VDL SB200CS/Wright Pulsar 2675 (CX58EUT) is a Green Lane bus currently on loan to Birkenhead. It is seen here in Liverpool operating a 487 journey.

The five loanees are regularly seeing use on the recently extended 487 route which operates from Liverpool city centre to Parkgate and Ness Gardens via Birkenhead. Birkenhead also have Cadet 2551 and DAF DB250s 4029 and 4157 on loan which are also covering for the departed Enviro400s.

Birkenhead also has four former Runcorn Wright Pulsar 2s on loan. 2949 (MX09LXU) is one example, again working a 487 in this poor photo.

Stagecoach Chester & Wirral’s fleet continues to be steadily repainted, with 16964 (YJ04FZE) the first of the Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Geminis to be treated. This bus has also received Stagecoach ‘beach ball’ moquette internally but the purple seat backs and light blue handrails remain, giving it a somewhat mismatched internal appearance.

The first Stagecoach Chester & Wirral Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini to be reliveried is 16964 (YJ04FZE), seen here on Crosshall Street, Liverpool.

Bootle depot had a couple of its Alexander Dennis Enviro400s out on relatively unusual routes today. These included 4426 (MX09LXH) on the 311 and 4432 (MX09LXO), with a Liverpool Hope University overall advert, on the 54. The double decker fleet at this depot will soon be revitalised once an additional 12 Enviro400s join the fleet from Birkenhead.

One of two Bootle-based Alexander Dennis Enviro400s operating unusual routes today, 4432 (MX09LXO) takes up a 54 service to Thornton.

Away from the buses, Merseyrail have named another of their Class 507 units, this time unit 507008 in honour of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Having spent several years of his youth growing up on the Wirral, Wilson had a local connection which inspired the choice of name. A ceremony took place at Rock Ferry station on Monday 11/03/13 with local press and MPs present to unveil the nameplates.

507008′s brand new ‘Harold Wilson’ nameplate, honouring the former Prime Minister. The unit is standing at Southport station ahead of departure to Hunts Cross.

A further two Merseyrail trains are expected to be named over the coming months, honouring the Liverpool-born historian William Roscoe and, almost inevitably, rock band The Beatles.

Stagecoach Manchester, already the owner of 50 Alexander Dennis Enviro400H examples, was successful in securing funding for an additional 40. These are steadily entering service on the operator’s busiest corridor, the route 192, which connects central Manchester with Longsight, Levenshulme, Stockport and Hazel Grove. With 18 buses per hour between Manchester and Stockport and as many as 24 an hour along the northern section on weekdays, it offers one of the most frequent services anywhere in the UK.

Alexander Dennis Enviro400H 12194 (MX62GKZ) on Piccadilly working a route 192 journey to Stepping Hill, showing off its green livery and route branding.

The first 12 of the new batch went into traffic on 01/02/13 with 16 more a month later. The full fleet of 40 is expected in service by the middle of March, completing an £11.3 million investment in one of the country’s most heavily used bus routes. Unlike the previous batches, the 192 hybrids are fitted with wi-fi. The green Stagecoach livery has been slightly revised to include a lime-coloured ‘lip’ below the front windscreen, and the buses feature prominent route branding for the 192 which advertises the 18 buses an hour between Manchester and Stockport.

The upstairs interior of 12205 (MX62GWL), one of the latest to enter service. The green seating and alternative floor gives a pleasant internal ambience.

Internally, the new arrivals match their older cousins with a pleasant green variation on the standard Stagecoach internal fare. The Lazzerini Pratico seating features green seat backs and an alternative ‘beachball’ moquette, serving to emphasise the green credentials of the buses. These complement the grey and light brown vinyl floor in providing a brighter internal experience compared with the standard Enviro400s which dominate the Stagecoach Manchester fleet.

 
Five minutes’ walk from Piccadilly station is Shudehill Bus Station, which plays host to the latest hybrids in the city, operated by Arriva North West from Bolton depot. As mentioned in the previous blog, funding was secured for 44 double decker Volvo B5L hybrids with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork, 11 of which were intended for Manchester at a cost of £3.3 million. These are the first electric hybrids to enter service with Arriva outside London and confirm the operator’s commitment to cutting carbon emissions.

Numerically the last of Arriva’s hybrids in Manchester, 4502 (MX13AFF) approaches its stop at Shudehill Bus Station, showing off its green colour scheme.

Operating the route 10 which journeys from Shudehill to the Brookhouse estate via Salford Shopping City and Eccles Interchange, the Volvo B5Ls went into traffic for the first time on Monday 04/03/13 following a press launch outside Manchester town hall on Saturday 02/03/13. They wear Arriva’s green livery as already seen on Runcorn’s MAN EcoCity gas buses and feature promotional material in place of adverts. Captions such as “Go on, it’s cleaner, greener and a leather seater” attempt to coax potential passengers into giving the buses a go.

The upper deck interior of 4502 (MX13AFF) with the leatherette seating and CCTV monitor (top left) visible. They are otherwise similar to Arriva Speke’s VDL DB300s.

