(05 May 2015, 8:38 pm)tyresmoke wrote Yes I believe the ADL range were the first to be fitted, followed next by the VDL Pulsars - although we have suffered problems with getting it fitted to those, this is currently being worked on and a re-worked setting tested on a single Pulsar (Stockton's 1458)
I'm not a huge fan of the Streetlites, yes they do the job and cheaply but Sapphire was designed to be a premium brand and I think they've slipped up by buying low quality stock for it. They appear to be very reliable, though, and obviously the micro-hybrid setup produces fuel savings but I just feel they're not fit for purpose on a high spec bus route. The ride quality isn't great and they're very low to the ground, which means if you're in the front half of the bus it feels like you're riding on the road.
Ah okay, wonder if this might have something to do with the timekeeping issues on Ashington's Sapphire route? Although 7529-33 absolutely fly?
This may sound like I'm being a bit picky, but one thing that turns me against the Streetlite is the front wheels, they look very small and the wheel cap looks very cheap indeed. The bus looks more like an elongated mini than it does a full size single decker as well, in my opinion (which to some extent is true is it not?). Think they need to get some B8RLE'S in the future if the one on demonstration is good enough
Must say though, that the MAX livery does as good a job as I've seen anywhere at making the Streetlite look like a premium vehicle