New Custombus model

[SimCube]

First post, woohoo!

Anyway, saw this and had to reply to it. Spoke to my afternoon driver (works for Busabout) and confirmed that the Custom Endeavour pictured above is at their depot in Smeaton Grange. They believe Busabout have purchased it (so not a demo, but yet to be confirmed) and will be putting it out on the road soon hopefully.

[Campbelltown busboy]

First post, woohoo!

Anyway, saw this and had to reply to it. Spoke to my afternoon driver (works for Busabout) and confirmed that the Custom Endeavour pictured above is at their depot in Smeaton Grange. They believe Busabout have purchased it (so not a demo, but yet to be confirmed) and will be putting it out on the road soon hopefully.

Let’s see if this leads to Busabout ordering some MAN 19.320s with this Custom Endeavour body as MAN been the chassis of choice for region 15 operators since Busways delivered the first batch of Ministry Of Transport region 15 assigned 18.310s to the Camden depot in late 2009 let’s hope this Mercedes Benz O500LE trial leads into Busabout making the first non MAN order for region 15 since the Scania Custom CB60 influx of 2007/2008

[SimCube]

First post, woohoo!

Anyway, saw this and had to reply to it. Spoke to my afternoon driver (works for Busabout) and confirmed that the Custom Endeavour pictured above is at their depot in Smeaton Grange. They believe Busabout have purchased it (so not a demo, but yet to be confirmed) and will be putting it out on the road soon hopefully.

Let’s see if this leads to Busabout ordering some MAN 19.320s with this Custom Endeavour body as MAN been the chassis of choice for region 15 operators since Busways delivered the first batch of Ministry Of Transport region 15 assigned 18.310s to the Camden depot in late 2009 let’s hope this Mercedes Benz O500LE trial leads into Busabout making the first non MAN order for region 15 since the Scania Custom CB60 influx of 2007/2008

Will be interesting to see. The MAN's are super nice, but I sadly doubt the Endeavours will have the option for a MAN chassis. The endeavours seem to look like a Mercedes-Benz Citaro, found throughout Europe.
Citaro in the UK (Source: Flickr)

I have a feeling the Endeavours will end up like the O405NH Citaro's STA got back between 99-03, that being based on the Citaro's in Europe and only available with the Mercedes Chassis.

Only time will tell though, and I'm intrigued to see where this will go.

[boronia]

The 405NHs came from Mercedes with a full body frame which Custom just panelled over.

This Endeavour should be no different to the CB80 or CB60, and adaptable to any chassis.

[Campbelltown busboy]

The Endeavour will be the 4th generation of accessible low entry body for Custom Coaches/Custom Bus after the 550 CB60 and CB80

[tonyp]

The Endeavour will be the 4th generation of accessible low entry body for Custom Coaches/Custom Bus after the 550 CB60 and CB80

The question is whether they will finally manage to crack a decent seat pitch after four tries? Volgren is still the leader in this regard.

And Volgren in association with Latrobe Valley still sets the accessibility benchmark for Australian buses:



Not that most Australian agencies, operators and manufacturers give a toss about that.

[Campbelltown busboy]

The question is whether they will finally manage to crack a decent seat pitch after four tries? Volgren is still the leader in this regard.

And Volgren in association with Latrobe Valley still sets the accessibility standard for Australian buses:



Not that most Australian agencies, operators and manufacturers give a toss about that.

I've searched up the DDA about 3 years ago and it said nothing about buses needing to be fully low floor the DDA only stated full accessible entry buses but that document was from the early 2000s when the DDA added in the cease of operators ordering new step entry buses for route service work

[boronia]

The low entry model may certainly meet DDA requirements, but does not take into account people who apparently suffer from acrophobia.

[tonyp]

I've searched up the DDA about 3 years ago and it said nothing about buses needing to be fully low floor the DDA only stated full accessible entry buses but that document was from the early 2000s when the DDA added in the cease of operators ordering new step entry buses for route service work

That's the point. Current designs do meet minimum legislated standards, which is basically low entry (at least one level entry). However, complying with that alone is grudging minimalism that completely ignores a substantially larger proportion of the customer base who need to be catered for, not to mention the actual efficient operation (productivity) of the bus which is currently something that rates for nothing in Australian commuter bus operations. Latrobe Valley Bus Lines is one of those rare (unique) Australian operators who have actually studied and paid heed to the needs of their customers and the internal workings of the bus as a passenger carrier. Nowra Coaches with its CB80 Cargos would be the polar opposite who share that end of the scale to various degrees with pretty-much all Australian operators.

It's what you do as a grudging minimum compared to what you aspire to do better that also defines the gulf between the quality of Australian and European bus operations.

The low entry model may certainly meet DDA requirements, but does not take into account people who apparently suffer from acrophobia.

Now come on, it has nothing to do with that whatsoever, as outlined above. And, as you know, the back seats on a low floor bus are the same height as on a high floor. The difference is whether you have to climb steps to get to them.

Anyway, I don't want to get back into that low-floor argument. It's mainly the issue that Custom have not had a good record on passenger comfort compared to Volgren. I would be interested to know whether that's changed.

[BAMBAM]

I've searched up the DDA about 3 years ago and it said nothing about buses needing to be fully low floor the DDA only stated full accessible entry buses but that document was from the early 2000s when the DDA added in the cease of operators ordering new step entry buses for route service work

That's the point. Current designs do meet minimum legislated standards, which is basically low entry (at least one level entry). However, complying with that alone is grudging minimalism that completely ignores a substantially larger proportion of the customer base who need to be catered for, not to mention the actual efficient operation (productivity) of the bus which is currently something that rates for nothing in Australian commuter bus operations. Latrobe Valley Bus Lines is one of those rare (unique) Australian operators who have actually studied and paid heed to the needs of their customers and the internal workings of the bus as a passenger carrier. Nowra Coaches with its CB80 Cargos would be the polar opposite who share that end of the scale to various degrees with pretty-much all Australian operators.