The interiors are impressive and, like the Runcorn EcoCitys, feature the high-backed Esteban Civic V3 seating with leatherette covering. The seating capacity is 66 in total, with 43 seats upstairs and 23 downstairs. In a first for Arriva North West, these double deckers include a CCTV monitor on the upper deck situated in front of the staircase which should assist in reducing the potential for anti-social behaviour and vandalism. The route 10 had not regularly seen double deckers prior to the arrival of the B5Ls, being operated mainly by a mixture of DAF and VDL single deckers.

Ten of the eleven buses are required for weekday service on the 10, allowing for a spare should one break down or require substituting. Saturdays, however, operate to a reduced 15-minute frequency with a need for only six examples, which permits the B5Ls to operate certain services around Bolton on weekends.

4498 (MX13AEY) collects passengers at Eccles Interchange before continuing its journey towards Salford and Manchester.

First are the other major UK operator to hold a significant presence in the city. Not to be outdone, First Manchester operates its own fleet of 14 Volvo B5Ls with full-height Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork based at their Queens Road depot. These operate mainly on the 18 route which runs from Shudehill to Rusholme and Langley, entering service in November 2011. They wear a sleek version of First livery with a silver base colour and pink skirt.

First Manchester’s Volvo B5L Hybrid/Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 39220 (BN61MWY) departs Shudehill for Rusholme.

 
The next area to benefit from hybrid technology will be the Wirral and its collection of ‘Cross River’ routes. Look out for another blog once these make their début in service which is scheduled for approximately a fortnight’s time. For more photos taken in Manchester, please see my Flickr Photostream.

The first of the ten brand new MAN EcoCitys arrived in mid-January 2013 to commence testing and staff familiarisation, being gradually joined by its sisters over the intervening weeks. Launch day took place on Friday 01/03/13, with a ceremony taking place at the buses’ home depot at Beechwood Avenue in Runcorn featuring staff, press, local figures and even a blimp. After the introductions were complete, five of the new order were sent into service for the first time, replacing the existing Wright-bodied Cadets and Pulsar 2s from around 13.30.

5009 (MX13ABF) and 5003 (MX13AAN) arrive at Halton Lea South, where route 1 circulars start and terminate.

The EcoCity buses are primarily intended for use on the Runcorn new town circular services 1 and 2 which start and terminate at the Halton Lea shopping centre. Five examples are needed to cover the two routes which operate in an interworking pattern and make extensive use of Runcorn’s busway network. The remaining five operate alongside Wright Cadets and the occasional Pulsar 2 on the Warrington – Runcorn – Chester 21 and X30 routes, which cover a significantly longer distance than the busway circulars.

Curving its way into Murdishaw is 5005 (MX13AAU) which is working a route 1 journey. Murdishaw is the terminus of several routes operated by Arriva and competitor Halton Transport.

The batch of ten are numbered and registered as follows: 5000 (MX13AKZ), 5001 (MX62KSZ), 5002 (MX13AAJ), 5003 (MX13AAN), 5004 (MX13AAO), 5005 (MX13AAU), 5006 (MX13AAV), 5007 (MX13AAY), 5008 (MX13AAZ) and 5009 (MX13ABF). We visited the busway on Monday 04/03/13, with 5002, 5003, 5005, 5006 and 5009 in service during the afternoon. Their livery differs greatly from the standard Arriva liveries, composed instead of a two-tone green background colour with thin stripes separating the two shades. Leaves are scattered across the bodyside and front end to highlight the green credentials of these buses, along with the tagline “This bus runs on gas. It’s cleaner, greener, quieter… better.” The livery will also be carried by the hybrid double deckers of Bolton and Birkenhead.

The interior of EcoCity 5009, viewed from the rear of the bus. The dual-purpose leather seating is in evidence.

Internally, the EcoCitys are high-specification, with the Esteban Civic V3 seats including headrests and topped off with leatherette material manufactured by the E-Leather company. Seating capacity is 43 in total with 39 headrested seats and four tip-up variants, located in each of the two bays these buses feature as space for prams and wheelchairs. They have a powerful and effective heating system which is a clear improvement upon their predecessors. Although the overall ambience is a little darker than the norm, they certainly appear very smart indeed.

5003 (MX13AAN) pauses briefly at Murdishaw before resuming its route 2 journey back to Halton Lea.

At Runcorn depot, the EcoCitys are replacing all eight of the garage’s 09-plate Wright Pulsar 2s, which have standard specification interiors, and two of their Wright Cadets. The destination for these cascades is yet to be confirmed, but Wythenshawe is the expected beneficiary. Once the replacement process is complete, Runcorn will be the only depot in the Arriva North West and Arriva Buses Wales empire to have all of its buses fitted with dual-purpose seating. The final allocation will comprise 32 VDL SB120CS/Wright Cadets, 5 VDL SB200CS/Wright Pulsar 2s and of course 10 MAN EcoCity/Caetano City Golds.

The depot was modified to accommodate these CNG-powered, carbon neutral machines, including a new refuelling point. The Gas Bus Alliance is responsible for supplying the bio-gas which powers the vehicles and is composed of household waste.

