Thursday 21st March 2024
Bus passengers travelling along the coast road between Brighton and Eastbourne are enjoying superb comfort from the brand new buses now entering service with Brighton & Hove Bus Company as part of a substantial order of 44 ADL Enviro400 MMC buses.
38 of the new intake are destined for the hugely popular and frequent route 12/12A/12X wearing an updated livery featuring the ‘coaster’ brand and the now familiar green and blue colour scheme with later deliveries to be deployed on ‘sister’ coaster route 14 between Newhaven, Peacehaven and Brighton. The remaining six buses of the order will be deployed on a new city service.
I took a ride over to Eastbourne a few days ago to see how the new buses are performing on one of the most scenic bus routes in the country as well as one with challenging hill climbs particularly in the Seven Sisters and East Dean area between Seaford and Eastbourne.
Sadly I picked one of the many rainy days we’ve been enduring recently which also meant parts of the route through high ground were in mist, but this didn’t take away from the impressive ride given by the buses.
And most impressive of all is the comfort of the seats. I think it must be one of the most comfortable journeys I’ve ever had on a bus.
The seats seemed to have such deep cushions.
Something else that was obvious was the amount of room given over to wheelchairs and buggies with two official wheelchair spaces (nearside and offside) and space on the offside for buggies too. In addition to the tip up seats there are ten easy access seats which is the upside of having a single door layout which is obviously more appropriate for an inter-urban type route compared to an intensive city route.
The only thing I wondered about, having seen all that space, was the rather tight looking gangway for buggies (particularly double buggies) and largish wheelchairs to pass through by the cab door, especially as there’s a double seat over the front nearside wheel whereas some interior layouts I’ve seen in other fleets incorporate only a single ‘pilot’ seat in this position.
The rear seating arrangement on the lower deck is more traditional with five seats across and a pair of rear facing and forward facing seats over each rear wheel.
On the upper deck there’s a table for four immediately behind the first pair of seats after the stairs on the offside with wireless charging as is becoming common on a number of fleets…
… including the new buses I recently reviewed at Reading – but unlike those, these don’t have seatback mobile phone holders/chargers although there is a usb socket and a bell push on every other seat row, rather than every row.
As with many buses, the rear five seats are not so comfortable with the first row at the back facing the rear…
… which will be welcomed for those wanting a social gathering but on the other hand it looked like an open invitation for inconsiderate passengers to put their feet up, although the gap may be too long for all but the most long legged people.
The cove panels have promotional messages spread over two or three rows of seats making it easy to read the message on the opposite side to where you’re sitting.
There’s just the one route map on each deck.
The large display above the front window was just showing the coaster logo when I travelled…
… except for a brief (five seconds at most) “stop requested” display when a passenger pushes the stop button …
… before it reverts to the coaster name again with a small addition of ‘stop requested’ in red.
The signs weren’t yet displaying the next stop nor were audio announcements playing out for every stop but I guess this is one of the things that will be sorted as more buses enter service.
There’s a monitor style display on the back of the stairs facing the lower deck seats…
… and some sheep to welcome you on board.
Priority seats are clearly marked…
… and on the exterior for some reason the names of places served include Seven Sisters shown in blue on the nearside.
They’re very impressive buses on which to travel on one of Britain’s most impressive bus routes and the investment in so many buses in one go will be sure to make an impressive offer to entice passengers once they’re all on the road this summer.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
Comments on today’s blog are welcome but please keep them relevant to the blog topic, avoid personal insults and add your name (or an identifier). Thank you.
BusAndTrainUser 
Impressive!
Like you I am concerned by rear facing seats and the ability to put feet on them. This was a regular occurrence when I travelled the 404 between Walsall and West Bromwich. My thinking, then, was that the squabs could be a faux leather which makes cleaning easier – or even just have faux leather seat rolls at the front which is where feet tended to end up. On my current local route I am reasonably certain that all seats face forward – we are lightly loaded and I tend to not walk far so that it is easier to chat with the “regulars”.
As franchising is rolled out more and more seat arrangements, of this nature, could form part of the vehicle specification.
A return to sideways seats over the wheel arches could create marginally more room for buggies.
