Two different buses were tracking as 38452 briefly. 38452 was on the 46, while the bus tracking as 38452 on the 2 was actually 37750. This isn't an issue with Bustimes but rather down to First inputing the same ticket machine (38452) code in two different vehicles.
The 2, 3 and 6 definitely pose a problem. The electric buses won’t have the range to run these services for long periods of time especially the E400EVs so I wouldn’t be surprised if they never saw service on these routes. It’ll mean switching out electrics for diesels or running half and half routes like they’ve did with the current 75 and 38 which imo is no way to run a bus a company. I’d say the 77 is perfectly suited to electric buses as is the 6A and X4.
Do the electric buses draw down much power when they're sitting in traffic? Thinking here of lights and any other ancillary equipment.
It’s the registration for the SPT 11 that is being varied.
I would imagine not. If they've been sensible they'll have used LED lights which draw an almost negligible amount. By far the most amount of power is going to be spent moving the vehicle.
Cheers
At least Blantyre/Overtown must have plenty of drivers.
It's refreshing to see something increase in frequency instead of decreasing. There are definitely more services across the network that probably need increases to help with passenger loads but the driver shortages aren't getting better quick enough to make it possible. It does certainly seem less awful than it did 2-3 months ago though so hopefully by early 2023 some more increases are possible.
Overtown was/is on a full roster of drivers.
My recollection was they were mainly concentrated on the 18, 44 and X5 when they were new although some would also appear on the 20, 38, 45 and 75.
Overtown is indeed fully staffed. Currently sending 5/6 drivers per day to Blantyre to help them out whilst still having all duties covered in Overtown.
I think this is fair however it is worth remembering that the Volvo Olympian / Alexander Royale combo were essentially 20+ year old designs that had been thoroughly tested and refined over that time and therefore were a (largely) robust and reliable product.
I shared this feeling too about the E300s when new. I have to say they’ve proved me wrong. Most buses are now about 10 years old or coming up for it. Internally they are quite tired and could do with a refit but on the whole they’re decent enough buses. They’re quite nippy still and the build quality so far has proved to be more robust than I had ever thought it would be 10 years into service. Not to mention they’ve been hammered up and down the express way to Helensburgh, Balloch and on busy routes like the 2, 3 and at one stage the 77.
Thank you for the information. I do find it interesting how certain depots seem to be so well managed compared to others. I'm not surprised that it's the smaller ones that are completely fine though.
The Volvo Olympian particularly earlier examples around K/L reg were horrendous for chassis corrosion and many were withdrawn early because of this.
I got the 88 up to the top of Springburn today and it was due at 13:10 and it left Buchanan Bus Station at 13:35 with another 88 too. The roadworks at Balgrayhill Road aren't helping either and the traffic around Bishopbriggs is horrendous even without any roadworks let alone multiple on the same route.
