Buses in Medway and surrounding area

I live in Medway, and here is a guide to my local buses. Surprisingly, Medway has quite a few good buses (and also some very boring ones). In this guide I have tried to explain the character of each type of bus.

Most people who photograph buses, simply state what type of bus it is. I think this doesn't explain the character of the bus, as one type of bus can be very different with different batches. For example the ALX400 B7TLs in Medway are extremely different to the ones in London. Apart from how they look on the outside, there are no similarities between them. So if you were to simple state that there are ALX400 B7TLs in Medway you would have totally missed whats interesting about them.

Here is my map of the routes the buses in this guide run on

And now, before I begin my bus guide, lets take a look at an awesome old bus...

1912 J&E Hall bus

This is Medway's first ever type of bus. It ran from Chatham to Maidstone.

This bus was built by the local company J&E hall, Who used to be a very large engineering company in dartford. They used to make all sorts of different machinery, including lifts, escalators, refrigeration units, and pretty much anything else. They had a large factory in the center of Dartford, and they even built their own houses for their workers called Hallford. But, today the company is very small and just makes refrigeration units (Their factory has since been demolished, and horrid large shed style shops have been built on the site).

This bus has been preserved and often goes on bus rallies. It goes over 20mph which is fast for a bus this old.

Maidstone and District Bus Company

The Buses in Medway were run by Maidstone and District until 1998, when they were brought out by Arriva.

I can only just about remember Maidstone and District, from when I was very young in the 1990s. Back then the bus services were few and far between. there were nowhere near as many buses as there is today.

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I really like old buses, but this guide is about the buses that I can remember going on, therefore any busess that went out of service before the late 90s are not in this guide. If you want to find out about these buses, there is plenty of information out there, just search google.

And now lets start the guide to buses in Medway and the surronding area. These first buses all were originally Maidstone and District buses before arriva took over.

Bristol VRs (1978)

I can barly remember these buses in service, they were replaced when I was just a few years old. My memories of these are so faint I can barly remember anything at all about them, I had totally forgotten about them until I went on one at the the M&D100 event.

AWESOME Old Northern Counties (Volvo Citybus)

One of my favourite types of bus. They are full of character, and have a certain style you just don't get with modern buses. They have an old style suspension, that doesn't ever sway side to side like modern buses. Also they have a very nice old style interior.

These are really nice and old, and are very rattly, have crap acceleration, and often have gearbox problems. These buses have a lot of character. A few years ago Arriva painted these buses yellow, and they are now mainly used for school journeys, or if Arriva run out of other buses. (I can remember when it was Maidstone and District, these were actually used on the fast 101 route between Gillingham and Maidstone. it took 1 hour if you were lucky - nowadays it takes 40 minutes!)

ARRIVA, PLEASE DON'T GET RID OF THESE - THEY ARE AWESOME

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DULL Northern Counties

These are some later version ones, and are nowhere near as interesting. They are rather dull sounding and don't have much charactor. Arriva has these all over the south east.

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Alexander RL

2 nice old buses still running in Maidstone (these don't come to Medway, except occasionally on the 155)

Northern Counties 2 (Awesome VOITH)

This is one of my favourite buses. There is only one of these, it currently runs on the 6/7 route from Maidstone to Tunbridge. (it never comes to Medway).

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Optare Metroriders

These were some very small midi buses, I liked these because they were very small and different to all the other buses (although I seem to be the only person in the world who likes them!). But a few years ago Arriva got rid of these. This photo is the last time I ever saw one (taken in sept 2008). This was before I started filming on youtube (in Feb 2009) so I do not have any video of them or any other photos.

Mercedes Benz midi buses

Small midi buses similar to the Optares but not as good. They were last in regular service in Medway in 2009 on route 100 (St Mary's Island to Chatham). In 2010 they were just left in the Gillingham depot incase they were needed, then later sent to Sheerness depot on the Isle of Sheppey. Arriva has now sadly got rid off them.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS AND IMAGES

Pointer Darts/B6s with steps

I normally don't like Pointer Darts as they are SO BORING, but these buses are different. I like these buses as they have more character than a bog standard Dart.

