(30 Jan 2019, 8:40 pm)Malarkey wrote Had a ride on 9088 this evening between The Galleries and Heworth and I quite like the Versa XFE, quite a comfortable and smooth ride, certainly better than the Metrocity which I quite like and definitely nicer than a Streetlite, I would say it is on an even keel with the E200MMC quality wise but I would still rather have a Citaro.I would say 97 falls under the guise of little and often. I think it's high frequency but not so much revenue. It's duped massively up bensham bank, duped massively around lobley hill, and only really connects Whickham to Gateshead interchange. And Fellside to the front street. The 6/Ms are quicker to metrocentre, the X30 is quicker to town.
I think Go North East should refurbish the Mercs on the 4 rather than purchase brand new buses for the service, other services such as the 97 I think would benefit more from new buses as this is one high frequency service they've never invested in.
Most 97s are dead beyond peak times, especially in the evening. I can't see a large investment into this route.