High-Spec Coaches on Local Services

[EYFanatic]

It wasn't unknown for Stagecoach in Hull to use their coaches dedicated for the X62 on local services such as the 28 after repairs in case they broke down again

 

[Statto]

I do remember around 2000 Travel West Midlands (as they were then) had subsidiary Yourbus, who for a short time operated the 192/194 Solihull - Coventry (as 192Y/194Y), & allocated a couple of ex National Express Plaxton Premiere coaches, that were still in National Express livery.

 

[kez19]

I was going to suggest (last year or so) Moffat and Williamson on 79 and 88 services in Dundee they had coaches appearing on those services

 

[Trainguy34]

During COVID I remember Stagecoach East Kent putting one of the coaches normally used on the (then suspended) M2 route, on the afternoon school run 89 to Aylesham as it was still absolutely packed!

 

[Open top 80]

This used to be quite common among small companies which operated a few market day buses in addition to their main business of private hire and excursions. It was uneconomic to buy a separate vehicle for those routes, so they were run with coaches. One typical example was Swanage-based South Dorset Coaches. They mainly did private hire and excursions but also ran two Thursday-only buses, Kimmeridge to Wareham and Creech to Wareham, which were were operated using coach vehicles. Another example was the weekly bus from Bantham to Kingsbridge, in Devon, which was also run with a coach (I can't recall the operator's name).

Sometimes large companies used coaches for longer or limited stop bus services. E.g. Tees used to use coaches for the 93 (Middlesbrough - Scarborough), X4 (Bishop Auckland - Saltburn) and X56 (Middlesbrough - Whitby) bus routes until accessibility needs led to the adoption of low floor buses.

The answer to the Bantham to Kings bridge bus Tally Ho ran that route on a Wednesday's.

 

[JD2168]

TM Travel used to run B10M Plaxton Premiere Coach R59 RAU at times on 65 Buxton, a coach that was previously used on TransPeak.

 

[Rab Smith]

Stagecoach in Inverness would occasionally send a Volvo B11R Plaxton Elite out on local stoppers. It was weird seeing a coach around the tight residential streets of Dalneigh on the 8! Haven't seen one in a while. I think it was around the time they had problems with their Yutons or were awaiting delivery of them.

 

[busesrusuk]

Stagecoach in Inverness would occasionally send a Volvo B11R Plaxton Elite out on local stoppers. It was weird seeing a coach around the tight residential streets of Dalneigh on the 8! Haven't seen one in a while. I think it was around the time they had problems with their Yutons or were awaiting delivery of them.

In 1988/9 (can't remember exactly) London Country North East were stripped of a couple of LRT contracts due to poor performance. The routes (298 and 313), were re-assigned to Grey Green on an emergency basis and used Duple Dominant bodied Leyland Leopard coaches until more suitable vehicles could be sourced. One such vehicle is seen here in Enfield Town:

Grey Green FYX819W

Enfield Town

www.flickr.com

 

[Strathclyder]

A First Glasgow Plaxton Paragon-bodied Volvo B12M (ex-Eastern Counties and inititally transferred to Glasgow for Lanarkshire express work) dropped onto the 81 town service (Clydebank-Duntocher Circular) in October 2013, a route typically operated at the time by Marshall Darts and Solos (linked photo copyright of Flickr's awsnews):

First Glasgow 20504 at Clydebank Bus Station

The destination does not lie, 20504 did manage a turn on the 81! After this it was replaced by a more typical for the route Solo.

www.flickr.com

 

[GusB]

The opposite side of the coin to my thread entitled Service Buses on Coach Workings. I saw a picture recently of a yellow-liveried Stagecoach Express coach working an Ayr/Prestwick local service. Any other examples of exotic provision on mundane operations?

I had the pleasure of travelling on a rather sick-sounding Volvo/Levante on the Elgin town service one day, a vehicle that was totally unsuited to urban work. I wouldn't describe the vehicle as "exotic", though!

In the days of NBC/SBG certain companies and/or specific depots within them were quite creative in this respect especially with regard to "purloining" a visiting coach which happened to be parked up temporarily in their depot which they then utilised to cover a piece of their own work.

Although this isn't strictly "local services", going back in time a little bit (*cough* 40 years), our school swimming run was often worked by an Aberdeen-allocated coach*. The most common vehicles were the Duple Dominant II Leyland tigers but sometimes we'd get something a bit more unusual; Alexander TC-bodied Tigers were the first vehicles I'd ever seen with plug doors and I remember being fascinated with the way they operated. Occasionally we'd get something from the "London fleet", notably one of the early single-deck MCW Metroliners and one of the blue and white Duple Goldliner Tigers.

*Northern Scottish

 

[I'm here now]

First’s X18 in Cornwall used to use hi-spec coaches at least towards the end

 

[Clydeflyer]

After deregulation/1986 when a then young Stagecoach of Perth and Strathtay Scottish shared running the service 16 between Perth and Dundee via all the villages in the Carse of Gowrie, the 22.10 from Perth to Dundee was actually the Stagecoach express service that left either Edinburgh or Glasgow (can’t remember which) earlier in the evening bound for Dundee. So, whilst Stagecoach’s timetable suggested you were on the express/non-stop to Dundee the coach after Perth became the Service 16 bus and unexpectedly you ended up calling at all these villages you likely had never heard of. The only clue was that run in the Stagecoach timetable had a much longer Perth – Dundee time than the rest.

The 23.10 service 16 back to Perth was the same coach.

So, you had the last two runs of the day of a very rural route being run by Neoplan Jetliners or one of the high-spec Volvos or DAFs in the Stagecoach fleet, and in case of the Perth to Dundee run, it was full of passengers wondering where they were?

 

[kez19]

Spotted on the 72 Arbroath-Ninewells this morning Stagecoach 54232 (had to look up on bus times as I seen it earlier on Perth Road)

 

[nonabrow]

Prior to their recent closure, Yorkshire Buses would frequently use a Caetano Levante coach on service 30 linking Horsforth and Pudsey.

It makes it funnier that this route is usually very quiet. I'm sure Lethers are doing a better job than YB however.