Good Old Stagecoach

[Trolley Bus Racer]

Does Anyone Have Intersting Stories / photos / Videos Of Interesting Stagecoach Journeys Happenings Etc?

[Vitalstatistix]

Around May this year I was In Auckland visiting grandparents. I arrived Intercity no probs and put my bag in a locker for a couple of hours to take a few pics. Now mid afternoon I walked to Britomart to catch bus to Grammies - 015 ponsonby. I hate it how they sit just before the stop with there (sorry out of service) on. So here I was waiting for the 015 when I saw a it pull up - eerrrhhh!!! an ex link. I got on. When we got up to K road about yes 15 minutes later the bad stuff started to happen. Driver missed first stop and pis""d off the lady with her pram and child throwing that F""" word after every other word. When she got off at the second stop I along with others noticed a heavily drunken heavy women sitting at the bench. While the driver was loading more people she stood up and lifted the front of her skirt to reviel a man and blinded my eyes even till now. onto the bus stop at the bridge to miss an old lady followed with a red light turn into Howle St and 100miles down the hill to a hault at my stop
WOW
one out of a few I have

[Vitalstatistix]

Another bus story. - True
In a recent trip to Auckland I decided to take a trip to my old home town of Manukau. Was on a 1996 MAN 11.190 on the way there and the outbound trip was easygoing. However the driver was have a loud conversation with two other bus drivers in Tongan. On the way back however there was a hi deck MAN 11.190. As we rolled into Otara the bus came to a sudden holt. The driver then opened the door and I saw. A white Ford hurse was backed up in a drive way. The drive said to the man outside "Has he past on aye"?
Replier -"Yeah"
Drive "Oh well take care"
Replier - "Ceya"
All this on a half full bus.
We then got off for a connecting bus at Onehanga for a connecting bus for which the drive said
"don catch any atha operata, dey too deya"
I wasn't going to anyway as I had an $11 all day pass. But sitting there at the terminus was a bit scarey see others around me with thier colours - I would got the first bus out anywhere.
After 10 minutes the other bus came and I got back into Britomart safley.

Am going to Auckland tomorrow - Counting on Stagecoach and GoWest I am antisipating more stories

[Trolley Bus Racer]

never go to south auckland on your own!

[Vitalstatistix]

I grew up in South Auckland excuse me However things change - from childhood to today. 4 murders in the span of three weeks in South Auckland alone. Oh well your advice Trolley_bus_racer is noted and eraised

[Vitalstatistix]

In my school holidays visit to Auckland I was expecting to full this thread with stories and pics of Stagecoach. However Its now NZ Bus and in some respects have stamped out most of Stagecoaches flaws and replaced them with their own .
I was intent and eager to get on a Merc Fairfax rebuild. On my arrival from Hamilton it was one of the first buses I saw walking down to Britomart along with a Ritchies 0305. I had my camera ready yet it wasnt going to be a good shot so I left it be. The sad thing is that I never got my ride, or even a photo of one. Plenty opps for photos but not good ones. I had started to become desperate and when I saw a Designline rebuild I didn't know whether to hop on or angle up for a photo. So not know where it was going and it getting late I pulled out my camera, only to be disrupted by moving fott traffic which gave me this only half desent shot of a 0305. However this was compensated for a rare find. I found a Coach work Auckland? 11.190 in stagecoach colours. Parked along where the stagecoach buses head out along Quay St towards Mission Bay.
This smart looking 11.190 would have looked better during the day but oh well. Would like some help on this particular 11.190 model if anyone could help thanks

[ka9102]

#1201 is the first MAN 11.190 built in NZ,by coachwork Auckland-successor to the coachwork Inernational for the yellow bus company in 1994.It's part of the original plan to replace the entire fleet of 1300 and 1400 series Merc O305,however the financial situation made them change the order from MAN to Nissan Diesel.2 prototypes of MAN 11.190 were built under the contract one is 1201 and the other is fairfax bodied #1200,a high-floor one which is similar to those nissans.

After the decision made to cancell the contract with Coachwork,fairfax received a vasty order to build 200 nissan buses for the Yellow bus company.Coachwork however struggled to survive,assembled a few MAN buses for birkenhead before they finally closed down.

When Stagecoach took over the bus services in auckland,the contract with fairfax was immediately terminated,and the remaining fleet of 1300,1400 Merc O305 were subsequently withdrawn.

Re-the rebuilt Merc,I believe the Yellow Bus Company decided on some drastic surgery when these buses reached their sell by date. They stripped the old bodies off a handfull of them, stretched the chassis, added a third axle and put new bodies on them.

[Vitalstatistix]

Those are both better pics then mine. Britomart is not my place for pics anyway. I prefer Westie land.
Coachwork Auckland still exists. I know they do refurbs as I think they did work on Go Buses 71, 72, 73, 74 MAN 11.190CNG's. With full interior refub and paint. They have a website as well.
I have a nice pic of a Coachwork Auckland Birkenhead 22.

[busrider]

Off-topic, but that second picture that you posted ka9102, is funny. The ad on the front says full of beans, and the desto says sorry. That bus must be flatulent

[Vitalstatistix]

It must be that extra axle

[busrider]

Stretching it out that little bit longer.................

