Thing that really frustrates me with the constant issues with the X1 StreetLite's at Darlington is the fact that they have to allocate Pulsar's in their place on the X1 which means other buses have to be allocated to other services in these instances, really growing tired of 29 seater Solo's on the busiest 5/5A runs now.
(02 Nov 2017, 9:05 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]That page contains a link to all right hand drive versions, including the 11.5m variant.
So, 1573 has been off the road for months with engine failure. The batch on the X1 are constantly off the road with issues. Every single time, without fail, that I've travelled on a Streetlite operated X18/20 it has been late, and completely unable to make up time until a period of sufficient layover. Which routes are 4653/9/64 usually allocated to at Ashington? Yep.
Yes, a link because the Streetlite Max is related to the Streetlite (so is relevant to include a link from one page to another). We'll have to agree to disagree on this one, but I'm sure if you ever saw a Wrightbus sales sheet for one of these buses, it would not say "midibus".
Without wishing to get too hung up on your statement that this type of bus is not a full-size single deck, and drawing away from the main intention of the post, an excerpt from the
"Midibus" Wikipedia page is below:
"A midibus is a classification of
single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between 8 metres (26 ft 3 in) and 11 metres (36 ft 1 in) long."
As the Streetlite Max is 11.5m in length, it's a full-size single deck bus. Operators will continue to use them for this purpose, because that's what the bus was built for.
With regards to your specific examples - yes, there have been a few problems (I did say 'by and large'). A major component failure so early on in the life of a bus is worrying and I expect Arriva will be chasing this up with the vehicle manufacturer. Something happening on one bus does not accurately represent the general reliability of this vehicle type. It shouldn't happen but does: faulty engines, gearboxes etc, can go through production and pass a PDI without flagging any issues. I can't recall a single major component failure on one of Go North East's comparable Streetlite Micro-Hybrids, and I'd be inclined to suggest that these operate similar heavy-endurance routes, but are probably out longer (early, later, and 7 days a week now that they're used on other work on Sundays).
I believe Go North East did have a few teething issues with their Euro 5 bog-standard 'Streetlite Max' buses at Deptford on the "Drifter" 60 service. These have seemingly been overcome now: the after-support from Wrightbus allows little niggles to be fixed and tweaks to be made to the programming of the units sitting behind the scenes. If this happened on Go North East's early Streetlites, has it happened on Arriva's early Streetlite Micro-Hybrids on the "MAX" X1 service?
I'm not sure what relevance the X18/X20 has to this debate. The timetable for these services have not been designed with a bus sitting at 50mph in mind: they've been built in the knowledge that a bus that can exceed this speed will be allocated. Of course a Streetlite, limited to 50mph, would not be able to keep to time on these routes.
(02 Nov 2017, 10:47 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Thing that really frustrates me with the constant issues with the X1 StreetLite's at Darlington is the fact that they have to allocate Pulsar's in their place on the X1 which means other buses have to be allocated to other services in these instances, really growing tired of 29 seater Solo's on the busiest 5/5A runs now.
This is an issue regardless of which vehicle type has been ordered, though.
I've said this many times before, but there are umpteen amount of reasons why buses can be off the road and they're not all necessarily something to get worried about. I don't know specific reasons for Darlington's Streetlites to be off the road, but the fact they've ordered more suggests that it can't be anything too bad.
The issue you're highlighting here is that there's a need for operators to buy more spare buses, even for smaller orders. Go North East has a tendency to buy one spare bus for every 8 in a batch of new vehicles - on services with higher PVRs, this works well, but we see the downsides to buses with smaller PVRs not having spare buses to the same specification bought with that batch all the time (look at recent allocations to the X21, X9/X10, etc). It proves how important buying more higher quality spare vehicles is, to maintain customer expectations when premium features are advertised on that bus.
