(08 Oct 2022, 11:15 am)mb134 wrote To be honest the main issue with the Solos, especially those at Ashington, was the horrendous reliability. Everything was going wrong with them, drivers hated driving them, and yeah they were also grim inside. 59 plates aren't going to solve any of that - the E200s solved it all.

To be fair the bigger issue is the CAZ. Unless the 55 is getting withdrawn in 2 months then they need 3 buses from somewhere regardless unless they commit to an order beforehand to sort it as I can't see the 59 plate Solo's getting mods.

Wonder if there might be plans for a second batch at some point in the new year which has been flipped with it coming North instead depending on what happens with the 55 with Darlington getting all 14 now to oust the remainder of the 08/58 scraps out who to be fair are desperate for investment and having a mix of Enviro 200's and Solo's on the same routes is a bit of a marketing nightmare.

Or alternatively order a batch of midibuses which are 10.5m or so for the 1, 2, 55 and 57/57A and get arid of the two small fleets of Pulsars and minibuses to allow a bit more flexibility especially since the 1 and 2 probably don't need full length singles either.