(28 Jun 2015, 4:45 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote I think it was the right decision to sell the older buses. The fleet needs to be modern. Keeping a vehicle which gives Arriva an image of "old, tatty and noisy" buses and is step-entrance just to please some nostalgic enthusiasts is highly unlikely especially when that would be the only non-easy access vehicle in NE.Quite right, people will now be expecting modern low floor buses to operate their services not old step entrance buses so these won't be ideal especially with the DDA deadline for double deckers being January 2017. I doubt most passengers would even realise the connection to Northumbria, most will just see it as an old double decker.
Perhaps they could maybe place a bus into a special livery, they previously had 7445/7446 in special liveries to commemorate the 100th anniversary of United.