The max variants may be a full size single decker but they are not heavy duty and are not suited to demanding routes. Drivers say that the 5 examples on the X1 feel like they are worn out and won't last. One particular driver said that they have a spacious cab but that it was the only positive thing he could say about them. 1592 in particular has had many complaints from passengers that the gearbox was too jerky which is why voirh have been out to it multiple times. 1594 performed a day on frequenta 2 service a couple months back and now that one is rattling much more compared to the other 4. I can also remember 1 day in the summer there was only 1 streetlite on the x1 due to the other 4 being off road which led to 2 pulsars, 1 solo and 1 Scania being on the x1. The engineers have also said that they are less reliable than the Dennis darts were when they were at the end of their life. Also 1593 and 1594 have both had to have new exhaust systems fitted costing arriva around £20,000 per vehicle which should have been covered under Wright warranty however Wright claimed the warranty was void due to arriva using the wrong coolant. There has been rumours that Darlington may not be reviving the new streetlites now due to a confusion with the price of the vehicles as the only reason these vehicles were ordered is because they were cheap and apparently Wright had come back to arriva with a new price that arriva was not prepared to pay.
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Drivers hating on streetlites are just big whinges in my opinion, they're just as nice to drive as most other buses I've driven. I'd take a streetlite any day over a Solo, Solar, or the worst imo, a Versa. The gearbox faults with them, whilst I do find annoying when they smash into gear, and it's not something a finished product should have. However, a driver claiming sick because it smashed into gear? Come on, it's a well known issue with those streetlites, and it's a very simple problem to rectify. When you hear it downshift and the revs raise, take your foot off the throttle, and not just keep it at full throttle. Something a "professional" driver should easily be able to overcome.
Streetlite over a solo no way!!!. The solos have a far nicer Gearbox and most Darlington examples can do 55MPH and over, they are also more reliable. I haven't came across one driver who likes the Streetlites on the X1, they are all sick and tired of them, and the passenger's are sick of their Appaauling reliability.
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(03 Nov 2017, 4:21 pm)JamesDunkley wrote [ -> ]Streetlite over a solo no way!!!. The solos have a far nicer Gearbox and most Darlington examples can do 55MPH and over, they are also more reliable. I haven't came across one driver who likes the Streetlites on the X1, they are all sick and tired of them, and the passenger's are sick of their Appaauling reliability.
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The 66 plate GNE ones have quite clunky gearboxes funnily enough. Don't mind a Solo at all, just the nature of them being a minibus, as well as being wheel forward makes them a little bit annoying to drive at times. You're right about the reliability though, vehicles that new shouldn't so unreliable. I do question the quality of Wrightbus sometimes, they're very hit or miss. But then again, they are built in the UK which isn't surprising that the quality can be so variable, just ask people who own Land Rovers!
Oh right I don't mind them as much as they have the Daimler Engine, and it works much better with Gearbox. I see what you mean with the wheels being at the front, but apart from that they are nice buses, the Go North East Indigo ones are Lovely. Yep Wright seem to have quite a few problems with Reliability Shane as the only problems the pulsars have is the odd Electrical problem.
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I've read the comments with interest.
Not a fan of them, but live in hope that history repeats itself and following a review of the product, we see a Mk2 version in the future, that reaches the standards that we saw with the Mk2 National. It goes without saying that an improvement with the ride quality would be welcomed too.
I've commented on the whiplash like experience seen on a purple Streetlite climbing Houghton Cut.
It wasn't a one off.
A trip out on ANE Streetlite's the other week, was an experience that didn't give out any whiplash, but an experience that saw the vehicles struggle on hills, rattle like mad and saw one chugging about with what sounded like a slipped belt. I feared it may have been something more complicated.
Having read comments on here about the engines, I wonder whether my fears were correct.
I can't see the longer vehicles lasting for a longer total period than their slightly shorter cousins either (it's not as if length = a longer life span) and see the purchase of them flawed.
Maybe flawed in the way of a sort of false economy, given the chase for BSOG payments which will boost profits short-term. However, I think will result in new vehicles being purchased and replacing these Streetlites on front-line service, well before schedule.
Politically, Wright are massively important. It doesn't justify them producing vehicles, which some think are tat.
I suppose the damage to bus builders and reliance on companies like Wright, could be seen as collateral damage caused by de-reg in 86.
If de-reg hadn't happened and the subsequent lack of orders from operators hadn't resulted in the many builders closing down, maybe we would see a totally different environment...
Despite all that... These Streetlites must feature alongside the Pacer for 'most contributions' in the Sleepy Commuter thread!
Draw your own conclusions!
Why don't Wrightbus do these as options?
