Sunday 17 January 2016

16th January 2016, Beverley and Hull!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, But I thought this would make a good post. So  yesterday I visited the picturesque market town of Beverley, where it just so happens that there is a very good variety of buses to be seen there, including Acklams Coaches, a local independent which operates several town and out of town services, some of them to villages which would otherwise be inaccessible for some without the buses. I took the service 246 bound for Hornsea to get to Beverley, which was a Volvo Wright Gemini 2 unsurprisingly. Upon arrival to Beverley Bus Station I was greeted by a lovely Acklams Plaxton President in a very smart looking grey livery, parked in the station. Although I didn't get to ride on this I did take short journey on the 142 to Etton on an Optare Solo YX58 HBE which can be seen below. For a video of the Solo click here!

What I wasn't expecting when I got to Beverley was to see a Stagecoach bus. They run a service to Beverley once a day, the 123 and the 242, The 123 going from Beverley to North Point (and Wilberforce College on college days) and the 242 from Hedon to Beverley. I managed to snap pictures of the vehicle on both the 123 and the 242!

17716 MK02 EFV can be seen departing on a service 123 alongside Acklams YX58 HBE on a service 5.
17716 MK02 EFV pulling into Beverley Bus Station on a 242
 There wasn't much going on in Hull but I did see the new Petuaria Express branded MCV eVolution which unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph. Hopefully i'll catch it next time!

I'm off to Scunthorpe or Grimsby next weekend to expect another blog similar time!

Wednesday 29 July 2015

All change please? ; Simplibus is coming to Hull!

The service 16 is to be replaced by a new 'Direct' service to the Interchange
Stagecoach in Hull recently announced that they would make the Hull bus network simpler and easier for people to use and understand. All the numbers (aside from 1 and 2) have changed, with their new numbers stretching from 1 to 16. The changes will occur from September 6th

The new numbers may not be that much of a change for older people, as many of these numbers are the same as they were in the 80s/90s, It's the younger generation which I believe we'll see most confusion amongst, and with schools going back on the same date as the change, there's bound to be a few hiccups.

The routes can be seen in the picture I've posted, but if that's not very clear then I've dedicated a whole page on my blog to Simplibus, as i know how confusing it will be.

The service 41 is to be axed in September
Some may notice how the service 41 and 16 have disappeared. I'll start with the 16: to replace the current number 16 will be Simplibus 6. This will be a direct service operating from the pull in point n/ the roundabout on Kesteven Way (Where the 28 goes near the chippy van), this will then continue along Kesteven way and onto the new link road, through the Health Centre. It will then come back on itself and go towards Kingswood via the current way the 16 gets to the medical centre from Kingswood. The bus from Kingswood will then go along the Dual carriageway and across the bridge, straight down Beverley Rd and into the Interchange. This will be a particular handy route as it is 'fast and direct' and as i like to think of it, a 'Kingswood Express'. The 41 service was dissolved due to the dropping passenger numbers on it, making it commercially unjustifiable to run. Although do not worry as you may have noticed there is no number 15. This space has been left for possibly a 42-esque route to take it's place.

With the new changes the 13 and 43, and the 14 and 54 have been merged. This will make cross city connections broader and i'm sure will be handy for people travelling to the avenues from Bilton Grange and Greatfield on a Saturday night! The changes will not affect the frequency, but like said previously, make it easier for people to get from one side of the city to another.

There has been a lot of controversy over these routes and questioning, so the following events will take place across the city at the following locations and times.
• Monday, July 27: Greatfield, Elmbridge Parade, from 2pm to 7pm.
• Tuesday, July 28: Greenwich Avenue, from 2pm to 7pm.
• Wednesday, July 29: North Point Shopping Centre, from 2pm to 7pm.
• Thursday, July 30: Kingswood Medical Centre, from 2pm to 7pm.
• Friday, July 31: Queen Victoria Square, from 11am to 4pm.
• Monday, August 3: Orchard Park Tesco, from 2pm to 7pm.
• Tuesday, August 4: James Reckitt Avenue (East Park), from 2pm to 7pm,
• Wednesday, August 5: Princes Quay Shopping Centre, from 11am to 4pm.
• Thursday, August 6: St Stephen's shopping centre, from 11am to 4pm.
• Friday, August 7: Paragon Interchange, from 11am to 5pm.
Please come along for more information. All are welcome!

Sunday 26 July 2015

New EYMS MCV EvoSeti bodied Volvo B5TL

Not that long back, It was annouced that EYMS would be the first of (hopefully) many companies to purchase the new MCV EvoSeti bodied Volvo B5TL, a few months later and here it is!

I happened to be in the town centre when my phone notified me that some new photos was on the EYMS facebook page! Could it be ; Yes, the new bus was waiting for me (not personally like) outside the depot, parked up nicely. I took a service 1 down to the Anlaby Road depot and got off as i usually do, went across, and there it was in all it's glory. At first sight it is indeed a very smart looking bus, which i'm sure will be favourable with passengers. The bus is the first in EYMS' fleet to incorporate a Euro-Six engine, although the company already operates many Euro-five predecessors. Luckily for me there was some engineers outside, who let me take a closer look at the engine and the cab and interior!

You will notice the interior is very roomy and 'passenger friendly' it has ample space for a wheelchair and a fold down bar for the wheelchair space occupant. It also has a decent amount of luggage space. Onto the drivers cab and the controls are pretty simple, the same standard as all other B5LH vehicles. The destination changer and climate control are situated above the driver for easy access, and the door control is in the usual place on the right hand side cab panel. The cab is overall pretty spacious, and the drivers seat is equally comfortable. The interior is well lit and the upstairs also sports full size windows, despite it being the low height version of the bus. Overall i believe this is a very nice looking addition to the fleet, and with a Euro Six engine it shouldn't be too harsh on the pocket. To my belief once in service it will be on the X46 runs to York most of the time! Other photos below.




Cab - B5LH Standard




Top of the cab - Climate Control and Destination controlled by a Hanover Deric DG3





Main Engine Door - Sporting the first Euro-Six in the fleet!





Downstairs Interior - Spacious and Roomy, With ample wheelchair and luggage space.





Cab Side Control Panel





Upstairs - Nice and bright.






Side Engine Cover








I'd like to thank the fab engineers at EYMS and the driver trainer who allowed me to take the first pictures of this bus inside and out! Cheers guys!

Welcome to the Blog

Hello and Welcome to my new blog,

This is the place where from now on I will post all the bus related news i can find, Including service changes in my local area.

For now there's not much on here, but it will soon start to fill up!

Lloyd