Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[kuyoyo]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(24/07/2012 12:56)kuyoyo Wrote:  Update to this for the rest of the month:
Tomorrow (25th July): Leeds and West Yorkshire
28th July: Middlesbrough again (to get the Enviro400s on the X93, as well as photos around the town)
31st July (Tuesday): Appointment in Middlesbrough at half 3, so will be another day in Middlesbrough (if I haven't done enough of them already)

Another Update:
Tomorrow: Now a day on Teesside (due to there being no seats left on the Megabus early evening returns from Leeds now)

EDIT: Original Plan now, seats became available.

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(24/07/2012 08:42)27701 Wrote:  This morning, I went to Skelmersdale to board the 345 journey that runs via the M58 to Liverpool. Here's how it went:

05:49 58 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Netherton, Park Lane
Marshall V667 DVU (7667)
Firstly, credit to the kind driver, who apologised for running a few minutes late! I've rode on this journey a lot and it's always started a few minutes late each time with no apology from the driver. The bus wasn't very good. Its' suspension was very squeaky and the bus itself was quite rattly; it was fast off the line, though, and it sounded nice! Its' MTL interior was in a good condition.

06:02 311 (ANW) - Aintree Merseyrail Station > Skelmersdale Bus Station
Marshall V633 DVU (7633)
This bus was OK. It sounded nice, however it featured a hyperactive cooling-fan! An annoying rattle, caused by the bar on the back-end window, ruined the ride - it became irritating after a few minutes on-board! The bus' interior was in a good condition - interestingly, it featured 38 seats, two, of which, were Wright tip-up seats in the unique second pram/wheelchair bay! The driver was quite fast, which was good.

07:30 345 (ANW) - Skelmersdale Bus Station > Aintree Retail Park
Plaxton Pointer 2 X235 ANC (2235)
I was surprised to see this bus on this journey; it's not usually on ex-Skelmersdale services! It was dreadful, anyway... Its' idle vibration was unbearable and rattles whilst the bus was in motion were violent. I don't know what was causing the clanging at the back of the bus (it seemed to be the seats), however it was absolutely horrific! It sounded nice and it was fast on the M58, though.

I plan on going back out today to St Helens, via Runcorn and Widnes...! I'll post about how it went tonight!

Here's how the rest of my day went:

52 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX59 FFW (3018)
Finally - a chance to have a good ride on this bus with a decent driver at the wheel! It was fantastic, as usual! It sounded great and it revved really high, without kicking down, a lot! It didn't rattle - not even on Stanley Road in Kirkdale, and that bridge decreases in quality every day...! From the inside, it sounds nice - from the outside, though, it sounds dodgy...

X1 (ANW) - Liverpool ONE Bus Station > Runcorn High Street Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX12 KVR (3140)
I couldn't resist planning my day around sampling one of these brand-new buses whilst they were brand-new! Firstly, the leather interior was something different and, to be honest, the seats that I sat on were quite comfortable. The Arriva logo was embroided on each headrest (headrests are pointless and effectless, in my opinion - how small do these designers think we are?!). I hated the exterior branding; the service has been branded as the "RapidRide" for a while, so it's disappointing to see that "famous" brand unmentioned! The bus' side and back-end LED units didn't seem to be working - just a small dot in the top-left corners... The bus rattled just as much as a typical 61-plated example (it's nice to hear that Wright are increasing their standards...). It felt sluggish, despite the driver being fast. Up Runcorn Bridge, it struggled to gain speed - the driver eventually used kickdown on gear two, which seemed to sort the issue out! Overall, I preferred the 09-plated examples, but I'll sample some more of these new buses soon to consolidate my opinion.

79C (ANW) - Runcorn High Street Bus Station > Widnes Green Oaks Shopping Centre
Cadet DK55 FYM (2547)
This was great! It didn't rattle much, it sounded OK and it was quite fast. The driver was fast all the way. This was a "P&Pd" example - those strange "Interurban and green" interiors are starting to look nice...

33A (ANW) - Widnes Green Oaks Shopping Centre > St Helens, Bickerstaffe Street
Renown X707 DBT (2707)
This was a fantastic journey! The driver seemed to be an expert at driving fast in such small residential areas! The bus sounded loud and rattled a little bit. Also, it was slow off the line nearly every time - it sounded like the brakes weren't... unbraking(?!)... The bus was booked out of service at my destination for Y714 KNF (2714).

