(10 Dec 2022, 12:10 am)mb134 wrote This sort of vandalism is why Arriva opted against headrests for their new orders. It costs a ridiculous amount of money for a new headrest, and given how many are slashed/drawn on it just isn't worth it. I would say that the cream headrests were always a ridiculous design choice though, they looked good for about 5 minutes but unless you're going to clean them properly every night then they generally look very scruffy - absolutely zero desire created!In a pre-covid market......yes good intentions by GNE but now is the time to re-adapt.
To be honest, while that damage could have been from school routes, it's just as likely to have been from any regular service. I know ANE, Ashington anyway, used Sapphire vehicles in the past on school work with very little issue compared to what they were getting on evening X21 & 35 runs.
Northumbria's new E400MMCs tick all the boxes even without some of the bells & whistles....
- Clean and comfy - seats fine although not high backed
- Exterior and bodywork clean
- USBs and WiFi