(02 Jan 2016, 11:43 pm)Acky81 Think it's about time the gas buses were painted. Check out our new ride is out dated in my opinion

(03 Jan 2016, 12:35 am)Acky81 Why is service 12 always man operated in Sunderland

(03 Jan 2016, 12:25 am)Adrian I agree with that, but can't see it happening just yet. Ive a feeling we will also see another batch of gas buses in this year's order.

(03 Jan 2016, 1:28 am)Michael I hope so but i don't think we will unless the green bus fund is used.

The last thing i heard was its Newcastle and Hartlepools turn this year for new buses.

(03 Jan 2016, 11:56 am)South Tyne Lad Hartlepool have bad luck when it comes to Brand new vehicles but I could see Stagecoach ordering atleast a few E200MMCs to displace the Remaining Darts. ( Didn't count how many Darts they have left )

(03 Jan 2016, 11:56 am)South Tyne Lad If you exclude 10000 ( Which came from Stockport ) the last NEW buses delivered to the Newcastle Division were the 60 Reg batch of E400s which will be 6 years ago coming the summer.
I'm thinking E400MMCs for the 62/63 with the E400s from there displaced to Slatyfords MAN routes ( 30/31/10/11 ) with maybe a few E200MMC to dispose of older MANs ( 03/53 Regs )
The 55/06 Batch of MANs are still in good nick and could last another 6 years.

Hartlepool have bad luck when it comes to Brand new vehicles but I could see Stagecoach ordering atleast a few E200MMCs to displace the Remaining Darts. ( Didn't count how many Darts they have left )

(03 Jan 2016, 12:00 pm)Dan 10 Dart SLF to cover a PVR of 9 on service 1. Hartlepool also have 34550 as a reserve vehicle.

It would make more sense from an engineering point of view to replace the Dart SLFs on this route with more Enviro 200 bodied MANs, cascaded from another depot. Walkergate have 6, Slatyford have 10, South Shields have 1, and Sunderland have 10, so you'd have to decide between upgrading Sunderland's 8 and 18/19 services or Slatyford's 6/7/8. Michael and I are bias, so we'd suggest Sunderland's 8 and 18/19.

(03 Jan 2016, 12:21 pm)Kuyoyo I don't see Hartlepool gaining anymore MAN E200s yet. Considering it's 8 years since Hartlepool last received any direct investment in vehicles, I wouldn't be too surprised if they gain direct investment this year.

The interesting bit about those Busways route are simple - bar Slatyford's 6/7/8, the Sunderland routes are the marginal routes at the depot. Compared to the 1, which is probably Hartlepool's second or third most-profitiable (which, given they only have 5 routes, might be seen as not much to sing about) and is the main direct interurban link between two major towns in the Tees Valley (which the 1 and 36 both link Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, the 36 is more a link between the 4 main towns).

(03 Jan 2016, 12:30 pm)Michael In the high lighted, what do you mean?, sorry if i sound thick haha.

I wonder which service is the most profitable in Sunderland, i would imagine the 18/19 is the lowest for profit.

(03 Jan 2016, 12:33 pm)Dan That's what he means - they're the least profitable and hence least important services at Sunderland, making them the least likely contenders for investment, compared to service 1 in Hartlepool which is much more profitable.

Of course; our suggestions are just a bit of fun, backed up with our opinions of why we think it'd be good to happen (in this instance, fleet standardisation at Hartlepool Depot).

(03 Jan 2016, 12:57 pm)S813 FVK I think the Enviro 300s on the 100 could do with replacing. They've been on the route for coming up to 11 years now being hurled backwards and forwards between Newcastle and Metrocentre non-stop.

(03 Jan 2016, 12:57 pm)S813 FVK I think the Enviro 300s on the 100 could do with replacing. They've been on the route for coming up to 11 years now being hurled backwards and forwards between Newcastle and Metrocentre non-stop.

(03 Jan 2016, 1:06 pm)Kuyoyo I think the problem there is - the E300s are the longer variation (12.8m I think). That means, to replace them with normal single deckers would either mean reducing capacity on the route or requiring more vehicles and modify the timetable to offer the same or an increased capacity. I doubt the 100 will ever be upgraded to E400 operation simply because it would reduce the number of routing options. Plus, it's then the question of where 27506-10 can be used when replaced off the 100.

(03 Jan 2016, 1:22 pm)Dan Stagecoach would probably reduce capacity on the route.

Like Go North East's X66 service, there are times of the day when you can see the bus completely empty, meaning that lower capacity (and more fuel-efficient) vehicles can be allocated with no issues. Problems arise at peak times, but with a bus every few minutes on a "turn up and go" frequency, it's not really an issue.