Thoughts from Southwestbus

A recent project here has been destination boxes.   We have a lot of Routemaster buses in our fleet. This is in the most part an indulgence but the vehicles themselves have a role similar to that of coaches, and we undertake a lot of private hire work with the buses across an area spanning the length of the M5 from Bristol down to Exeter.  We're the only ones offering such vehicles in the model world for this sort of work.  Not quite all of the fleet, but 98% of them.  Some of our Routemaster fleet are Oxford or Seerol castings. These differ from the EFE and most recent 1/76th entry - by Corgi OOC in the late 2000s. Despite being much hyped on it's introduction the model comes with a number of issues.  The two OOCs in our fleet. The East Midland one has personal connections, with a Mansfield destination. I saw a lot of Mansfield learning to drive a bus and on the day I finally passed my PCV. We have two in the fleet here. Of all the castings of the RM bus, ...

With things a little more certain on the bus service side we have been able to invest in some new buses for that side of the operation.  This will take two forms.  Optare Solo SRs for smaller vehicles and ADL Enviro 400 MMCs for larger vehicles. The larger vehicle investment means we'll have a replacement double deck fleet to filter through the operation, us having a number of school and college services. The dual purpose seating with these vehicles also means they can be used on railway replacement work on weekends, meaning they get full use throughout the working week.  The Solos are a belated purchase. For a few years now, there's been no 'new diecast small bus' on the market. The Enviro 200 is no longer sold as a new vehicle and there has been no releases by NMC for a number of years. There is promised an MMC version of the Enviro 200, but that was announced in 2018 and it is now 2022. Suffice to say, were they available, we'd have a few of them as 'larger...

 On two fronts..... The local elections took place in May and Somerset is to become a unitary authority from 2023. This will mean the dissolution of the county and district councils from that date. The election was won by the Liberal Democrats, the stench of Conservative control over 13 years and their continued national failings finally coming home to roost!  During the last liberal administration, Somerset enjoyed something of a supportive approach towards bus service provision. Most of the positives were undone once the Conservatives came to power in the name of austerity.  Also announced during the summer was the results of the BSIP funding. Whilst Somerset hasn't got the £150m it asked for, it has received £12m. This will translate into enhancements for most of the county.  So from September 2022 we're introducing: Evening journeys on the 37 - and a doubling of the Sunday/BH timetable to hourly. Additional journeys will run M-Sats in the peaks meaning the PVR ri...

So today's post is something of a backtrack in our global plans.  Previously, we've discussed the improvement overall of our fleet and the new vehicle investment which has taken place during 2021. We thought things might improve in the medium to longer term with local buses and with private hire work, and this was the foundation, if you like, of the investment we were making.  The signs are not encouraging. The county council where we operate has submitted what is a 'very ambitious' BSIP bid for £160m and then some. The chances of that being awarded in full are somewhat slim given their historic disinterest in supporting a bus network in the county.  The modern bus and coach world makes extensive use of finance for new vehicles. It is the only reasonable way you can get in large numbers of vehicles to meet the various 'requirements' of operating in the modern world. There are a few operators sufficiently rich enough to write cheques when they buy new vehicles, s...

Some thoughts on the Somerset County Council BSIP , published in mid-October which I've shared with the Somerset Bus Partnership .  "To use the words of Yes, Minister there are some very courageous ideas contained within the BSIP. It almost reads like a wishlist of very expensive things which stand no chance of ever taking place, thus permitting SCC a free pass to continue the indifferent attitude they have toward public transport in the county. Most notably, the use of electric buses. This is laudable, and to be commended but there needs to be consideration of the whole life costs of the vehicles themselves. In addition there is the additional premium these vehicles will attract, compared with purchasing Euro 6 diesels. Buses are written down over a 10-15 year lifespan, and the batteries on these electric vehicles will not last as long. So, around 7 years (halfway) through the life of the vehicle, those batteries require replacement. That won’t be the concern of th...

Almost a month since the last post, and we've been busy with new buses arriving, and the first of 10 'toy Borismaster' buses. More on those in another post.  I've mentioned, before, about my influences in the industry and much of it is down to one man, who gave me a summer job back in 2004 which began my career in the industry.  Sadly, a couple of months after I moved on to do year 2 of my transport degree at University he passed away. But he left an impression on me which never has left. This tribute appeared on the company's website not too long after the funeral and I saved the page not long after. That was fortunate, as the company went into liquidation just over 10 years ago.   Whenever I'm in the village I always pop into the churchyard and have a chat with Charlie.  " Charlie Hookway, died on Tuesday 30th November 2004. He was 53 and had been involved with the family business since he left school at the age of 14, in 1966. Charlie joined his...

    Every August, an abandoned village on Salisbury Plain opens up to the general public.  Imber was populated until the middle of World War II when the inhabitants were evacuated by the Government. According to the Imber Church website , military activity began on the plain in 1897 and from 1927 onwards the War Office began buying up farmland, completing that process in 1932. The land was then leased back to the farmers until WWII.  The Army permit access to the village on a small number of occasions during the year. Since 2009, there has been a bus service, provided by London Routemasters and a supporting cast of other vehicle types linking the village with Warminster. Prior to the bus service, access was only possible by private car. What began as a small scale operation, needing 4 buses has mushroomed into an operation needing 28 vehicles in 2019. The 2021 event has been a little smaller in scale, with 25 vehicles in operation on a route from Warminster to Imber...