(01 Jan 2015, 3:06 pm)aureolin wrote Or more importantly - seating configuration/passenger comfort. 


CX14BXV - Interior Shot. by Iveco 59-12, on Flickr


Arriva North East: 7523 / NK14 GFO by mdw9121, on Flickr

The seating in the new E400s for example, are no different to what GNE have in the TTX B9s, apart from the they're eleather rather than fabric? Does eleather provide any additional comfort, or is it simply easier to maintain? It'd take me about 5 minutes per fabric seat to properly foam clean it, whereas I could wipe clean an eleather seat in a couple of seconds?

More positively though, I am a fan of the interior colour scheme and branding both inside and out. I found the next stop announcements good too, as whenever I've used a Sapphire route, I've not actually known where I am. I found the volume excessive on the Pulsars on the 7, but it seemed alright on the E400s I had on my trip up to Ashington. 

I do think that next stop screens should be provided as standard, but perhaps could be a bit more helpful. It'd be good if Arriva (and GNE actually) displayed ticket boundaries. So if I was on the 7, it'd show me the boundary point for the Durham District ticket, for example. It'd be a bit easier for GNE to do this, with perhaps a Buzzfare banner along the top or bottom of the screen.

The 2+1 seating upstairs seems to be a Wales-exclusive thing as only their 2 'Sapphire' services (Wrexham's 1 and Rhyl's 12) have the 2+1 seating. Which is why the Rhyl examples seat just 63 (32 upstairs and 31 down) compared to the 76 7522-28 can carry (47/29).

As for e-leather vs fabric - yes, one reason operators such as Arriva and First seem to be moving towards e-leather is the ease of which you can clean e-leather.

(01 Jan 2015, 3:10 pm)mb134 wrote Just as a suggestion, could it be that the X21/22 require the additional capacity these smaller seats give at peak times? Virtually every bus I see leaving Newcastle/ going into Newcastle at peak times are packed?

More Wales management prefer 2+1 seating upstairs while other areas would rather have 2+2 seating for maximum carrying capacity.