First Greater Glasgow

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

It'll be interesting to see if First increase frequencies on any service and cut others to compensate because all of a sudden the likes of the 2 and 3 have gotten significantly busier. Obviously the schools going back and more people returning to the office has added to this but even double deckers on the route are now ending up with no seats free at all.

You kidding?

Admittedly I’ve not been in Glasgow for quite some time now so I’ve no frame of reference to it now compared to 12 months ago.

 

[PaulMc7]

You kidding?

Admittedly I’ve not been in Glasgow for quite some time now so I’ve no frame of reference to it now compared to 12 months ago.

Nope. My 2 didn't run on Monday but Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday there were people standing and it was a double decker. Today it was still over half full but that's as quiet as it's been and bear in mind it's every 10 mins from Faifley in the morning. The 3's reliability will be a factor in how busy they are but I'm lucky if I get a seat now if I get one.

The off peak is still the struggle point but peak time has majorly picked up. Saturdays for me are still the busiest during the day to be honest but the midweek peak has majorly picked up.

I can remember saying the 2 could have went every 15 mins at one point but absolutely not now.

 

[Joerf21]

I can't understand why First Glasgow would pull the deckers off 1c/1d when the Dumbarton Road corridor is so busy.

 

[PaulMc7]

Cant understand why fg would pull the deckers of 1c/1d when the dumbarton road corridor is so buisy

The problem at the time was that Scotstoun needed more double deckers especially for the 2 but in reality they're still short of the deckers that they probably need. Even the 77 sometimes is an E300. Other than the M11, M60 and 81, you could probably run most of Scotstoun off of double deckers.

The 1C and 1D absolutely should be more double deckers though. 2 of the most deserving services in the entire network for double deckers and they have none other than a couple of journeys per day.

First could probably make smart moves by using more double deckers than singles on a lot of routes with reduced frequencies to cover the driver shortage too but I doubt it'll happen.

 

[Glasgowbusguy]

Cant understand why FIG would pull the deckers of 1c/1d when the dumbarton road corridor is so busy

There had been a couple of deckers on the 9/a over the last few weeks including a 41 branded decker. However this week with the schools back in full force they have disappeared.
Also, the 9A is now so busy in the morning that even when it leaves town on time with light traffic in the morning it's nearly 10 mins late by the the time it gets to Penilee.

 

[JumpinTrainz]

The 2 is made up of mainly deckers but still has branded E300s in between. Buses have been really busy which is good to see.

Shame it’ll be going back to single deck operation when the new buses arrive - which reminds me there’s still been no official announcement about them.

 

[PaulMc7]

The 2 is made up of mainly deckers but still has branded E300s in between. Buses have been really busy which is good to see.

Shame it’ll be going back to single deck operation when the new buses arrive - which reminds me there’s still been no official announcement about them.

If the new single deckers do come for the 2, it won't cope unless the frequency increases. Faifley to Clydebank has picked up massively in terms of passenger numbers but the rest of the route isn't far behind in terms of numbers growing in the peak time. I hope the off peak follows suit eventually but it'll take time and hopefully the poor reimbursements for concession passes and the under 22 passes don't cause mass cuts by then although I dread what's on the cards for October.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

So I’m guessing if the 2 really does get Yutong Electrics for their EV range that won’t solve the capacity problems, but double decker electric models don’t have the range. Euro 6 diesels or hybrid deckers are the answer.

A classic First Bus way to solve problems.

 

[lastbus]

I can't understand why First Glasgow would pull the deckers off 1c/1d when the Dumbarton Road corridor is so busy.

I believe they were taken out of Dumbarton because you cannot do any maintenance on them in Dumbarton depot.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

I believe they were taken out of Dumbarton because you cannot do any maintenance on them in Dumbarton depot.

So all of the 1C & 1D is operators from Dumbarton?

The height can’t be accommodated there?

 

[JumpinTrainz]

So I’m guessing if the 2 really does get Yutong Electrics for their EV range that won’t solve the capacity problems, but double decker electric models don’t have the range. Euro 6 diesels or hybrid deckers are the answer.

