UPDATE - Reynolds Coach made famous

We have had confirmation by Reynolds that it was Lady Josie, BIG 9842 and it just happened to be passing at the time of filming.

This evening many norfolk enthusiasts got rather excited by the fact a Reynolds of Caister Plaxton Premiere appeared on BBC one's Doctor Who...

The Reynolds coach passes The Doctor and his new assistant.

I have watched a paused and zoomed in as much as possible but I still cannot make out a name. All I have narrowed down my speculations to it being either: BIG 8774, BIG 9853 or BIG 9854.

As normal, if you know anymore than we do, pop a comment underneath!

New buses due in May

The Route One Magazine has reported the 22 new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s due for the X1 are due in May - just over 1 month away! They have also reported that the older Volvos will be moved to run shorter routes.

For more updates on the new X1 buses, keep checking here throughout the coming months or head over to the X1 Blog.

One of the Volvo B9TLs that the new Enviro400s will replace on X1 duties.

What have we got 'ere?

Today, this Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine Mk1 was seen parked rear facing at the back end of Roundtree Way depot. This step entrance, some 20 year old decker is an Essex girl registered L315 PWR. Her plans for her are currently unknown, but we will try to find out for you all!

First 34315 at Roundtree Way today
(c) Kieran Smith

Final ex-Anglian Sanders bus confirmed

I was rather confused when I entered Norwich Bus Station today and saw an Anglian bus stopped at Bay 5, with 44S on the destination screen. It clicked a few seconds later that it was the last transferred bus from Anglian and it hadn't yet been painted into Sander's livery. It comes in the form of YN03UVM which joins UVR and UVT

Norwich Bus Station Bay Changes

Following the release of the new X2 timetable, I can announce that the numbered bays at Norwich Bus Station will be changing to lettered stands, like on St Stephens Street. This could cause some confusion as stands with the same name will be present on both locations. I am not aware of any services swapping stands at the moment.

New First Bus Caister Road arrivals

Following our previous report of First Great Yarmouth taking delivery of one new Dart from First Essex in the form of 42919 EU05AUL last week, well today a further three were noted in service around Great Yarmouth today, the full list is as follows:


42919 - EU05 AUL

42920 - EU05 AUM

42921 - EU05 AUN

42929 - SN05 EAJ

First Great Yarmouth is obviously having its fleet upgraded, its not looking like the new livery will be coming to Yarmouth yet.

We'll have to keep an eye out for more new arrivals over the next few weeks.

Coach Galore - Week 2

 Today and tomorow the rail line at Thorpe End is closed for maintenance meaning many services are being replaced by coaches again. I popped to the train station in the morning, however, it was so cold I came out an hour and a bit later! Besides, I still managed to photograph some decent vehicles.....

Regal Busways were using this former Hedingam Volvo B10M/Plaxton
Excalibur

One of three Freestones vehicles in use was this Irizar Century.

Galloway were using some very smart coaches, including this B12B based
Volvo 9700.

Something that never really kicked off was the MAN based Plaxton
Panther. Simonds has one which runs in this plain white livery.

Chenery were once again on the scene with this Setra S250 in the white
based livery.

Galloway were using this VanHool T916 Astron, not the kind of coach which
usually appears on rail replacement work!

Double Decker on 124

If YN03WRG being on the 124 all week has gotten me excited, then I think a Double Decker in the shape of X386NNO certainly would which is just want happened on the 09:00 124 to Norwich this morning, I believe this is the first run that X386NNO  has done since its little incident with a tree a couple of weeks back on the 731 Service.

 

Also, minibus RJ56TYK & Optare Solo YN57HPV have been running the 124 this morning, Plaxton Beaver V227KAH is expected to take over on the 11:00 to Norwich after completing X47 / 830 duties.

I'm looking forward to seeing what's on the route on Monday!

New Anglianbus Timetables - April 2013

Anglianbus have made a few minor changes to the 146, 601, 601A and 602 timetables.

These will come into affect from 2nd April 2013. You can download the new timetables below:
146

Anglian have added three additional morning peak journeys will each arrive into Norwich before 9am, aimed at commuters and students.

New 146 timetable

601

The 601 will now go round Kessingland village (Field Lane/Wash Lane), allowing residents to be able to get to Great Yarmouth & Southwold without having to change bus.

