My first glimpse of Amorique in daylight!

As promised I have finally got a proper picture of Brittany Ferries' Amorique. Right on schedule as well as I said I would in the holidays. And gazing out the window today, what came out, but Amorique. My first chance to see her in her full glory and well I think the looks may take a little bit of getting used to in my eyes. Pont Aven is a sleek and modern design so was an instant hit with me. And Pont L'Abbe was so quirky you had to love it. But this isn't really either of those. I preferred it in the dark!!

Route branding problems

This Friday I saw 3 route branded buses operating the wrong routes and one the day before. It really does make you think why they bother sometimes. Listed are what I have seen over the past 2 days.

Today was Tavi-Linx Branded 40582 seen on the Ugobus route 3 to Barne Barton. This was seen several times througout the day on this route where it should be operating an 83/4/6.

Torpoint's Dennis Trident 32760, in the Tamar Link livery was seen operaring what the bus above should have been doing! She was seen in Yelverton operating an 83 to Tavistock!! Quite a few miles from home it must be said!

This picture shows 32709 branded for the X80 in use on the 93 which it saw use today on! Though following literally right behind it was the bus in the picture below. A Mayflower Link 93 Dennis Trident seen on the X80!! Why were they both on the wrong routes and why didn't they swap!!

More news to come in my 2 weeks off! Should bring plenty of interesting news!

Snap on Sunday!

Following this week's very much A-Line theme I thought it would be appropriate to post a picture of the bus back in service and working again! Pictured on Friday is R651 YCR at Insworke along with WA54 OLR with driver Nick outside the bus. Both Varios are now working a treat with there new turbos so congratulations to the two mechanics, Steve and John who have done a superb job on both buses and of course the LDV which is also now back on the road after a break disc shattered. More Snap on Sunday next week.

Improvments at Torpoint

Today on my trip with Louis to many Devonian destinations I first stopped off at Torpoint depot to have a look at the improvements (but mainly because there was an Olympian behind on the next bus!) As the pictures illustrate there has been CCTV fitted to the front side of the building looking onto the doors. This seems to mainly be keeping an eye on the drivers and not trespassers though I will keep an eye out to see if the angle of the depot changes. There has also been a new bus shelter fitted, which I must say is quite smart, personally I prefer the style used here than the ones being used in Plymouth. The seats are also that bit better! Though the shelter is set into the depot which will likely make it harder for the drivers to park if they need to put the bus nearest that. C413 HJN driven by Dave is also pictured coming towards the depot.

K reg Darts live on!

Spotted in Callington yesterday was K107 SFJ one of the older Plymouth Citybus Dennis Darts that were withdrawn last year! This was operating a school service with passengers onboard. Was lovely to see one out again as I thought it was the end for these Darts, though they have been parked up at the back of Plymouth Citybus' Milehouse depot for around a year now as there is no demand for them they have been hard to sell. Picture shows her last year shortly before the bus was withdrawn.

Ex MOD N205 OAE

Here I post these fantastic pictures taken by Derrick Cuff while working a school trip for Carmel Coaches. This fine Dennis Javlin was once an MOD vehicle but now works all kinds of work for Carmel Coaches in Devon. Derrick says its a great bus to drive and has been maintained well at Carmel. Our contributor is pictured at the wheel of the bus. Big thank you to him for these photos.

New 'Bus Stop' At Cremyll

Today saw a new 'Bus Stop' marked out space put up in Cremyll though no marking was done for disabled parking. This has meant that other non disabled cars are still parking in the turning bay causing a lot of trouble for the buses, especially Tridents, and when 2 buses are there at once, its not easy! This picture also shows that both buses in Cremyll were not even in the bay because of its inappropriate placing which would obstruct people coming off the ferry. The raised curb is also of very poor quality and is not even the correct height for any of the buses used! A-Line update coming tomorrow.

As if it couldn't get any worse...