Unlike normal Darts these have a skylight and have a far better interior, with more old style fixtures. Also the suspension is so much better (they don't sway in that wobbly sick making way that Darts do).

These buses were never Arriva/M&Ds main bus, as they were superseded almost as soon as they were new by the Low floor Pointer Dart. (so these have not been used much and were in great condition)

In July 2010 I saw one of these at Bluewater ( p324hvx ), and I remembered that this was where I saw the Optare for the last time, so I dropped what I was doing and made a mad dash to get on it, (It was a totally inappropriate time, but I did not want this bus to be got rid off without my filming it). I ran as fast as I could and just got on while the driver was shutting the doors, and yay I managed to film the bus. I was so glad that I did, as this was the last time I ever managed to get on one of these buses. Arriva have now got rid off them all (except for one for driver training). The one in the photos was the last to go, and has now been sent to Arriva in Southend.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO AND MORE IMAGES

Old East Lancs Darts/Lances with steps

I like these as they don't work properly and have a lot of character. Sadly I don't think there are any left on Arriva in the south east in service (but they are still used for driver training). Until now, there were a couple of these floating around on Arriva (as if each depot they were in, were trying to pass them on to another depot as quick as possible), one came to Medway for a month in 2011 (in a very knacked condition).

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Boring Pointer Darts

There are absolutely loads of these around Medway, and everywhere Arriva operates.

These were Medway's first low floor buses, and were originally branded as "easy access buses". When they were new they had that nice old Allison gearbox sound, but that has now gone (one in medway still has it, I am currently trying to catch it).

These buses are just dull.

Its just a Dart - What else is there to say about it.

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Even more dull Pointer Darts

Here are some more crappy darts (these ones don't come to Medway). Lets get this part of the guide over with as quickly as possible.

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Dull Pointer Darts (with updated front)

These operate in Maidstone, plus a few in Dartford. They are just as boring really, what else is there to say.

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Small Dull Pointer Darts (Not to be confused with the modern small Pointer Darts, notice the crap seats)

There are only a couple of these about. The Gravesend/Dartford ones (left) are New Allison, and the Tunbridge ones (right) are old Allison. Date built: 1999/2000.

ARRIVA

All of the buses so far were originally Maidstone and District (or Kentish Bus in Gravesend)

In around 1998 Arriva took over Maidstone and District, and spent a lot of money dramatically improving the service.

ALX400 B7TL - EPIC VOITH (2004)

THESE BUSES ARE EPIC

These are by far the best buses on Arriva. Most bus enthusiasts think of ALX400s as rather dull (and most of them are), but these are like no other ALX400 (They may look like ALX400s on the outside, but the similarities stop at that, everything else about them is not the slightest bit ALX400 like, and is awesome). These have an amazing sound, and have an EPIC VOITH gearbox, which changes between gears without any loss of acceleration. Unlike a car's gearbox, where it changes between set gear cogs, with the Voith gearbox the gears are arranged inside each other. With a car you have to disengage each gear before you engage the next, but with a Voith gearbox you could think of it as having a clutch between each gear, which enables it to slip smoothly between gears.

There is nothing special on the outside (they just look like a normal ALX400), but on the inside they could not be more different from a bog standard ALX400. The interior is very nice, it is decorated in a warm green, which creates a very nice feel, and is not like most bus interiors.

If driven fast they have the most amazing sound. The awesomeness of the Voith gearbox combined with the engine, Voith retarder, and B7TL chassis create a great overall effect. This same sound can also be heard on some other B7TL buses that have the same Voith gearbox, including some Wrightbus eclipse geminis, Presidents, and Myllennium Vykings.

