where are all the punters? Oh no punters, it's empty...

[Yoss]

10 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

Continuing on the Southampton scene, @Yoss and others, it will be interesting to see if Go-Ahead take over the new First Depot in St Denys.  For those outside the area, the old Southampton Corporation main depot was in Portswood and was huge and it was sold off to Sainsburys and a decent enough new depot built.

I agree with all the sentiment about Go-Ahead being an improvement and how lucky we are to have them here to take over.  But the way that the buses all do dead milage from the Go-Ahead depot in Chandlers Ford is indeed crazy and one way and another, can't help with driver recruitment. 

First never seemed to look after the buses in Southampton, and the last Atlanteans were especially scruffy.  Not the one in the picture - that's taken on the last Atlantean Running day - a proper event for nutters and looks good. 

Yeah I remember that day. February the something 2005. Can't believe that's nearly 18 years ago. I remember when 20 years ago was the dim distant past, now it seems like it was last year. 

That was one of Phil Blairs buses and that is him driving. He did like to put shiny before working properly. We went on it that day on a 14 and going up Cobden Avenue and Mousehole Lane (two of the steeper hills in Southampton) it refused to change down and so we laboured up in top gear very slowly with a distinct smell of burning rubber at the back of the bus. See I remember that so clearly but I can't remember anything even remotely useful. 

[Zelandeth]

11 hours ago, lisbon_road said:

...First never seemed to look after the buses in...insert any city here...

 

Corrected for accuracy!

First Aberdeen are the only company I know of who managed to make Volvo B10M coaches and late 90s/early 00s B10BLE buses look unreliable.  Which given they weren't even particularly elderly at that point was quite the undertaking I thought!

[lisbon_road]

1 hour ago, Yoss said:

Yeah I remember that day. February the something 2005. Can't believe that's nearly 18 years ago. I remember when 20 years ago was the dim distant past, now it seems like it was last year. 

That was one of Phil Blairs buses and that is him driving. He did like to put shiny before working properly. We went on it that day on a 14 and going up Cobden Avenue and Mousehole Lane (two of the steeper hills in Southampton) it refused to change down and so we laboured up in top gear very slowly with a distinct smell of burning rubber at the back of the bus. See I remember that so clearly but I can't remember anything even remotely useful. 

Well perhaps we'd better not dwell too much on what happened to it!  (Sold to Sainsburys and then weighed in.  I'm not joking.)  Well Phil put on a good event and has saved other buses.

[lisbon_road]

1 hour ago, Zelandeth said:

Corrected for accuracy!

First Aberdeen are the only company I know of who managed to make Volvo B10M coaches and late 90s/early 00s B10BLE buses look unreliable.  Which given they weren't even particularly elderly at that point was quite the undertaking I thought!

OK so can I ask a question?

In current bus operation, consensus seems to be that Go-Ahead are pretty good.  First are dismal and Stagecoach somewhere in between.  All seems to be down to management. 

And by the way, managing a bus company now with reduced riders down to covid, shortage of drivers, increasing costs.  Mind bogglingly difficult, so I do sympathise with all of them.  

Was it always the way that some companies were better managed than others?  I grew up in the 70s in Reading, and Alder Valley seemed dismally run with perpetual vehicle shortages and apparently poor maintenance.

Any thoughts?

[Yoss]

14 minutes ago, lisbon_road said:

Well perhaps we'd better not dwell too much on what happened to it!  (Sold to Sainsburys and then weighed in.  I'm not joking.)  Well Phil put on a good event and has saved other buses.

 I seem to remember he did the same to 276 as well which was our last built Atlantean which is a far more serious offence. 

[lisbon_road]

Ok to add to that, here's  a picture.  Random one, an Alder Valley Bristol VR in Newberry bus station in about '83.  Looking perfectly well maintained and decent.  

[SunnySouth]

15 hours ago, Yoss said:

 I seem to remember he did the same to 276 as well which was our last built Atlantean which is a far more serious offence. 

Say what now?! How did one end up with Sainsbury's before being scrapped?!

[Yoss]

1 minute ago, SunnySouth said:

Say what now?! How did one end up with Sainsbury's before being scrapped?!

Don't know exactly, some sort of publicity vehicle. It wasn't used in service that's for sure.