... it does at A-Line Travel. The LDV minibus SK02 WDX turned up this morning to work the routes today in place of the 2 Varios, while an S reg LDV worked the schools along with E920 EAY on the Cawsand schools. The LDV got quite full on its way down to Cremyll with me as the conductor opening up the doors and punching the tickets as people got in to save Jim getting out and running round to do it. It had worked well that morning and when it went onto its trip to Trago was working well. Dave took her over in Torpoint though into this journey, you've probably guessed it BANG! No it wasn't a Turbo this time but a piston had shattered. This meant that the LDV was now unserviceable. This meant that Jim was pretty stuck. The Vario's Turbos will be arriving tomorrow morning and one will hopefully be serviceable by tomorrow but this meant that E920 EAY had to take over the LDV's Cremyll duties after she had finished the school run. E920 driven by Rodger was then taken out of service at Millbrook and swapped for the S reg LDV owned by Cremyll coaches.

Can luck really get any worse for Jim, 3 vehicles off the road in as many days. We really do feel for him at this time and hope things will look up tomorrow when a turbo will hopefully be fitted to one or more of the Varios. Though it is not yet known what bus will replace the LDV tomorrow morning. More news tomorrow. Sorry no pictures of the S reg, camera died on me.

More major problems at A-Line

The day started off fairly uneventful. I was expecting some odd bus to appear from the bottom of the road but it turned out to be X891 YGU the Vario usually used on the Narkus school bus. The journey was very pleasant on this much nicer Vario and is picture in Cremyll above looking splendid.

The bus continued on its routes until the 10 o'clock change over to Derrick Cuff. Though as Derrick pulled away literally just up the road, guess what happened. X891 YGU's Turbo went BANG! Exactly the same fault as on the R reg just a few days earlier!! How can this happen and under the same driver too? Very unlucky for Mr Cuff though was not his fault. It seems he has just been very unlucky. But this did cause major problems for A-Line. There was now no spare bus available as M152 LPL was still off the road and the coaches were not able to do this route. This meant that the rest of the services had to be cancelled until another bus could be sourced. The X reg took a very steady journey back to the depot with Jim at the wheel where Derrick went ahead to get oil from the depot. The bus was giving out huge clouds of smoke and oil was leaking badly. If this oil hadn't been sourced it was likely the engine would have blown. By the afternoon 80 services a bus had been hired in the form of an LDV Minibus SK02 WDX supplied by Torpoint Minibuses. This continued the services through the evening with no hitches, though did need a conductor in the busier journey, that being me. Jumping in and out of the front opening the doors! Bit of fun for an afternoon! It also meant the bus could serve some places it currently is not able to such as going right down into the village of Cawsand both ends, a great help to passengers on board this service. So very bad news for A-Line, not even a year since the 2 Varios were acquired they are both out of service with the same problem. 2 LDV minibuses are currently on loan from Cremyll Coaches and Torpoint Minibuses. Is has been rumoured that M152 LPL may try to be brought back to service in the very near future if the problem cannot be fixed soon. More updates as they come!

Snap on Sunday!

A new addition to this blog will now be the weekly feature 'Snap on Sunday'. This will post my favorite picture taken in the week and a short caption!

This week it is Britany Ferryies' Pont Aven taken in Plymouth sound today. Looking glorious as always and what a lovely day it would be to be going on holiday! A very calm crossing for a change as well!

More to come next week!

Major problems for R651 YCR

Today A-Line Travel's Mercedes Vario R651 YCR suffered major engine problems and possibly more. After the problems yesterday things have escalated with the bus. Derrick Cuff took the bus over from Torpoint at around half 2 this afternoon. While going through the road to St John there was an extremely loud BANG and the turbo on the Vario blew. Derrick was immediately on the phone to Jim asking what to do next. As Jim lives in St John this was just a walk down the road. After inspecting it it was obvious this would not be a quick fix and the explosion had also possibly caused damage to the chassis. Therefore the bus was taken straight out of service and Volvo B10M E920 EAY was put into its place on the 80. Derrick caught up the time lost quite easily as the coach was not able to go on the road round Anderton. Though this is very bad news I must say it was lovely having E920 on the run, just what I was hoping for yesterday! It was also my first trip on E920 and I was quite surprised how well this old manual gearbox B10M goes! She really did go well up the hill from Cremyll. If only we could have this on the bus everyday! Derrick also drove the coach extremely well and showed Target Travel what he could really do with a fully manual coach! Target Travel had never allowed him to drive a coach as they though he was incapable though it was quite obvious today that this was not the case! Though after the 16:28 from Cremyll Jim had brough X891 YGU back from the Narkus school run and therefore passengers were changed and E920 made its way back to the depot in the hands of Jim. So I am very keen to find out what will happen on Monday. However good Jim is at bus maintenance I doubt he will have the R reg back up and running for Monday's services. The Van Hool is also suffering at the moment so this cannot be used. And M152 LPL is currently out of action. Unless he can get her up and running within the weekend I would guess Jim will have to hire in a bus from another company, likely to be Cremyll Coaches though we will see on Monday. Sorry about the picture quality. I was angry I didn't have the camera with me today for this occasion! Though the pictures show Derrick with E920 EAY and another standing with C417 HJN before the 16:33 81C to Torpoint.