A classic First Bus way to solve problems.

Are there any other deckers on the market with a higher range that First could invest in? I’m not sure what they’ll do when more E400EVs come to wipe out more diesels as they just simply don’t have any range.

The Yutongs will be a good investment if the rumours are true. I’d hope we’d see more of them for other routes and as technology advances I wouldn’t be surprised if the E200EVs were cascaded out gradually keeping just a handful for selected shorter routes.

 

[Volvodart]

The Yutongs will be a good investment if the rumours are true. I’d hope we’d see more of them for other routes and as technology advances I wouldn’t be surprised if the E200EVs were cascaded out gradually keeping just a handful for selected shorter routes.

They would need to stay for 5 years anyway and politically longer in Scotland with the amount of Government funding involved.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

They would need to stay for 5 years anyway and politically longer in Scotland with the amount of Government funding involved.

Even the company itself paying for a new bus should have a future plan of ensuring that those new buses remain in the area most needed on bringing down emission levels.

Are there any other deckers on the market with a higher range that First could invest in? I’m not sure what they’ll do when more E400EVs come to wipe out more diesels as they just simply don’t have any range.

The Yutongs will be a good investment if the rumours are true. I’d hope we’d see more of them for other routes and as technology advances I wouldn’t be surprised if the E200EVs were cascaded out gradually keeping just a handful for selected shorter routes.

In theory only, the bigger the battery the more range you’ll have, however, Yutong has proven that good range is possible with a reasonable battery size.

A Volvo BZL Double-Decker can be specified with a 376 or 470KWH battery pack providing upto an unspecified range.

The ADL 400EV has a 339 or 382kwh pack with an upto 160mile range for the larger capacity.

A Jewel E has a 328, 438 or 548kwh battery pack, theoretical range is between 150-250miles, again depending on the pack size, the Jewel website states upto 250 but other sources state as much as 300.

There are without doubt better double-decker options to maximise EV range but it all depends when said options are available and when GOV funding is as well.

 

[Noddy1]

Even the company itself paying for a new bus should have a future plan of ensuring that those new buses remain in the area most needed on bringing down emission levels.

In theory only, the bigger the battery the more range you’ll have, however, Yutong has proven that good range is possible with a reasonable battery size.

A Volvo BZL Double-Decker can be specified with a 376 or 470KWH battery pack providing upto an unspecified range.

The ADL 400EV has a 339 or 382kwh pack with an upto 160mile range for the larger capacity.

A Jewel E has a 328, 438 or 548kwh battery pack, theoretical range is between 150-250miles, again depending on the pack size, the Jewel website states upto 250 but other sources state as much as 300.

There are without doubt better double-decker options to maximise EV range but it all depends when said options are available and when GOV funding is as well.

I saw something about ADL going to introduce a new integral decker and small bus (single?) towards the end of next year perhaps they would have better range? They will continue to offer the current models too. I saw this on ADLs own website/Facebook. Who knows though?

 

[Joerf21]

So all of the 1C & 1D is operators from Dumbarton?

The height can’t be accommodated there?

Yes, they are Dumbarton operated.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Aug 2022 ==

I had a disasterious bus trips yesterday waited 40min in clydebank saturday afternoon fir a number 2 going to faifley, and returning from faifley in sat night, had a ridiculious 2 hour wait on the 2 to glasgow, at this rate they will start to loose customers

 

[JumpinTrainz]

I’m currently on board an E300. I haven’t been on one of these in a good few years now. I remember them when they were new and used them daily.

They are in terrible nick. Everything rattles, the seats are ripped and the bus looks like it could do with a good refurbishment. I get new buses are on the way for the 2 but it’s really bad. Why don’t First refurbish their buses?

 

[ScotRail158725]

I’m currently on board an E300. I haven’t been on one of these in a good few years now. I remember them when they were new and used them daily.

