(13 Sep 2016, 8:02 pm)Arcticrossy92 wroteHad a ride on either 3995/3996 (it operated an early out of Consett on the X71 on Monday (6:20 I think) and two things I noticed.
Internally the seats upstairs are in a right state, I'm very surprised it was allowed to go into service in the condition. With it being an Open Top bus I noticed it didn't have any internal poles and the bells were on the back of the seats (i hadn't seen this before)
I also noticed when it reversed out of Eldon Square it didn't make any noise to warn people, only the reverse light came on.
I'm a big lover of the Omnidekkas and the majority seem in decent condition, find them a lot faster than the rest of Stanleys Deckers. I think the seats being redone makes a massive difference visually, it has on the other ones that have been done.
I know they're old buses, but think they would look great internally if they had some sort of full refurb, especially the ones on front line services. I understand it may not be viable in the long run, spending money on them, but would be nice from a passenger point of view.
Madness that DDA requirements mean perfectly servicable buses are being scrapped that are in a better condition. How absence of poles can be allowed for vehicles in regular passenger service is beyond me. DDA worries about whether fonts on destination displays are uppercase or lower, but not whether passengers have anything substantial to hold onto!