Our overall impressions were very positive: the EcoCitys we sampled rode very quietly and comfortably, managed pleasing speeds and boasted superb interiors. Passengers were heard commenting favourably on their new transport throughout our trip, but some complaints have arisen on Arriva North West’s Facebook group over the inability of this type to carry unfolded double prams. Time will tell how these buses bed in and operate once they have been subjected to several years on the roads, but they have made an eye-catching start.

Look out for a further blog post focusing on the Bolton-based Volvo B5L Hybrids which were launched on the same day as Runcorn’s EcoCitys in the near future, along with another for Birkenhead’s variants once they take to the roads later this month.

The first new buses delivered to an operator on Merseyside in 2011 were a fleet of 22 Alexander Dennis Enviro300s to Stagecoach Merseyside, back in March 2011. An example of one is show below, 27717 PO11 BCV, showing its newly applied 10A branding in May 2011.

These buses replaced the ex CMT Volvo B10Ls (however they remain with Stagecoach with a view to them being used during the 2012 Olympics when other buses from Merseyside will go to London) along with remaining Volvo B10Ms, converting the service fleet at Stagecoach Merseyside to be entirely low floor. At the very end of 2011 it seems more new Enviro300s will enter service with Stagecoach Merseyside in early 2012, however these will have the revised bodywork with a mid body emergency exit door and a Plaxton Centro style interior!

Following on from these, some of the independent operators also received new buses just after the begining of 11 reg in March, with ACE Travel receiving two Alexander Dennis Enviro200s, 725 MX11 CZL & 726 MX11 CZK, of which I managed to photograph 725 on the once weekly 79C operated by ACE Travel, at 6.24 on the morning of Saturday 11/06/2011.

Other operators locally who received 11-reg buses were Arriva NW&W received 2 Optare Versa V1100s at Chester, HTL Buses received 8 Optare Solo M710SEs, Network Warrington received 6 Optare Solo M780s and Supertravel received 3 Wright Streetlite 8.8Ms.

HTL Buses 61 YJ11 EKL, one of their 8 Optare Solo M710SEs.

Network Warrington 203 YJ11 EKC, one of their 6 Optare Solo M780s

Supertravel 021 MX11 EGE, one of their 3 Wright Streetlite 8.8Ms.

Arriva’s new deliveries for 2011 in Merseyside began from September, thus all were 60 reg with deliveries of further VDL SB200/Wright Puslar 2s for Green Lane and Southport depots as well as others outside of Merseyside. Seen in September 2011 is Green Lanes 3066 MX61 AWW, on the route they were bought for, route 15 (Liverpool – Huyton).

The most anticipated delivery of the year was of course the delivery of 44 VDL DB300/Wright Gemini 2s for Speke depot, primarily for use on routes 79 and 82. While route 82 had been largely double deck anyway, these replaced the older Olympians and allowed some of the ALX400s to be cascaded to other depots, while route 79 had previously been operated in the main by single deck buses such that the introduction of these new larger buses is very much welcomed!

Seen on route 79 with another example similar behind it, is 4459 MX61 AXW.

The only other operator of 61 reg buses in Merseyside, as far as I am aware, is Hattons Travel, who have a pair of Enviro200 Darts, registered MX61 KOD/E.

Within Arriva, in addition to these brand new buses, a large number of other buses arrived from London, while the Welsh depots gained a number of Dart MPDs, many depots within the entire of Arriva NW&W gained ex London DAF DB250/Alexander ALX400s, all of which have quite neatly been converted to singled door (compared to the previously converted ones!) and repainted into the new Arriva livery.

Seen in Southport in July, but still operated by Skelmersdale depot which closed at the end of that month, is Arriva NW&W 4073 S243 JUA.

Much newer cascades from London were a set of 6 Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Geminis which have been allocated to Birkenhead depot and while they seem to be given priority to work Mersey Ferries contracts, when these are not operating they can be seen on any route, such as the pioneer of the fleet (indeed the first double deck bus built by Wrightbus at all!), 4200 Y581 UGC seen on route 464 in September.

The most notable transfers up North to the Arriva fleet in Merseyside have been the Mercedes Citaro G O.530s, of which 11 are now in service at Speke depot. These buses are currently just used on 3 routes, route 500 (Liverpol City Centre – Liverpool John Lennon Airport), route 501 (Liverpool South Parkway – Liverpool John Lennon Airport) of which two are in a dedicated livery, and route 699 (Carnatic Halls – Liverpool University).

An example of one in 501 livery is 6014 BX04 MXM (the other is 6005 BX04 MXB) seen in Liverpool South Parkway in August 2011.

Seen in standard livery on route 699 (and very packed too!) is 6032 BX04 NDD seen near to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool.

The final set of ex London cascades into Liverpool is for Stagecoach Merseyside who have received 9 Dennis Trident/Alexander ALX400s which have been converted to single door and re-registered, for use on route 86, such 17283 KLZ 2316 as seen below.

As a result of all these new deliveries and cascaded in buses, this has meant the withdrawal of many older types from the streets of Merseyside with all of the Volvo B10B/Wright Endurances withdrawn, all of the N reg Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine IIs withdrawn, many of the Scania L113/Wright Axcess Ultralows withdrawn and even some newer types are beinging to be withdrawn such as some R reg Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine IIs and even some early Dart SLFs!

