(06 Aug 2014, 9:43 pm)tyresmoke wrote Not yet, though 4508 was being used for familiarisation today. Ashington were still running most of them yesterday in lieu of fixing their own fleet...

Has anyone heard the "thank you for travelling" announcement at the end of the route on X21/X22 yet? Bit odd as it's a different voice to the next stop announcements. Much prefer the professional voice over bloody radio presenters though!

Yeah, I was in two minds about that bit at the end when I arrived into Ashington (or Newcastle, whichever it was). In my opinion, as with all of the Next Stop Announcements, it was too 'official'.

I know I've heard nothing but complaints on the few journeys I've had on the X21/X22 since Sapphire was launched on it - whether it has been non-working Wi-Fi, rattley buses, or irritating Next Stop Announcements - so customers are less impressed than enthusiasts on this forum it seems, which is quite disappointing given the amount of investment put into it by ANE.

I've made my views clear when we previously discussed this, and I doubt my views will change. I'm yet to hear the new Metro Next Stop Announcements, but if they've gone down the Received Pronunciation route, I will be extremely disappointed. RP does nothing for me - and a regional accent will win every time. Like I said before, the Next Stop Announcements on GNE's new buses last year are perfect in my eyes and undoubtedly a lot better than ANE's.

It must be said that I can actually sit on a GNE bus without having to put my earphones in but I really felt that I had to on the 7 and X21/X22. The 7 isn't as bad, and that's because they're quieter, but they need to be turned down on the X21/X22 a bit to make the journey a bit more tolerable for those who have nothing wrong with their hearing.