Single Deck:
- Wright UrbanLite (5l Daimler)
with Voith and Stop/Start
- Wright Endura (6.7 Cummins) with ZF
Double Deck:
- Wright CityDeck (5l Daimler) with Voith and Stop/Start
- Wright EnduraDeck (6.7 Cummins) with ZF
That would be good but there's not long left of the 6.7Litre Cummins Engine as they don't have it in Euro 6.
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(04 Nov 2017, 10:24 am)JamesDunkley wrote [ -> ]That would be good but there's not long left of the 6.7Litre Cummins Engine as they don't have it in Euro 6.
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They do have the 6.7 Cummins Engine in Euro 6.
ADL have them in the E400MMC and EnsignBus / BCI also use them in the Excellence.
Well the pulsar we're on has just conked out by Gilesgate roundabout (revving and not getting anywhere, after jerking like a Streetlite, a bit back) do they're not infallible, either.
(04 Nov 2017, 4:18 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]Well the pulsar we're on has just conked out by Gilesgate roundabout (revving and not getting anywhere, after jerking like a Streetlite, a bit back) do they're not infallible, either.
Honestly? Every bus is going to break down at some point, given the amount of miles they do.
(03 Nov 2017, 5:38 am)Dan wrote [ -> ]I'm not sure what relevance the X18/X20 has to this debate. The timetable for these services have not been designed with a bus sitting at 50mph in mind: they've been built in the knowledge that a bus that can exceed this speed will be allocated. Of course a Streetlite, limited to 50mph, would not be able to keep to time on these routes.
The X18/X20 have relevance as part of the initial discussion was regarding Omni replacement. 4653/9/64 are allocated to these routes, and as such will need a suitable replacement, as per my initial point.
(04 Nov 2017, 4:53 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]Honestly? Every bus is going to break down at some point, given the amount of miles they do.
Is that not BLM's exact point?
We've gone to great length in suggesting that Streetlites are terrible buses which breakdown. But in reality, as you say, every bus is going to incur faults, be off the road, etc, at one point or another.
In this instance; it's not a Streetlite which has broken down, but a Pulsar.
(04 Nov 2017, 4:59 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Is that not BLM's exact point?
We've gone to great length in suggesting that Streetlites are terrible buses which breakdown. But in reality, as you say, every bus is going to incur faults, be off the road, etc, at one point or another.
In this instance; it's not a Streetlite which has broken down, but a Pulsar.
So, can we expect a "Look, it isn't just Streetlites that break down" post every time a bus breaks down now?
(04 Nov 2017, 4:59 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Is that not BLM's exact point?
We've gone to great length in suggesting that Streetlites are terrible buses which breakdown. But in reality, as you say, every bus is going to incur faults, be off the road, etc, at one point or another.
In this instance; it's not a Streetlite which has broken down, but a Pulsar.
My point exactly.
(04 Nov 2017, 5:19 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]So, can we expect a "Look, it isn't just Streetlites that break down" post every time a bus breaks down now?
No, but the current dialogue seems to be singling them out as unreliable and the worst buses ever.
Oh right, didn't know that, Wright should do that then instead of using a 5 litre Engine in a double decker with a four speed Voith Gearbox.
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Again there was 2 examples of the x1 again today. There is only 5 streetlites which go to Darlington depot compared to 21 pulsars which are older how ever the streetlites are in the pits more often and get towed back to the depot more often. I can remember Ian Bradley saying that it was the second arriva streetlite he had towed back to different depots that day, I have 1590 & 1593 being towed on YouTube. Even the engineers at Darlington depot said that the streetlites are the most unreliable vehicles they have ever dealt with.
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And there are 28 solos at Darlington and none of them were of today.
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(04 Nov 2017, 10:27 pm)JamesDunkley wrote [ -> ]And there are 28 solos at Darlington and none of them were of today.
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Now solos give the impression of rusting to bits before they terminally break, a bit like Toyotas, but Optare obviously don't always get it right - look at the Versas!
Maybe I'm opening a can of worms... But how would we all compare a Streetlight with say... A Guy Wulfrunian or a Seddon Pennine RU?
(05 Nov 2017, 11:40 am)tcts24 wrote [ -> ]Maybe I'm opening a can of worms... But how would we all compare a Streetlight with say... A Guy Wulfrunian or a Seddon Pennine RU?
An interesting piece on the Guy.
https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-fig...ulfrunian/
I've definitely not ridden one.