It's what you do as a grudging minimum compared to what you aspire to do better that also defines the gulf between the quality of Australian and European bus operations.

The low entry model may certainly meet DDA requirements, but does not take into account people who apparently suffer from acrophobia.

Now come on, it has nothing to do with that whatsoever, as outlined above. And, as you know, the back seats on a low floor bus are the same height as on a high floor. The difference is whether you have to climb steps to get to them.

Anyway, I don't want to get back into that low-floor argument. It's mainly the issue that Custom have not had a good record on passenger comfort compared to Volgren. I would be interested to know whether that's changed.

Didn't Custom Bus (Custom Coaches) built low floor buses too, like the IVECO Citelis 18 GNC CB60 in perth and the CB60 IRISBUS AGORALINE? Bus operators order to their specifications, can't blame the builders if thats what they ordered.

[boronia]

[quote="tonyp

The low entry model may certainly meet DDA requirements, but does not take into account people who apparently suffer from acrophobia.

Now come on, it has nothing to do with that whatsoever, as outlined above. And, as you know, the back seats on a low floor bus are the same height as on a high floor. The difference is whether you have to climb steps to get to them.
[/quote]
But the back seats in a low entrance bus are higher than the seats in the low floor section. Having to climb these stairs seems to be a deterrent to people. There is probably the perception that it would be more risky if the bus was required to come to a sudden stop.

[Fleet Lists]

I happened to travel on a recent model bus in Brisbane (not Brisbane Transport) yesterday and could only get a seat on the backseat but the height for the rear two seats would not have been more than 1.70 so had to bend over to get there

[Stonesourscotty]

Sounds like a Bustech?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[tonyp]

The rear seat row itself is always an issue in any type of bus. There's a climb up there and headroom is restricted. All the other rows in the back section of the bus (rear axle to the back) are much the same elevation whether it's high aisle or low aisle. Headroom is obviously better with the latter, as you can see on the Latrobe Valley photo above.

Anyway, two separate issues getting tangled here. It up to the operator to specify the aisle height. Other issues like seat pitch and general passenger-friendliness and spaces for movement, buggies and so on are mostly down to the manufacturer. I won't judge the Endeavour until I see whether the interior is an improvement on the CB80.

[Merc1107]

Didn't Custom Bus (Custom Coaches) built low floor buses too, like the IVECO Citelis 18 GNC CB60 in perth and the CB60 IRISBUS AGORALINE? Bus operators order to their specifications, can't blame the builders if thats what they ordered.

The former one in Perth is an example of this, albeit only with two doors (potentially a limitation of the chassis being left-hand drive and converted for Australian use?). Not sure exactly why they opted for the fully low floor, although I guess with a transverse-mounted engine and the Agora/Citelis backside it would've been stupid not to.

I believe the NG313 A24 chassis used for the artics in Perth and Brisbane is supposedly designed to accommodate a fully low floor, yet they still have steps up to the back and still only two doors.

[Fleet Lists]

Sounds like a Bustech?

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

No a Denning

[SimCube]

Heard from a bus driver this afternoon that the Endeavour is scheduled to make its first public run tomorrow, starting with the 887 leaving Campbelltown Station at 8:10am with a couple of executives on board.

[Swift]

Front looks very standard fare, abit Asian looking.
I am impressed with the parallelogram taillights in the bus back view. Very striking and different, something desperately required in new designs today. Most importantly, the styling on the rear looks good without looking ridiculous. The front is abit "meh-y" but I like the day time running lights. That brings advances, even if it isn't a first.
The CB80 was a very futuristic and somewhat radical style that has served Customs in good stead but it's time for something different.

[SimCube]

Found out that the Endeavour was pulled out from running on the 887 on Wednesday. The bus was taken from the depot with executives from Busabout and Mercedes Benz confirmed as onboard, not sure about Custom Coaches though. The bus left the depot around 8am, and was driven down to Wollongong followed by Austinmer Beach as part of it's test run, before returning back in the early afternoon. Apparently it all went well as planned, and hopefully shouldn't be too long before it's out publicly.

Busabout has also stated that the bus is to not be used on the country routes (32 to Warragamba, 40 to Oakdale etc.), including school routes that go out into these areas.

[Daniel]

On Friday it was seen entering Transit System’s Leichhardt depot.

[SimCube]

I spotted it yesterday (20/11/19) operating from Smeaton Grange to Campbelltown on the 4:20pm 897. Only got to see a side view of it though. It was popping up on apps such as NextThere and AnyTrip as a Mercedes O405 with a CC 510 body. Ticketing machine may not have been updated with the new model of the bus yet I would presume.

[marcnut1996]

There is a photo of it in revenue service on Facebook. Rego is m/o 8054 according to the photo.
https://www.facebook.com/jaymietreadwel ... =3&sfns=mo (public link)

It is also shared on the Bus Australia Facebook page.

[Swift]

The CB80 looked better. This thing is more "anonymous" looking.

[Trevor 062]

The Endeavour will be the 4th generation of accessible low entry body for Custom Coaches/Custom Bus after the 550 CB60 and CB80

Don't forget the CB30

[Campbelltown busboy]

The Endeavour will be the 4th generation of accessible low entry body for Custom Coaches/Custom Bus after the 550 CB60 and CB80

Don't forget the CB30

The CB30 was in Custom Coaches accessible low entry generation 2 along side the CB60 anyway I was talking about the full sized Custom accessible low entry bodies and the CB30 was a midsize bus body