(05 Jan 2016, 7:38 pm)DanPicken wrote I wouldn't purely because Presidents are a nicer ride if maintained well.
They're ancient, though. No amount of maintenance can keep a V reg bus reliable enough to make several 3 hour round trips a day, no matter how good a bus it used to be. I'm a big fan of the Presidents as they can offer a nice ride but they're past their best, they're largely beginning to fail permanently and some of them even leak when it rains.
I doubt if the streetdecks will ever see their 16th birthdays in active service and I do think they are somewhat underpowered for rural routes, but they meet with current efficiency and emissions standards without costing as much as some other buses do. I can understand why GNE have bought them. I'll just not sit at the back downstairs, so I don't get to cringe at the engine on the A167.