Struggling with the RU. I know Darlington had some, but wasnt sure if OK acquired any.
(05 Nov 2017, 12:30 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]An interesting piece on the Guy.
https://www.aronline.co.uk/facts-and-fig...ulfrunian/
I've definitely not ridden one.
Struggling with the RU. I know Darlington had some, but wasnt sure if OK acquired any.
OK took a Pennine 7 (EBR850S) IN 1978, having checked the fleet history it was the only Seddon they ever had. Darlington on the other hand developed a habbit of buying naff buses eg. Daimler Roadliner, Seddon Penine RU, single deck Dennis Dominator and of course the infamous Ward Dalesman! It would be interesting to see if theres anyone on here old enough to remember some of these buses and can compare them to Solos and Streetlites of today. My native Hartlepool had RU demonstrator HBU451J on loan in 1972. We also had the single deck Dominators but had the good sense to get rid of them in favour of REs a decade older. I'm 35 and I barely remember our Dominators so I can't really pass judgement. I do however remember the rather dire Wadham Stringer bodied Dennis Falcons Hartlepool had. At the time, they were among the younger buses we had available in the town (including much of the Tees fleet) so didn't seem all that bad as a customer. In hind sight though, I'd take a Streetlite any day!
(05 Nov 2017, 1:25 pm)tcts24 wrote [ -> ]OK took a Pennine 7 (EBR850S) IN 1978, having checked the fleet history it was the only Seddon they ever had. Darlington on the other hand developed a habbit of buying naff buses eg. Daimler Roadliner, Seddon Penine RU, single deck Dennis Dominator and of course the infamous Ward Dalesman! It would be interesting to see if theres anyone on here old enough to remember some of these buses and can compare them to Solos and Streetlites of today. My native Hartlepool had RU demonstrator HBU451J on loan in 1972. We also had the single deck Dominators but had the good sense to get rid of them in favour of REs a decade older. I'm 35 and I barely remember our Dominators so I can't really pass judgement. I do however remember the rather dire Wadham Stringer bodied Dennis Falcons Hartlepool had. At the time, they were among the younger buses we had available in the town (including much of the Tees fleet) so didn't seem all that bad as a customer. In hind sight though, I'd take a Streetlite any day!
Indeed, I don't wish to come running to the defence of the Streetlite, but there's always been some pretty pants buses on the road - we seem to have short memories!
Did anyone ever look at a Caetano Dart, even when new, and say 'What a wonderfully put together machine!'? Yet GNE dispatched them on the X35 along the Durham coast road for years. The Arriva output from Peterlee wasn't all super-powered Deltas, Scanias and Olympians. They had some Metrobuses and ex-london Leyland Olympians which could have rolled back down Crimdon Dene given half a chance. As for passenger comfort, the olympians had solid plastic benches upstairs (no cushions) which by comparison made Urban 90 seating seem luxurious. I always enjoyed Metroriders for their quirkiness, but gosh their performance varied from stabbed rat to elderly tortoise; plus your average passenger presumably didn't appreciate the absolute lack of luggage space, effectively having to sit of your fellow passenger's knee in the cramped saloon. The clue was kinda in the name with the Metrorider, fine as a short-hop city bus, but I'm not convinced even Optare would have sold them on the premise of being ideal for being ragged up Silent Bank on the 22s. One of my favourite buses from my youth was the Lynx, yet I'd pretty sure I've been on some MK1s where the driver has commended the chassis around a left turn but the body has tried to carry on in a straight line.
As for the X1, I'm fairly certain the output from Bishop Aukland on the 1/1B around 15 years ago would have been anything that started up in the morning. Where journeys may have not got any quicker, indeed may be slower with a Streetlite allocation, I think the average passenger would agree their bus to work has got become a nice place to sit over the years. The mechanical merits of Wright vs DAF (for example) may be for us enthusiasts to mull over, but when it comes to the general population I think they's keep their Streetlite over a Prestige.