Arriva NW&W 6606 N606 CKA is one of the Volvo B10B/Wright Endurance withdrawn during 2011.

The final N reg Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine II to be in service was quite unusually at Bootle depot (surprising as most remained at Birkenhead their entire lives) with 3288 N288 CKB seeing outs its final days towards the end of 2011 on routes 61 and 68 as well as some schools use.

As a result of the newer buses too, some notable cascades within the local depots have been made, such as the ex Speke DAF SB220/Plaxton Prestige and DAF SB220/Alexander ALX300 to Green Lane.

Recent transfer to Green Lane, 2402 R152 GNW is seen glistening in the new Arriva livery in December 2011.

Now fitted with LED destination displays and refurbished internally, 2415 V415 ENC should make a good impression on any travellers using it.

During 2011, the largest loss to the local bus industry was that of Supertravel who closed down late 2011 with very little notice. During 2011 the company had gained a number of contracts for Wirral services early in the year (which is why the Wright Streetlites were delivered) however a number of Liverpool contracts were subsequently surrendered and transferred to other operators.

Seen in Birkenhead Bus Station on route 154 is 001 MX56 AAV Optare Solo M920.

A classic photo from happier times is of Supertravel’s first low floor bus, T6 STM a Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Plaxton Pointer 2, seen in Queen Square Bus Station in 1999.

A1A Travel also ended its operation of stage bus services in 2011, the last remaining routes they operated were routes 107/207 (Liverpool City Centre – Mossley Hill Hospital/Penny Lane) which were taken on by Stagecoach on 13/09/2011, subsequently being replaced by similar routes 83/84.

Seen on the final day at Penny Lane terminus is A1A Travel 2 Y11 JBA Mercedes Benz Vario O.814/Plaxton Beaver 2.

2011 also marked the end for one of the local Arriva NW&W depots, with Skelmersdale depot which closed in late July 2011, with its services being moved to other Arriva depots.

Finally although not a closure, First Chester & Wirral which has previously been part of First Potteries was reallocated within FirstGroup to become part of First Manchester during 2011. Although very little has changed in that time, a small number of ex Manchester buses have been transferred to the depots at Rock Ferry and Chester.

Seen on a rare working on route 71 (Liverpool – Heswall) is First Manchester 65739 YN05 WKH Scania L94UB/Wright Solar, seen in Liverpool on 22/12/2011.

Finally, as this review has been a lot longer than expected, a photo of some of the rarest workings of 2011, those on Christmas Day, where in Liverpool ACE Travel operated most of the services, including route 201X (Speke – Liverpool) with 730 V192 ERG Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Plaxton Pointer 2 seen operating on the route, a bus which has only arrived at ACE Travel in the last few months from Go-North East.

I’m sure there are some bits I may have missed out of this review but I hope it gives an insight to the huge number of changes to the local bus operators in 2011 – Lets hope 2012 is just as interesting!

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!

This year has certainly been a year with lots and lots of loan buses used on Merseyside, some demonstrators and some on loan to cover for new contracts, buses on loan to Malta or late delivered buses. Today’s update is sole about those loan buses, while another update shortly will cover all of the other stories from the past 12 months!

Back in January one of the first demonstrators of 2011, which was used by first HTL Buses and in February by Eazibus was Wright Streetlite demonstrator MX60 GXB. Appologies for the quality of this photo, it was taken on my phone and the only photo I managed to take of it myself!

This one started the ball rolling, followed in April by Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urban BK10 MGE at Stagecoach Merseyside as its 80013.

During the summer of 2011, Dawson’s Rentals had a field day in Liverpool with Arriva sending 8 of its own VDL SB200/Wright Pulsar 2s to Malta (where it seems they are now going to stay) and so 8 buses arrived on loan in July/August to cover for these with 4 going to Green Lane and 4 going to St Helens. All of them returned to Dawsons Rentals during September 2011.

The 8 were as follows:

7901 X471 AHE Scania L94UB/Wright Solar – GL
7902 KM51 BFY Dennis Dart SLF 10.1M/Caetano Nimbus – SH
7903 KU52 RXV Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M/Alexander Pointer 2 – SH
7904 KU52 RYG Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M/Alexander Pointer 2 – GL
7905 KU52 RXR Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Alexander Pointer 2 – SH
7906 HV52 WTA Dennis Dart SLF 10.1M/Caetano Nimbus – SH
7907 KV03 ZFJ TransBus Enviro300 12M – GL
7908 KV03 ZFK TransBus Enviro300 12M – GL

Seen on one of the rarest workings I noted at all on Merseyside all year is 7902 KM51 BFY Dennis Dart SLF 10.1M/Caetano Nimbus very unusually on route 89 (St Helens – Liverpool John Lennon Airport). The St Helens loan buses generally stayed on route 20 in St Helens and as far as I know this is the only occasion one made it to Liverpool.

The highest numbered of the loan buses, the two TransBus Enviro300s were the last of the buses to arrive and ran a variety of routes out of Green Lane and their very bright interiors certainly made them noticeable to the passengers riding them!

HTL Buses have had a large number of buses on loan this year too, in addition to the Wright Streetlite already mentioned, they have had two demonstrators from Optare (both of which were also with Peoplesbus too in 2011), first Solo M710SE YJ60 KFP followed later silver by Solo M880SL YJ10 EYR.

