Centaur Commute Scania OmniExpress on the 786A

[DRH]

Centaur Overland Travel three-axle Scania OmniExpress YN64 AOH on the evening commuter 786A from London (Vauxhall).

Pembury, Library.  20 August 2015

DRH

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[Neil Gow]

Thanks for that. I've not paid much attention to these routes since the end of Arriva involvement, but this coach (and the Kings Ferry Astromega) looks like a serious piece of kit.

Neil.

[DRH]

Neil

Yes, all the commuter coach operators seem to have high-spec and often, high-capacity vehicles now. Presumably this enables them to compete effectively and economically with the railway.  A far cry from some of the offerings back in the days of Olsen Bros. etc. 

An interesting but neglected niche.

David

[n.ki...@btinternet.com]

I suspect this also assists them in landing upmarket private hires whilst in London during the daytime?

 

Nicholas King

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[DRH]

Nicholas

It would make sense but I suspect the 'incoming tours'/private hire market is very competitive, with existing firms like Andersons etc. I've seen Clarkes and Kings Ferry coaches on sightseeing work but uncertain whether they were commuter coaches in between runs. 

Some commuter coaches park in the day in New Covent Garden coach park which might give an indication of activity between runs. 

David

[Chris]

I think it may well be a mixture of both. Most of the operators advertise themselves as the alternative to the train, and whilst they win on guaranteed seating and price, they lose badly when it comes to traffic and the resulting unreliability. It is therefore quite useful for operators to keep their commuters satisfied.

On the other hand, the coaches do do a whole collection of work during the day: Clarkes, I know, have a/the Globus hotel/airport transfer contract (and can often be seen parked directly after the morning peak in St Martins Le Grand), whilst Kings Ferry have schools contracts/work, do work for the Orient Express, and have a/the fog transfer contract for City Airport - as well as NatEx reliefs. Where possible they send coaches up on commuters to be more cost effective - hence why VIP coaches appear on commuter services from time to time - but sometimes they have to go 'light' simply due to timings/hours.

Chris