A-Line duplicate!

Today saw R651 YCR suffer engine troubles on the 80s today which left her being very low on power climbing the hill from Millbrook and several other places on route. This led to Steve ringing Jim to tell him what to do next. He took the bus to the Triangle and then waited for Jim to come down. Jim went to rev it up to try and clean it incase of dirty fuel though this made the bus stall. This happened a few times. Jim then "working his magic" in the words of Steve under the bonnet and she jumped into life. As a procaution Jim followed behind in Volvo B10M E920 EAY incase of another mis-hap. Though after 2 runs Jim left Steve to get on with it on the 4:28 from Cremyll. Picture shows E920 on the duplicate taken from R651 YCR.

K802 ORL returns to Torpoint

Torpoint Volvo Olympian K802 ORL (34002) has been spending a lot of time recently working from Callington depot. I have seen a brilliant picture by Geoff Courtnage of her in the snow, looks like she has been working hard on the 76s! She has now returned to her home depot at Torpoint and has seen daily use on the Cremyll/Anderton school run aswell as runs on the 81/A/C as she is still very much a favorite with the Torpoint drivers and even more so now she has been tweaked to deliver a smoother power delivery unlike before where it was very jerky. She is picture here at Cawsand Fort on Saturday working an 81C into Bretonside.

40002 working in Plymouth

Torpoint's Dennis Dart S764 RNE (40002) has seen a fair bit of use in Plymouth over the last week or so. She went in for an MOT though spent a day on 6s and then a few days on the 3! These routes are usually run by either a Dennis Dart SLF or Volvo B6 so was quite a change to see her on these. This again very likely caused confusion for passengers with the wrong branded buses turning up. But not to worry she's back in Torpoint now, just for a change. Picture shows her on the 3 though the blind shows nothing because of shutter speeds.

Event to come in Salisbury!

Something on the calender this year I definitely don't want to miss is the final farewell for the Wilts and Dorset Bristol VRs. This event will take place at the end of the month on March 28th between 9:00am and 6:00pm. This will see one of the last major operators of the VR die out. And I think I'm right in saying the last major company still to run the in the Southwest, apart from the odd one of 2 here and there across the southwest. I definitely recommend a look to Dave Courtnage's excellent site which will keep you well updated on all Bristol VR happenings in the southwest. http://geocities.com/ndl642m/

Extra information for you is that the day tickets will be £7.50 for Adults and £4.50 for children.

Train tickets from Plymouth are £46 return for adults and £23 return for Children, both obviously cheaper with a railcard. Fairly expensive yes.

Picture shown is one of the VRs in Poole last Summer, now likely in a scrapyard of the southwest.

C417 a famous Olympian!

I was watching an epidsode of popular Channel 4 program "Skins" for the first time yesterday. And I was in shock one the main character "Sid" was pictured aboard what looked like an Olympian of some discription. The Seat moquette gave a big hint to me that it was C417 HJN the Torpoint Olympian that used to work in Bristol. On further research I found that the program was made in Bristol so things looked quite promising. In the second program amazingly C417 HJN was seen again and an outside shot confirmed this! C417 HJN a big TV star!! Lucky old Torpoint depot. The drivers don't know how lucky they are and the passengers how privaledged they should feel! So soon the opotunity may come up to own a famous Leyland Olympian! Keep a look out!

I was trying to puzzle together how C417 HJN had been used twice as I found this quite amazing and very ironic. On further research I found that her time in Bristol was nearly 100% on route 222. The only thing I can think of is she used to run a shuttle from the school/college that the program is filmed. If anyone knows more please let me know or comment this post!

He's back!

No sooner do I report on Derrick Cuff leaving than I report on Derrick Cuff returning to the PCV driving world! He took his place back up at A-Line on Monday and is now again a Monday and Friday driver at the company after problems with his new job.

