Stagecoach South West - Fleet News & Discussion

150249 said:

People on an enthusiasts Facebook group are claiming Exeter's electrics will start service on the 17th. Admittedly it isn't the most reliable information but its nice to have a time scale. So far, 66104-106, 66110, 66113-115 and 66118 have been spotted around the depot.

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Rapidash said:

I've just seen one in service on the A.

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150249 said:

Yes, 66113-115 are all out today. 113 on the B and the others on the A.

66114 looks quite the part in its green Devon Bus livery!

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Exeter’s 30 electric buses are having to be temporarily charged by a diesel generator because their depot hasn’t been properly connected to the grid yet. Stagecoach has the raft of new electric buses that it wants to get into service, but said the only way it can power them up at the moment is by using a diesel generator. It even has electric charging infrastructure in place, but said that hasn’t been connected to the electricity grid yet - something which has to be agreed between the depot’s landlord, Exeter City Council, and the National Grid.

It was in May last year that Stagecoach South West and Devon County Council - which oversees transport - announced spades would be going into the ground for the installation of the Exeter depot charging infrastructure. Located in Matford Park and Ride, the charging points were also set to be available for use by the public when buses weren’t using them. Devon County Council secured the initial Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) funding from the Department for Transport (DFT), with Stagecoach South West investing £15 million into the project for vehicles and infrastructure. This was announced in March 2024 and also covered Barnstaple, although electric buses aren’t yet in service there.

“A diesel-powered generator will be connected to our charging infrastructure in Exeter from this week to enable our 30 new electric buses to enter passenger service,” a spokesperson from Stagecoach said.
“The charging infrastructure at the depot is fully installed, but it is not yet energised because a permanent connection to the electricity grid has not been completed. As a result, a temporary power solution is required to allow the buses to operate. The permanent grid connection depends on a contractual agreement between the depot landlord, Exeter City Council, and National Grid, which remains the final step before the depot can be fully connected and the generator removed. This process has taken longer than anticipated."

Councillor Ed Hill (Independent, Pinhoe & Mincinglake), who was alerted to the use of the diesel generator to charge the electric buses, said it "sums up the problem with Exeter’s Labour-Green administration perfectly. For years we’ve been told about climate emergencies, net zero targets and the need for everyone else to change their behaviour," he said. "Yet when it comes to delivering their own projects, we end up with electric buses being charged by a diesel generator because the necessary agreement still hasn’t been sorted. "Stagecoach is paying the rent, Stagecoach is paying to run the generators and Stagecoach is getting the buses into service. Meanwhile, the council appears to be buried in red tape. "I support electric public transport and I welcome Stagecoach’s decision to get these buses on the road." He added that residents "deserve better than virtue signalling and excuses" and instead deserved a "council that can actually deliver".

The Stagecoach spokesperson added it had been "working closely with all parties throughout and continues to support progress towards completion. However, until the agreement is finalised, the use of a temporary diesel generator is necessary to ensure the buses can enter service without further delay," the spokesperson said. The firm added it did “not consider it acceptable” for the new buses to sit idle while the legal agreements for the grid connection were put in place, especially given the “significant customer and environmental benefits they will deliver. All buses, drivers and infrastructure are ready, and our priority is to deliver the benefits of this new electric fleet to passengers as soon as possible, while the final arrangements for a permanent grid connection are completed,” the spokesperson added.

Exeter City Council was contacted for comment but had not responded by the time of publication.

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padbus said:

I travelled on 66113 yesterday. It was a nice enough bus with good seats and good leg room where I was sat in the window seat of the first nearside eat in the raised area. The next stop display was of the computer screen style above the gangway at the front of the bus. I cannot comment on the display as my view of it was completely blocked by the back of forward facing display for wheelchair users.

Meanwhile Devon Live is reporting the electric fleet in Exeter is being powered by a diesel generator. Whilst not ideal, clearly Stagecoach has a fleet of expensive buses which have been standing idle for many months and is not prepared to wait any longer to use them. Hopefully this will allow the withdrawal of the very tired 22 year old Solos that are still running round Exeter. https://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/exeters-electric-bus-fleet-forced-11022209.

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150249 said:

Quite often 5/5 of the buses on my local E route are 04 plates. As much as I do love them as I grew up with them, I can't wait for them to disappear. Will be sad to see 47092 and 47099 go though, always had a soft spot for those two!

