PLAXTON’S LATEST
The Panorama double-decker and innovative Panther LE interurban are unveiled
ELECTRICS WITHOUT ‘UNOBTAINIUM’
Alexander Dennis reveals its latest technology
THE Z-SHAPED 9900
Volvo gives its new premium coach a daring look
ALPINE TRAVEL - A STORY OF STEADY GROWTH
Why the Llandudno independent believes it is thriving
REGULARS
COMMENT
Where now for First?
NEWS
First chief executive steps down; Wrightbus seeks second round of job cuts; Lothian returns to Alexander Dennis; Transdev axes Manchester Cityzap; top scenic routes are named; Bristol Metrobus starts running; Big Bus Tours acquires City Sightseeing Dublin; Oxford Bus Company launches ride-share minibuses; new driveline for VDL Futura; Reading Buses CEO to head Go North East; new MDs at First and Stagecoach; deaths of Adrian Wickens, John Dickson-Simpson and Stephen Le Bras
INSIDE TRACK
Burnham’s road to Nirvana
GLOBAL NEWS
Berlin favours Enviro500; Wrightbus reveals Latin American ambitions; Flixbus launches in USA; Rome fires are blamed on underinvestment; DRT for Munich
LOOK IN ON LONDON
Go-Ahead gains east London contract from Stagecoach; TfL highlights leisure attractions on five routes; manufacturers lined up for hydrogen fleet; mild hybrids reach route 44; Silvertown tunnel will benefit bus network
MILLAR’S TALES
A Routemaster (of sorts) in a Bangkok shopping centre; a Derbyshire Daimler in its Baltic afterlife; Sir Brian Souter as a work of art; a mobility scooter disguised as a tram
PICTUREVIEW
A Solo on Skye
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FENTON FILE
Kenya to Bournemouth via Manchester - a Duple Metsec-bodied Dennis Dragon
YOU WRITE
Drivers and adversarial management; the cases against safety screens and destination blinds; another view on drivers’ pay; short-sighted politicians have neglected the bus; Cambridgeshire busway blighted by city congestion; Swedish passengers prefer smartcards to smartphones
PRESERVATION UPDATE
A restored MH Coachworks-bodied Fleetline with an intriguing history that has taken it back to Belfast; rear-engined Leylands launched at Kirkby open day; head turners at Llandudno Transport Festival; Grimsby Cleethorpes open-topper back in orange livery
FLEET NEWS ENGLAND & WALES
Compiled by John G. Lidstone
FLEET NEWS SCOTLAND
Compiled by Sandy Macdonald
FLEET NEWS IRELAND
Compiled by Paul Savage and Ian Molloy
REVIEWS
Books on bus driving on the south coast, Leylands in London and the latest Fleetbook, Handbook and Review of the Year - plus our diecast models of the month