(05 Nov 2017, 1:25 pm)tcts24 wrote [ -> ]OK took a Pennine 7 (EBR850S) IN 1978, having checked the fleet history it was the only Seddon they ever had. Darlington on the other hand developed a habbit of buying naff buses eg. Daimler Roadliner, Seddon Penine RU, single deck Dennis Dominator and of course the infamous Ward Dalesman! It would be interesting to see if theres anyone on here old enough to remember some of these buses and can compare them to Solos and Streetlites of today. My native Hartlepool had RU demonstrator HBU451J on loan in 1972. We also had the single deck Dominators but had the good sense to get rid of them in favour of REs a decade older. I'm 35 and I barely remember our Dominators so I can't really pass judgement. I do however remember the rather dire Wadham Stringer bodied Dennis Falcons Hartlepool had. At the time, they were among the younger buses we had available in the town (including much of the Tees fleet) so didn't seem all that bad as a customer. In hind sight though, I'd take a Streetlite any day!
Thanks for clarifying. I wondered if they'd any Alexander bodied versions, but can definitely remember a Seddon kicking around.
Despite having a few years head start, I must admit to not really knowing too much about the municipal fleets back then. Certainly not those vehicles which were different to the ones seen with United, Northern etc.
I think what stood out, was that even pre-86, a lot of the 'poorer' builders had gone.
As an example, Seddon Atkinson went back to doing their HGV work instead.
Even the likes of Dennis concentrated on bin lorries and Fire Engines, until the deal with Alexander came about.
(05 Nov 2017, 2:25 pm)James101 wrote [ -> ]
Indeed, I don't wish to come running to the defence of the Streetlite, but there's always been some pretty pants buses on the road - we seem to have short memories!
Did anyone ever look at a Caetano Dart, even when new, and say 'What a wonderfully put together machine!'? Yet GNE dispatched them on the X35 along the Durham coast road for years. The Arriva output from Peterlee wasn't all super-powered Deltas, Scanias and Olympians. They had some Metrobuses and ex-london Leyland Olympians which could have rolled back down Crimdon Dene given half a chance. As for passenger comfort, the olympians had solid plastic benches upstairs (no cushions) which by comparison made Urban 90 seating seem luxurious. I always enjoyed Metroriders for their quirkiness, but gosh their performance varied from stabbed rat to elderly tortoise; plus your average passenger presumably didn't appreciate the absolute lack of luggage space, effectively having to sit of your fellow passenger's knee in the cramped saloon. The clue was kinda in the name with the Metrorider, fine as a short-hop city bus, but I'm not convinced even Optare would have sold them on the premise of being ideal for being ragged up Silent Bank on the 22s. One of my favourite buses from my youth was the Lynx, yet I'd pretty sure I've been on some MK1s where the driver has commended the chassis around a left turn but the body has tried to carry on in a straight line.
As for the X1, I'm fairly certain the output from Bishop Aukland on the 1/1B around 15 years ago would have been anything that started up in the morning. Where journeys may have not got any quicker, indeed may be slower with a Streetlite allocation, I think the average passenger would agree their bus to work has got become a nice place to sit over the years. The mechanical merits of Wright vs DAF (for example) may be for us enthusiasts to mull over, but when it comes to the general population I think they's keep their Streetlite over a Prestige.
As pointed out above, a lot of the 'poorer' businesses dabbled and then moved on.
Even before Metro Cammel folded, they diversified away from buses (seeing them share their expertise with work on the MK4 ECML coaches and the T&W Metro.
Obviously Optare emerged and used the MCW designs for th MetroRiders and also the Spectra's.
The main players like Leyland stood the test of time and although the Lynxes were never as popular as a National (and never would be even if plated in gold), the organisation lasted beyond 86.
Like Seddon, Wrights had specialised in other areas before becoming involved in buses.
I wonder whether they would have lasted, if the others had withstood the pressures?
A Prestige that's brand new versus a brand new Streetlite? I know what I would choose.
A life-expired Prestige still on front line service versus a life-expired Streetlite? I'm guessing only time will tell.
(05 Nov 2017, 2:25 pm)James101 wrote [ -> ]
Indeed, I don't wish to come running to the defence of the Streetlite, but there's always been some pretty pants buses on the road - we seem to have short memories!
