I always thought the 52 reg Merecdes Sprinters were 12 seaters as they only have 2+1 seating?
I'm sure they were B16F, this new one also has 2+1 seating and the official capacity on it is 16 seats. I'm sure someone will be able to confirm the capacity of the original batch!
Thinking on it isn't 2+1 seating, it is just 2 seating (two seats on nearside) with tip ups on the offside wall isn't it?
Been ages since I went on one so I cant' remember but I shall try to confirm as soon as I can!
There are photos of the new one online and even if it is the same capacity, it does look very nice inside!
Had a look at a video of one on Youtube, it is indeed 2 seat rows on the nearside (three rows I think) and then 6 tip ups on the offside (3 in the buggy bay three 3 behind) and then the back row (which I think is 4) so add them up is 16. That's just a rough estimation. Shame there's no official records available for them as technically they're vans!
(22/09/2012 11:15)V671 DVU Wrote: [ -> ]I'm sure they were B16F, this new one also has 2+1 seating and the official capacity on it is 16 seats. I'm sure someone will be able to confirm the capacity of the original batch!
I thought they had a triple seat across the back, then two forward facing double seats on the nearside, and five sideways-facing folding seats along the offside (three up the step, two down in the low-floor bit). If correct that would make 12, though my memory is somewhat hazy.
I think DK03 CWX may still be in use, it doesn't seem that long ago I saw it on the 883, so will look out for it and attempt to confirm.
Interestingly, BX12 DZG has a tax band of £220, whereas DE52 OJS and DK03 CWX/CWZ are all at the lower rate of £165. At first, I thought this proved my theory, but then I realised that the threshold for the higher rate is actually 18 seats including the driver's, i.e. 17 or more passenger seats!
Hopefully the remaining four will be green, since they're being purchased new, whereas I believe this one was previously a demonstrator? My wife certainly hopes so, since she catches the 883 quite often, and finds the white ones look too much like vans, so that it's easy to let them go past by mistake!
Other HTL observations today: W602 PTO on 266 and W603 PTO on 173/4 (I think it was that way round!), also KX08 HME on 173/4, and YJ61 MOF and MOU on 163/263.
HME was also on one of the garston circulars mate must of been a bus swop
I thought the back row was only 3 (not wide enough to get the 4 seats in) but I think the quote of 12 for the fleetlist was based on info from 2002/3 when they arrived and I never ever checked it it was accurate!
I thought it was 5 tip ups (thee at the back, two at the front) 3 back row and 2 rows of 2 to get 12 but watching that video I can't quite tell if there are 5 or 6 tip-ups!
One day I'll go and get a photo of the insides of one in HTLs depot and get a definitive answer! lol
I think that is correct that this one is an ex demo Dave, (as it was registered in May 2012), the other four with them being new I expect they would be in HTL livery.
Might have been me misremembering... I saw quite a few HTL buses in various places, half of which I'd forgotten by the time I'd got home. I had thought that was one of the ones I was sure of, but if pressed I wouldn't swear to it!
It could well be 12, as you say judging by the video you can't judge the seating capacity on them. Been a long time since my last ride on one of them!
Looks like it's actually 13! My wife travelled on DK03 CWX today and reports that it has three rows of seats, plus two rows of three folding-up seats along the side. The back row is definitely a three, so adding them up makes thirteen!