Comments on: Showbus 2007, part 3

By: Craig

Craig — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:06:48 +0000

I drive the Enviro 400. It gets referred to frequently by passengers as a spaceship. It is a very comfortable ride, nice and curvy, and good power while driving. What lets it down is the electrical faults that plague the Trident 1 & 2’s.

By: Barrie Lee

Barrie Lee — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:13:15 +0000

Am I the only one that thinks that having a strip of the main body colour above & below the destination display improves the look of these. TFL don’t seem to include the front in their 90% red rule. Why is so much black used, and the Enviro 400 isn’t the worst for this.

By: Edward Pearce

Edward Pearce — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 23:07:04 +0000

How can you compare an Enviro to an RM? An Enviro hasnt got a draughty open end or moth eaten uncomfortable seats and it doesnt look like a prehistoric tin chicken house!

By: Andy Moore

Andy Moore — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 21:33:32 +0000

Oh look, surprise Suprise, Pictures of modern buses and someone (#4) has to bring routemasters into the debate.

Get over the Routemaster will you, its all over.

Metrobus Rules.

By: Chris Fox

Chris Fox — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 20:40:20 +0000

The ex-London Tridents, formerly on the Cambridge P&R, have made their way to East Devon. They made quite a splash when they appeared in their bright colours but are slowly being re-painted in the standard Stagecoach Devon livery. They are mainly allocated to the 57 Route from Exeter to Exmouth but have also made appearances on the peak season only 95 Route from Exmouth to Sandy Bay. I wonder if anyone asked for a £2 ticket to Cambridge?

By: Gene Hunt

Gene Hunt — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 09:58:30 +0000

We have some 2000 registration Euro 2 engined tridents, have a good roar to them but cannot make it up the hills as you said, poor acceleration also, and the newer tridents must be the same registered 2004, sound completely different but sound like the enviros, high pitched whistle caused by the Cummins engine and Voith gearbox with four gears instead of the older ones which were three gears only. Doesn’t help them up hills; the enviros have 5-speed gearboxes but havent had a chance to do a route where they encounter a hill or even reach top speed! Just wait till they do my route, Ill be at sixthform in 5 mins when they are used!

By: Steve23589

Steve23589 — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 23:54:35 +0000

Euro 3-engined Tridents seem pretty comptetent hill-climbers. It’s the Euro 2-engined ones which are awful. All that noise and revving, but no guts.

By: Gene Hunt

Gene Hunt — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 07:41:23 +0000

The designers don’t really live in the real world-thats why all of the Tridents and other post-2000 buses cannot get up a steep hill on my route, slowing from 40 to 20 mph. The olympians can power up there at 30-40 and then rocket down the other side at 60-80 mph!

By: ANDREW WEBB

ANDREW WEBB — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:16:45 +0000

Cambridgeshire is not the only council where Stagecoach has had problems with Enviro 400s and trees. Three were purchased recently for the Wiltshire County Council tendered 49 from Swindon to Trowbridge. Swiftly withdrawn awaiting tree lopping after several broken windows, I don’t yet know if they are back on the route, something about the council having to get permission from the landowner to lop the trees. Guess the bus designers don’t help either though by having glass virtually up to the roof, but hey ho, it looks “good”.

By: Martin

Martin — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 23:40:43 +0000

Gene, Ray Stenning of Best Impressions has done designing for quite a few individual route leaflets in London.

I myself prefer the Enviro 500, as it dont look so rounded but this livery made them look good.

DING DING!! Joh got it right there, the 90% red is sooooo boring and is kinda putting me off travelling on the TfL bus network!