New 601 timetable

New 601A timetable


602

Anglian have added an additional morning and evening service to the 602 for commuters and students to get to and from Lowestoft.

New 602 timetable 

New Service

Just a reminder that Anglian have a new Norwich service linking the City Centre with Hall Road via City College & Tuckswood estate at a every 30 min frequency starting 2nd April 2013. It will interlink with the 146.

New 140 Timetable

Double Deckers for the 5

Cameron Chastney emailed us today to tell us what a Sanders driver told him today. Whilst travelling on the 5, which is normally run by a single deck bus, the driver told Cameron the bus will be a regular on the 5 for some time. We were not told any vehicle details, however, will try to update you asap.

New First service from April 15th.

First Norwich are launching a new service from April 15th - when the Summer Term begins. The service 29S will go from Taverham High School then operate via Fakenham Road, Thorpe Marriott Estate and Drayton before running into Norwich. First have said standard fares apply to the service. They have also said that buses cannot pick from the bus stop on Maple Drive outside the school until the yellow marking are changed.

Dart 43452 seen before withdrawal outside Taverham High School where
the new 29S will depart from. (c) Kieran Smith

Bus Operator Of The Year Award

Just to inform you that Norwich Bus Updates on twitter are holding an (unofficial) award which gives the public a chance to vote for who think was the best bus operator in Norwich for the 2012 financial year - which ends on April 5th.
To vote, go onto twitter as tweet them the following:
Award - [Operator Name].

If you don't have access to Twitter pop a comment on this post, and it will be counted. Votes must be cast by midnight on April 30th.
Please note that Norwich Park and Ride will not count as an operator - use Norse or Konectbus.
Also please note this is unofficial, it is just to show who the public see to be the best operator in Norwich. To head over to their twitter click here.

Mysterious phone bus....

Danny pictured a mysterious Plaxton President with a all-over advertisement for the Nokia Lumia Phone in Norwich yesterday, unfortunately he did not catch the registration or the destination screen which just adds to the mystery of who's it and what the reg is?




People have been speculating in comments on Flickr with First and Norse being the main suspects, we can safely rule out Anglianbus & Konectbus as they do not have adverts on their buses. People have even suggested that it might be a display to just advertise the phone and the bus wasn't in service, who knows...

If any has any info don't be afraid to get in touch via Comment, Email or Twitter.

Many Thanks to Danny for the pictures, the copyright remains with him. Check out his Flickr Photostream for more pictures from Norwich.

Loanbus for Anglian

A Wrightbus Streetlite has been use don the 601 today, in plain white livery. I'm assuming its on loan to Anglian however there was legal lettering on the side. Any more info will be greatly appreciated

MX12 JXV on loan to Anglian

124 workings

Continuing with the theme of different workings, today Anglianbus 448 YN03WRG was noted on the 6:45 124 to Norwich, 8.00 124 to South Walsham and the 9.00 124 to Norwich. I think a different bus does these duties every week day as it fills in for V227KAH which does the 830 / X47 in the early mornings and late afternoons, and does 124 runs in between as Plaxton Beaver V227KAH was noted on the 11:00 124 to Norwich this morning.

Also noted on the 124 today was MX53FDO & YJ51XSM.

There has been slightly more variety on the 124 since AO57BDY caught fire a couple of months back.

I will keep an eye out early tomorrow morning and hopefully get more pictures.

004 Workings

AnglianBus 503 - AO57 EZL on the 004 this afternoon

Anglian's 004 is usually run by two Solos: AU58AKK and AU58AKN. I have been told by the driver of AKN that his bus has been having lots of trouble recently, hence the presence of AU08GLY, T400CBC and YJ60KGV on the route this week. I was told that the MAN EcoCity's will not be used on the route due to a low bridge on the bottom of Long John Hill and this was why I was very surprised indeed to see Scania OmniDekker 503 AO57EZL displaying the 004 on the screen this afternoon! Either it is genuine and it diverted around the bridge which is possible, or the display screens are mucking up again. About 2 minutes after I took this photo it parked up on St Stephens street and the display screen changed to 588.

KIG 1890 - Futher Update

Ambassador Travel - KIG 1890, a photo by Kieran S on Flickr.

