(18 Jul 2021, 8:14 am)Dan wrote Not sure what you're getting at here.
As has been said previously, the buses are being re-allocated due to the fact that the "Black Cats" branded Wright Streetlites are Euro 6, and Newcastle are implementing a clean air zone which would require Euro 6 buses to be allocated to routes going into the city. The Euro 5 buses being re-allocated to the routes which currently have Euro 6 buses allocated to them are being repainted into a new livery as a result.
The fact that you're even raising this as a point means that the rear advertising on this bus is effective. It's caught your attention and you've read it.
Each of the nine buses will have a different rear advertisement, with one eye-catching message in a big bold font, with supporting messaging attached to it. 'Fruitful' is the grab here, with supporting messaging for the Washington Local saver ticket (£15 for unlimited travel around Washington).
I'll quite happily admit that I don't particularly like the Sunderland District liveries, but if you compare that against the rear of the buses on this route currently (https://flic.kr/p/WASQPx), I think there's a very clear winner as to which one is communicating the service offering (fares, route, and features) more effectively. Alas, the fare quoted on the rear of all the Streetlites is for the Sunderland Local saver, which isn't actually valid beyond the A19 and is cheaper than the equivalent local saver ticket for Washington...
...which promotes the 15-minute frequency on this route to Sunderland University in the supporting messaging.
8332 carries 'sweet deals' promoting the £3.50 GoLocal Sunderland day ticket:
Go North East 8332 NK11 HJC by North East Transport Photos, on Flickr
The point I was making, was in response to your initial post about the rear of the vehicles having info which doesn't stand out.
I'll try and make it a bit clearer for you.
Why pay to come up with a new livery on the new allocation, when the old livery could have worked just as well? Just with a different rear end.
In times of austerity, with bus companies apparently struggling financially and resource wise, here we have a brand new livery, designed by a mate/long term associate of the MD - when as you quite clearly suggest, the problem with the old livery, was a small proportion relating to a tiny part of the vehicle.
It would have been cheaper to use the existing livery on the new allocation and use the back end (utilising all of the extra space the Versa has over the Streetlite) to better effect.