Arriva Midlands

[sharpley]

That took well over 3 years to complete!

Chargers went live within the last few weeks, Maybe Arriva could 'borrow' some of the lorry charging stations as a stop gap

 

[Russel]

Chargers went live within the last few weeks, Maybe Arriva could 'borrow' some of the lorry charging stations as a stop gap

Yep, they started digging up local roads about 3 years ago for the initial cabling upgrades.

 

[sharpley]

Coach 7102, looking nice in its new coat of paint, is out on the Twycross Zoo service TZ1 today. Just seen it leaving Nuneaton bus station

 

[SSmith2009]

Coach 7102, looking nice in its new coat of paint, is out on the Twycross Zoo service TZ1 today. Just seen it leaving Nuneaton bus station

Looks to have done one of the X6 peak boards then onto TZ1 if bustimes.org is correct.

 

[MylesW]

Coach 7102, looking nice in its new coat of paint, is out on the Twycross Zoo service TZ1 today. Just seen it leaving Nuneaton bus station

Yeah this is what it’s using this year, will be 7102 and 7204, depending on availability.

 

[Penfold@658]

Same guy who was going around telling everybody that we were getting a new “X1” from Leicester to Birmingham, as well as that all the Temsa coaches were being scrapped and replaced with the Tourismos…

There hasn’t been Leicester to Birmingham route since 1986 when Midland Fox had it X66

 

[E B]

I have noticed a lot of E400’s on the 6 lately, why is that? Are Tamworth short on single deckers, or is the 6 becoming busier?

 

[Russel]

I have noticed a lot of E400’s on the 6 lately, why is that? Are Tamworth short on single deckers, or is the 6 becoming busier?

I've noticed the same, I assumed they were just using anything they had spare that worked.

 

[isaac27]

I have noticed a lot of E400’s on the 6 lately, why is that? Are Tamworth short on single deckers, or is the 6 becoming busier?

Because it’s a very rare occasion that all 9 are working. Usually 3 - 5 are broken down at the same time or going for an annual test.
The 6 can be hit or miss some times and day it’s busy. Before 8 in the morning it’s quiet. During 8 - 10am and 3-5pm it can be full due to college students and people going to and from work. After 6 it’s dead tho hardly see anymore than 3 people at the most.

 

[sharpley]

Because it’s a very rare occasion that all 9 are working. Usually 3 - 5 are broken down at the same time or going for an annual test.
The 6 can be hit or miss some times and day it’s busy. Before 8 in the morning it’s quiet. During 8 - 10am and 3-5pm it can be full due to college students and people going to and from work. After 6 it’s dead tho hardly see anymore than 3 people at the most.

Caught the 1110 departure from Nuneaton the other week on the 6 and I was the only passenger on board until Atherstone. Caught the same service today and probably 10 on board leaving Nuneaton. Hit and miss as you say

 

[E B]

Because it’s a very rare occasion that all 9 are working. Usually 3 - 5 are broken down at the same time or going for an annual test.
The 6 can be hit or miss some times and day it’s busy. Before 8 in the morning it’s quiet. During 8 - 10am and 3-5pm it can be full due to college students and people going to and from work. After 6 it’s dead tho hardly see anymore than 3 people at the most.

Thank you

 

[isaac27]

Caught the 1110 departure from Nuneaton the other week on the 6 and I was the only passenger on board until Atherstone. Caught the same service today and probably 10 on board leaving Nuneaton. Hit and miss as you say

It also depends if there is any delays or problems with the Stagecoach 48a if that doesn’t turn up or is late people get on the 6 to atherstone.

 

[joieman]

8049 and 8050 have become the fourth and fifth buses to carry the new Leicester Buses livery respectively. Bustimes also suggests that 8055 has entered service for the first time since it gained the said livery.

 

[zkyx02]

Has the repainted Temsa been branded yet? The second should arrive in a few days currently at MRC in new colours.

 

[BULLSAREMAGIC]

I've read much on this thread concerning the state of the fleet operating out of Tamworth and in particular the lack of inveastment in fleet replacement. Not having visited Tamworth for many years I was wondering if the operations there warrant large investment in view of loadings etc

 

[Russel]

I've read much on this thread concerning the state of the fleet operating out of Tamworth and in particular the lack of inveastment in fleet replacement. Not having visited Tamworth for many years I was wondering if the operations there warrant large investment in view of loadings etc

Loadings seem alright overall, 110, X65 and many of the local routes are generally busy.

Reality is, much of the fleet is at the point or rapidly approaching, where replacement is the only option.