Following demonstration of YJ60 KFP a further 9 Optare Solo M710SEs were delivered while more are on order, along with a few longer ones, initially expected in late 2011, now expected early 2012.

HTL Buses have also had (and at the end of December 2011 still do) a large number of buses on loan from Dawson’s Rentals, largely to cover for newly won contracts. They arrived in between July and October 2011. The full set are as follows:

KX05 KFD Alexander Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2
KX06 LXN Alexander Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2
KX06 LXO Alexander Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2
KX07 KOE Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX57 OVR MAN 12.240/Plaxton Centro
KX08 HME Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX58 GVA Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX59 CYV Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX59 CYW Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX59 CYY Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX59 CYZ Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200

Of these, KX57 OVR didn’t enter service (it had previously turned up at Arriva and didn’t enter service either!) and the last I heard was on loan to First Glasgow, while KX07 KOE was replaced by KX58 GVA. The rest are all still with HTL as at the end of December 2011.

Seen at Liverpool South Parkway is the longest of the buses currently on loan to HTL Buses, Alexander Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 KX05 KFD showing a typing error on its destination display – This has since been corrected!

Seen on a relatively rare working on route 174 on Christmas Eve 2011 is Alexander Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 KX06 LXN. These MPDs have high backed seats which are very nice and unusually twin bays in the low floor area of the bus, as most MPDs don’t have a ‘proper’ offside bay.

Peoplesbus also joined the ranks of companies with buses on loan in Merseyside from Dawson’s Rentals in 2011, with them hiring 4 Dart MPDs to operate routes 173/4 from July to October while they operated the two routes. Those used by Peoplesbus are shown as follows:

YT51 EAA Dennis Dart MPD 8.8M/Alexander Pointer 2
KU52 RXF TransBus Dart MPD 8.8M/TransBus Pointer 2
KU52 RXG TransBus Dart MPD 8.8M/TransBus Pointer 2
KU52 RXS TransBus Dart MPD 8.8M/TransBus Pointer 2

On Sundays, as route 173 didn’t run, only 2 of these were required to run route 174, so the other two could be seen on route 168 on occasion, as seen here with KU52 RXS.

The final company to hire buses in Merseyside during 2011 from Dawson’s Rentals was A2B Travel, who hired the following in October 2011 to cover for contracts gained after the demise of Supertravel:

KX04 HPP Optare Solo M990
KX08 HMA Enterprise Bus Plasma EB03/Plaxton Primo

Both of which were soon replaced by the follwing, which remain with A2B at the end of December 2011

KX07 KOE Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200
KX58 GTF Alexander Dennis Dart 4 8.9M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200

Two other very significant demonstrators came to Liverpool this year two, those both being CNG powered MAN N273F Ecocity/Caetanos, of which Stagecoach Merseyside operated WX61 FXO in the summer for around 6 weeks as seen below: (According to my Flickr stats, this is the most popular photograph on my Flickr account from 2011!)

Followed by Arriva NW&W who received WX61 HSL in December, which will be here for around six months apparently, seen in almost exactly the same position as the Stagecoach demonstrator:

Finally two other demonstrators have been used by Arriva NW&ampW in December, the those being YX61 EKO an Alexander Dennis Dart 4 10.7M/Alexander Dennis Enviro200 demonstrator (a mk2 version with a mid body emergency exit and a Plaxton Centro style interior) and Wright Streetlite CRZ 2495, both of which were operated out of St Helens depot. The Enviro200 only stayed around a week and was later reported with Helms of Eastham while the Streetlite stayed until mid December.

In addition to all of these, a few other buses were loaned to companies, such as Optare Solo MX05 ELW which was loaned from A2B Travel to Eazibus for a few weeks in August, as seen below.

Cumfybus also operated a Wright Streetlite MX11 EGY briedly while Avon Buses borrowed Dart/ALX200 Y263 KNB for a few days so I think that certainly gives a view of just how many buses have been on loan to Merseyside operators during the last year!

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!

Emergency contracts were let to various operators for the services previously operated by Supertravel, in brief, route 106 is now with A2B Travel, routes 112/3, 138/9, 181 & 197 are now with Avon Buses, routes 130, 154/5, 210, 241 amp; 250 are now with Cumfybus, 155 & 256 are now with Warrington Coachways, 211 & 877 are now with ACE Travel and finally route 200 is now with Ashcrofts Travel. Full details of services are on the Merseytravel Website.

My final trip with Supertravel (and the only one I made since they ended route 174) was on the 02/10/2011 when I rode MAN 14.240/Plaxton Centro 006 MX59 KUE on route 130.

I was pleased to ride this that day as I’ve never previously managed to ride this route or get a photo of one of their Plaxton Centros and as we now know it was within the final few weeks of Supertravel running. I hope all those involved in Supertravel do find new employment soon as I travelled with Supertravel many times over the years, mainly on route 224 and lots of the drivers, including the one driving that route 130, were very friendly and giving a good impression of the company and bus travel in general.

Going back through my archives, one of my favourite Supertravel buses was Y185 KNB, one of their pair of Alexander ALX200 bodied Dart SLFs. I rode this quite a few times but it was when it was brand new running route 224, as seen in the following photograph, I really began to like them!