In 2004 Arriva spent £10,000,000 on 61 new buses in Medway (which they called Operation Overdrive), Which were 49 of these B7TLs (Plus 12 Modern small pointer darts which I'll come to later). This meant Medway had a massive fleet of these awesome buses, but since then some of these have moved to Maidstone, Tunbridge and Sheerness.

CLICK HERE TO HEAR THEIR SOUND AND TO SEE MORE IMAGES

Maidstone's crap ALX400s

Not to be confused with the awesome B7TL ones

Maidstone also has some crappy ALX400s (luckily these don't come to medway), despite being the same on the outside, these are nothing like the awesome B7TL ALX400s. These buses are totally crap.

Modern Small Pointer Darts (2004)

Even though these look like yet another Pointer Dart - ITS NOT. Not much to see on the outside, but inside it has the same nice styling as the Medway's ALX400s.

These are very nippy small buses, with a very short distance between front and back wheels. With a good fast driver it can wiz around bends very fast (but it is usually driven slowly as they are normally used on the back routes that the slow drivers get dumped on).

Also these have the newer Allison gearbox (like the Enviro 200s). (these New Allison gearboxes can change gear without losing acceleration just like Voith)

Lots of these run in Medway, Gravesend, and Sittingbourne (Sheerness). (In 2012 two of the Sheerness ones were moved to Medway, the only way to tell these from the Medway ones is that they have circler brake lights. Now that really is an obscure detail!)

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Maidstone's Wrightbuses (2004)

These are very nice modern buses. There are two versions of these, a few of them are new style Allison, and most of them are Awesome VOITH.

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Allison version

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VOITH version

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Fastrack Wrightbus (2004)

Fastrack is a modern Bus Rapid Transit System. It goes between Gravesend - Ebsfleet - Bluewater - Dartford. All of the traffic lights change immediately when a bus comes (all the buses have been RFID tagged). There are loads of bus lanes. and best of all there are two dedicated busways! One of them goes between Bluewater and Dartford via the hospital (on route B). And the other dedicated busway (route A) goes though a development site between Greenhive and Dartford. But the development site was a fail, as house building companies didn't want to build there. (also it is on a flood plane). This means there is a modern busway, where each bus stop is very posh, and is made to look like a miniature train station, IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE! (today the middle of the site has been built on, but most of it is still empty)

The buses are very posh inside, and are by far the most posh buses in the area. (they even have automatic announcements, bus the drivers usually have this turned off as they find it annoying!). A few of these buses have now been painted into Arriva colors and now come to Medway on the 700/701 route.

But the best thing about these is their ZF gearbox. They have the loudest and most silly sounding ZF I have ever come across.

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Maidstone's Myllennium VDLs (2007)

These are very nice and have an have unusual sounding Voith gearbox. These were built in 2007, the same year as East Lancs were brought out.

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Gravesend's Voith Wrightbuses (2008)

New to Gravesend in 2008, These have Voith gearboxes, and are a bit epic when driven at full acceleration (which is rare). These have Arriva's green interior, which is quite a contrast to the Fastrack Wrightbuses. These occasionally come to Medway on the 700/701 route.

These ? buses costed £1,500,000 (£? each).

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS AND IMAGES

Optare Buses (2008)

Here are some nice optare buses

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Secondhand Optare Solos

In 2008 Sittingbourne/Sheerness got some Optare solos second hand from MK Metro of Milton Keynes which Arriva took over in 2006. These seem a bit battered, even though they are not all that old. (in 2012 Medway also got some secondhand optare solos, but I'll come to these later)

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Optare Solo SRs

These are nice buses, (and are not secondhand), These operate in 2 different parts of kent. There are some in Tunbridge Wells, on route 277, and some in Dartford, on route 414.

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Enviro 400s (2008)

These are used on the 101 route between Gillingham and Maidstone, and are the fastest buses Arriva has. With a good driver, these have awesome acceleration. Arriva ordered these 8 buses in 2008 costing £1,500,000 (£187,500 each).