31 (ANW) - St Helens Bus Station > Parr, ********
Plaxton Pointer 2 R563 ABA (7563)
This was alright. It was OK in the speed department and its' ride-quality was great, as was its' interior! It sounded OK, too. Overall, nothing special but nothing bad.

31 (ANW) - Parr, *** > St Helens, Bickerstaffe Street
Plaxton Pointer 2 R563 ABA (7563)
Same as above - I didn't get off the bus because I wasn't forced off!

10 (ANW) - St Helens Bus Station > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX09 OPO (2983)
This was an excellent ride! The bus sounded fantastic, but it rattled a lot on the worst roads along the way. The driver was sluggish off the line, however he reached some high speeds - excellent, in my opinion, as the ride was very smooth! It was funny going up a hill because it sounded like it was in "slow mode" until it changed onto gear two normally...!

13 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Liverpool, Lord Street
Plaxton Pointer 2 X203 ANC (2203)
A short, but great ride! The driver was very, very fast! The bus rattled a lot, but it sounded great! The driver even chatted to me before I got off as I was the last passenger on-board - nice man!

55 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Bootle Strand Shopping Centre
Pulsar 2 MX59 FFZ (3020)
This was a very rough ride. After being stuck on Scotland Road for a while whilst traffic sorted itself out - including a "hit-and-run truck" (well, the truck hit a car and the car drove away, despite the truck pulling over!)... The bus sounded nice and it didn't rattle much. The driver used kickdown twice - it revved very high on the second occasion!

58 (ANW) - Bootle Strand Shopping Centre > Netherton, Magdalene Square
ALX200 X268 OBN (2268)
This was an excellent journey. The driver was fast and the bus sounded excellent, but it rattled a bit. My seat was comfortable and legroom where I sat was fine. If the driver had stopped at the bus stop, where I asked him to stop, it would have been a better ride...

[R311 WVR]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Heres an overview o Yesterday: I Went out to try and ind some Arriva MPD's in Crewe - And to try out some o D&G's Buses, I'm Posting like this 'cause Ive lost my notes with the Reviews on!

29 ANW Grange - Winsord Town Centre. ALX400 S240 JUA (4040) Good.
31A ANW Winsord Centre - Crewe BS. Centro CX56 CEK (2613) Average
8 DG Crewe BS - Crewe BS (Circular) Dart 10.7M OUI 9143 (102) Average
6 ANW Crewe BS - Crewe Train Station MPD Y38 TDA (878) Good
85 DG Crewe Train Station - Crewe BS Cadet YJ53 VDM (26) Very good!
TB DG Crewe BS - Tesco ECTRA MPD Y382 HKE (121) Very good!
TB DG Tesco EXTRA - Crewe BS MPD Y382 HKE (121) Very good!
6 ANW Crewe BS - Crewe Train St MPD Y37 TDA (878) Poor
85 DG Crewe Train Station - Crewe BS Solo YJ55 BHP (39) Good
42 DG Crewe BS - Middlewich Bull ring Solo YJ54 ZYM (65) Good
37 ANW Middlewich - Winsord Town Olympian R239 AEY (3349) Very good!
81 DG Winsord Centre - Middlewich RBL Solo YJ55 BHO (38) Good
37 ANW Middlewich RBL - Winsord Centre Olympican R334 WVR (3334) Good
29 ANW Winsord Town - Grange Estate Centro CX56 CEK (2613) Better than last time...


Abberviations:
ANW: Arriva North West
DG: D&G Bus Company
RBL: Royal British Leagion
BS: Bus Station
TB: Tesco ree Bus

[V671 DVU]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Headed out again today, this is what I rode:

6 Huyton to Liverpool (2719) - Not bad. The engine didn't sound particularly exciting, but it was quite fast and solid as a rock.

487 Liverpool to Birkenhead (2421) - Quite nice. The engine sounded good, it held a great turn of speed and didn't rattle. Interestingly, a ceiling panel towards the front of the bus was hanging by a thread and looked like it was about to fall off!

2 Birkenhead to Liverpool (3004) - Quite poor. It was clearly in safe mode, as it was very sluggish off the line despite holding gears. Rattles were to a minimum, however.