I’ve always found the ALX200 body one of the better looking Dart SLF bodies (I’m glad the current Enviro200 body is largely based on it!) and with these two having bonded glazing they were just that bit better!

Amongst the buses hired in by operators to cover routes previously operated, A2B Travel have hired in Optar Solo M990 KX04 HPP (Is this the first of this length to operate on Merseyside?) and EBL Plasma EB03/Plaxton Primo KX08 HMA, both of which are on loan from Dawson’s Rentals. These two apparently usually operated route 901 (Leasowe station – Moreton) so some of their existing fleet must be covering route 106. I hopefully will be able to photograph and ride these two quite soon!

HTL Buses continue to acquire more buses for loan from Dawson’s Rentals too, the latest example being Alexander Dennis Dart SLF 10.7M/Alexander Dennis Pointer 2 KX05 KFD which is currently being used on the Garston Circulars. From the information given last time, the 58 reg Enviro200, KX58 GVA has yet to arrive, however in its place for now similar Enviro200 KX07 KOH is running with HTL. It is expected that KX58 GVA will arrive in the next few days! HTL are also expecting some more Optare Solo M710SEs next month (3 I believe), along with 2 Optare Solo M880 in December and a further 4 Optare Solo M710SE in February! Full details of these will be posted as soon as they are available.
Thanks to HTL for this info and to QuackDave for help with the reg of the KX58 GVA!

Of the 59 reg Enviro200Darts on loan to cover route 173/4, KX59 CYV/W/Y/Z have all have been noted in service, however they aren’t all quite identical. As noted last time, KX59 CVW has a ‘plain’ interior with a largely laminate ceiling with strip lights added in, where as another I rode, KX59 CYV has a ‘normal’ Enviro200 interior as show below!

Finally with HTL Buses, Optare Solo M880 YJ10 EYR is now on loan to them for two weeks from Optare as a demonstrator. This is the same silver Solo that was previously with Peoplesbus and with HTL again before then and is available as Peoplesbus’s Optare Tempo V1 BUS has now returned to them having been on loan to TransDev Lancashire United!

Eazibus has reportedly sold MAN engined Optare Solo M880SL MX57 CCY to A2B Travel and so route 165 (Belle Vale Circular) that was previously operated by this and similar MX09 AOC now usually has the one Solo and any of Eazibus’s Enviro200Darts on it.

Eazibus have now apparently closed their Wirral depot, with the entire fleet now at its Liverpool base.

Deliveries of VDL DB300/Wright Gemini 2′s continue to Arriva Speke depot, amongst the latest delivered being 4442 MX61 AYU as seen in this photograph, kindly submitted by forum member DF57 OXF.

Finally another operator with two new ADL Enviro200Darts is Hatton’s Travel who have taken delivery of MX61 KOD & MX61 KOE of which the latter was seen parked up between duties in Prescot last week.

One of these is usually on route 99 (Whiston Circular) while the other can be seen on any other Hattons Travel route.

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!

Eight of Arriva Speke’s new VDL DB300/Wright Gemini 2s went into revenue-earning service for the first time on Monday 10/10/11 working the 82 route. A total of 44 of these double deckers have been ordered for the 79 and 82 routes serving the south side of Liverpool.

Those in use on the day were 4435 MX61 AUT, 4436 MX61 AUU, 4440 MX61 AYS, 4441 MX61 AYT, 4442 MX61 AYU, 4444 MX61 AYC, 4445 MX61 AYD and 4446 MX61 AYE.

4442 MX61 AYU stands in the layover area at Speke Morrisons, the terminus for Arriva’s route 82.

4444 MX61 AYC is joined by DAF DB250/Alexander ALX400 4026 in Speke. The remaining 11 route 82 workings were covered by a mixture of these, Volvo B7TLs and the oldest double deckers left in the Speke fleet, the Volvo Olympians.

An interior view of 4442’s upper deck. The seating capacity is 70 in total, with 41 seats upstairs and 29 downstairs. The seats themselves lack headrests, thus matching Bootle’s Enviros and most of the Pulsars introduced to Liverpool’s roads over the last three years. The choice of decor is identical to the new Pulsars at Green Lane Stoneycroft and Southport with grey vinyl floors and cream handrails. Seats are trimmed with current moquette with chequered blue pattern.

Old and new: ageing Volvo Olympian 3332 R322 WVR rests next to a brand new Gemini which will eventually see the former’s withdrawal from Speke. This is a scene which will quickly become obsolete as the Olympians leave for pastures new in the coming weeks.

Finally, here’s a night view showing 4440 MX61 AYS and ACE Travel’s Optare Solo MX06 BSU parked up at Speke Morrisons. The Solo will work an 81 service to Bootle Strand, with ACE Travel now responsible for evening services on this route. Note the marker lights extending across the bodyside of the Gemini.

The “new” smell is very evident on the Gemini’s, stronger even than the recent Pulsar deliveries. They are pleasant buses to ride with bright interiors and are an obvious improvement upon the previously single-decked 79 and the widely varied collection of double deckers which have operated along the 82 corridor in recent years.