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ARRIVA GET SOME MORE DARTS SECOND HAND (2009)

As if there wasn't enough Darts already in Medway, in 2009 Arriva desided to get some more Darts second hand from Arriva in Guildford.

These were East Lancs "Spryte" Darts, which are part of the East Lancs pre-Myllennium series of buses. This series of buses did not have a collective group name. The bus' name is dependent on the chassis (which is confusing). The double deck version is either called Vyking, Lowlander or Lolyne (even though they all look the same). These were later superseded by the Myllennium.

These didn't last very long as they were replaced with ex-London mini pointer darts in 2012.

Enviro 200s

These buses are rather boring. Arriva has loads of these around here. They are at Medway, Gravesend, Maidstone, and Tunbridge Wells. Medway has 16 of these, costing £1,850,000(£115,625 each). Gravesend has 8, costing £900,000 (£112,500 each).

These buses are very smooth and dull. One good point about these is that they have a very clear sounding classic new-Allison sound. When these buses were new, they kept changing gear at the wrong time and went very slowly, But new Allison gearboxes have AI, so as the bus is driven the gearbox learns when it is the best time to change gear. Nowadays these buses change gear perfectly without any loss of acceleration (I hate to say it, but as much as I like voith, these Allisons change ever smoother than voith! but they still don't have quite that awesomeness that Voith has). These Allison gearboxes changes gear early to save fuel if the driver isn't using much acceleration, or if the driver stops accelerating. These have 5 gears (not counting gear 2.5), but it is rare for it to get to 5th gear, and even rarer to hear 5th on a proper gear-change (not a fuel saving gear-change). These buses are dull around town, but preform well on the faster out of town routes, I would prefer to see them on these routes more often.

Firstly, heres Medway's Enviro 200s (2009)

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And heres the very similar Enviro 200s in Gravesend (left) and Maidstone (right)

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Maidstone's also has some Voith Enviro 200s

These are a bit more interesting. Other than the sound, you can tell them apart from the Allison ones because they have white handrails (and they look far better inside, than the normal Enviro 200s).

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Tunbridge Wells's Small Enviro 200s

Just like a normal Enviro 200, but smaller! (cost £500,000 for 6 of them, £83,000 each)

Wrightbus 2 Demonstrator (2010/2011)

This is a demonstrator bus. It has a ZF 8-gear gearbox.

It ran in Medway for a few months in winter 2010/2011, then moved to Gravesend, and has now moved on to another part of the country.

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEOS

Ex-London Crap Buses (2011/2012)

It is well known that you simpley do not buy Ex-London buses. The buses in London take an awefull lot of wear and nowdays they are usally replaced after 10 years in a very knackered condition. What has gone wrong with you Arriva, why the hell are you getting Ex-London Buses for?

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Ex-London VDL ALX400s

These buses are fairly worn out and crap. Arriva has now got a few of these running in Maidstone, and 3 running in Medway. The second door has been filled in (It would have added some more viraty if they had kept it). see what they used to look like

Despite these buses being rather worn out, they still make a very good voith sound (the same sound as the Maidstone Mylleniums). Also the layout is very odd, the staircase is located towards the back of the bus (for the second door which no longer exists!), and the downstairs seats are different to the upstairs ones.

These buses look identical to the other ALX400s. This means in Maidstone there are now 3 types of ALX400, theres the original crap trident ones, these Ex-London VDL ones, and the Awesome B7TL ones which they stole from Medway.

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Ex-London mini Pointer Darts

Arriva Medway have now got some Ex-London Mini Pointer Darts, these have replaced the East Lancs Darts, which Arriva only got 3 years ago!

These look and sound identical to the Modern Small Pointer Darts. But although they look the same on the outside, the inteiror is totally different and is rather bog standard, they don't have Medway's/Liverpool's custom ultra modern green inteiror (as with medway's original mini Pointer Darts).

