Bus Talk (1 Viewer)

Hullian111

EYMS Buses Really Mean Business
Aug 5, 2017
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... well, where do you think?!
I'm really hoping the 2018/19 order for Stagecoach gives us some new single-deckers. At the minute, Hull has to put up with outdated ALX300s, Dart SLFs, and total calamity E300s such as AEM:



(not my video, of course, but I've been on it once, it was awful)

If we got MMC double deckers to supplant the non-DDA Tridents last year (RIP) and if we got rid of all those non-DDA singles a couple of years, then would it or would it not make to sense to get an MMC single decker fleet in Hull, especially after the 350 got an upgrade?



I've been on a Fastcat to Scunthope, and I rather liked the E200 MMC I was on. Seeing a corpo-liveried one in Paragon Interchange makes me jealous...
 

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Was lucky enough to bump into this preserved Leyland Atlantean in Old Swan,Liverpool on my travels this morning.
DSC01883.JPG
 

Hullian111

EYMS Buses Really Mean Business
Aug 5, 2017
910
5
1,722
... well, where do you think?!
Was lucky enough to bump into this preserved Leyland Atlantean in Old Swan,Liverpool on my travels this morning.View attachment 30621
Tell you what, seeing those on the streets, especially in the post-DDA age, is absolutely bizarre. We were trailing a Ailsa on the way out of Scarborough from the BusFest, and it just felt so strange seeing it on the streets doing 'service'... it kind of felt like some kind of eighties scene.
 
Tell you what, seeing those on the streets, especially in the post-DDA age, is absolutely bizarre. We were trailing a Ailsa on the way out of Scarborough from the BusFest, and it just felt so strange seeing it on the streets doing 'service'... it kind of felt like some kind of eighties scene.
That wasn't the best thing about it. I managed to get a picture of it next to an enviro 400, and when you compare the two you realise how far buses have come.
DSC01884 - Copy_LI.jpg
(Had to block out that car's registration for the obvious reason)
 

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Thought I would pop in here to see what your folks opinions are on Optare Metrocity buses.

Down in the land of the hobbit (New Zealand), the new local bus operator has brought tons of these things over from the UK:
(Not my image, I've haven't photographed one of these yet)


For the past 20 years, I've only seen locally bodied MAN's:

11.190:


12.223:


And as of 2008, some Scania's:


These are the first buses I've ridden on that hasn't had a local company assemble them (a shame that is) and I'm not too impressed with them:
(Please note these opinions are from a bit of a MAN fan, considering that's all we've had for about 2 decades)

  • The seats are much more thin than the seats on our older MAN's and are uncomfortable for long journeys
  • Having such thin seats to what I'm used to doesn't help on our roads, which can be shite in some places, to say the least. Going over bumps on one of these things made the skin on my face shake!
  • There isn't a front seat on the left, only space for luggage :(
  • The bell can be pressed multiple times (how on earth hasn't this been fixed, it seems like a lot of UK buses still have this issue too!)
  • Whoever thought that putting the bus stopping light by the door, covered from view by a TV screen needs to have the head examined /s
  • The Merc engine drowns out the bell at the back of the bus, hence the repeated pressing
  • (Not a fault of Optare necessarily but) Allison gearboxes don't seem too suited to our hilly roads, or trying to perform quick 3-point turns, which takes the gearbox ages to actually select the gear.
What do you guys think about them?
 

Road-hog123

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I'm not sure when I last saw a bus with a bell that could only be pressed once... doesn't really seem a problem to me, it's only really an issue when you get a group of school kids spamming it. How do you get the attention of the driver to an issue (missed stop/problem with a passenger) if you can only press it once?
 
Over here, pretty much all of our older locally bodied MAN's and Scania's have had this feature, although some people say they can be pressed repeatedly when the doors are open.
The MAN's have been around since the mid 90's, when Stagecoach operated routes here.

It probably isn't that much of a problem, but after the contracts changed and the Optares started running, I just assume that people can't hear the bell, therefore press it many times (I've even seen adults do it), as the engine is not particularly and the placement of the front "Stopping" sign is blocked from most peoples view by a TV.

Having only single decker buses where I live, most people just yell "DRIVER!" when their stops are missed (doesn't happen too often on buses I catch) and the anchors come on, usually followed by an apology :)
 
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Optare MetroCitys have probably been the best thing to come from Optare since the Delta IMO they're fantastically built and although i think the Solo SR and Versa were well built but with their awful power supply's i think the MetroCity outdoes them on everything(bar the Mercedes Engine), i was a bit meh when they first released the design for it yes i like them it just a shame they're not as well purchased as much as the ADL E200MMCs.

Although its unfair to compare the City against the SR as the City is a full length citybus and its nice that the Versa is still available as a premium option instead as most operators are still preferring the Versa.
 

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Fellowslothb

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Optare MetroCitys have probably been the best thing to come from Optare since the Delta IMO they're fantastically built and although i think the Solo SR and Versa were well built but with their awful power supply's i think the MetroCity outdoes them on everything(bar the Mercedes Engine), i was a bit meh when they first released the design for it yes i like them it just a shame they're not as well purchased as much as the ADL E200MMCs.

Although its unfair to compare the City against the SR as the City is a full length citybus and its nice that the Versa is still available as a premium option instead as most operators are still preferring the Versa.
Oi, Merc engines are the best ;)

I drove both a Metrocity and Solo SR back when I was doing my training, driving position took a bit of getting used to but I thoroughly enjoyed it
 

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