Bedford Stagecoach happenings 2021

[al_557]

Just to make my life more difficult it appears the tracker has now clumped all the East allocations together so now I can't see the wood from the trees. I just want to see Bedfords allocation at a glance not sift through rows of vehicles. I don't care what the oly imposters are doing, what is on the park and ride or on the Cambridge tour. It is so clogged up with vehicles that I failed to notice 1872 on the 905 and 10873 on the X5 purely because they were dismissed as non Bedford.

What I did notice were 10499, 10881, 11279, 11280 were on the X5 and 19890 on the 3 and 7 but I have had that on the 3 before. Nonetheless I came out on 15404 on the 50 before doing 36064 on the 9 to Shortstown and strolled over to Eastcotts for 10875 on a 72 to town. Next up was 36060 on a 6 to Brickhill returning on Dart 34834 before heading home on 11128 on the 1436 50.

As luck would have it work asked me to pop in to the office which turned out quite well as winner 36849 was on the 50 dropping me off just past the Manton Lane bomb site of chaos and confusion. I am now heading home again on 11128 on the 1814 50 running 20 late stuck in the Midland Road stalemate of nothing moving at the mini jamabout.

Reserve Dart 34834 (KX06JYS) was probably pressed into service as there's currently 11 buses and 7 Elite coaches off the road at Bedford.
18 vehicles off the road is a lot at one time.

[al_557]

Ex London E200 36308 (LX56EAE)  has finally entered service and was on the 8 and 51 today

[tomfrombedford]

According to the twitter page, all the X5 coaches are to be replaced with distance liveried E400MMC’s

[al_557]

According to the twitter page, all the X5 coaches are to be replaced with distance liveried E400MMC’s

The rest of Peterborough's E400 MMC's are moving to Bedford to work the X5 and the existing E400 MMC's will all be repainted except 11279

[TCD813]

According to the twitter page, all the X5 coaches are to be replaced with distance liveried E400MMC’s

Which? Twitter account, Tom?

[TCD813]

The rest of Peterborough's E400 MMC's are moving to Bedford to work the X5 and the existing E400 MMC's will all be repainted except 11279

Let’s ask Darren, Ross and Ross if the X5 and 905 can be interlinked, as a through route.

What should be its service number?

[Wolsztyn]

The rest of Peterborough's E400 MMC's are moving to Bedford to work the X5 and the existing E400 MMC's will all be repainted except 11279

Any ideas what will replace them, we will have lost 8 x 400 MMC's plus 19580 and 19584, looking at the Bustimes the latter two have moved back to Cambridge. Only replacement I can see at present is 37232.

[Grahamk748]

Which? Twitter account, Tom?

It is on the Stagecoach East Twitter page. Second picture is from the Stagecoach website.

[MIB]

Reserve Dart 34834 (KX06JYS) was probably pressed into service as there's currently 11 buses and 7 Elite coaches off the road at Bedford.
18 vehicles off the road is a lot at one time.

I gather while I was on Merseyside last week that 34834 has left us for Cambridge. I also spotted 37431 showing up on a 905 in my absence.

Today Stagecoach Kettering produced a non existent service for 4 hours thanks to three breakdowns, two services not picking anyone up at the bus station after setting down and total incompetency and silence and Bedford seemed to have no answers for what was going on. It will be interesting to see their response to the complaints put in today. I am not prepared to tolerate being fobbed off like they did when the driver failed to stop for me one Sunday morning on a 50.

[MIB]

Still waiting for a full account of last week's debacle for a 4 hour wait for a bus home last week which will take some explaining by Stagecoach. It is a personal record that I will never better. Still no problems today as 35182 on the inbound 50 for 15606 on the return and the rare spectacle of both being on time. Looking at last Friday they were running anything between 20 to 40 minutes late departing from Kettering. Why so late from the start point?

Finally I got winner 36308 today on a 3 returning with 19581 on a 9a. It appeared that 10499 was on a 53 and 10876/27523 on 1's. I still have not seen 10872/73 to get a spin on them but I guess if it means not shelling out £8.20 and wondering if the 50 will actually turn up or even start in the bus station then perhaps I am better off at home as a scooter would be faster.

[John Wakefield]

 Why so late from the start point?

Presumably buses being held up by queues of cars waiting to get petrol. Locally Stagecoach was having problems keeping to time on the City 7 at Stapleford for that reason.

[MIB]

Presumably buses being held up by queues of cars waiting to get petrol. Locally Stagecoach was having problems keeping to time on the City 7 at Stapleford for that reason.

That is a very late start from the starting point. My experience of Bedford is that when an inbound service is late they tell the driver to take one of the spare vehicles parked up in the bus station. If the vehicle for the 50 was that late then they should have given the driver another bus to minimise delay.

