Buses in Coventry - May 2022

Today, we'll take a look at some photos of buses in Coventry that were taken earlier this year in May.

The main bus operator in Coventry is National Express Coventry, a subsidiary of National Express West Midlands. Some of the buses they were running this summer were older than anything used in public service in Leicestershire! However things are changing as a horde of electric double-decker buses is taking over bus operations in the city. Other operators include Diamond West Midlands, Stagecoach and Arriva Midlands.

Among the oldest buses in Coventry in May was this 52-plate Volvo B7TL with Alexander ALX400 bodywork. National Express (NX) 4417 (BV52 OCM), new to Coventry in January 2003, is seen on Trinity Street on the 7A to Coundon in north-west Coventry.

NX 4766 (BV57 XKK) is seen on New Union Street, near the Bull Yard, on the 21 to Wood End in the northeast. It was new to NX West Midlands' Perry Barr depot in 2008, and after being transferred to Walsall in 2010, it was transferred to Coventry in August 2015. Five months after this photo was taken, 4766 moved to West Bromwich depot, again in the West Midlands division.

NX 4769 (BV57 XKN), an early Alexander-Dennis Enviro 400 built on the Alexander-Dennis Trident 2 chassis, is seen on the 21 to Willenhall passing 4883 (BX13 JVO), a later integral-built Enviro400, which is waiting to leave with a 3 to Binley in the east of the city. Note the slightly different headlamp clusters; the latter has daytime running lamps. The newer examples also have bumper pieces that flare out slightly at the edges, although these are easily interchangeable, as shown by the older bus on the left which has one of the newer-style panels on the nearside but an older-style bumper piece which doesn't flare out on the offside.

NX 4769 is seen earlier on in the day on New Union Street.

NX's 2158 (BX13 JSV), a Volvo B7RLE with Wright Eclipse 2 bodywork, is seen on New Union Street with a 17A to the University Hospital in northeast Coventry.

E400 4886 (BX13 JVA) is seen on Fairfax Street with a 12X to Pool Meadow Bus Station (i.e. the next stop.)

Volvo B7TL Wright Eclipse Gemini 4660 (BX54 DFP) is seen on Hales Street outside the Coventry Transport Museum with a 16 to Keresley, north of Coventry.

Eclipse Gemini 4663 (BX54 DGO) is seen leaving Pool Meadow Bus Station.

Now-withdrawn 4666 (BX54 DHG) is seen on Fairfax Street on the 7 to Coundon. 4666 was withdrawn two months ago.

4674 (BX54 XPU) is seen on Hales Street on the 7 to Bell Green in the northeast.

Also on Hales Street, E400 4838 (BX61 LNF), on the 8 to Allesley Park on the northwestern edge of Coventry, passes E400 4883 (BX13 JVO) on the 3 to Binley.

National Express Accessible Transport/West Midlands Bus's Mercedes-Benz Sprinter A1021 (KR69 HMD) is seen on New Union Street.

Stagecoach's E400 10037 (KX12 GXF) is seen on New Union Street on the X17 to Warwick.

National Express West Midlands purchased 29 BYD/Alexander-Dennis Enviro400EVs; nine of them were for Coventry, as showcased by E024 (LD20 PTZ).
Some observations: there is a pair of seats apparently under the staircase behind the driver (most modern double-decker buses since the days of the DAF DB250/Alexander ALX400s, for instance, have the staircase immediately behind the driver), the rather stumpy rear overhang and the emergency exit door being in the middle of the offside rather than at the rear. Personally, I think that this version of the E400 City bodywork begins to look aesthetically compromised. I shan't talk about the injustice done to the glass staircase by making the panel between the windows up the staircase and the windows upstairs behind the staircase way too thin, because there isn't one on this example. Okay, I said it.
This year, 130 more of these are being or have been delivered to Coventry.
E024 is seen on Cox Street on the 9 to Green Lane in the south, having just passed under the former swimming baths colloquially known as the Elephant Building.

E024 is sen shortly afterwards leaving Pool Meadow Bus Station.

E027 (LD20 PUF), also on its way to Green Lane, is seen on Hales Street, about to turn into Trinity Street.

E027 goes up Trinity Street.

E028 (LD20 PUH) is seen on Warwick Road going the other way towards the University Hospital.

 

ADL Enviro200 840 (SN64 ODS) is seen on New Union Street with a 19 into the city centre. Two months afterward, it was repainted into Coventry's rather unimaginative new livery...

Stagecoach's ADL E400MMC 11220 (SN69 ZCZ) leaves New Union Street with an X18 for Stratford-upon-Avon.

Stagecoach's E200 37178 (YX64 VNY) passes on Warwick Road with an X17 to Warwick.

NXC E400MMC 6966 (YX68 UST) stops on New Union Street with a 12X to the University of Warwick, which ironically is closer to Coventry (being just southwest of Coventry, in fact) than it is to Warwick!

Arriva Temsa Safari HD12 7102 arrives at Pool Meadow with an X6 from Leicester. The X6 was for several years operated by Travel de Courcey of Coventry until its collapse in 2020. Arriva, who had run the service previously, took over the service and soon upgraded it with three Temsa Safari HD12s originally intended for commuter services into London.

LandFlight's Plaxton Panther YX19 MKN is seen on Warwick Road.