Did anyone ever look at a Caetano Dart, even when new, and say 'What a wonderfully put together machine!'? Yet GNE dispatched them on the X35 along the Durham coast road for years. The Arriva output from Peterlee wasn't all super-powered Deltas, Scanias and Olympians. They had some Metrobuses and ex-london Leyland Olympians which could have rolled back down Crimdon Dene given half a chance. As for passenger comfort, the olympians had solid plastic benches upstairs (no cushions) which by comparison made Urban 90 seating seem luxurious. I always enjoyed Metroriders for their quirkiness, but gosh their performance varied from stabbed rat to elderly tortoise; plus your average passenger presumably didn't appreciate the absolute lack of luggage space, effectively having to sit of your fellow passenger's knee in the cramped saloon. The clue was kinda in the name with the Metrorider, fine as a short-hop city bus, but I'm not convinced even Optare would have sold them on the premise of being ideal for being ragged up Silent Bank on the 22s. One of my favourite buses from my youth was the Lynx, yet I'd pretty sure I've been on some MK1s where the driver has commended the chassis around a left turn but the body has tried to carry on in a straight line.
As for the X1, I'm fairly certain the output from Bishop Aukland on the 1/1B around 15 years ago would have been anything that started up in the morning. Where journeys may have not got any quicker, indeed may be slower with a Streetlite allocation, I think the average passenger would agree their bus to work has got become a nice place to sit over the years. The mechanical merits of Wright vs DAF (for example) may be for us enthusiasts to mull over, but when it comes to the general population I think they's keep their Streetlite over a Prestige.
The 22 didn't even consistently have low floor buses until the 61 reg pulsars arrived, about the same time it went half hourly. The 21 did, as that did the Sunderland runs from here, when we moved here 14 years ago and Nexus (or was it still Tyne & Wear PTE?) Obviously insisted on it but I couldn't take bigun into Durham on the bus, once he got too big and wriggly for me to carry because I couldn't physically get on the bus with him and a pushchair and shopping. (I guess if you needed to use a wheelchair, you just went to Peterlee to do all your shopping)
But yeah, a few years on and he liked to take walks to the top of Dunelm Road to see if any buses had broken down, there!
(05 Nov 2017, 7:24 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]As pointed out above, a lot of the 'poorer' businesses dabbled and then moved on.
Even before Metro Cammel folded, they diversified away from buses (seeing them share their expertise with work on the MK4 ECML coaches and the T&W Metro.
Obviously Optare emerged and used the MCW designs for th MetroRiders and also the Spectra's.
The main players like Leyland stood the test of time and although the Lynxes were never as popular as a National (and never would be even if plated in gold), the organisation lasted beyond 86.
Like Seddon, Wrights had specialised in other areas before becoming involved in buses.
I wonder whether they would have lasted, if the others had withstood the pressures?
A Prestige that's brand new versus a brand new Streetlite? I know what I would choose.
A life-expired Prestige still on front line service versus a life-expired Streetlite? I'm guessing only time will tell.
I agree some of the failings of the vehicles mentioned would have been down to manufactures being in terminal decline by the time they left the factory. That said, I think the Northern Counties B10M or ‘Volly Olly’ were fantastically well put together.
Despite being part of Plaxton by 1995, other than the important accessibility issues BLM mentions, the models I mentioned were vastly superior than a Plaxton SPD. Where, as you rightly say, a new Streetlite vs new Prestige may be a close contest for passengers- I must say a new Streetlite has to be more attractive than the Arriva ‘Sunderland Connction’ SPDs of the era.
(05 Nov 2017, 7:26 pm)A BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]The 22 didn't even consistently have low floor buses until the 61 reg pulsars arrived, about the same time it went half hourly. The 21 did, as that did the Sunderland runs from here, when we moved here 14 years ago and Nexus (or was it still Tyne & Wear PTE?) Obviously insisted on it but I couldn't take bigun into Durham on the bus, once he got too big and wriggly for me to carry because I couldn't physically get on the bus with him and a pushchair and shopping. (I guess if you needed to use a wheelchair, you just went to Peterlee to do all your shopping)
But yeah, a few years on and he liked to take walks to the top of Dunelm Road to see if any buses had broken down, there!
It’s a great point about the human impact allocations have on the everyday user. Mam & dad were in a similar position with 4 kids and no car. There was even one summer that due to an accident I used a wheelchair for a few months - getting very frustrated as my Mam explained we just couldn’t go out as she couldn’t be sure a ‘lo-liner’ would be working on our local route.
The Streetlite is the Ford Fiesta of buses really. Plentiful, affordable, poor ride, little bit rattly but extremely cheap to run and even cheaper to repair.