Alexander coaches in NBC express service trials
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• An Alexander-bodied express coach of the type developed for the Eastern Scottish night service between Scotland and London is to be used experimentally on Ribble, Standerwick and North Western services to test passengers' reactions to their use for motorway services.
The 46-seat vehicle, dubbed the "M-way" for its new role, is built on a Leyland Leopard 12m chassis. The first Ribble vehicle was shown at Earls Court in September.
The first coach in the north-west-based trials to enter service began operating on December 11 on Ribble's express route from Liverpool to Edinburgh via Preston, Garstang, Lancaster, Morecambe, Kendal, Penrith and Carlisle. Later it will be used on services to Glasgow and on Standerwick and North Western services from the Fylde Coast, the Lakes, East Lancashire, and Manchester to the Midlands and London.
NBC says it is using these trials in its search for the ideal luxury coach for its national express network. On all the services with the new vehicle, passengers are being asked to complete a questionnaire and the answers from some 5000 people who will travel on the prototype in the next few months will be processed on Ribble's corn puter.
There are 21 sections in the questionnaire asking for comment on such things as noise, comfort, lighting, window size, exterior design and on journey origin and destination, car ownership and so on.
A "welcome aboard" message from Ribble general manager Mr Walter Hunniball stresses the double glazing, the higher than normal window line which avoids a passenger's arm and shoulder coming into contact with possibly cold glass, the provision of a supplementary oil-burning heater, a toilet compartment and the high standard of insulation and trim.
An accompanying press release makes a virtue of the small windows (on a vehicle originally designed for night service) with the following comment:— "In recent year coach windows have gradually expanded ir size until the ultimate was reached in th( 'Panorama' design. The M-way coact marks a reversal of this process, becaus( panoramic viewing may not be considered necessary attraction on a vehicle intendee for long-distance express operations b3 night and day".