Forum | Merseyside Dennis Dart Website

We have to remember that despite these buses being refurbished to a high standard they are still by todays standards old buses, so old buses means that they will be the first to be used for schools. These are 51/02 plates so they are 12-13 year old buses so should be on schools anyway, its common sense.

(17/03/2014 08:40)Raawwwrrr! Wrote: [ -> ]The reason they have been brought up here is to replace DLA's on school routes. Both TfGM and Merseytravel have a 15 year age limit their contracts including school services.

The other problem is that all buses are now becoming DDA compliant by 2017, and the DLA's have electric ramps from their london days, of which many quite simply don't work. Therefore If a wheelchair user wanted to get to say Carmel College on the 743, they wouldn't be able too. As much as I am a fan of DLA's and their err... "character", they aren't DDA compliant.

If you've read the Arriva facebook page, you'll see that people complain about literally anything such as a bus being 2 minutes late, to buses not stopping when they don't put their hand out, even if you did have a nice leather coach seated vehicle, someone would complain they slide off the seats or don't like the shade of leather.

Well ok then fair enough. I just hope Arriva sees the advantage of having decent double deckers and actually orders a large amount one day. Would be nice too see a lot of deckers again. Theres not been a lot of deckers for a couple of years.

Well arriva winsford have just received 2 VLWs 4215/4216 both are 02 plate so 12yrs old now but as they've been well looked after & been given an interior refresh both will last for another 8-10yrs at least hopefully.

The DLAs are rough some of ours 4042/4156 are ex London & the rest are ex merseyside so hence been hammered before we got em.

(18/03/2014 09:20)33109 Wrote: [ -> ]Well arriva winsford have just received 2 VLWs 4215/4216 both are 02 plate so 12yrs old now but as they've been well looked after & been given an interior refresh both will last for another 8-10yrs at least hopefully.

The DLAs are rough some of ours 4042/4156 are ex London & the rest are ex merseyside so hence been hammered before we got em.

But they are not going to be with Arriva for 8-10 years, more like 3-4 years with the Arriva NW age restrictions.

(18/03/2014 09:20)33109 Wrote: [ -> ]The DLAs are rough some of ours 4042/4156 are ex London & the rest are ex merseyside so hence been hammered before we got em.

All of the DLAs are ex London, not just the ones that went straight to Winsford (4040/4042/4156). I dare say the hilly Winsford routes probably give them more of a hammering than the Merseyside services ever did!

(18/03/2014 09:20)33109 Wrote: [ -> ]Well arriva winsford have just received 2 VLWs 4215/4216 both are 02 plate so 12yrs old now but as they've been well looked after & been given an interior refresh both will last for another 8-10yrs at least hopefully.

The DLAs are rough some of ours 4042/4156 are ex London & the rest are ex merseyside so hence been hammered before we got em.

Arriva North West have a 15 year fleet replacement policy. They'll last another 3-4 years before replacement.

What's replacing the VLWs & DLAS then??? Plus the darts will need replacing in nxt 2-3 yrs or so, guessing they'll be replaced by more solos like 701-709.

Aye they get pretty hammered with all the hilly rural routes based outta winsford plus state the roads are in everywhere ya go there's potholes which doesn't do em any good.

(18/03/2014 17:32)33109 Wrote: [ -> ]What's replacing the VLWs & DLAS then??? Plus the darts will need replacing in nxt 2-3 yrs or so, guessing they'll be replaced by more solos like 701-709.

Aye they get pretty hammered with all the hilly rural routes based outta winsford plus state the roads are in everywhere ya go there's potholes which doesn't do em any good.

I'm guessing the replacements for the VLW's at some point in the future would be newer ex london stock. Mayby at some point the north west could get a full height db300 gemini Although its obviously years away.

The DLA's should be replaced by VLW's.

VLW's and DLP's would in theory either be replaced by new buses, or further cascades. For example if speke got further deckers (not the 19 listed above) some ALX400's could be displaced to Windsford instead of London stock.

London have a 10 year policy meaning that come 2016/17 when the VLW's and DLP's need replacing, in theory Arriva North West could end up with 55 reg ALX400's.

You won't know for sure till the 2015/2016 order is known and failing that, the cascades for 2017.

Much of Arriva's double-deck policy throughout the UK is governed by London requirements and what is surplus there. On the face of it, it is quite strange to be spending serious money on 51/02-plate VLWs which realistically have four years' work ahead of them at the most, but there is little alternative. They have to do something with them, just as they did the DLAs before.

It is entirely reasonable to think that the later B7TLs, up to 55-plates, in London will eventually find their way to the provinces, as will Enviro400s and DB300s. They may have been looked after reasonably well, as is mandated for any bus employed on TfL contracts, but make no mistake, buses in London have been worked half to death before they come out of there.

Contrary to general opinion the B7TL is not a great bus and the 7.3-litre engine in them is far from Volvo's finest hour, particularly compared to some of those which have gone before it. It needs serious and expensive work around the bus's midlife point and drinks diesel like it's going out of fashion.

That said, Arriva can only work with what they've got, and it is in fact to their credit that they are sprucing the ex-London kit up nicely and not simply repainting them and putting them straight on the road, which is exactly what 'certain other' operators have done in the past.