Nice to see him back!

My photo of the year...

... well so far it is anyway! This shot was taken on Saturday morning while making my way upto the train station from Royal Parade. We could have taken an earlier bus upto the train station though we thought we'd hang on for a 76 which was bound to give us a more interesting bus for the journey. I was hoping for the L reg Volvo Olympian which has recently come out of storage though what turned up was something very unexpected!

C412 HJN has had problems again and had been in Plymouth depot on Friday. Though for some reason they must have been short on the 76! 34812 was the bus that turned up for the run to Callington definately not expected. C417 HJN also followed on her proper routes so gave a great photo of Plymouth, how it should still be! 2 ex-Essex buses working there trade, but on different routes. I love it! Also notice C412 HJN has the wrong detination and number set. This driver didn't seem to have a clue how to work it and as a result many people we passed got very confused! The blind displays "26, Plymouth Looe" Where it should read "76 Callington"

Though this brings up the point that Callington now have 2 buses allocated to Torpoint, these being 412 and the Volvo Olympian K802 ORL. Does Callington really need these buses. Any bus is able to run the 76/A so why take buses from Torpoint? Certain buses are needed for these routes because of the Torpoint ferry modifications. And again Torpoint gets unwanted Varios to cover for deckers. When will this change!

New buses for Stagecoach!

While in Newton Abbot on Saturday I was at the station doing some spotting with Louis. I also pop out to see the buses that come past the station. Though what I certainly wasn't exspecting was a brand new Optare Solo. This came in the form of WA58 MVP, there may have also been another running on the route at the time. The 77 has up until now been run with aged Mercedes 709s. So a shame to see them go. Problem with this/ese new Solo/s is that they look no different from one that was built 10 years ago, to one thats brand new. I'd be suprised if anyone has noticed! Though would make a change from a 709!!

On the buses on the radio

Over the last 3 weeks radio presenter Vic Morgen has been covered by my personal favorite presenter David Sheppard. He is a fellow bus spotter and is very willing to have a little chat about buses on his show between 10pm and 1am on BBC Radio Devon. Well worth a listen.

He also owns a bus which I will post on which one it is soon! Unless anyone knows better which they probably do!

Picture of the X80 as he told the listeners about a very interesting expierience on the X80 he had on Friday.

More news on C409 HJN

The first word came to be on Saturday on my trip upto Exeter and Taunton with Louis. As there was very few things of interest on this trip I thought I'd bypass it and consentrate on the interesting bit of the weekend.

When we were waiting for a train in Exeter we had a call from friend Mike Hudson. He advised us that C409 HJN was up for sale and was aparently only £450. As you know I am very parcial to a Leyland Olympian and have always wanted to own one of the Torpoint Olympians. These were this one and C412 HJN being my other favorite though to my knowledge this one was a much more reliable bus.

So this led me straight onto e-mailing a few contacts that evening. These included and couple of employees of FDC and FDC themselves to see what would result and how I could purchase it. Simon Coates replied on Sunday morning advising me of a man to contact. He also said he would find out as much information as possible so was a fantastic help. As I was doing this bad news was to find its way into my inbox. C409 HJN had been withdrawn not because it was old but because of a corroded chassis which was getting very fragile. A great shame seeing this bus was the best mechanically, had a very good interior and had a new engine fitted only around 7 months previous.

SO sadly this meant I wouldn't be a bus owner at the age of 14. However much I would love to own C409 HJN I hate to think how difficult and expensive it would be to try and rectify a problem like this.

Derrick Cuff has told me that he has shown interest in the bus though so there may be a life for her yet. PTOTPA will keep you updated on what happens to her in the near future. But my sights are now set on C412 HJN. Question now is, how long will the rest last at Torpoint?

PTOTPA VIDEOS!

Over the past couple of days I have had very little news to report on! Though Saturday will see a trip to Exeter and Taunton so hopefully some things of interest will be seen there!

Therefore this post is about 3 videos I have made over the past couple of days all avalible on youtube on the following links :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDstEWZwBxY - This video showcases what PTOTPA has to offer including buses, ferries and trains in the area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma__0hP5-14 - This video is my tribute to driver Derrick Cuff including all picture and videos of his time as a PCV driver in the Plymouth area

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZJ-ExCO3Zs - This video showcases events that have been visited and will report on in the coming future including Penzance, Weymouth, Kingsbridge, Westpoint and Bristol. Many more should be enjoyed in the near future.

