Poole Report #2

Yellow Buses of Bournemouth are undergoing an ownership change at the moment. RATP have taken over from Transdev, and when I visited Poole yesterday, the buses were in the process of being rebranded.

Carrying the new Yellow Buses:RATP Group fleetnames, here is Volvo B7TL/Wright 181 (HF03ODV) arriving in Poole on a 1c. This bus has also received an interior refurbishment recently - Ant Poulton has posted some interior shots on the GSC forum for those interested.

Some of the Yellow Buses are still carrying the old Transdev fleetnames. Volvo B7TL 432 (HJ02HFC) is also a convertable open topper - although the roof has been permanently attached and therefore it will not open again.

The photo to the left is of similar Volvo B7TL 421 (HJ02HFE) although this one was always permanently closed, and illustrates that on some buses there are no fleetnames worn. This version of the livery will be kept for the forseeable future.

Routes 1b and 1c form a 10 minute frequency from Christchurch all the way to Poole, with the 1c extending from Christchurch to Somerford. The route is mainly operated by double decks - 185 (HF04JWG) is another Volvo B7TL and one of 5 Wright bodied examples used on the route.

Three single deck routes are operated by Yellow Buses into Poole - one such example is route 20 which operates to Castlepoint in Bournemouth. 475 (R475NPR) carries the new fleetnames as it arrives in Poole bus station.



One allocation a day on the 1b and 1c is a single decker, although I don't think it is supposed to be a Dart SLF. 480 (R480NPR) is pictured arriving in Poole on a 1b - and again carries the new RATP fleetnames.

Finally for today, here is my first photo of one Yellow Buses' VDL single deckers - this one is 501 (HF05LYU), pictured arriving in Poole bus station on a 26. These are very smart buses and suit the Yellow Buses livery well - athough most buses do. These VDLs only operate on route 26 at weekends when they are freed by a reduction in PVR compared to weekday needs. Thanks for viewing. Tomorrow, I'll Wilts & Dorset photos and observations from yesterday.