(16 Apr 2016, 11:38 am)Michael I don't think any have arrived yet, so it could be tight for them to be out at the start of June especially when 22 are arriving and have to have destinations programmed, driving familiarization and branding applied, doesn't mean they can't be ready for then, just a lot has to be done before they enter service.
Not sure if GNE will want stop announcements ready for them entering service to or they'll installed at a later date.
I think they'll be drip-fed into service, replacing Scania L94s week by week, similar to what happened when "Citylink" service 58 was upgraded. There's not enough room at Saltmeadows Road to store 22 new vehicles, however many vehicles are presently awaiting disposal, and of course vehicles present for bodyshop attention.
The Next Stop Announcements should be ready for the vehicles entering service, even if they are drip-fed. I'm led to believe that the 'spare' Streetlites will be allocated to the night bus N56 service as the Streetlites are more fuel-efficient than the Optare Versas presently allocated to this service and Go North East are also able to claim an enhanced BSOG payment for allocating Streetlites.
As such; the Streetlites will also have Next Stop Announcements programmed for services 56/N56, and the announcements on the Volvo B9TLs are due to be re-launched at the same time.