They are in terrible nick. Everything rattles, the seats are ripped and the bus looks like it could do with a good refurbishment. I get new buses are on the way for the 2 but it’s really bad. Why don’t First refurbish their buses?

First do refurbish their buses, just not every bus gets refurbished at 8/9 years old. Sometimes its longer,sometimes not at all.

 

[Rory N]

TBH the slightly older one branded E300’s are also in a terrible state. Even if they scrubbed the seats and the floor, that would at least be some improvement. I don’t want to so like I am slagging of the cleaning staff but there are sometimes tickets from 1 month ago lying on the floor but people should not be dropping litter on the buses.

 

[PaulMc7]

TBH the slightly older one branded E300’s are also in a terrible state. Even if they scrubbed the seats and the floor, that would at least be some improvement. I don’t want to so like I am slagging of the cleaning staff but there are sometimes tickets from 1 month ago lying on the floor but people should not be dropping litter on the buses.

I think the problem is how many cleaning staff are there compared to buses? I can't imagine the ratio favours cleaning staff to be honest. I'd be shocked if they weren't short of cleaning staff given that Scotland in general seems to be short of everything right now.

 

[route101]

TBH the slightly older one branded E300’s are also in a terrible state. Even if they scrubbed the seats and the floor, that would at least be some improvement. I don’t want to so like I am slagging of the cleaning staff but there are sometimes tickets from 1 month ago lying on the floor but people should not be dropping litter on the buses.

I think the grime is so ingrained its hard to clean it off.

 

[Rory N]

I think the grime is so ingrained its hard to clean it off.

First’s presentation does come across at quite shabby.

 

[Jordan Adam]

The staining in the floor is permanent and won't come off, this affects all First Olympia spec vehicles up until around 2015 when they changed the supplier for the flooring, thus if you look on more recent vehicles you'll notice it's a darker shade of purple.

 

[Trnsprt4Sctlnd]

The staining in the floor is permanent and won't come off, this affects all First Olympia spec vehicles up until around 2015 when they changed the supplier for the flooring, thus if you look on more recent vehicles you'll notice it's a darker shade of purple.

That’s like comparing Satsumas with Mandarins..

It’s still far to light.

Firstbus common sense.

 

[Rory N]

Does anybody know if onboard announcements are still used in Glasgow as the only route I use is the 1 services and E300 don’t have them?

 

[route101]

Does anybody know if onboard announcements are still used in Glasgow as the only route I use is the 1 services and E300 don’t have them?

The 18, 75 and 77 should use the announcements. If you use the 1 you can't be too far from the 77 route if you want to find out?

 

[JumpinTrainz]

I see England will be seeing a lot of new Wright stock. I wonder if Glasgow will see Electroliners with better range

 

[Noddy1]

I see England will be seeing a lot of new Wright stock. I wonder if Glasgow will see Electroliners with better range

An article I saw said something about heavy investment in Scotland by First but it did not say in what form this would be and which companies would be getting the investment.

 

[PaulMc7]

I see England will be seeing a lot of new Wright stock. I wonder if Glasgow will see Electroliners with better range

I'd like to see something different but the main thing for me is comfort. Even the E300s aren't the best for that and I'm very used to them as they hit my main services as soon as they got here. The E400 MMCs and E200 MMCs aren't bad for comfort and if I get one of the electric double deckers I always go upstairs. The ceiling downstairs and back seat layout isn't the best. The back seats aren't the easiest to get out of when a bus is busy especially.

 

[route101]

I'd like to see something different but the main thing for me is comfort. Even the E300s aren't the best for that and I'm very used to them as they hit my main services as soon as they got here. The E400 MMCs and E200 MMCs aren't bad for comfort and if I get one of the electric double deckers I always go upstairs. The ceiling downstairs and back seat layout isn't the best. The back seats aren't the easiest to get out of when a bus is busy especially.

I find single deckers, if busy, are hard to get on or off. With double deckers if you sit upstairs its easier as you have the stairs and some standees at bottom of stairwell.

 

[vla50]

When will the final Geminis be seen off?