I had a ride on one of the new Enviro 400 Scanias today. WA61KLF 15784. Nice ride, not too sure about the seat covering, black vinyl leatherette. Don't think it will last all that long before it needs to be replaced by some thing a bit more hard wearing. Other features include 16 CCTV cameras doted about the bus, I spotted 4 upstairs, a similar number downstairs plus cameras showing both sides, the rear and in front of the bus. The rear view camera comes on when the bus is put in reverse. It'll come in handy when reversing off Paignton Bus Station. That garage is beginning to look like it really has been in a war zone. If there is an accident and the normal means of escaping from the bus are blocked then there are 9 emergency hammers for breaking the nearest available window, but I am sure with our safe drivers here in Stagecoach South West they will never be needed. The buses can carry 92 passengers. Enjoy.
4 comments:
Quite agree about the naff seats, dread to think how the thin foam will feel in a few months time. The whole point of a bus is to get someone from A to B. If you skimp on the seating car drivers you are trying to attract will immediately spot the poor quality. There are also fewer bell push points which is odd. First impressions are that the interiors look 'cheap'. Just look at the thin bit of laminated plywood that closes off the bottom of the stairs. The other point, is that in a tourist area it would be good to install DDA auto announcers (as they do in London), although they are annoying. I would suggest designers take a ride on a preserved double decker Routemaster Green Line coach.They had seats which were superb and that was the 1960s.
Enviro buses have never had a particularly massive reputation for their build quality, particularly the interiors.
What you get from an Enviro bus is something which is cheap, economical, and easy to run.
I imagine they didn't want to spend too much money on Torbay (note the gasket glazing), but they know the buses will be well-looked after so went for the leather effect interior as an attempt to lure in motorists (note Trent Buses' Black Cat service).
Time will tell if this was a sensible choice or not.
Personally I think the money could have been better spent upgrading bus station infrastructure - particularly increasing capacity to allow larger buses in. Perhaps with larger buses the timetable headways can be increased to ease the strain on places such as Fleet Walk.
That said I have no idea how the buses were funded (are they leased?).
I agree about the horn. I got off one in Paignton Bus Station the other day. In the bu station bus drivers are required to blow the horn before reversing, people for miles around must have jumped out of thier skin. I expect there might be a few complains before long.
The seats aren't 'leather-effect' they are leather (it is called e-leather - the name of the supplier - and is created by off-cuts of leather pressure formed into the material but is real leather) and is actually very hardwearing. I haven't been on an example where seats of this type have shown any bad wear and their manufacturers actually claim they are harder wearing than the fabric moquette. The gasket glazing is standard Stagecoach spec nationwide, it isn't particularly cheaper to buy but is cheaper and quicker to replace than bonded glazing - even the highest-spec Gold buses have gasket glazing.
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