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150249 said:

Quite often 5/5 of the buses on my local E route are 04 plates. As much as I do love them as I grew up with them, I can't wait for them to disappear. Will be sad to see 47092 and 47099 go though, always had a soft spot for those two!

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Rapidash said:

I can only hope with all the new vehicles inbound we might stop seeing the longer routes being stuck with single deckers.

I saw a Solo on the 2 the other day. That's going to be a uncomfortable ride for all concerned
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Temple Meads said:

The issue is that the new buses are all single deckers anyway. New electric deckers are supposedly on the way, but the existing fleet is so tired that it will take some major investment or some transferred diesel deckers to have enough for all rural routes.

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embers25 said:

BU26WWK either doesnt have aircon or its broken already as was a sauna on the I today. I'm really hoping Devon didn't skimp on aircon given it was part of the Somerset spec and works great on BYD...maybe Volvo don't have it?

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embers25 said:

BU26WWK either doesnt have aircon or its broken already as was a sauna on the I today. I'm really hoping Devon didn't skimp on aircon given it was part of the Somersst spec and works great on BYD...maybe Volvo don't have it?

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geoffk said:

According to the fleet list on BusTimes.org (which may not be 100% accurate) there are 11 Volvo BZLs now operating from Exeter's Matford depot - 66103/5-10/3-5/8. Not all are out every day but routes operated so far are A, B, I, J, 4 and 4A. Two others (66117/9) have been used in Torquay. On today's journey (66110), the next stop display was just showing a page of diagnostics. I assume the number series for the full order will be 66101-30. With 31 seats these may not cope at the busiest times and I've not seen any news of the intended allocation.

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150249 said:

66117 and 119's brief stints in Torquay were tracking errors. Neither are serviceable yet. 66102 and possibly 66104 are both out but not tracking. 66111 was out on the first day but hasn't been seen since. The full order is only up to 66120.

From what I've seen, as nice as these buses are they do get pretty busy, especially on the heavily used 4/4A

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geoffk said:

Thanks. News reports say 30 electric buses for Exeter, so are the other ten double deckers? I'll have to pop over to Matford to see what's there.

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geoffk said:

Thanks. News reports say 30 electric buses for Exeter, so are the other ten double deckers? I'll have to pop over to Matford to see what's there.

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Bornin1980s said:

The next batch for Exeter will be 10 double deckers, which haven't arrived yet. Exeter probably won't be able to take any more electric buses until the chargers are connected to the grid, as the current generator can only charge one bus at a time. Apparently, this information comes from an anonymous Exeter driver. Unfortunately, he shared it with a YouTube EV hater. You've probably seen the type, a 'Cornish Jeremy Clarkson' who calls all EVs 'milk floats.'

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MarkC said:

It's a pity we can't get some newer buses in Plymouth. I know Stagecoach can't do electric here but something a bit newer than some of the stuff running around would be nice!

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MarkC said:

It's a pity we can't get some newer buses in Plymouth. I know Stagecoach can't do electric here but something a bit newer than some of the stuff running around would b

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Flange Squeal said:

Does anyone know if there’s just the one open top bus allocated at whichever depot (Barnstaple?) operates the 300?

I caught the first trip of the day (0930 Minehead to Lynmouth) aboard 15665 today, but we arrived into the coach park with smoke coming from the front offside wheelarch (presume brakes from the stench!), which was doused with a fire extinguisher and the bus replaced by a closed top for the rest of the day.

I guess a 100% spare ratio might be frowned upon, but it was a shame to be on a ‘normal’ bus on the 1350 return, and even heard one person proclaim “it’s really gone downhill since the Coaster buses went”. But then I think that was just as much about frequency, with this being fuel to their rant.

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150249 said:

There were rumours that they would be swapped with some of Hull's E400EVs 80294-312 but I'm not sure where that stands now.

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158 fan said:

seeing as hulls e400evs are now being used its unlikely to see them coming here. im quite disappointed seeing as torquay have e400evs and barnstaple are getting them. why stagecoach got yutongs is beyond me but here we are

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47550 said:

Just passed 37113, 37119 & 37120 on the M6 heading north around Stafford - presumably on their way to a new home

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buscoaster said:

Does anybody have any news on 15665 WA10 GHG - it has been off the road for a long time now

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