It's been in York since last November and is tracking on Bustimes today in York.
Wouldn't surprise me if York Pullman receive a lot of the B9s. Looking at Bustimes fleetlist, they currently have 36166, 36167, 36168, 36171, 36172, 37709, 37710, 37718, 37720, 37721, 37723, 37724, 37726 and even open-top 37747 for Golden Tours from Cornwall and probably more B9s that aren't tracking on Bustimes as they're on private runs or school services.
Just had a thought, West Yorkshire may see these vehicles but it'll be Tetley's that get them rather than any West Yorkshire depot as I think Tetley's still have a few ALX400s knocking about.
Well only Halifax currently has ADL in their fleet so apart from them it looks unlikely as everywhere else in West Yorkshire (+York) is majority Volvo and Wrightbus (as well as some Yutong and Optare). The 10 or so B9s may well find a home at Tetleys or York Pullman but I agree that the E400MMCs won't. Bristol might be more likely than West Yorkshire for a new home.
Halifax would be the only depot in the region with a sliver of a chance due to cummins standardisation (1st gen streetlites, e40d, and e40d mmc)
Is that for Hunslet or Bramley? presuming Hunslet as they have most of the remaining eclipses in Leeds
I may be missing something very obvious here, but why would that be an issue?
I don't know but it's to be used as a training vehicle for drivers.
First York continue to struggle with match days, weekends, holidays and particularly Christmas. Lack of deckers is a problem resulting in singles being used on routes that a decker should be (like the 9). Many have complained to First regarding singles on the 9 but deckers are spread thin.
This will be like a red rag to a bull to York fans when they find out as many don't like Leeds fans lol. The Uggla family should teach First a lesson by stripping Pullman of the contract in protest and offering it out to someone else, an independent somewhere in North East Yorkshire that only does school work for example? Something needs doing because when the ground expands, it's going to be chaos.
www.bbc.co.uk
The company has a margin of 10%. That is the company target and in a post pandemic market it is an aggressively optimistic one to treat as normal or sustainable without consequences (unnecessary service cuts). First will vanish from the country assuming they expect those margins from franchising.
Out of interest if customer revenue is lower than forecast during franchising at what point will reducing mileage be considered as an alternative to pumping in more subsidy?
I was going to ask the same. We don’t know yet. The assumption is that the franchised operation will never cut a service regardless of passenger volumes.
If both sides are genuinely under strain. The farebox is materially down and the public purse cannot bridge the gap.
London cuts are absolutely nothing compared to the rest of the country. (see Chart 6) This is because franchising is incredibly resilient due to the fact when budgets work together you have many different approaches to prevent cuts.
Yes it’s naive to think there will never be cuts. Buses have been regulated for more time than they have been deregulated and mileage reduced under both regulated and deregulated environment. It will be herioc for franchising to turn this around. Buses have been in near continuous decline since fuel rationing ended in 1951 and unless massive changes in attitude to car restraint measures are made use will continue to decline.
Yes, I have.
The business case for franchising issued by WYCA is based on decreasing bus usage, so a certain amount of customer revenue loss is already baked into the figures. If the loss is bigger than that then, yes, I would assume they would look at reducing mileage. But it is only an assumption- we don't know.
But somebody who uses those routes and connects onto another bus or a train at Interchange will be affected. Enough to switch method of transport? Who knows, but it's certainly a possibility.
First aren't going to go down without a fight when it comes to franchising. Of course, they'll see a reduced presence in West Yorkshire compared to now, but I'd still expect them to have some pretty Big contracts.
No, because the vast majority of people using the bus in Bradford already waited at bus stops in the city centre. A bus shelter on Nelson Street or Manor Row isn't any different to a bus shelter on Market Street or Sunbridge Road.
I don't think it has much effect because most people using buses in Bradford don't use the Interchange. They never have. They use the bus stops on the streets in the city centre. The only exceptions are those catching a bus to the Interchange to catch a train or those routes which don't go into the city centre (e.g. 576, 268).
I wouldn't mind them having contracts where someone else sets the timetable and the fares.
That was exactly my point, those who use the 615, 616, 619 & 633 and change onto the train have been affected by the closure of Interchange. Perhaps affected enough to move away from the Bus and into the car or another form of transport.
Bradford more than Halifax or Huddersfield. Looking at fleets, Bradford has more modern vehicles than Halifax and Huddersfield. I'd be surprised if they didn't put up a fight for a Tranche including Bradford.
Very true.
Halifax and Huddersfield has a much smarter fleet than Bradford. Bradford only got the Streetdecks due to the clean air zone and even then use them primarily on routes to Leeds
The Bradford fleet is split between majority Olympia and City of Bradford livery. Leeds still has lots of LeedsCity branded vehicles. Huddersfield has been moving away from HD Connect to Ultraviolet.
