Possibly not in the best thread but not sure where else to post it...have wondered for a while why, when we hear all the challenges of low passenger numbers etc, operators continue to run double deckers all through the evening, often carrying fresh air. Would it not be more economical, and better for the environment, if they pulled the deckers off after the evening peak and subbed with single decks from other routes (once their frequencies have reduced). I get that in some cases this would introduce a logistical challenge/dead mileage but in many cases (especially SNE) plenty of routes run past or close to the depots. Obviously for GNE it would be more of an issue as the branding would go out the window, but there are plenty of scheduled examples of wrong brands over the recent past. I just wonder if it would help make some of the more marginal routes a bit less of a black hole e.g. running a Solo, Streetlight or E200 instead of a B9 or E400.

Realise can't do anything about the overhead of driver wages but given fuel costs are cited as need for fares increases etc, surely using less fuel hungry vehicles would make sense. And of course, would need a bit of common sense, not doing the above on match days or other times/routes of high demand...though being realistic that is not very many (matchdays aside) these days.