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A Happy Day with Hestair
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Noel Miller appraised the Laser 2 and Caribbean 2 with the aid of a party of pensioners; some preferred the luxury body, others the cheaper. Noel reckons both will help the firm claw back market share.
WHEN HESTAIR Duple offered me the opportunity to test drive its latest Laser 2 and Caribbean 2 coach bodies, I decided to be as objective and subjective as possible. Testing the body specifically is not possible without considering the chassis it is mounted on. In this case the Laser 2 was fitted to a Leyland Tiger 245 with ZF manual gearbox and the higher-floor, higher-specification Caribbean 2 to a Volvo MM.
The specific appraisal of the bodywork just has to be more relevant if it includes the opinions of genuine passengers. In order to gain such views I invited a number of residents from the Royal Alfred Society for Seafarers and Shalcross House in Banstead for a day trip to Eastbourne and along the coast to Dover.
Many of the passengers travelled for half the journey in the Tiger, which was fitted with 55 fixed seats, and for the remainder of the journey in the Caribbean with its 49 recliners. The Laser was to a basic "luxury" specification while the Caribbean was the top of the range Executive complete with sunken loo and double glazing. I expected most passengers to favour this coach, but this did not always turn Out to be the case.
Predictably, many passengers extolled the virtues of the more expensive vehicle. However, others preferred the more basic Laser. Comments were also forthcoming on the standard of ride provided by the Volvo and Leyland coaches. Both had their fans and both their critics: however much operators try, they won't please all of the passengers all of the time.
I started the day driving the Laser 2-bodied Tiger from Banstead in Surrey to Eastbourne via a short section of the M25 and a longer section of the A22 trunk road. I enjoyed driving the coach which handled well and predictably.
The driving position provided by the Duple fitted suspension seat was comfortable and the visibility from the large, single-piece windscreen was particularly good. The new one-piece drivers' signalling window seemed a considerable improvement on the type of windows used previously and was draught and rattle free. It also had an easier to use screw type fixing clasp, which seemed stronger and better made than the old, simple catches used on earlier Duple bodies. The matt-black finish on the window unit also seemed easier to keep clean than the silver alloy finish it replaces.
The passengers' reaction to the coach once we had arrived in Eastbourne was generally good, although they noted the omission of foot rests on the fixed seats and some felt the coach became too stuffy too quickly when we were held up in traffic. The forced air vents were in use at this time.
One of the most serious complaints came from non smokers on both coaches who felt that the ventilation systems did not adequately -clear cigarette smoke which lingered on. The roofed vents hinged only at the front and this too did not aid ventilation on what was a particularly hot and sticky day.
Most passengers liked the fixed Duple seats on the Laser 2 and, even though the coach had 55 seats, nobody complained of lack of leg room. Most found the height of the seat-backs just right and some even commented that the fixed seats on the Laser were more comfortable than the much more lavish recliners on the Caribbean.
The most serious complaint from a Laser passenger concerned the lack of a decency screen handrail between the driver's seat and the passenger seat behind it. This caused passenger anxiety and one lady had to move seats as she felt insecure and in danger of being thrown down the step well should the coach brake suddenly.
However, this criticism applies only to the specific Laser 2 coach used on the trip and not the model in general. If I were ordering even a basic specification body I would specify a decency shield behind the driver's seat. Passengers also noted the absence of footrests on this particular coach.
Virtually all our passengers liked the soft trim and the choice of moquette on both coaches and nobody found anything to criticise in terms of finish or workmanship. Wind noise was not a problem on either coach and both the plug-type door on the Caribbean and the pivot door on the Laser 2 fitted well and were free from rattles and draughts.
Although our task was to assess the coach bodies rather than the attributes of the chassis, it was impossible to ignore comments concerning ride and handling and also noise levels. Passengers found the Tiger noisier than the Volvo, but this was caused by the more luxurious Caribbean body being better insulated than the lower, more basic Laser body on the Tiger.
Most passengers found the ride on the Tiger harder but not necessarily less comfortable than that offered by the Volvo. From the driving point of view I found the lower height Laser-bodied coach handled better than the higher, wallowy Volvo if rolled significantly more on corners.
Passengers' reaction was mixed. Some favoured the softer Volvo ride and others preferred the harsher but more stable Tiger. Perhaps it was significant that the one passenger who suffered from travel sickness was riding on the Caribbean at the time.
Although neither coach had been designed to meet the needs of the elderly and disabled, it is likely that both will spend part of their operational lives carrying them. On both vehicles the positioning of hand rails around the entrance steps did not make coping with the steps easier for our passengers who were unable to either pull themselves up or lower themselves down from the steps without assistance from the driver and other assistants. A number of passengers found the initial entrace step too • high, but the use of a plasic milkbottle crate overcame this problem.
In conclusion, both coaches offered a great deal. They were both good looking and eyecatching without being garish and neither my passengers nor myself found anything to criticise concerning the finish or standards of workmanship. While many of our passengers were fairly elderly and the coaches were not designed specifically to meet their needs, a little more thought given to the positioning of hand rails could have made life a great deall easier and our day easier without adding to the price of the coach bodies or reducing their attractiveness to any other passengers.
From the driving point of view, Hestair Duple has used the chassis manufacturers' instrument panels thoughtfully and kept all instruments and switches within the easy reach of the driver. All of these can be viewed without the need to take eyes off the road. The facia binnacles are angled to avoid the need to look down from the road and on both coaches both tachograph and tachometer can be constantly monitored. During our day we had no chance to assess the heating system of the coaches. The forced air system worked and would have been adequate for most normal day's operations. It did not, however, provide adequate ventilation on what was a hot and thundery August day.
The highlight of our day from the passengers point of view was a tour of the Eastern Docks at Dover. This gave us the opportunity to try out the public address system on each coach and while they both could be described as adequate the Radiomobile unit in the Laser 2 did seem susceptible to interference from other electrical equipment on the coach, including the forced air ventilation system.
At the end of the day I think both the passengers and drivers felt tired but had enjoyed the day. While many criticisms were serious in their own way, most apply to coaches in general and not these Duple models specifically and most would not result in our passengers not wishing to travel by coach again.
Lasting impressions of the coaches were favourable and I feel Laser 2 and Caribbean 2 should greatly assist Hestair Duple claw back market share from new and established competition.