LikeLike
The Merc 0405s on the Travel West Midlands 4(04) were really comfortable buses that were loyal servants to WMT & far better then the current Scanias which are dank and very tight especially for my 6ft 1ins 16 stone frame. The Diamond Bus Streetlites on the partnership route are far more enjoyable.
I was reminded of the era of stretching full out across the 4 inward & outward facing seats on the Merc 0405s when I had the dubious pleasure of recently visiting a client on what must be the worst operator in England-Chaserider/Select 875 from Cannock ; what a dive that place is when changing from the Platty X51 to Stafford. The clapped out 20 year old VDL bought back so many happy memories of the Mercs as it had 4×2 seating at the rear so it was lovley to just stretch out across the four for the journey each way. Mind you the return journey was 30mins late & witj virtually no passengers on it either way its terrible reputation shows.
May I take the opportunity to wish Roger & everyone on the forum a very HAPPY EASTER & being a practicing Catholic love a good crucifixion on GOOD FRIDAY so am off to The Den the home of Millwall to see the Baggies away………….
LikeLike
Hi Andrew and thanks Roger for the review
We experimented with turning around the rear upper deck seats on our first batch of Extended Range Electric E400s following a good experience with these on a demonstration vehicle and when we travelled on another operator’s vehicle on a management ‘walkabout’. We found it to make the experience of travelling as a small group so much better without losing a pair of seats that happens when you put in tables.
We had lots of positive feedback from users about the first batch of having these on our buses, without the negatives of the fears raised. In fact we eliminated the previous issues of vandalism to the backs of seats of the row in front that is common on other vehicles.
We have replicated this on subsequent orders as a result, especially on Coaster where many groups are travelling for leisure.
Kind regards
Nick Hill
Commercial Director
Brighton & Hove Buses
LikeLike
Thanks for the information. The leisure travel option is interesting. Mrs R always wants to travel forwards so I agree with her!
The arrangement does indicate spaciousness which, for some, is an issue in the new normal, post Covid.
LikeLike
The next stop display problem seems to have been resolved now, and they are lovely to drive too!
Mike Best
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Mike.
Yes they seem working most of the time but there is still a gremlin causing a random issue on some journeys that we are trying to resolve.
All the best
Nick
LikeLiked by 1 person
The buses are lovely! I hope the examples for Route 6 arrive soon – does anybody know when that might be?
LikeLike
I am guessing that the plan for the last of them going in the 6 has Changed? It says in the Article they are for a New Route?
LikeLike
now going on the new 1X route, Brighton Marina-Mile Oak
LikeLike
Do you have any more information on the new route 1X?
LikeLike
I would hazard a guess that Seven Sisters appear in a different colour because they are a long feature of the route, rather than a place (such as Seafood, Eastbourne ,etc.).
Peter Murnaghan
LikeLike
Not a new problem, but the lower deck shots demonstrate the unsquareable circle of tensions between the needs of buggy & wheelchair users and those of less steady-on-their-feet passengers. There is a long space with no stanchions that has to be negotiated when boarding or alighting. The former is not too bad if drivers are sensitive to people’s needs (as they usually are here in Harrogate), but alighting is trickier – people are loath to ring the bell (if there is one within reach) then wait for the bus to stop.
While it is good that more people are able to access public transport there is a need to be aware of other, inadvertent, problems that may arise.
John
LikeLike
Ipswich Buses, when I lived there, used to have a sign telling people not to leave their seats until the bus had stopped and that the driver would be happy to wait. I can’t see that working in larger towns and cities! Indeed, my bugbear is people at the back of the bus who don’t start to move until the vehicle has stopped. People start to board as they can’t see them; then there’s either a bit of a scrummage or else to boarding passengers have to get back off to let the others pass. I’m not talking of less able and frail people of course – in fact the offenders are often young fit younger folk.
Andrew Kleissner.
LikeLike
The interior layout, at least downstairs, is similar to E400MMCs in Cardiff (I haven’t been upstairs!). That double front seat is indeed a pain. I take the point about the long space without a stanchion; conversely some other buses have poles in places that make life very difficult for buggies and wheelchairs. One other issue is that there doesn’t seen to be much luggage space, especially as there seems to be some kind of tray over the nearside wheel arch. People do have suitcases, especially if they’re going to/from the railway station!
