[GB] Transdev London SP25

原帖由 yblumann 於 2008-4-20 16:34 發表
Route 702:
I know it sounds really complicated, but this reflects the legal status of PSV services in Greater London...sorry!
The order for the V9TL for route 702 did not need approval from TfL, asthe 702 is a commercial and not a TfL route- so it is not a  normal'london bus route', therefore the buses need to comply only with theLEZ regulations [low emission zone]- which they will do...[which is whyI did not refer to this order].
[one good test is that you can not use Travelcards on the 702! ]
The buses should come in a green livery and 'coach seats'- and besingle door. in fact, they should be a standard First Wright bodied B9volvo with more comfortable seats.

Of course I know the 702 is not an LBSL service (I never said it was!). It never dawn on me that these Green Line B9TLs will have the London-spec anyway, but rather more likely the First specification outside London. I don't agree with your note about the livery though - the Barlie-liveried B7R/Profiles give a clue, unless the coaches were not destined to stay on the 702 very long in the first place, which I haven't heard about. As for the coach seat, you are more likely to see the leather dual-purpose seats I think, much like some similar vehicle with First Manchester.

原帖由 yblumann 於 2008-4-20 16:34 發表
The B9TL wright demonstrator is in service on route 74-and it soundsthe same.  I have no idea if any modifications were made to the bus.
The batch of VLWs on route 74 are almost the newest batch of volvoB7TL, and have not developed the noise problem as the older buses.

a bit more re: volvo B7L noise problem:
The problem with the noise in London seems to relate to the time thebus has spent in service- and,  it takes about  24-36 months in servicebefore the noise becomes a problem.
If we take for an example the batch of B7s delivered for route 390,they started being noisy about 9 months ago. the same applies to thehuge batch delivered for the conversion of routes 6 & 98- thenumber of noisy buses have  been increasing steadily. Routes 6 98 &390 lost their Routemasters in 2004-5...
Another factor seems to be good engineering- and Arriva and Go Aheadbuses in London seems to be less effected than buses from First andMetroline.

You say that, but it seems the problem is less prominent on the early built B7TLs (V to 02 reg ones in particular). The ones built from 2002 and on seems to suffer a lot more cooling fan problems in comparison. Agree about the new built B7s though, although it's more likely their cooling fan hasn't failed just yet..... Also agree with the maintenance effort put in by specific operators as well, esp. considering the cause of the problem in the first place, one would assume some of them will be bother (or not) fixing it.

原帖由 yblumann 於 2008-4-20 16:34 發表
and finally: volvo B9TL orders for TfL bus route network:
The order for the wright bodied buses also includes 9 [or 10] Wrightbodied buses for route 23 in London. some are understood to by hybridsand some would be B9TLs. Interestingly, the public announcementconcerning this order have been rather lacking - when it comes exactdetails. Most experimental buses for London are ordered nowadays byLondon Buses [through a leasing arrangement with Dawson Rentals].

The order is for 9 buses, 4 diesels and 5 hybrid. From all the sources I have read, they are certainly not B9TLs, but the new integral bus developed by Wrightbus themselves. Here is a couple of links for your reference:

http://www.busandcoach.com/newsstory.aspx?id=1769

http://www.busandcoach.com/newsstory.aspx?id=1724

原帖由 yblumann 於 2008-4-21 00:34 發表 a bit more re: volvo B7L noise problem:
The problem with the noise in London seems to relate to the time the bus has spent in service- and,  it takes about  24-36 months in service before the noise becomes a problem.
If we take for an example the batch of B7s delivered for route 390, they started being noisy about 9 months ago. the same applies to the huge batch delivered for the conversion of routes 6 & 98- the number of noisy buses have  been increasing steadily. Routes 6 98 & 390 lost their Routemasters in 2004-5...
Another factor seems to be good engineering- and Arriva and Go Ahead buses in London seems to be less effected than buses from First and Metroline.

To be honest, I don't think this problem is related to the time the bus has spent in service. I spent a night in London just before Cobham in 2004, and throughout the night what I can hear is the soaring radiator of the brand new B7TL on service 24!

I hope Volvo can fix the cooling system problem of B9TL and B10TL in HK too!! They sound horrible esp when they get started...No matter new B9TL or old B10TL...