Just to elaborate further on Zak's posting of the re-registration of Ambassador Travel FD54 DGU.
I saw this on Saturday running rail replacement duties from Norwich, however, it never clicked that it was FD54 DGU! Silly Me!

Regional Updates

I was in Norwich this morning and as soon as I got on the bus I noticed W741 DWX freshly repainted in the new livery! I'm going to Lowestoft in a couple of hours to see if any others have been painted.

Also, Ambassador Travel's 180 FD54 DGU has been re-registered KIG 1890 after being decomissioned from National Express duties.

The new registration on 180

Coach Galore - Photo Special!

With a rail closure in Rackheath, every train in and out of Norwich this weekend is being replaced by a coach. Now, here's where you get the rail passengers moaning! However, for me, and probably you too, this means a great day out for a good old bit of bus spotting! Today, there were loads of coaches, more than i've ever seen before, so here are the most notable pictures.

Ambassador Travel were using 196.

Freestons KX07 HDJ, sporting a fresh paint of Royal Blue and new Megabus
branding.

Spratts were operating this Scania K112. 

Talisman used loads of coaches today, this Setra S416GTHD to name one.

Sanders newly acquired Volvo B12M/Jonckheere SHV.

New 140 Service Update

Just a quick note, Joe Wilson emailed to correct me to that the new 140 Service that starts on the 3rd April 2013 is to be ran by 146 Service MAN EcoCitys between driver breaks, as the buses head to Tuckswood anyway out of service so they might as well be in service.

Also, Anglian are to introduce three additional journeys will each arrive into Norwich before 9am, aimed at commuters and students.
2 of the 3 brand new 13 Reg MAN EcoCity buses will provide additional morning peak journeys on the 146 route between Lowestoft and Norwich from the 2nd April 2013, in response to customer feedback.

 

Pictoral Update

Dolphin Travel FRZ 1508, a photo by Sam Larke on Flickr.

Sam Larke photographed Dolphin's Bova Futura FRZ 1508 operating the Hellesdon to Taverham 6th form centre shuttles today.

Different Dolphin Travel allocations

Ever since Dolphin Travel acquired the operations of Peoplemovers, Dolphin has been using DAF SB3000/VanHool Alizee on the Horsford to Taverham High School and Taverham to Hellesdon 6th Form Centre shuttles. However, for the past three days they have been using Bova Futura FRZ 1508.

Meet the Editors!

Ever wondered about who works behind the scenes? Who does what and what do we look like? Well now you can find out! Click here or go to our Meet The Editors page to find out more about us and what we enjoy doing.

124 panic over!

Today, Daniel Yellop at Norfolk County Council kindly confirmed to me today that the Anglian Bus 124 Service will continue to run, but could have some journeys cut, as Anglian are not happy with current usage figures.

As for the Anglian Bus 731, the petition for more buses to run is closing very soon, so please get your signatures in. Click Here to sign the e-petition

Just a quick update on the breakdown side, Anglian opatre Solo MX53FDM broke down on X47 duties in Acle yesterday at about 16:30, and Scania YN07EZB broke down on the A47 today and was replaced by Dennis Trident X386NNO.

KonectBus Plaxton Presidents arrive at Chambers

Courtesy of Patrick Munford, we have a picture of one of the old KonectBus Volvo B7TL/Plaxton Presidents now at Chambers. Here is V301 LGC seen broken down whilst on delivery.

(c) Patrick Munford

Anglian Bus news....

When speaking to local residents of South Walsham about my petition for the 731, I was informed that the Anglianbus 124 could cease to operate come April 2013 when the Anglian timetable renewals begin, this is because the subsidise contract was agreed for two years only from 11th April 2011 and there currently has been no acknowledgment of renewing the service yet on VOSA. (Please don’t tell me I’ve got to start yet another petition!)


There is some good news, Anglian have a new service starting on 3rd April 2013, Service 140 a Norwich Circular service which will link Norwich City Centre with Hall Road and Tuckswood Via City College at around a 30 Minute frequency from 7:20 terminating at midday. This is expected to ran my Opatre Solos



The timetable for the 140 Service can be downloaded Here

Anglian buy bus?

