First Essex

[Gareth1990]

Weren’t there two bus routes to Stansted at one time, the 133 and the old X20, which carried on to Clacton

 

[buslad1988]

Interesting that an article on route one about the purchase of Arriva Colchester by First states it will include the fleet… I’d imagine a trip to Ensign for onward sale or the scrapyard beckons.

 

[NWSpotting]

Interesting that an article on route one about the purchase of Arriva Colchester by First states it will include the fleet… I’d imagine a trip to Ensign for onward sale or the scrapyard beckons.

A lot of the older ADLs will probably be stripped for parts as well, keeping the newer ones they have going. I doubt they want to run any 58-plate E200s that look like they're on their last legs

 

[Mollman]

Interesting that an article on route one about the purchase of Arriva Colchester by First states it will include the fleet… I’d imagine a trip to Ensign for onward sale or the scrapyard beckons.

Easiest thing to do if Arriva don't need them and saves First having to scramble around for some vehicles. When First bought Finglands from EYMS, it didn't include the vehicles but most of the fleet was then loaned to First whilst they found replacements. Be interesting to see if the ex-Park and Ride 200MMCs are included or will get swapped out for older vehicles before the December.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

A lot of the older ADLs will probably be stripped for parts as well, keeping the newer ones they have going. I doubt they want to run any 58-plate E200s that look like they're on their last legs

Assuming that the ex P&R e200mmc's are part of the deal, they'd be worth keeping. However, the rest of the Arriva fleet is probably to be retained only in the short term - First Essex has been busy getting rid of older stuff but they'll need the existing fleet until they can make the requisite service changes and identify replacements.

When Stagecoach took on First's Plymouth work, they had a number of B7Ls and Tridents on loan for a good few months to assist the transition IIRC. In this instance, taking the Arriva fleet in the short term probably helps given the delays in some cascades with electrification and compounded with the Metrodecker withdrawal.

 

[stuart81]

Worth noting on that front that comments on social media claim that First has a driver shortage in Colchester at the moment, so the extra staff will probably come in handy (especially given the local competition for drivers from the Sizewell contract) even with a reduced overall PVR from merging the two operations.

Been having a look through bustimes over the last week for First Colchester and there are lots and lots of gaps which I assume are dropped trips due to a lack of driver as the vehicle stays on the duty all day although vehicle availabilty looks quite poor as well with a good number of Streetlites off the road for several weeks. Allocations appear almost "if it's moves it goes" as most routes have a mixture of short Streetlites, long Streetlies and Deckers all week.