12 Liverpool to West Derby Road (2403) - Great! The engine didn't sound as good as 2402, but it held an excellent turn of speed and rattles were to a minimum.

68 West Derby Road to Green Lane depot (2216) - I was greeted by 2216 at the stop with it's engine turned off, but still with passengers on board. I thought it had broke down, clearly not! It turns out someone had boarded the bus with a pitbull, and the driver switched the engine off until he got off the bus. Eventually, he moved and we could get going! (When I was talking to the man next to me, it seems they were parked up for about 5-10 minutes waiting for him to get off!) 2216 was the same as ever, awful. Rattly, slow and sounds awful.

68 Green Lane depot to West Derby Road (2219) - Average. It didn't rattle as much as some ex Bootle buses, but the engine sounded dreadful.

18 West Derby Road to Belmont Road (2900) - Average. It was once again in safe mode, making it very sluggish off the line. I couldn't hear many rattles, but wasn't really on it for long enough to judge properly.

27 Belmont Road to Liverpool (2994) - To be honest, I couldn't really judge this bus thanks to the driver who preferred to cruise along the road at about 20MPH causing a massive queue of cars behind him... It did seem rattly, however.

472 Liverpool to Birkenhead (34254) - Not too bad. It didn't seem too rattly, but the engine was ruined by a horrid roaring cooling fan.

409 Birkenhead to Liscard (2411) - Quite nice. The engine sounded excellent, and the driver certainly got shifting at some points along the route. It was let down by a few rattles, however.

410 Liscard to Woodside (4000) - Excellent. The engine sounded fantastic, applying kickdown at most occasions. There were a few rattles, but not off putting. My plan was to ride this to Birkenhead, but it turns out it was a short to Woodside. I swear that destination said Clatterbridge on the front of it...

410 Woodside to Birkenhead (2451) - Not bad at all. The engine sounded excellent, and rattles were (very surprisingly!) to a minimum. Sadly the section of the route I used didn't give a chance for the bus to really get shifting.

2 Birkenhead to Liverpool (3001) - Average. It wasn't fast, and it was a tad rattly. Interestingly, we had to be diverted away from Whitechapel and be dropped off on Dale Street due to Duck TSL 931 breaking down in the middle of Whitechapel.

8 Liverpool to Huyton (7629) - I hate this bus with a passion. But, thanks to the dire reliability on Prescot Road routes at the minute I had to board it. Both drivers were very fast, particularly the first one who just floored it down Prescot Road. The bus itself is awful, however. Loud engine, idle vibrations and slipping gears.

[K853 MTJ]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Can I make a recommendation mate, next time you have a chance, ride 2461. That is an absolute beast of a DAF and revs its back side off in first gear alone, quality vehicle!

[V671 DVU]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
I've rode 2461 in the past mate, I do agree with you it's a quality vehicle! I've only had three (2451/9/61) but they've all been great, namely 2459 last weekend for the speed it got up to on the faster sections of the route! Certainly would recommend that.

[R311 WVR]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(25/07/2012 16:47)V671 DVU Wrote:  Headed out again today, this is what I rode:2 Birkenhead to Liverpool (3001) - Average. It wasn't fast, and it was a tad rattly. Interestingly, we had to be diverted away from Whitechapel and be dropped off on Dale Street due to Duck TSL 931 breaking down in the middle of Whitechapel.

Is taht why all the Cross - River - Xpress were all coming through Queen Square? I kenw somthing wasen't right! :P

[V671 DVU]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Yeah some were going down Dale Street whilst others were going into Queen Square.

[N301 CKB]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

(25/07/2012 16:47)V671 DVU Wrote:  2 Birkenhead to Liverpool (3004) - Quite poor. It was clearly in safe mode, as it was very sluggish off the line despite holding gears. Rattles were to a minimum, however.


2 Birkenhead to Liverpool (3001) - Average. It wasn't fast, and it was a tad rattly. Interestingly, we had to be diverted away from Whitechapel and be dropped off on Dale Street due to Duck TSL 931 breaking down in the middle of Whitechapel.

The Garage must have heard you Luke, as 3004 was parked next to the pits this evening.

I've heard that the Duck had problems with the wheels again.

[T42 PVM (Moderator)]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
dont think that was on the tour plan