(Some of our local buses, run by Adventure Travel, are ex-airport or ex-TwawsCymru vehicles. These have too much luggage space!!)
Andrew Kleissner.
LikeLike
Why do these MMCs have the moulded fibreglass shell hards seats – rear 5 downstairs, rear 5 upstairs and 2 front offside upper front?
I can only guess this is an easy design solution. No doubt there is stuff hidden under the seats but given the number of MMCs being sold there must be enough volume to design and build better seats.
The other seats look nice.
All the buggy etc space downstairs reducing normal seats means more passengers going upstairs – is this a problem if you are carrying large numbers of OAP bus pass passengers who don’t like stairs? Or is the upper deck preferred for countryside and seaside views?
LikeLike
You mentioned the challenging hills on this route and I recall that this was a concern with the Wright Streetdecks when they were introduced some time ago – did they have quite small engines? Was the performance of the AD400s better in this regard?
MotCO
LikeLike
From my trips on them on Wednesday, the new Enviros positively romp up the hills compared to the StreetDecks that used to be on the route. Well, they do when the water company isn’t digging up the road everywhere along the coast.
LikeLike
This video shows how the Streetdecks struggled on the hills.
Peter Brown
LikeLike
It’s interesting that recent deliveries to Go South Coast have only 4 rear seats rather than 5 (much more comfortable) and tip up squabs on the rear facing seats which stops the problem of shoes on the fabric. They also have deleted the front 2 seats by the entrance
LikeLike
Those seats look like the ones on the northern class 158, 195 and 331s (correct me if I am wrong on the 331)
Thomas
LikeLike
I live on the Coaster route and the new buses look very smart, The new information displays are excellent. It seems a shame the high frequency isn’t promoted externally though – ‘Up to every 10 mins’ was prominent on the previous buses. Unfortunately most seats have less legroom. I’m 6′ tall and my knees have to touch the seat in front which isn’t comfortable! Maybe take out one set of seats on one side upstairs? Regular passengers would soon learn which seats have more legroom and the capacity would be 43 which is the same as the B&H Volvo Geminis.
Andrew Boag
LikeLike
Great to have such fine new buses along the coast and up the eastern end of the Downs. We are losing two services, the 77 & 79, which have been taking people from Brighton & Hove up to closer parts of the Downs for many years, now that Brighton & Hove Council has said it will stop subsidising them, despite a petition signed by more than a thousand to save the 79. (https://www.change.org/p/urge-brighton-and-hove-council-to-maintain-subsidies-for-the-79-bus). As far as I know, the 79 is only bus that also carries bicycles to the top of the Downs, enabling people to cycle along the South Downs Way without first having to pedal there along busy roads.
LikeLike
Smart looking new buses. Very comfy looking seats, apart from the rear benches. Personally I prefer the Enviro 400 City body, and specifically glazed staircases.
I like how the rear facing seats open up the upper deck rear, as traditionally this is where ne’er do wells tend to lurk.
Peter Brown
LikeLike
its a pity they are not double glazed so the windows dont steam up and ruin view,Transdev new buses are d/glazed
LikeLike
Whoever ordered a bus with seats so close to the driver obviously doesn’t drive them in service. The noise from telephones & chatter is incredibly distracting, it also blocks out the drivers view in the near side glass.
LikeLike
How do taxi drivers manage?
LikeLike
I have to agree. Having a double seat that close to the driver is very distracting.
The double pilot seat is a real elementary mistake in my view. As Roger and others have said, the entrance is narrowed; it looks very tight for a standard sized wheelchair, let alone the jumbo buggies. It will just cause delays for the sake of 1 extra seat.
Is the build quality any better than the recent deliveries to GSC, some of which rattled from day 1?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree, drivers generally don’t like these seats, which are intrusive and block vision.
They may be occupied by passengers talking loudly on phones and observing the driver luridly.
