Good thing Clay was driving 446 when the time you are filming it. It was originally ment to be retired in October but got life extensions because they don’t have enough replacement buses. Also is the 510 still currently run on regular route service at the moment.
No, not exactly, the rules say low floor buses must be used when and where POSSIBLE, so using a high floor is basically a last resort before cancelling the service
Thanks JT! It was a great ride with Clay, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of my ride on this classic Merc. When 446 does eventually get withdrawn, I reckon you should add it to your collection 😏. Thanks for watching JT, glad you enjoyed it :)
This is an especially interesting video for me because I drove 446 when it was first delivered to Busways Glendenning depot. This was referred to as an "ultra" low floor bus and was indeed unique at the time. 446,444 and 445 were all ordered to service the new Nightride contract N70 which required easy access vehicles to operate between Penrith and Sydney Town Hall. I enjoyed driving these buses on the Night ride service but they were very impractical due to having only one double leaf door which was very slow when loading and unloading at busy intermediate stations. They were also very low and often needed to be raised when negotiating roundabouts and tight corners. 446 also had an airbag problem and would often list on the right hand side which made this low floor bus quite high ,making it sometimes difficult for people to climb into the bus and rendered the wheelchair ramp inoperable. The buses acquired from King Brothers were totally unsuitable for route work due to their very narrow aisle and extremely "pink" interior and when operated on the busy Mt Druitt runs during peak times it was impossible to have standing passengers because when someone needed to get out, then everyone standing in front of them, also had to get out and then back in which was frustrating and sometimes hilarious. Thanks for the memories and the great video. Well done 👏 👍
444, 445 and 446 have very unusual body specs. I suppose the lack of air conditioning makes sense if they were meant for night operations when it’d be colder. The driver mentioned 446’s airbag problem, and it was extremely noticeable from the outside. He said that they put new airbags in it from a recently scrapped O405NH, which eased the problem, but didn’t do much, although he did say that as a result she sometimes leans to the left instead. At one point throughout the journey that did happen, there was a loud bang followed by a large shake, and before we knew it 446 was leaning to the left. The King Bros Mercs are quite strange, I don’t like their seats, windows and lack of rear window. But at the end of the day it’s still a Merc, so I still like it 😅. I hope you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching, John! 😊
@coolsoap8 I did enjoy the video very much. Aircon was not available on any of Busways vehicles at that time. 444, 445, and 446 proved to be unsuitable for Night Ride services due to the steps leading to the rear of the bus and only having one door. There were many incidences of inebriated persons falling down and even up those steps.
The gearbox is quite musical when she takes off quickly or going uphill, the engine was beautiful too. I love the sound the gearbox makes when 446 slows down... it's beautiful! 😍
Always good to see a old busways region 1 446 has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts Thanks for showing it in this video ! I loved this video coolsoap The bodywork is beautiful
Thanks for watching! You're absolutely right, nothing it better than an old Merc. It was a real surprise seeing a 510 on a route, I'll try to film one on a route sometime soon 👀
it appears busways is phasing out older buses faster than cdc so its great to see older busways buses still getting around (sadly not for long) anyways excellent showcase of this bus!
Busways Central & North Coast is still infested with high floors, Busways is probably the slowest at getting rid of old buses... Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it! :)
It's not meant to happen, but with the current state of the Sydney bus network and the B12BLEAs being suddenly withdrawn, Busways has had to divert some R1 buses onto Ryde routes to cope, and provided that this was peak hour(ish) there weren't enough low floors available for routes. What likely happened was a combination of these two factors, the smaller amount of available low-floor R1 buses (which was already extremely low) combined with the busy hours likely resulted in this desperate measure 🤷♂
Good thing Clay was driving 446 when the time you are filming it. It was originally ment to be retired in October but got life extensions because they don’t have enough replacement buses. Also is the 510 still currently run on regular route service at the moment.
The 510 wasn’t supposed to be running, but it is a somewhat common occurrence on weekdays for a high floor to cover routes from a low floor
@ yeah normally they ban high floors on normal route services. But I think Busways might still have an exemption to run it.
