Bus-Related Outings & Reviews

[M113 YKC]

RE: Bus-Related Outings & Reviews
Today, I ventured out with no plan! Here's what I rode on:

52 (ANW) - Netherton, Glovers Lane > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 MX09 LYC (2942)
It was nice to see something different operating my first journey today! The bus sounded great and it didn't rattle much, however the constant "foot-on, foot off" action from the driver ruined the ride. He was quite fast, though - kickdown was used once (properly!) on Scotland Road and it sounded fantastic! I've had better rides - equally, I've had worse...

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, Muirhead Avenue
Pulsar 2 MX59 ABN (3012)
I hadn't had this bus for a while until this journey; sadly, it was a disappointing ride... The interior was a mess - typical of many Green Lane-based buses at the moment! At the back, where I sat, there was a full seat in the moquette typically featured on 58-plated Pulsars, which looked odd among the bus' standard moquette - of which was ripped in places, especially on the back row... The bus itself wasn't very good - it sounded poor and it felt a bit sluggish off the line, however that might have been down to the woman driver, who was quite fast anyway. The bus also rattled a lot - something which it didn't do much when I last rode on it...

18 (ANW) - West Derby, Muirhead Avenue > Queen Square Bus Station, via Croxteth
Pulsar 2 MX61 AWH (3077)
I'd noticed this bus following 3012 into Liverpool earlier in the day, so I decided to wait for it as I hadn't rode on it until this journey. It wasn't anything special. It rattled violently at times, however it sounded nice. The woman driver was very, very fast; she commonly reached 40-MPH in Croxteth and she even went about 50-MPH before she (sadly) came off in West Derby. One worrying feature of these 61-plated Pulsar 2s is that their gearboxes don't feel very stable - when the driver was going over speed-bumps in Croxteth, the bus kept jumping back onto gear one and revving very high, but slowly...

472 (FC&W) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Birkenhead Bus Station
Gemini YJ04 FZE (32457)
I decided to ride on this when I seen it turning onto Crosshall Street. Firstly, its' interior looked nice, however it featured a few ripped seats at the back of the lower deck. Surprisingly, the driver was quite fast through the Queensway Tunnel! The bus sounded a bit boring as it never held its' gears very well; it didn't rattle much, though. I'll have to sample a few more before I form an opinion on the type; it'd be unfair of me to do so after just one journey, which wasn't the best.

409 (ANW) - Birkenhead Bus Station > Seacombe Interchange (Bus Station)
DAF/Cadet X447 HJA (2447)
As I had time to kill, I decided to ride on the allocation on the 409 - board one at Birkenhead to Seacombe and then board the other at Seacombe to Birkenhead! This bus was great! It didn't rattle much and it sounded fantastic! It felt a bit sluggish, however it sounded fantastic - just like a good Dart! The only bad thing about it was its' seats - the first one that I chose didn't have much cushion on it and the second one that I settled into was a bit uncomfortable. Hopefully, this issue will be solved when/if it receives "P&P" maintenance. Other than that issue, however, I'd definitely ride on this bus again!

409 (ANW) - Seacombe Interchange (Bus Station) > Birkenhead Bus Station
DAF/Cadet X423 AJA (2423)
As this was a "P&P'd" example, I expected a better ride. I was wrong... This one was comfortable, however it rattled badly at times! It was also very sluggish off the line - its' gearbox changed gears at odd times... The bus didn't sound very nice, either. Hopefully, 2447 won't decrease in quality when/if it's "P&P'd"!

437 (ANW) - Birkenhead Bus Station > Liverpool, Whitechapel
Enviro400 CX58 FZZ (4410)
I hadn't rode one of these buses for a while until this journey, although I'd heard lots of different things about many of them! This one was quite slow off the line, despite revving quite high - I suppose that this was in the famous "slow mode"... It was also uncomfortable as I had no choice but to sit on one of the "plastic" seats at the back of the lower deck. Apart from that, however, I enjoyed this ride! The driver was fast and the bus didn't rattle much. It also sounded nice, but different...

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, Muirhead Avenue
Pulsar CX07 CSZ (2642)
I seen this as I got off 4410; as it was on my to-do list, I thought "Why not?"... It actually wasn't too bad. The driver was good and the bus was fine - it sounded nice and it was quite fast off the line (when the driver was in the mood). Its' gearbox was lovely! The amount of blue smoke that emitted from the back-end of the bus was worrying, though...!

18 (ANW) - West Derby, West Derby Road > Queen Square Bus Station
Pulsar 2 CX58 EWR (2902)
It's always a pleasure to ride on this bus, surprisingly - it features the "sensitive kickdown" issue and it's in the famous "slow mode"! The grumpy driver at the wheel was fast; kickdown was applied often and it sounded fantastic! The bus didn't rattle much - if at all, from what I can remember!

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > West Derby, Muirhead Avenue
Pulsar 2 MX59 FFS (3014)
Another "slow-moded" bus of this type... The driver didn't seem to like it, especially on hills. On Brunswick Road (a hill), the bus was absolutely rubbish! It struggled to get off gear one and when it did, it started to slow down (which caused frustration within the cab; kickdown didn't seem to kick down!)... Passengers at the front, where I was standing, were commenting on the slow speed! The driver was fast, though!

13 (ANW) - West Derby, West Derby Road > Queen Square Bus Station
Prestige R153 GNW (2403)
I was glad when this - something that I could tick off my to-do list - turned up. I didn't enjoy it. It rattled a lot and it didn't sound as nice as sister-bus R152 GNW (2402). The driver was quite fast and welcoming, though.

18 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Liverpool, Lord Street
Pulsar 2 MX59 JKZ (3032)
I'd been trying to track this bus down since I returned from Birkenhead earlier in the day - hence so many rides on the 18! I finally got it with a good driver, anyway. It was a short ride, however I couldn't identify whether it was in "slow mode" or not (it seemed to be!). It didn't seem to rattle much, from hat I can remember of the ride.

(I walked to Queen Square Bus Station with a lovely cone of chips; I don't like Lobster Pot anymore [probably because I'm there every other day]... )

9 (ANW) - Queen Square Bus Station > Kensington, Kensington
Marshall V624 DBN (7624)
I seen this and thought "Why not?" - another bus to tick off my to-do list... The driver was welcoming, kind and fast, however the bus was rubbish! It rattled a lot at the back, where I sat. It didn't sound nice, either, and it was sluggish off the line.

10A (SM&SL) - Kensington, Prescot Road > Queen Square Bus Station
Enviro300 PO11 BCX (27718)
As the evening timetables were starting to kick in, I decided not to wait for another 8/9 and boarded this instead. This was fine. The ride was a little rough - something which seems to be standard with these Enviro300s - although my seat was comfortable - another thing which seems to be standard with these buses! It sounded fine and it was quite fast off the line; it didn't rattle much.

58 (ANW) - Liverpool, Sir Thomas Street > Netherton, Peterborough Drive
ALX200 X265 OBN (2265)
I don't ride on these buses very often; I seen this earlier in the day, so I worked out when it'd be leaving Liverpool for Netherton again and I made a plan to ride on it home! It was very, very fast off the line - the driver was also kind and very, very fast! The bus rattled a lot, though, and it wasn't very comfortable - the interior wasn't very presentable, either. Its' excellent engine made up for those issues, though! An excellent way to end the day!