(06 Oct 2019, 10:51 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Is it just me that thinks it's a bit hypocritical that GNE can go on about how they're investing all this money in new buses that are better for the environment, and still acquire 15 year old examples for scholars services?
Sure, they're better than what they're replacing, but not by that much.
Would it not make more sense to invest in some newer vehicles (they don't even have to be brand new) than keep buying vehicles that are on their last legs?
I mean, the alternative is to not invest at all, like other operators in the region!
Putting any bias to one side; in the current economic climate, the level of investment Go North East is putting into new Euro 6 vehicles, newer pre-owned bus acquisitions and Euro 6 exhaust modifications is commendable.
These are the only suitable double-decks available within the group at the moment. It isn't too long ago when much newer Volvo B9s were acquired from Go-Ahead London (and repainted/refurbished/converted to single door before entering service).
Other factors, such as cost, also have to come into consideration when newer buses are available (how has the company priced its scholars contract tenders this year, will a profit still be delivered if newer buses are acquired for the operation of said contracts, etc).
The five buses acquired yesterday really aren't on their last legs and I'm not sure where this misconception has come from. To run at 60mph all the way from Brighton to Consett is a pretty hard job for a bus, but all five managed it without difficulty (just like every single one of those OmniDekkas has over the last few years, bar one or two!)
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