I saw Konect's X229WRA working on the 581 today, on loan to Anglian. However this time, all of the 'Konect' words had been taken off, just leaving 'bus' written on it. Is this the beginning of a repaint into Anglian colours? Have Anglian purchased the bus after all? Time will tell! Keep your eyes peeled and if you see it or photograph it, don't hesitate to contact us!

Fleet List News

Firstly, we'd like to appologise for not getting the February updates out as planned, however, we are proud to announce we have new fleet lists live NOW!
We now have a complete list for OurBus and Swift Taxis.

Plus, with the help of Sam Larke, we a Norse fleet list is due shortly - including livery and depot details!

Norwich Bus Page ~ Update

Our Twitter site is now active once more! Follow @NorwichBusPage

We are also on Google+ +Norwich Bus Page

We also have a new facebook page. Click here to visit and click like!

More Pics from Norwich

as Kieran has already mentioned, Simonds have another demonstrator an Enviro200. I also photographed this and YN03UVT, an ex Anglian Omnicity. Although it is not the first one as I photographed YN03UVR a couple of weeks ago.

Throughout the day, the weather began to gradually deteriorate with the rain turning to snow. AnglianBus 320 is pictured here going through a small ford in Hempnall at 11:58 this morning. I bought a return ticket to Norwich about 15 minutes later but when I returned to the bus stop to catch the last bus, the driver informed me that he cannot pass through Hempnall, Shotesham or Saxlingham due to the high waters. Water had obviously been inside the bus as it is a low floor and bus doors don't seal. I thought that was fair enough but when I didn't refund my ticket, I wasn't amused! I was stranded in Norwich but luckily bumped into someone I know who gave me a lift home. The waters are now subsiding after five breakdowns the latest of which is a rather posh BMW which is getting personal breakdown recovery! An interesting day to say the least, hopefully the snow won't make the roads to treachourous tomorrow.

Second Omnicity ex-AnglianBus at Sanders revealed

UPDATED: Well, Zak informed me the first one had already been spotted which makes this the second. So... Norwich Bus has a picture of the second Omnicity acquired by Sanders from AnglianBus. It's registration is YN03 UVT, however, its fleet number is currently unknown.

An interesting day in Norwich: 9th March 2013

Today I took the some 50 minute bus ride into Norwich, for no reason, just to go see some buses - I mean no plans to get pics of certain buses. As soon as I got off on Castle Meadow, I saw a silver bus come round the corner, on closer inspection I discovered it was yet another demonstrator with Simonds!

Well with the best spot of the day out of the way, here are the rest of my pictures.

Turquoise branded 66348 was operating Orange Line services 21 and 22.

Chenery NBN 922 - I believe this to be re-registered to this. As I had no
clue this exsisted! 

Norfolk Green 8 was on the X29. Two
Enviro400s are on the way soon!

If you know any better about the Chenery Coach then comment below, or drop us an email at general.norwichbuspage@gmail.com

Remaining MAN EcoCity's in service

 I visited AnglianBus today to try and find out if the remaining three EcoCity's had been registered. On the X2 I spoke to some fellow enthusiasts David and Richard who informed me I had just missed 611 AU13FBJ working the 601. They informed that the driver said he was assigned it due to his own MAN being worked on in the garage. When I arrived at the garage, I spoke to a mechanic who confirmed that MAN have been visiting and are checking on every single gas bus at the moment so the 13 reg ones will be used on various services in the next few weeks. I photographed 612 AU13 FBK and 613 AU13FBL at the depot, and later saw 612 working the 146.



I have noticed that Anglian seem to be mixing up their allocations a bit at the moment. The 121 is normally run by the smaller Optare Solos, as is the 004 however today I photographed X386NNO on the 121 and Versa YJ60KGV on the 004. The Solo normally on the 004 was noted in Beccles on the 581, usually run by the Versas. Why the allocations have been chopped and changed is unknown. Also seen today was Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 from Norwich BD11 CDZ on the X1 to Peterborough, still serving due to an X1 branded bus being involved in an accident the other week.

 

Rare 878 Working

I was standing in my usual spot on the wall outside college this morning and was rather shocked and surprised by the presence of Ambassador's Paramount working the 878! This route goes from both Yarmouth and East Norfolk Sixth Form College's to Alpington via Loddon and there has been a variety of vehicles on the route. Another rarity being FJ09 DXA.