Vehicles appearing off route has happened for years.
The introduction and then obsession towards branding see ms to have emphasised it even more though.
In a time of corporate cost-cutting and money saving, the chances are that it will continue to happen.

The flip side of the coin, is the negative impact on vehicle and the brand.

There was discussion a good while back about Deptford Versa's and how they were being worked into the ground.
Weekday trips out and then allocated runs on a Sunday on what I think was 26A, 2's and 60 (?).
In addition to nights out on the N56.

Whilst the fuel costs may have looked good and they tied in with a Sunday tender, what was the longer term damage to the vehicles?

As an example/comparison - the original GNE Solo's at Washington were out all dat and night on the 'W' locals.
On a Sunday, they worked the 194. Giving the branded Renowns a day off.

A few years prior to that, branded Lynxes left over from a smaller 194 (and non-existent 294) PVR were found on a Sunday 188.