Young children often clamber about on them, whilst the accompanying adult(s) sit elsewhere on the bus, shouting at them to “sit down, don’t annoy the driver” etc….
Also, there are occasions where the front seat passenger vocally supports fare evaders who are being subtly questioned by the driver. They can also see dashboard warnings, or displays that are not working correctly.
LikeLike
Seems strange to announce a brand new livery with coloured shapes and then introduce a brand new fleet with a scheme that bears absolutely no relation to it all! The old Coaster livery is derived from the BH4, just with different colours and some promotional messages.
Paul B
LikeLike
Just like days gone by, Roger you enticed me to come down and spend money travelling on Brightons buses.
I downloaded the excellent £5 East Sussex Day Ticket to my phone, walked out of Brighton Station and hopped straight on a bus bound for Eastbourne.
The double glazed Witchway is the ultimate Enviro experience as you have previously blogged. They are long wheelbase too which would be more suited to summer loads on “Coaster”.
The company asked for my feedback following a previous eventful journey I had on a wet day which included passengers walking mud off the downs onto the skyblue floor.
The next stop information worked today with minor glitches but tellingly tourists had to rush downstairs and ask the driver if East Dean was stop for Seven Sisters as displays were purely functional with stop names. Half the display is taken up with commercial advertising meaningless to tourists who want a ticket for the day, a noticeable change in policy from service orientated days.
A smartly dressed lady put her feet on the seats at back downstairs on one bus. Nottingham influence passenger behaviour by audio announcements rather than the small blobs at the nearside front of Coasters. If there was a request for feedback I didn’t see it.
I’m left feeling Coaster is the public name for Newhaven based buses which all claim they go to Eastbourne!
Back next week to say farewell to the Scanias, an interesting comparison, especially at night when drivers had the ability to turn the lights down.
John Nicholas
LikeLike
Another very interesting and informative blog, Roger. These are excellent buses and will further enhance bus travel on the Brighton to Eastbourne corridor – especially as the current Coaster vehicles are cascaded to other routes to replace the Scanias, which are way past their ‘sell by date’, and have more rattles than a baby toy factory (not helped by the hundreds of potholes and uneven surfaces of Brighton’s roads!)
LikeLike
There are some single seater childs buggies that have stupidly wide rear axles, they only fit through centre doors of two door buses, they dont fit down the gangways at all. Perhaps they should be banned from sale, they are easy to fold (unless you have your weeks shopping OR the 2nd child slung underneath them
JBC Prestatyn
LikeLike
So strange that even in 2024, bus companies and suppliers dont fit working heaters or proper ventilation to their buses just look at all that expelled air from humans and possibly wet clothes steaming up the windows, its got to be a health risk to staff and passengers, and if you open a window, other passengers feel the cold draught.
LikeLike
Very nice buses and it’s good to see the interiors, but it’s all mostly standard stuff for new buses these days.
The excellent Kiel seats in these also feature in RATP London’s most recent deliveries and also Merseytravel’s hydrogen buses. There’s no option for a seat back phone holder.
Steve
LikeLike
NX Bus have a number of these Enviro400s which have the same double-seat behind the front door. While it does look narrow, I’ve never seen any issues with wheelchairs or buggies not being able to get through, apart from when you have people standing there who won’t move out of the way!
Stu – West Midlands Bus Users
LikeLike
ZEBRA 2 Funding announced
All the English Regions EXCEPT London and the East of England got allocated funding. I believe London was Exclude from the ZEBRA 2 funding as separate arrangements applied for London. Quite why the East of England got no funding is a bit of a mystery particularly as the government had stated the funding would mainly go to the more rural areas and the East of England is mainly very rural. Note for ZEBRA funding at least Essex apparently in the South East Region rather than than Eastern Region
LikeLike
B and H buses are even better than when you were there – if that is possible! Frequent buses everywhere, even quite late in the evening – clean – bright – superb staff. The only two blips are that because of removal of subsidy the two summer tourist services to the Downs may not exist this year! I always train in to Brighton, then use buses, or park the car at Rottingdean and bus in -there is no need to use a car to get around Brighton which was your idea, Roger, and what a good one!!!!
LikeLike