Comments are welcome on all of these videos. I hope you enjoy them! More will come soon and you will be notified of this through the blog!

200th post! (well nearly)

My 200th post was actually the last one but I didn't realise so we shall comemorate 200 posts on this blog!

I shall do this by opening the floor to you. What do you want to see on this blog in the future. Any susgesstions at all are open to you, please leave them as a comment or e-mail the blog at ptotpa@hotmail.com

I have also commemorated it by making a brand new promotional video now avalible on the link below. Hope you enjoy it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDstEWZwBxY

END OF AN ERA!

Today saw the final EVER PCV driving day for the legend that is Mr Derrick Cuff. His last day saw him working for A-Line Travel on the 80s to St Germans, Trago and the evening runs to Cremyll. He has worked on the buses for a decade now working for several different bus companies along the way including First Devon and Cornwall, Target Travel, Carmel Coaches, DAC, and I'm sure a few others along the way. But now he has finished his PCV carear at local company A-Line Travel driving Mercedes Vario X891 YGU. Not the nicest bus to finish your carear in, but what a brilliant route to leave on. Where it all started was at Torpoint and Plymouth depots and therefore seems very fitting for his last day to be on part of the old 81B route.

Derrick is now moving on to being a train station cleaner across the south west between Penzance and Weston Super Mare, so look out for him! You might just see him cleaning your local station. He will also be covering the branch lines so it is a very wide area to cover!

Good luck to him in his new job. But it will never be the same without "CUFFY!" around.

Class 37 visits Plymouth!

Louis and I took a trip into Plymouth station today for most of the day. Though the most exciting bit was nearer the end of the day. Around 10 train spotters turned up to witness DRS's Class 37, 37605 pull into Plymouth from its trip all the way from Derby. The beast even arrived 30 minutes early so none of us were ready when she roled not so gracfully into Plymouth. More astonishing was that she was 7 minutes late to start with. Show how good these old girls still are!

She is currently parked up in Platform 2 at Plymouth where Gunnislake trains rest until needed. The unit is down here for route training duties. Its last day here will be Thursday. Tomorow she will be doing the following:

PLYMOUTH (Dock 4) depart 19:45

Gunnislake 20:28 - 20:33 (Reverse)

Plymouth (Platform 5) 21:16 - 21:25 (Reverse)

Liskeard 21:55 - 22:00 (Reverse)

Looe 22:28 - 22:56 (Reverse)

Liskeard 23:22 - 23:27 (Reverse)

PLYMOUTH (Dock 4) arrive 23:53.

She will leave Plymouth on Thursday for her run back up the country. I will try to find out timings for you if possible.

Troubles on 32760

On return home from todays events which I will post about later we boarded the ferry as normal. Though as we pulled into position: WHAT! that Trident is facing the wrong way! There was then after looking properly also a First Support Van on the ferry facing the wrong way! The fitter was underneath the bus at the time with driver Eddy watching as he worked. He attempted to start it up on the crossing though it failed. So I'm not sure how many journies back and forth it made. What I wonder is did it have to pay each time!!

More to come on the days events shortly.

Brittany Ferries' new ship Arrives!

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. This is due to it being the last week of term and a lot of coursework etc has had to be handed in. So with a quiet week forthcoming hopefully it will bring plenty of posting!

SO as promised and right on time Brittany Ferries' new ship MV Amorique has started operation on the Plymouth to Roscoff route. This began on February 10th and the picture shown is of her on her maiden voyage. She did leave late as the crew are not yet fully acquainted with their new vessel though the boat apparently set a new record of time for this journey. Though I know this to be wrong as the high speed Catamaran has done it much faster than this.

This ship is very modern and high tech inside and looks cutting edge from the outside. I lot of time, effort and money looks like it has gone into the ship and I am sure that she'll be good to us for many years in the future.

Hopefully a better picture can be posted soon taken in the daylight though I had to try and take a picture on her maiden voyage however bad the quality may be!

Trip to Truro

Today saw myself and Louis Rawlings take a trip down to the capital of Cornwall, Truro. Though as usual living where I do the fun started far before we got to Truro!