 

[BULLSAREMAGIC]

Loadings seem alright overall, 110, X65 and many of the local routes are generally busy.

Reality is, much of the fleet is at the point or rapidly approaching, where replacement is the only option.

Thanks for that. Are BusLink having an impact? Arriva dont appear to have a good record on dealing with competition

 

[Russel]

Thanks for that. Are BusLink having an impact? Arriva dont appear to have a good record on dealing with competition

From what I've seen, both BusLink and Arriva seem to have similar loadings, though I'm surprised the competition has lasted as long as it has.

Maybe it's a case of, if you provide a frequent service, people will use it?

 

[isaac27]

4551 is on loan from derby to Tamworth on locals and the 110 this evening.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2026 ==

I've read much on this thread concerning the state of the fleet operating out of Tamworth and in particular the lack of inveastment in fleet replacement. Not having visited Tamworth for many years I was wondering if the operations there warrant large investment in view of loadings etc

Generally busy as russel says however there is many problems. Poor fleet reliability with high amounts of breakdowns. Poor maintenance and cleaning plus poor service (running excessively late, skipping services, and poor customer experience) there is also poor planning with unsustainable vehicles being put on challenging routes. There are times where service is good and reliability is decent but there are times where both are very poor. The fleet is getting on a bit now and there is only so much that can be done to keep it running reliably. Service and overall experience from my opinion has been very hit or miss since early 2025.

 

[Russel]

4551 is on loan from derby to Tamworth on locals and the 110 this evening.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 14 Jul 2026 ==


Generally busy as russel says however there is many problems. Poor fleet reliability with high amounts of breakdowns. Poor maintenance and cleaning plus poor service (running excessively late, skipping services, and poor customer experience) there is also poor planning with unsustainable vehicles being put on challenging routes. There are times where service is good and reliability is decent but there are times where both are very poor. The fleet is getting on a bit now and there is only so much that can be done to keep it running reliably. Service and overall experience from my opinion has been very hit or miss since early 2025.

Local services almost always have services missing by early afternoon.

Cleaning is a big issue, interiors have years of build up grime that doesn't leave a positive impression.

 

[BULLSAREMAGIC]

Local services almost always have services missing by early afternoon.

Cleaning is a big issue, interiors have years of build up grime that doesn't leave a positive impression.

Do any of Tamworths services warrant an investment in new deckers or would saloons suffice

 

[Russel]

Do any of Tamworths services warrant an investment in new deckers or would saloons suffice

The 110 does get well used, especially between Sutton and Birmingham, when singles stand in, they can get very cosy.

 

[isaac27]

They could do with new deckers for the 110. They already have 11 byd’s arriving at some point but that’s in limbow at the moment due to charging infrastructure issues. Some new singles or even decent hand me downs would be welcome as some of the fleet has past its prime.

Do any of Tamworths services warrant an investment in new deckers or would saloons suffice

 

[Kaliwax]

You can have Yorkshire's Streetdecks if you want, Yorkshire have been wanting to get rid of them for a while.

 

[isaac27]

You can have Yorkshire's Streetdecks if you want, Yorkshire have been wanting to get rid of them for a while.

I’m sure they would take them with open arms. More decent that other stuff that’s been acquired lately. They have a reputation for taking past prime busses like 58 plate max citaros, 10 plate e200s, 09 plate versas oh and derby likes to share the joy by sending scrap pulsars which either get sent to scrap or to MK within 3 ish months.

 

[Russel]

I’m sure they would take them with open arms. More decent that other stuff that’s been acquired lately. They have a reputation for taking past prime busses like 58 plate max citaros, 10 plate e200s, 09 plate versas oh and derby likes to share the joy by sending scrap pulsars which either get sent to scrap or to MK within 3 ish months.

To be fair, the worst seems to have gone now, the Max Citaros and E200s really were a dark point.

 

[isaac27]

To be fair, the worst seems to have gone now, the Max Citaros and E200s really were a dark point.

Yes to be fair. Abit off topic but I do miss the e300s yes they were tatty and tired but they were still pretty nice to go on.

 

[Russel]

Yes to be fair. Abit off topic but I do miss the e300s yes they were tatty and tired but they were still pretty nice to go on.

I agree, I wasn't keen at first, I thought they were really scruffy, but after using them, they were actually really decent from a passenger perspective.

 

[derbybusdepot]

It will be interesting to see where the uni hopper e400s go next. Will they get a repaint and remain at Derby?

 

[busfan308]

I think there are routes in Derby like the 2/2A which would benefit from deckers, so hopefully the hopper bus MMC’s stick around.