Anyway I was forced out today to get winner 10873 so I did musical 22835 on a 50 to town. I have heard passengers listening to music on buses without headphones so this was a new twist with the driver giving us the benefit of his musical tastes. I am beginning to think Kettering drivers are a law to themselves.

I had planned to do 19893 on the 1530 Flitwick 2 but it collapsed so they had to send for red van man to batter it. This forced me aboard 37231 on the 1545 9 just as 19888 was rustled up for the 15 minutes late 2. I bailed at Harrowden Road shops for my first sighting of 10873 on a 9a back to town. It would seem our feathered friends were not enamoured with it judging by the amount of slime coating the upstairs front window.

As I had time to kill I did 10873 back out on the 1630 9b. I had intended to go to Mile Road but a combination of the door refusing to close for a couple of minutes and the panic stricken road rats blocking the road outside the petrol station forced me to get off at Brackley Road but at least the rain now could help clean the window of 10873.

19698 had been on the Hitchin runs but got ripped to do the route 6 bratex which I suspect should have been 19888 but the failure of 19893 mucked things up. 36937 replaced 19698 on the Hitchin service off the 9's. Anyway 19698 produced on my 9 back to town before going onto a 53 which seems an odd diagram. I was left to do the 1716 50 home with 22832 on time again.

The tracker now informs me we have lost 27642 as it was showing up on Cambridge services today which is news to me.

[al_557]

The latest repaint into local livery at Bedford is E200 MMC 37431 (SN16OPV)

[MIB]

Normality has returned to the 50 with my 1812 home 40minutes late on board 15607. It cut out the station stop going via Union St. Looking at the tracker it started at Kettering hospital at 1717. It was supposed to be 1630 from Kettering. I seem to have become the spokesperson for Stagecoach Bedford trying to explain to frustrated route 50 patrons why Bedford are not bothered about the whereabouts of a Kettering bus and why Bedford drivers don't know the route to provide cover.

After a barren spell decker have reappeared on the 4/10 routes with 19889 yesterday and 19891 today having a dabble.

[al_557]

There's an E400MMC parked the yard at Bedford depot repainted into 'distance livery' I couldn't identify it as a passed by the depot on E400 19888 (AE11FUD) on the 9A. I presume it's one of the former Milton park & ride examples recently transferred in from Cambridge 10803/04 (SN66WAE/J)

[Grahamk748]

According to Bustimes the are also some Scania/E400 from Cambridge now at Bedford  15456,15642,15814 and Gold 15948. Apparently they have been on the 5 today

[al_557]

According to Bustimes the are also some Scania/E400 from Cambridge now at Bedford  15456,15642,15814 and Gold 15948. Apparently they have been on the 5 today

Checking the map on bus times on Bedford route 5 shows 15814 in Bar Hill, so it looks like it's a glitch and those Scania E400's are actually on Cambridge route 5

[Grahamk748]

Checking the map on bus times on Bedford route 5 shows 15814 in Bar Hill, so it looks like it's a glitch and those Scania E400's are actually on Cambridge route 5

Thanks, didn’t think to check the map, though it was strange that Bedford had gained Scanias rather than ADLs

[Palatine]

There's an E400MMC parked the yard at Bedford depot repainted into 'distance livery' I couldn't identify it as a passed by the depot on E400 19888 (AE11FUD) on the 9A. I presume it's one of the former Milton park & ride examples recently transferred in from Cambridge 10803/04 (SN66WAE/J)

Surprising that the Milton P&R fleet are being repainted, but I guess that explains the E200s that have been transferred in from Fenstanton which appear to be the new allocation for the route. I can only assume loadings on the service are rather poor compared to the other sites around the city which retain their branded fleets for now.

[al_557]

E400 MMC 10803 (SN66WAE) has entered service at Bedford today on the X5 after repaint into distance livery.

[rm clippie]

How many more E400s will join the X5/905 fleet
and where will they come from.

[al_557]

How many more E400s will join the X5/905 fleet
and where will they come from.

There'll be at least 6 more as 10866-71 are due to transfer in from Peterborough

[MIB]

Yesterday 19578 was on the 4  and 10 and I thought my luck was in as 10876 was on the routes this morning. Sadly before I had even boarded 11127 on the 50 I noted 0876 had been pulled. 19704 was on the 1430 9C so I did it to Mile Road as not done a 9C before. 10876 just happened to be my 9 back before doing the route 6 bratex and 1600 1.

Before going home on 22838 I had my first siting of orange thing 10803 on an X5. According to the tracker 108 8 was on 1's alongside 27520, 521 and 523 and route 41 was host to 10878 and 10873 was on Hitchin turns.