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Optare Versa (2011/2012/2013)

These are very nice buses. Arriva brought 5 of them for Tunbridge Wells for route 402 (costing £750,000 which is £150,000 each), plus 1 at Maidstone for route 6/7 (unknown price).

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NEW - In Febuary 2013 Arriva Medway got some brand new Optare Versas. YAY - NEW BUSES!!!!!!.

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Wrightbus Streetlites (2012)

These are 5 brand new buses for Medway bus route 116, they entered service in January 2012 (costing £600,000. which is £120,000 each). These are the 10.2 meter door forward edition Wrightbus Streetlites, and were the first batch of Streetlites to run on a major UK bus company. Arriva re-branded the 116 route as X-bus 116, and the route has been updated to serve Mid Kent College and the Universities at Medway.

These buses have a Voith gearbox but it only has 3 gears, gear 2 is at 16 mph and gear 3 is at 33 mph. Also it doesn't change gear without losing acceleration like a proper Voith, as on the B7TLs.

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Arriva in Dartford are now running 5 new Wrightbus Streetlite 10.8 meter door forward editions, on the 477 route (Bluewater - Orpington). These cost £660,000 and entered service on 24-Aug-2012 (£132,000 each).

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NEW - In January 2013 Arriva brought one more new Wrightbus Streetlite in Tunbridge Wells. This runs on the 402 route (Tunbridge Wells - Bromley).

(no photo)

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NEW - In Febuary 2013 Arriva Medway aquired anouther Wrightbus Streetlite (MX62ARU). This one was built in late 2012 and has been touring the country as a demonstrator. Unlike the rest of Arriva's Streetlites, this one has a proper 4 speed voith which is far better.

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More Secondhand Optare Solos (2012)

In 2012 Medway got two Optare Solos second hand from Arriva at Watford. They look good on the outside, but they are painfully slow (and are the slowest Arriva buses in Medway!). All the drivers hate driving these buses. Also these don't sound of anything much.

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Arriva have now repainted these to advertise their updated 113/114 route, now called the "Capstone flyer", and whats even more stupid is this laughable quote from their website, "The Capstone Flyer gives people from the Wigmore and Parkwood area a quicker ride into Chatham", what a load of crap! these buses are far slower than the B7TLs they were running, (also drivers are finding it hard to keep to time!). Also the new route is no longer a nice loop like before. The route used to go, Chatham - along the capstone backroad - Hempstead - Wigmore - along the A2 - Chatham. This was a nice loop, but the new updated route now goes, Chatham, along the capstone backroad - Hempstead - then goes one of two weird routes around wigmore which alternates between buses.

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NEW - Mercedes-Benz Citaro (2012)

These are new buses for the 82 route in Maidstone.

These 6 buses are very nice, and costed £864,000 (£144,000 each).

Before these started service in Maidstone, they were used on the shuttles for the Olympics.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

NEW - CRAP Volvo Wrightbus Hybrids

Although these are labelled as hybrids, they are more like normal buses with a small amount of electric motor assistance. (With a proper hybrid bus, the engine only generates the electricity, it doesn't drive the bus).

It annoys me that Arriva go on about how green these buses are, when Enviro 400Hs are far far more greener than these wrightbuses, as they are true diesel-electric hybrids.

I was looking forward to having Hybrids in my local area, I was so disappointed that it had to be these. Arriva has brought 11 of these pieces of crap.

These buses have the most horrid gear changes. (With all the innovations by Voith, Allison and ZF it disgusts me that a modern bus has such awefull gear changes). The gearbox loses acceleration while changing gear, and it makes clunking noises which , thinking about it, sounds just like the sounds you hear when trucks change gear when they pass by. Does this mean that these buses have a trucks gearbox.

THE END

And that is the end of this guide.

I hope you have enjoyed reading it!

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Further reading...

Non Arriva buses in Medway
See more of my bus pictures
Go to the BENO homepage