(27 Aug 2014, 4:41 pm)Kuyoyo All new vehicles, regardless of specification, have E-leather seats.

(27 Aug 2014, 4:43 pm)G-CPTN That won't please the 685 passengers!

(27 Aug 2014, 4:44 pm)Dan Service 685 isn't getting new buses - the OmniCitys are being refurbished to standard specification with seatbelts.

(27 Aug 2014, 4:53 pm)John_R Seen by a family member this afternoon, was an Arriva bus in the green leaf livery on a Thorntons Low loader heading to Faverdale depot.
My guess is that it was one of the ex MAN gas bus demonstrators.

(27 Aug 2014, 4:54 pm)tyresmoke 4809 has been at Thorntons having its accident damage fixed, so will likely be this one!

Nice to see the next batch of Streetlites starting to arrive already, these are 4 weeks earlier than planned so our cascades may well see stuff leaving the fleet earlier than we expected!

(27 Aug 2014, 4:46 pm)Kuyoyo That is now on hold I understand (and seatbelts were never planned). Also the seating in 4660-2/4 is not e-leather but proper leather.

(27 Aug 2014, 4:56 pm)Dan After Stagecoach announced to the local press (in Hexham, iirc?) that they'd be investing in two brand new vehicles, equipped with seatbelts, didn't Arriva also have a quote suggesting that they would also refurbish the buses so that the buses they allocate to service 685 would lose the 'slippy leather' and gain seatbelts?

(27 Aug 2014, 4:56 pm)Dan After Stagecoach announced to the local press (in Hexham, iirc?) that they'd be investing in two brand new vehicles, equipped with seatbelts, didn't Arriva also have a quote suggesting that they would also refurbish the buses so that the buses they allocate to service 685 would lose the 'slippy leather' and gain seatbelts?

(27 Aug 2014, 5:02 pm)Dan Clearly, as summer has now passed, these plans have been delayed. I assume that the plan will still go ahead, but it's just delayed in order to allow for MAX refurbishments first? These are obviously the priority. I wouldn't like to think Arriva gave out false claims to the residents of Hexham - they don't take too kindly to that sort of thing...

(27 Aug 2014, 5:12 pm)Kuyoyo I believe they are considering other options now.

(27 Aug 2014, 4:43 pm)JoshP So are Eco Vehicles regarded as just standard specification? If so, why do the MAN's have headrests and not the Streetlite's? I guess it was just down to the time they were ordered?

(27 Aug 2014, 5:14 pm)citaro5284 Such as?

(27 Aug 2014, 4:44 pm)Dan Service 685 isn't getting new buses

(27 Aug 2014, 6:04 pm)Kuyoyo Maybe what Dan said earlier might be a hint:


Now flip that round - maybe the 85/685 might be getting new stock maybe Dan is right and the OmniCitys will be refurbished, we shall have to wait and see what the 2015 order brings.

(27 Aug 2014, 5:23 pm)DaveyBowyer The Streetlite isn't a conventional hybrid or a paralell. It's only in them colours to match the 308.

The StreetLite Micro Hybrid was launched in 2013. It is available in all of the standard StreetLite lengths and capacities. While not a "hybrid" in the usual sense, the StreetLite Micro Hybrid recovers energy lost from braking to power the vehicle electrics and compressed air systems, saving up to 10% in fuel costs. The bus itself runs from a conventional StreetLite drivetrain, as opposed to a small diesel engine and electric motor in normal hybrids.

(27 Aug 2014, 6:55 pm)Robert Aren't they Micro Hybrids which are more eco-friendly than the Streetlite Max? Think if thats the case there is some logic behind the buses been in those colours and not just to match with the 308.

(27 Aug 2014, 7:06 pm)Dan Yes, but all of the Streetlites ordered this year were in the Micro-Hybrid set up - and the ones for the 306 are the only ones in this livery.

Davey is right, it's to integrate the 306/308.

(27 Aug 2014, 7:15 pm)DaveyBowyer Just on another note too, will these ones also have free wi-fi to coordinate with the 308?

(27 Aug 2014, 7:19 pm)DaveyBowyer With the 306 operating on Streetlites and no, I wouldn't particularly want Battle Hill to just become all silver and orange but for the sake of the 308, would it not be more beneficial to keep the 306 on the Coast Road? It would stop the need for a 10 minute gap between the 306 and the next 308 between Billy Mill and Willington Square which if running only slightly late, can get a hammering due to the 10 minute gap between the 2 services. It wouldn't prove too costly either due to the low running costs of the Streetlite.