(22 Feb 2016, 5:52 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote I believe Trialling them on more popular routes can be easier to get feedback from customers on the Vehicle.
(22 Feb 2016, 5:53 pm)S813 FVK wrote Comparison? Look at 9119 being trialled on the Cobalt Clipper services, wasn't necessarily a trial for new vehicles.
It is quite councidental that Trent Barton trialled the vehicle on their Rainbow One service which had just been upgraded to Versas the previous year.
Both are valid points and obviously it makes sense to have as many passengers as possible sampling the bus and fuel consumption will be roughly the same on any urban route. I would have thought there are reasons to check the vehicle is suitable for a specific route due to issues such as tight maneuvers around estates and road layouts. IIRC it was only after Hartlepool's MANviros were delivered in 2008 it was found they didn't offer enough ground clearance to make it around the banked turning circle at Maritime Avenue without scraping the road.
Similarly in Manchester the Metroshuttles 1 & 3 are Versa operated while 2 is Solo operated due to space restrictions on the 2's route at Oxford Road Station. A trial at some point must have been conducted to find this out.