The dreaded FIRST BUS!

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Fri 20 Dec, 2013 6:47 pm

Bracken wrote: Travelling to and from work on Stanningley Road it is not uncommon to see Eclipse Gemini double deck buses standing in for FTR buses.Whether they are out of service broken down or they do not have enough conductors or should i say welcome hosts i do not know.Hate the noisy row the engines make. Some of these infernal things can be incredibly noisy too with excessive engine tickover noise and loud (pneumatic?) sound emissions....seen a few old dears startled by sudden noise from 'em.

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Fri 20 Dec, 2013 9:09 pm

simong wrote: We live at Dawson's Corner and could get the 72 or the 508 in either direction but it really is generally cheaper and quicker to walk to New Pudsey and get the train, on-board wifi, coffee and cuddly toys for the kids or not. I had a little bet with myself to see how long it would take before I saw the first replacement double decker and I think it was after about two months.The buses were originally commissioned for York, where they couldn't get around corners in the city centre and use on the no 4 route, where they were continually underoccuppied. My guess is that the trolleybuses will look oddly similar and in time First hope that people won't notice that the bus on the trolleybus lane has a diesel engine. Bracken wrote: Travelling to and from work on Stanningley Road it is not uncommon to see Eclipse Gemini double deck buses standing in for FTR buses.Whether they are out of service broken down or they do not have enough conductors or should i say welcome hosts i do not know.Hate the noisy row the engines make. As someone who lives on the original 4ftr (failed transport revolution) route in Leeds, it's no surprise to see the bendybus streetcars being substituted for single crewed 'ordinary' buses. It was a depressingly frequent sight and on an evening / weekend when the service dropped from 'every 10 minutes' to half hourly it wasn't uncommon to see a lot more substitutions than could be explained away by a broken down bus. And lets not ignore the fact that they were / are timetabled with less dwell time at each stop due to the conductor, so a single crewed bus with the driver taking fares cannot hope to keep to the timetable.I presume they still have the appalling seat layout onboard and expect more than half the paying passengers to stand?

dogduke · Post by **dogduke** » Sat 08 Feb, 2014 7:07 pm

Have just seen something odd,I thought I was seeing things.Saturday 1725 hrs a purple slug,in service on the number 4 route onStoney Rock Lane.I thought they had all been reliveried for the 72 Bradford service.Can any of our bus members shed any light please?

jim · Post by **jim** » Sat 08 Feb, 2014 7:30 pm

Running late? (Coat already on and half way through door)

dogduke · Post by **dogduke** » Mon 10 Feb, 2014 9:09 pm

dogduke wrote: Have just seen something odd,I thought I was seeing things.Saturday 1725 hrs a purple slug,in service on the number 4 route onStoney Rock Lane.I thought they had all been reliveried for the 72 Bradford service.Can any of our bus members shed any light please? Can someone(Amber,Buff Skinner Blakey etc) help out on this one?They seemto know people in the know !I've done a bit of poking around the net,found a list of First Leeds fleet vehicleswhich seems fairly up to date and 39012/14 and 22 do not appear on the list.Those listed are shown to have the Hyperlink livery.About 2 weeks ago Foundry Approach was closed for resurfacing and I saw a hyperlink slug coming off Foundry Ave to Oak Tree Drive presumably heading for Wetherbyand the A!.Smiles of Brunswick in Newcastle seem to be the engine rebuilders of choice.It was darkish,1725 hrs,the livery was the original purple livery and the number4 was visible.I had not had a drink and my eyesight is great following recentcataract surgery.It appeared to be internally lit,so ..............was it in service or en route to Newcastle for attention and if so why via Stoney Rock Lane ?.If in service it would have needed someone to collect the fares..and Saturday seems anodd day to take it to the menders.

BLAKEY · Post by **BLAKEY** » Tue 11 Feb, 2014 10:41 am

Afraid I can't answer those specific incidents for you. However many, if not all, of those former "slugs" which are now dressed up unnecessarily for the 72 service were expensively refurbished at only five or six years old by a contractor in the north east. Of course they all carry conductors now - sorry I refuse adamantly to say "customer service hosts" after the failure of the ftr "pilot only" intended system. Whatever we say about "first", they certainly know how to throw good money after bad, big style, on measures directed at a totally uninterested travelling public who only want to see a BUS on time at a reasonable fare.

amber · Post by **amber** » Tue 11 Feb, 2014 3:41 pm

dogduke wrote: dogduke wrote: Have just seen something odd,I thought I was seeing things.Saturday 1725 hrs a purple slug,in service on the number 4 route onStoney Rock Lane.I thought they had all been reliveried for the 72 Bradford service.Can any of our bus members shed any light please? Can someone(Amber,Buff Skinner Blakey etc) help out on this one?They seemto know people in the know !I've done a bit of poking around the net,found a list of First Leeds fleet vehicleswhich seems fairly up to date and 39012/14 and 22 do not appear on the list.Those listed are shown to have the Hyperlink livery.About 2 weeks ago Foundry Approach was closed for resurfacing and I saw a hyperlink slug coming off Foundry Ave to Oak Tree Drive presumably heading for Wetherbyand the A!.Smiles of Brunswick in Newcastle seem to be the engine rebuilders of choice.It was darkish,1725 hrs,the livery was the original purple livery and the number4 was visible.I had not had a drink and my eyesight is great following recentcataract surgery.It appeared to be internally lit,so ..............was it in service or en route to Newcastle for attention and if so why via Stoney Rock Lane ?.If in service it would have needed someone to collect the fares..and Saturday seems anodd day to take it to the menders. sorry not up to date on first. retired when they were Yorkshire Rider

buffaloskinner · Post by **buffaloskinner** » Tue 11 Feb, 2014 11:54 pm

I'm same as Amber, finished 17 years ago with YR

Jogon · Post by **Jogon** » Wed 12 Feb, 2014 12:26 am

Saw a flyer for this firm in the Sarnie shop at lunchtime.http://www.yorkshireheritagebus.co.uk/O ... lery.aspas well as hiring out for films etc they run regular day trips and I thought it would be a grand day out.Not sure that Mrs J will be thrilled tho'

dogduke · Post by **dogduke** » Wed 12 Feb, 2014 12:59 am

Thank you Blakey,Amber and Buff Skinner.I suspected that like me you had been out of your respective jobsfor some time but thought you might have known someone to ask.Thanks again,if I get time I might look in a different direction but I amcertain about what I saw.