[Spoddendale]

‘Coach and Bus Week’ magazine dated 5 October 2021 contains a piece entitled ‘Stagecoach East’s X5 coach service to go double deck’.

The item concludes ‘Ten ADL Enviro400MMCs (10872-81) from Peterborough have transferred to Bedford depot along with former Cambridge Park & Ride 10803 for the service’.

A link to the item: https://cbwmagazine.com/stagecoach-easts-x5-coach-service-to-go-double-deck/


David

[linkyyork]

Pity about the livery

[al_557]

‘Coach and Bus Week’ magazine dated 5 October 2021 contains a piece entitled ‘Stagecoach East’s X5 coach service to go double deck’.

The item concludes ‘Ten ADL Enviro400MMCs (10872-81) from Peterborough have transferred to Bedford depot along with former Cambridge Park & Ride 10803 for the service’.

A link to the item: https://cbwmagazine.com/stagecoach-easts-x5-coach-service-to-go-double-deck/


David

Bedford have had 10874-81(YX67VDL/M/N/O/P/R/T/V) for quite some time now and were transferred in for the 905 which also utilised 11279/80 (SN69ZPF/G)which were new to Bedford. 10872/73 (YX67VDJ/K) recently transferred a couple of weeks ago from Peterborough and 10803/04 (SN66WAE/J) have recently transferred in from Cambridge with 10803 now in service. 10499 (SN65ZHP) was transferred in from Exeter as well, but doesn't have the leather seats, wifi and usb sockets promised for the service.
To run the X5 and 905 with E400MMC's, they will need another few yet. 10866-71 (YX67VDA/C/D/E/F/G) are supposed to be due to transfer in from Peterborough to make up the numbers.
It's not known what will replace the Elite coaches on the 99. But longer E200MMC's would probably be ok for the service. These would probably have to be new as I don't think there's any spare within Stagecoach

[MIB]

A gold and orange day for me starting with year winner 11129 into town on the 50. I was rather taken aback to see RML2299 before it headed off empty from the bus station. As this vehicle is not tracked I don't know why it was there and if it had done a Grant Palmer service.

I did 36012 on the 9 and got withered when the orange thing 10803 passed on a 3. I tried to get back for it on 19889 on the 9 but missed it again on a 7. This meant waiting for 10803 to come back and I finally scored it to Fenlake and back on the 1345 3 and 1400 return.

I don't know what to make of the contraption above the stairs which nearly knocked my head off. If that came away from the ceiling and landed on my head I'd probably be dead. There was another glowing bus on the depot so assume it is 10804. I went home on gold 11126 on the 1436 50.

[TCD813]

I was rather taken aback to see RML2299 before it headed off empty from the bus station. As this vehicle is not tracked I don't know why it was there and if it had done a Grant Palmer service.

See response here, on Re: Grant Palmer happenings 2020-2021.

[AD70DBL (Jonny)]

A gold and orange day for me starting with year winner 11129 into town on the 50. I was rather taken aback to see RML2299 before it headed off empty from the bus station. As this vehicle is not tracked I don't know why it was there and if it had done a Grant Palmer service.

I did 36012 on the 9 and got withered when the orange thing 10803 passed on a 3. I tried to get back for it on 19889 on the 9 but missed it again on a 7. This meant waiting for 10803 to come back and I finally scored it to Fenlake and back on the 1345 3 and 1400 return.

I don't know what to make of the contraption above the stairs which nearly knocked my head off. If that came away from the ceiling and landed on my head I'd probably be dead. There was another glowing bus on the depot so assume it is 10804. I went home on gold 11126 on the 1436 50.

The one glowing in the bus depot could be 10873 has that's now orange will be interested to see which bus is next to get the orange treatment.

[MIB]

I was prised out of my front door today as another year requirement 35222 was on a 50 into town  but I was deprived of winner 10872 which had done a 53 before being sent back to the garage presumably unfit for purpose. So to while away the time before going home on 15608, running 18 minutes late on the 1236 50, I did 19581 on a 72 to Harrowden Road for 37215 back on a 73.

I had wanted to do 27520 on the 1145 1 but the failure of 36064 on the 1130 1 meant it was rammed solid so it was flagged. 27521 was also out on the 1. There appears to be a shortage of decker on the route.

I am fairly confident that it is 10804 at the back of the garage as I viewed orange 10873 on the X5. The tracker suggests 10804 worked one journey on the X5 on 8 October but was aborted so I assume Bedford has broken it already.

No sooner had I got home when 10803 was taken off the X5 to illuminate routes 5, 4 and 10. No sign of the Routemaster today which I have had in Dunstable but could do with having it in Bedford.