Looking at the early and late running over the course of an entire day gives a good representation (at least to this forum) of the StreetDeck's performance on service X21. Clearly, there are other factors that Go North East management would have to consider when evaluating suitability of a vehicle type on certain routes.
I believe that the maximum delay the StreetDeck incurred yesterday on service X21 was 6 minutes - once in Gateshead (in a queue of traffic once you come out of Gateshead Interchange), and once on the Bishop Auckland to Durham stretch. In both instances, the bus was on-time again within 30 minutes (although admittedly in the former instance this was primarily owing to layover at Newcastle). With this in mind; either Go North East has a pretty loose schedule for the X21, or the StreetDeck is capable of running on-time for most of the day..?
By what I can gather, contrary to what tyresmoke said he would have thought, early running is prevalent on the StreetDeck. Indeed, I noticed that there was quite a few instances of the StreetDeck running over 1 minute early yesterday (although drivers stopped at the nearest timing points to alleviate any additional early running). Time appears to be easily made up on the A1(M) and A167, where, despite the engine sounding strained, must provide sufficient power and speed. Alas, I doubt I'll be able to say this for the X9/X10, but time will tell when the StreetDeck eventually transfers to Riverside. The additional power on the ADL Enviro400MMC may be beneficial at peak times where delays owing to heavy traffic and passenger loadings are more likely, but it's certainly not absolutely needed.
We must keep in mind that it's difficult to compare the two demonstrator vehicles like-for-like from a passenger perspective, as the luxury provided on the ADL Enviro400MMC would win every time. Obviously we know that Esteban Civic V3 seating (ie what the StreetDeck has with headrests) is standard on Go North East's new vehicles on longer-distance services, and it's unlikely that we'd see Go North East move away from this type of seating for the X21 in my opinion, although I'd suggest that there's scope for long-distance express services to have tables in the future, depending if this feedback is given on the survey Go North East is running regarding the StreetDeck..?
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - August 2015