[Vitalstatistix]

Well I dont understand the rebuilding of these buses. Wouldn't It cost more to rebody these buses. All the changes and that. They probably break down like the GoBus Merc Rebuilds do all the time with overheating issues

[ka9102]

Off-topic, but that second picture that you posted ka9102, is funny. The ad on the front says full of beans, and the desto says sorry. That bus must be flatulent

it should be read" Sorry Not in service cos full of beans" a coffee bus.

The rebuilt mercs have 56 seats which is effective to cope with peak loadings.not sure about those in hamilton.

[busrider]

Off-topic, but that second picture that you posted ka9102, is funny. The ad on the front says full of beans, and the desto says sorry. That bus must be flatulent

it should be read" Sorry Not in service cos full of beans" a coffee bus.

The rebuilt mercs have 56 seats which is effective to cope with peak loadings.not sure about those in hamilton.

How about : Sorry Bus Full Of Beans.

[Vitalstatistix]

Off-topic, but that second picture that you posted ka9102, is funny. The ad on the front says full of beans, and the desto says sorry. That bus must be flatulent

it should be read" Sorry Not in service cos full of beans" a coffee bus.

The rebuilt mercs have 56 seats which is effective to cope with peak loadings.not sure about those in hamilton.

The Hamilton ones are 47 and those are numbers 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87. No88 is still the same size but only 43 as it has rear wheelchair access and space. No69 is 49? and has a single door. No 69 is also the least powerful bus I've been on. Its engine roars then screams at 30kmp/hr. However I don't know what has happened to 69

[ka9102]

To clearify the origin of those 5 Stagecoach Volvo B10M transferred from Hongkong,here I post some photos.

In late 1993,Stagecoach PLC started their first hongkong biz by providing a small number of routes serving local residents.7 buses were ordered from the UK,5 Volvo B10M and 2 volvo Olympian Double deckers.However,this biz trial was not successful and only lasted 2 years and a half.They disposed all B10M to their NZ operation and 2 Olympian were sold to citybus(which became stagecoach's property again 3 years later,Note at that time citybus and stagecoach were completely different companies.So those B10Ms have absolutely no connections to Citybus,they left hongkong before citybus acquired by stagecoach,they were just good old stagecoach buses.

stagecoach2.jpg

stagecoach5L.jpg

Volvo%20%2324%200002.JPG

[Vitalstatistix]

Are those B10M's still in service at Orewa? Or have they been relegated to school runs . I reakon it would be nice to see them in the North Star livery.

[Trolley Bus Racer]

Geez 22 looks Fab in Stagecoach Stripes, i do have a pic of one in north star livery.... i'll go look for you

[Vitalstatistix]

Ooooooo Goodie Its amazing how this thread you set up more than a year ago has only recently become active

[ka9102]

18 plaxton bodied volvo B6LE were transferred from Citybus hongkong to Stagecoach Hutt between 2002-2003,these buses were surplus to the hongkong operations.Cityline hutt was once the largest base of british built buses in NZ.

[O305]

Are those B10M's still in service at Orewa? Or have they been relegated to school runs . I reakon it would be nice to see them in the North Star livery.

The B10Ms bought by the ARA that used to be based in Orewa were both in Wellington a month ago. Below are pics of one of them (1299) in Karori. It had just completed Go Wellington (formerly Stagecoach Wellington) route 3 to Karori Park. Note that it has "Cityline Hutt Valley" written above the driver's window. Cityline Hutt Valley is now re-branded as Valley Flyer and, like Go Wellington, is owned by NZ Bus Ltd. Photos were taken on 25 June 2008.


Photo by O305

Photo by O305

[Vitalstatistix]

Nice pics o305 and welcome to this forum .
Most unfortunate I missed out on a ride on the B10M when on the Airport Flyer . Only to be replaced by a Smilie
Ohwell the only english buses I have riden on was GoBuses small little Metroriders and Excels and a Bristol YRT double decker.

[ka9102]

Are those B10M's still in service at Orewa? Or have they been relegated to school runs . I reakon it would be nice to see them in the North Star livery.

The B10Ms bought by the ARA that used to be based in Orewa were both in Wellington a month ago. Below are pics of one of them (1299) in Karori. It had just completed Go Wellington (formerly Stagecoach Wellington) route 3 to Karori Park. Note that it has "Cityline Hutt Valley" written above the driver's window. Cityline Hutt Valley is now re-branded as Valley Flyer and, like Go Wellington, is owned by NZ Bus Ltd. Photos were taken on 25 June 2008.

umm,We were talking about the ex-Hongkong B10Ms, Only 2 Volvo B10Ms are stationed in orewa,i think they were used for local(somewhere near army bay) runs during the weekdays.and occasionally used for xpress services to Downtown Auckland(when artis sit on the pits).

The ex-ARA VOV B10Ms are used to be based in Westie land(swanson depot),they were confined to route 163 runs druing their later days in auckland.

[Trolley Bus Racer]

them airport b10's were great except form the slipping belts

*accerates* *squeeeeeeeeal*

[O305]

them airport b10's were great except form the slipping belts

*accerates* *squeeeeeeeeal*

Yes, I've travelled in them when they've done that!