They seem be settling in well, with all eight having made appearances each day this week and no observed failures. A new era for many bus passengers in south Liverpool has begun. – H101GEV.

To see my own photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page! A blog with these photos and hopefully more over the weekend will be posted next week! A big thank you again to H101GEV for providing this update!

I haven’t been able to get any photographs of route 161 as I’ve been in work however I have ‘before and after’ photos of the other two!

Noted last Sunday on route 168 was Arriva 4431 MX09 LXN Alexander Dennis Trident 2/Alexander Dennis Enviro400 at the Aigburth terminus.

This was probably one of the quietest rides I’ve had on these Enviro400s since their delivery (as they usually run busy route 60) and it was nice to be able to see the interior properly and ride them on the final day!

They differ from the Birkenhead examples in having low back seats and the newer moquette, however they are very pleasant buses to ride and seem to be very well kept.

Noted today on route 168 (with ACE Travel) were Dart MPD 729 V731 DNL & Enviro200Dart 723 MX60 BWY. Sadly due to rain I was unable to get a photo fo 729 V731 DNL however I did manage a photo of 723 MX60 BWY, however even with this the registration is slightly blurred!

A big change to go from an Enviro400 one week to an Enviro200, however the Enviro200 probably is sufficient for most of the day as the Enviro400 I was on was nearly empty! Peoplesbus had similarly sized Optare Solo SR M960 Y1 BUS and Optare Solo M880SL YJ10 EYR on the route today!

Noted earlier in the week on route training for route 168 was Dart MPD 715 X668 LLX.

Route 173/4 with Peoplesbus was operated almost the entire time by Dart MPDs YT51 EAA, KU52 RXF/G/S however in later weeks, silver Optare Solo M880SL YJ10 EYR was a regular on the routes.

Seen during the final week was Solo YJ10 EYR at Belle Vale (LED destinations working properly now too!) and the staff bus MetroRider R437 NFR!

HTL Buses began the route from today, with HTL Dart MPD 55 SN06 BMO and Dawsons Rentals Enviro200Dart KX59 CYW. HTL have another four Enviro200Darts on loan from Dawsons Rentals, KX59 CYV, CYW, CYY, CYZ, while KX58 AVG as a spare should be arriving later this week!

As can be seen by the time I got a photo of SN06 BMO it was raining quite heavily!

The Enviro200Dart has a more ‘basic’ interior than some others, without the central ceiling piece with integrated lights, it has a plain laminate ceiling with normal lighting, but still very pleasant clean quite buses.

Today also marked the change on routes 82 and 86 as they have become Quality Bus Partnership routes between Arriva & Stagecoach such that all services should now use low floor buses with engines to Euro3 or better standards! It is also expected that the first Wright Gemini DL 2s will enter service this week at Arriva Speke as a result so another blog post later in the week with details of these (and maybe more HTL 173/4 photos!) will be made!

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!

This bus is B39F with a low floor gangway right to the back of the bus with the very rear row and seats over the wheelarches each having one large step up. The seats towards the front of the bus have cantilever mountings while the ones towards the back use conventional fittings.

The rear row has just 3 seats as the offside corner houses the engine. The seating itself is similar to that used in Mercedes Citaros. The stop buttons are very small ones (from what I’ve seen, similar to those in the King Long buses in Malta!) and the stop light itself flashes after someone presses the button to stop.

The rear engine ‘cubicle’ can be seen in this photo and while the seats are MAN branded anyone anyone can sit in them!

The bus itself has a gas fuelled engine (rather than gas/electric – the hydrogen buses in London and most hybrid buses are electrically driven, the gas buses in Southport like these had gas fuelled engines) however as you can hear in this short video, it didn’t seem to be all that quiet, however I was sat on the very back row over/next to the engine.

Arriva Speke now has another route on which the Mercedes Citaro O.530G articulated buses operate, route 699 (Liverpool University – Carnatic Halls) on which a number of the ‘normal’ livery AB49D examples are now operating. Those I’ve noted personally on the route so far have been 6006 BX04 MXC, 6013 BX04 MXL, 6024 BX04 MXZ & 6033 BX04 NDG.

The following photos of 6013 & 6024 respectively show the offside and nearside views.

With both shots sadly the front destination LED display didn’t show correctly (it was working however) but the location where they are shows at least they aren’t on route 501! It has been suggested that route 500 (Liverpool City Centre – Liverpool John Lennon Airport) will be next to get these buses, however this has yet to be confirmed.

Speke finally has its first brand new double deck intended for routes 79 & 82 as 4435 MX61 AUT a VDL DB300/Wright Gemini 2 (usually referred to as a Wright Gemini DL 2 as Wright produce the chassis, but from VDL parts) has now been delivered and is undergoing testing prior to entering service shortly. 44 of these are due at the depot so they should hopefully be in service shortly easing the passenger experience on route 79 particularly, with an upgrade from the current mix of single deck buses primarily used on the route.

Stagecoach Merseyside has also received 9 low floor double deck buses, albeit ex Stagecoach London ones, with them being Dennis Trident 2/Alexander ALX400s. Noted on route 86C today was 17283 KLZ 2316 (Previously registered X283 NNO). These are a mix of V/X registration buses but are all being re-registered prior to entering service on Merseyside.

