17 Nov 2017, 10:44 am
#201
(17 Nov 2017, 5:18 am)Dan As an enthusiast; I'd agree that a Streetlite is a downgrade compared to a Citaro (I personally think the Mercs are one of the best buys since the Volvo B10BLEs, even if they are more expensive to run and very expensive to maintain), but from a passenger perspective, there's probably not a great deal of difference other than the fact we can assume USB charging points would be made available (bringing this service up to standard with most other routes, as it currently lacks this feature).
(17 Nov 2017, 8:33 am)Andreos1 From a financial perspective (particularly the short term one), unfortunately there's only one winner.
I think we all know that Streetlites are cheaper to buy initially, run and to an extent maintain, than the current heavyweight vehicles available. Indeed, the Government isn't going to pay companies to operate Citaros and B8RLEs.
However my concern is that, as we've seen with multiple Arriva examples, operators are thinking short term a bit too much. Obviously, we have no evidence to base the life expectancy of a Streetlite on, but I think it fair to assume in majority of cases that it will be nowhere near as long as the vehicles they're replacing. I know it may not be the case in this instance, going back to the point Dan made about the Citaros probably not being needed on this route initially, but in quite a few cases across both companies, they have been allocated to routes where a heavyweight vehicle would probably be more suited. It also begs the question, if Stagecarriage can buy heavyweight vehicles when required, why can't 2 of the main North East operators?
Obviously, my main experience with Streetlites are with First in Aberdeen. All of which are allocated to inner-city routes, and yet at just 3 and a half years old, there are a number that feel shockingly bad to travel on. I boarded one last night, and as it dropped me off home, an alarm was ringing in the cab. About an hour later, by chance I caught it home from Morrisons and the same alarm was ringing, this time for pretty much the duration of the journey. As I got off, the driver switched it off, and then it completely failed to start up on first time of asking. Second time was alright, though it was evident something wasn't quite right.
