New Buses

Bus Number one arrived in 2000. A very nice bus too but as beginners we quickly leant our mistakes. The big lesson was that our pattern of customer trips meant that sometimes a seat was used more than once  in a single journey. Good for business but endless door opening and step operating was hard on the poor driver

Four years later saw Bus No.2 with an electric plug door and extending step to help the driver.
A destination board made sure people realised we were a real bus  and worked wonders gaining extra  passengers, particularly visitors..

Bus 2 also saw the rather rattle prone rear doors replaced with a very smart coach back rear end which enabled us to fit an extra seat inside and have a very useful boot for shopping and luggage now that we were doing the occasional week-ends away. Very swish Australian luxury seats completed a very similar vehicle to no.1 but one with a lot of subtle improvements. Customer numbers steadily increased as they appreciated the quality of GorranBus when compared with ordinary service buses

2007…..and here we go again
Towards the middle of 2006 with mileage covered rising as we get
busier and busier Mercedes announced a new version of our tried and trusted Sprinter base vehicle. We have always sought to change our vehicle at the point where depreciation starts to accelerate and starting again from scratch is a financial burden too great; not least because in the first three years maintenance is effectively free but thereafter can be an expensive extra.

Waiting until the initial teething troubles of any new model seemed to be overcome, GorranBus started on the plans for Bus no.3. Towards the end of the year our order was placed for the base vehicle and a provisional delivery date of week commencing 22 January 2007 was given by Mercedes. Conversion tenders were in, a purchaser found for Bus No.2 and we looked forward to our new bus being on the road for 1st April. Unfortunately rumours of delays proved to be all too true and with only 7 days to go we were told that our nice new vehicle had fallen off the delivery schedule altogether  - nothing like being warned in good time! Converters production schedules were wrecked and despite bending over backwards to stay with us our No.2 purchasers found the absence of a replacement delivery date too much to cope with.

Four months late and our new bus was delivered--as a van!  Well done Mercedes. For some weird reason they decided not to bother with the specification actually ordered so what arrived had a sliding door with a smokey window each side instead of just on the offside but then panel van sides for the other two thirds of both sides instead of cut outs for windows to be fitted (Passengers are a bit strange  - they like to be able to see out!).  It also had a bulkhead and van interior to make sure the driver could not collect any fares from anyone daft enough to struggle aboard and as it was clearly a van it now had an unordered and unwanted tachograph for which we were invited to pay. Blame the salesman was the name of the game but fortunately similar mistakes were turning up all over the South West and presumably elsewhere so Head Offices suggestions that it was all his fault did not stick.

Our dealer was left to sort out the mess and rose superbly to the occasion.  The conversion contractor was paid to turn our van back into the bus we had ordered without charge to us and fitting out began another month delayed.

To help matters along in a very tight timetable to licence the new and hand over the old, someone in DVLA had an attack of Jobsworth Virus and required paperwork the dealer had never had to produce previously. Unfortunately they forgot to tell him until he arrived so he spent the entire morning tearing around the countryside meeting our messengers bringing in the suddenly needed forms from wherever they were. Dealers don't normally put themselves out like this so full marks--we know where we shall be going next time given service at this level.

We took delivery of our new bus ready for service mid-August instead of 1st April  and very good it is too. A few rattles and oddities but nothing more than minor snags  the dealer and converter are clearing between them most efficiently.

Bus 2 has departed to its new life working for Lerryn Area Minibus Association and it is rather nice to wave to it occasionally as we pass it continuing its excellent performance as a Community Bus