(13 Aug 2023, 11:16 pm)Adrian wrote But what do you do? You genuinely don't know the reasons why the E400s are ending up elsewhere. It could be that they have a shortage of buses on the road. Therefore, it's a good use of the E400s, rather than them sitting doing nothing in between scholars and other contract work.
As much as people on here like to believe otherwise, the vast majority of customers do not care what type of bus turns up, who the manufacturer is, what engine it has, what colour etc. They're simply looking for the bus to turn up and on time.
I do agree that the ageing issue with the fleet isn't going to get better without investment, but in order to have a business case for new buses, the Group are going to want some return from it. Not only that, they're also competing with North West, for example, where they're going to be contractually obliged to provide buses of a certain specification.
I can't see how GNE are in a position to offer a return until such a time they return to profit, so whilst enthusiasts might complain about aged deckers or whatnot, they're allowing service to be maintained.
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If the E400s are reliable, I see no reason why they couldn't be refurbished and put into 'front line' service.
The one we had on the X21 was fine, the only real issue was with the seats! Oh, and it allegedly broke down, but I'm sceptical whether that really happened as it seemed to drive back to the depot fine!