A final bus to note recently on Merseyside too has been Optare Solo M880SL YJ10 EYR which was on loan to Peoplesbus a few weeks ago and noted on routes 168 and (pictured) 174 by myself.

This bus was also with HTL Buses earlier this year and seems to be a standard Mercedes engined example from what I could tell!

Finally I hope you all like the new website layout! A number of members have kindly complemented the design and also given some good tips on little pieces that could be improved that I hadn’t noticed! The site really wouldn’t work without its members so thank you again!

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!

17 are reportedly due for route 15, numbers 3062-78, while Southport depot is expected to gain 12, numbers 3079-91 for route 49. Others may be due for other depots however nothing else is yet confirmed.

Those for Green Lane are expected to be registered as follows (Those marked * are confirmed delivered):

3062 MX61 AWP*, 3063 MX61 AWR*, 3064 MX61 AWU*, 3065 MX61 AWV*, 3066 MX61 AWW*, 3067 MX61 AWY,

3068 MX61 AWZ*, 3069 MX61 AXA, 3070 MX61 AXB, 3071 MX61 AXC, 3072 MX61 AVY, 3073 MX61 AVZ,

3074 MX61 AWA, 3075 MX61 AWC, 3076 MX61 AWF, 3077 MX61 AWH, 3078 MX61 AWJ.

Noted by myself in service have been 3064 MX61 AWU & 3066 MX61 AWW.

While very similar to previous batches delivered, they can be noted due to the front fleetnumber being on the offside rather than nearside, with disabled access sticker in place on the nearside instead.

This week also marks the final week for A1A Travel running stage services (at least for now!) with the withdrawal of their final services 107/207 this weekend. Although in the recent past these have operated with low floor buses (some quite new Solos too) of late they have been running with ‘classic’ Mercedes Benz Vario O.814/Plaxton Beaver 2s, 1 W111 JBA & 2 Y11 JBA.

Noted earlier this week at the terminus in Penny Lane was a very smart looking Y11 JBA.

This service has been unusual in that for the last year or so A1A Travel have operated it weekdays and when the Wirral Schools have been in but Stagecoach have run it on Saturdays and when Wirral schools are off. Stagecoach are going to take on the route from the 13/09/2011, initially as is with it later being replaced with route 83 (Liverpool City Centre – Aigburth Vale) largely replacing it from 12/10/2011. A1A Travel are continuing to trade as a private hire and schools services operator so are not closing down!

Also noted a few mins later in the same spot was Arriva NW&W 3288 N288 CKB Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine II, the last remaining N reg Palatine II at Bootle depot, which seems to run the 68 most days now! This bus still looks very smart and it seems a shame that most of the rest of this fleet are now either withdrawn or sold on.

Peoplesbus are now receiving more second hand stock, this week two Dart SLF/Pointer 2s have arrived from opposite ends of the length scale! First Dart 8.8M MPD Dart W869 YNB then 11.3M Dart SPD S369 ONL both from Go-North East! These two are currently still in their former owners liveries and will be repainted and tidied up prior to entering service. In addition to these, Optare Solo M880 SL YJ10 EYR demonstrator has arrived for trials. This should be on service 168 on Sunday I believe so I shall try to get some photograpahs! Finally at Peoplesbus, Optare Tempo X120 0701 V1 BUS is away on loan at the moment (until October I believe) to TransDev Lancashire, covering for some of TransDev’s Tempos which are away getting work done! To see photos of these, please see the excellent Peoplesbus Facebook Page. You do not need to log in to view that page!

An unusual bus noted in Liverpool on Wednesday 07/09/2011 was Dennis Trident/Alexander ALX400 V120 MEV. This was in use as a Job Fair bus by fish4jobs/Daily Mirror and I believe it is owned by a company called Media Bus who have converted the bus for this sort of use. The bus was new as Stagcoach London 17120.

It has been finally confirmed this week that the Liverpool City Centre Merseyrail Underground Stations will now all be refurbished. Liverpool Central will see the bulk of the work with Moorfields, Lime Street and James Street all getting makeovers. Liverpool Central is apparently the busiest station in Liverpool on passenger numbers and trains, more so than Lime Street (mainline) depsite Central only having 3 platforms and Lime Street 9! For this to happen, Liverpool Central is expected to be closed for 4 months between April and August 2012. No dates are confirmed for the other stations, but their work is going to be largely cosmetic, while Central’s Northern Line platforms are having major works done to improve the ambience and safety of the station.

Seen at the Northern Line part of Central Station this week was 508 115. While in the middle of a day Central isn’t too busy (certainly possible to take photos at times) even at this time the escalator area can get busy while at peak time it can be extremely packed!

I finally managed to get a photograph of the Merseyrail ‘publicity’ unit 508110 at Lime Street Low Level too this week, showing the stations current 70s décor!

I’m not sure why but 508110 seems to have been used on almost all Merseyrail publicity for years and years (even going back to BR days), if anyone knows why this unit in particular was chosen I’d be interested to know why!

To see more of my photos from this week along with many other recent ones I have uploaded please view my Flickr page!