I caught the 8:45 81C from Cawsand which was due into Plymouth Rail Station at 9:51, 7 minutes before the train down to Truro. Though this started off badly. The bus turned up at 8:54 because of a lorry blocking the road in Millbrook which was not the best of starts. Though by the time we got to the Torpoint ferry we were on time. Though what wasn't expected was the ferry leaving 5 minutes late. That meant we arrived in Devon late. This was then not helped at all by roadworks on Stoke hill and I was starting to get worried. People joining the bus in Stoke delayed us further and we arrived at the station at 9:55, 4 minutes late. I met Louis and we rushed into the Station. Darting towards the fast ticket machine we saw it was out of use. We then went straight to a booth where the ticket buying process was very swift. We then ran out towards the Platforms with the aid of the nice ticket barrier man. From across at Platform 3 came a cry "Do you want the Penzance train" we shouted "Yes please!" So thanks to the very nice train dispatcher we made the train. Without him we would have had no hope so thank you very much!

When we reached Truro we had the aim or trying to track down 2 ex-Torpoint buses. These being 30065 which left the depot a while ago now and also 34809 which has left during the course of this week. The trip into Truro Centre was made on one of the 56 reg Volvo B7s. When we got to the Bus Station we were simpley inundated with Darts, and 1 B7. Pretty boring considering the amount of G reg Olympians we saw last time along with some Alexander Royale Olympians. Though when G905TWS turned up we jumped at the chance of a ride to St Austall. This was a very enjoyable and fast ride, the Olympian ran very well. ON the journey we also spotted Western Greyhound's brand new 58 reg Optare Solo (older style). Sadly we didn't get a picture though.

On return we went and got a quick pasty and then did a bit of spotting. A couple more example of G reg Olympian turned up though again 30065 failed to show as it didn't last time aswell, along with 34809. A great shame!

Though this did make me think. Why if Torpoint's buses are being transferred to there are they not using them?And therefore why does Torpoint therefore get left with no spare buses at all. We have even got 2 on loan from Plymouth depot in the form of Varios 52519 and 52559 (I think). Why not send these buses back here if they are not in use down there! The Vario's can't cope with volume and after the withdrawal/suspension of 50306 and 50301 also needing a major overhaul things are set to get worse. Tridents are also starting to gather problems thick and fast and this again leads me to Torpoint really needing its maintenance facilities and staff which I'm sure would help with some of these problems.

Pictures of today can be seen on my flickr site link below:

http://flickr.com/photos/11717981@N02/

93 Bus Crash!

Today at around 11:30 Ex-London Dennis Trident 32812 was in a fatal accident on route from Dartmouth to Plymouth. I will leave the Hearld and BBC to explain it to you on the links below. The bus is pictured above still in tact just 4 days before the crash.

http://www.thisisplymouth.co.uk/news/man-seriously-hurt-bus-crash/article-670413-detail/article.html

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7869771.stm

A day out with Louis (Part 5)

Though it was a while ago I though I had to do a blog on this bit!

Well the fifth part of the day was to take a trip on the 11 with bus driver Paul Revell. Though the first event of this part was on Royal Parade! While waiting for the 11 talking to Paul and Louis the 11 came in behind me, mounted the curb and hit me! Was not bad but if I had been an elderly person etc something much more serious could have happened!

So we joined Paul and went round on 2 rotations in Dennis Dart 42753 (S753 SNG). Though when we boarded the bus the centre console had copalped so we could see no warning lights. ON the second rotation coming down past Toys R Us we went over a small pot hole in the road, the dash colapsed further and a warning alarm came on! We stopped the bus before Royal Parade to inspect the bus. The emergency door was fine there was no fire so the problem was not found. After resetting the system the alarm still went off. We drove the bus upto Royal Parade to let teh passengers off and radioed control. They told us to do checks we had already done again and this again resulted in no luck. After around 15mins they told us to take the bus down to Bretonside and to swap it with Optare Solo 53012. This we did, though as there were no spacing this meant leaving the Dart in the road to get the Solo out, then to get back in the Dart, park the dart and get back in the Solo. We then rushed upto Royal Parade where the 11 behind us had already left and Paul drove to make up time. By the 4th rotation he had caught up all the 20mins lost and booked off duty on time! What fun a bus driver can have!