No, not exactly, the rules say low floor buses must be used when and where POSSIBLE, so using a high floor is basically a last resort before cancelling the service
Good to see Clay behind the wheel… Clays bus he always drives this one. Can’t beat a Merc… simply the best. Good video mate
Thanks JT! It was a great ride with Clay, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of my ride on this classic Merc. When 446 does eventually get withdrawn, I reckon you should add it to your collection 😏. Thanks for watching JT, glad you enjoyed it :)
This is an especially interesting video for me because I drove 446 when it was first delivered to Busways Glendenning depot. This was referred to as an "ultra" low floor bus and was indeed unique at the time. 446,444 and 445 were all ordered to service the new Nightride contract N70 which required easy access vehicles to operate between Penrith and Sydney Town Hall. I enjoyed driving these buses on the Night ride service but they were very impractical due to having only one double leaf door which was very slow when loading and unloading at busy intermediate stations. They were also very low and often needed to be raised when negotiating roundabouts and tight corners. 446 also had an airbag problem and would often list on the right hand side which made this low floor bus quite high ,making it sometimes difficult for people to climb into the bus and rendered the wheelchair ramp inoperable. The buses acquired from King Brothers were totally unsuitable for route work due to their very narrow aisle and extremely "pink" interior and when operated on the busy Mt Druitt runs during peak times it was impossible to have standing passengers because when someone needed to get out, then everyone standing in front of them, also had to get out and then back in which was frustrating and sometimes hilarious. Thanks for the memories and the great video. Well done 👏 👍
Ooohh cool John !
Hope her steering wheel wasn’t stiff 😂
@@MrAnsairDude The steering was sometimes "heavy" at very low speed 😆
444, 445 and 446 have very unusual body specs. I suppose the lack of air conditioning makes sense if they were meant for night operations when it’d be colder. The driver mentioned 446’s airbag problem, and it was extremely noticeable from the outside. He said that they put new airbags in it from a recently scrapped O405NH, which eased the problem, but didn’t do much, although he did say that as a result she sometimes leans to the left instead. At one point throughout the journey that did happen, there was a loud bang followed by a large shake, and before we knew it 446 was leaning to the left. The King Bros Mercs are quite strange, I don’t like their seats, windows and lack of rear window. But at the end of the day it’s still a Merc, so I still like it 😅. I hope you enjoyed the video, thanks for watching, John! 😊
@coolsoap8 I did enjoy the video very much. Aircon was not available on any of Busways vehicles at that time. 444, 445, and 446 proved to be unsuitable for Night Ride services due to the steps leading to the rear of the bus and only having one door. There were many incidences of inebriated persons falling down and even up those steps.
thats sounds so eargasmic!
The gearbox is quite musical when she takes off quickly or going uphill, the engine was beautiful too. I love the sound the gearbox makes when 446 slows down... it's beautiful! 😍
Always good to see a old busways region 1
446 has a special place in a lot of people’s hearts
Thanks for showing it in this video !
I loved this video coolsoap
The bodywork is beautiful
Thank you
@@coolsoap8 no problem mate
I got a question though how do you know all the information about the trains and buses you do vlogs on including ferry’s
Research and my own knowledge
@@coolsoap8 what sites do you use
Nice Video, cant beat a classic merc and nice to see a 510 on public service.
Thanks for watching! You're absolutely right, nothing it better than an old Merc. It was a real surprise seeing a 510 on a route, I'll try to film one on a route sometime soon 👀
@@coolsoap8got to love the Mercs
it appears busways is phasing out older buses faster than cdc so its great to see older busways buses still getting around (sadly not for long) anyways excellent showcase of this bus!
Busways Central & North Coast is still infested with high floors, Busways is probably the slowest at getting rid of old buses... Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it! :)
@@coolsoap8 i didnt know that,? In western Sydney, busways has a pretty modern fleet
Not really
@@coolsoap8 I’m talking about their glendenning depo
As an Ex-Sydney person I'm quite surprised Busways is still running their Mercedes Benz O405 Custom coaches 510 in revenue service since 2024
It's not meant to happen, but with the current state of the Sydney bus network and the B12BLEAs being suddenly withdrawn, Busways has had to divert some R1 buses onto Ryde routes to cope, and provided that this was peak hour(ish) there weren't enough low floors available for routes. What likely happened was a combination of these two factors, the smaller amount of available low-floor R1 buses (which was already extremely low) combined with the busy hours likely resulted in this desperate measure 🤷♂