(15 Oct 2021, 11:17 am)Dan wrote Streetlites 8339 - 8346 all have Wi-Fi, so you're wrong there. By the end of the year once all intended Citaros and OmniCitys are withdrawn, every bus across the main service fleet (excluding school buses) will be equipped with Wi-Fi. A re-trim may follow at some point in the future, but it's clear that the current priority is getting buses completed which are in the 'wrong' brand, or are critical to future re-allocations (i.e. Volvo B5 Hybrid and Red Kite Ranger Volvo B9 into Consett).

I'm really not sure I buy the argument that Sunderland are getting 'leftovers' - the only buses being re-allocated are the ex-Citylink Citaros and the ex-Quaylink Versas - the rest of the buses were already based at Deptford.

There are no plans for Scania OmniCitys or Scania OmniDekkas to transfer to Deptford permanently. They have never operated this vehicle type other than small loan period stints. The 15-plate Streetlites will be surplus to requirements once Deptford receive all their remaining Cherry and Berries buses. They do not need any extra buses to allow these to be displaced.

I disagree that the Solos are 'far too small'. I have observed loadings at peak times and the buses haven't even been full. Should passenger numbers return to where they were pre-Covid (we're a long way off that yet), then I'm sure we'll see an upgrade in capacity (as we did the X20). These Solos will of course come in handy at some point in future as replacements for the eldest Solos in the fleet (the 10 and 11-plate Solos all becoming end of life in the fleet).

The Solos used are 9.25m in length, so I'm glad Go North East are providing suitably sized Solos in your opinion