Mancs down South....

Many of the south's First companies operate former First Manchester Volvo B7RLE single deckers that have been cascaded down from the north. Below are some examples of their use in Wales, Cornwall, Dorset and Hampshire.

I'll start off locally. First Hampshire operate 6 Volvo B7RLEs that were new to Manchester in Southampton, primarilly on route 17/17A. Pictured here is 66885 (MX05CLF), pictured in Millbrook. These were directly acquired from FDC rather than Manchester.

Moving down the coast, First in Dorset operate 8 former Manchester Volvo B7RLEs on key town service 1 in Weymouth. Route 1 carrys most of the towns' trade, and these buses can be regularly packed out in the summer. Here is 69212 (MX06VPN) pictured at Weymouth's town bridge last autumn.

First in Cornwall operate a number of former Manchester B7RLEs on routes 14 and 18, connecting St Ives (14) and Penzance (18) with Camborne and Truro. Some carry branding for the route, as 69226 (MX56AET) illustrates, pictured in Truro town centre last summer.

First in Cymru operate a number on route X2, which connects Porthcrawl with Bridgend and Cardiff. These replaced native Cymru Darts on the route, and provide added comfort and capacity. Pictured to the right is 69235 (MX56AFJ), seen in Cardiff bus station during summer 09.