(02 Nov 2017, 4:34 pm)Dan wrote In my view, it's unlikely that Arriva will replace the Scania OmniCitys with a bus on the Volvo B8RLE chassis.

Unfortunately for many operators, a bus being low carbon emission certified is what makes the business case stack up to order these new vehicles. Regardless of who the operator buys from, buses which are Euro 6 are very expensive. A bus being low carbon certified makes it eligible for the additional fuel subsidy (BSOG) of 6p per km in England and 14p per km in Scotland. This helps build a solid business case for most operators when buying new vehicles, as there is a solid benefit for buying this type of bus as a replacement for the existing vehicle type.


With reference to the Streetlite being labelled as a midibus: the Streetlite is! It's the full-size Streetlite Max (11.5m) which is classed as a full-size single deck bus, and it's this type that we see the most of in this region. The main examples of the 'midibus' range of Streetlites in this region are Go North East's "Saltwell Park" branded examples (this is why they're numbered in the 8xxx series as opposed to 5xxx series).

I fully agree, hence my point being that while the OmniCitys should be replaced by a vehicle that can handle the demands of the route, in the B8RLE, they won't be. 

Yet the 11.5m Max is still listed on the same page that refers to the Streetlite as a "midi-bus". It's built on a near-identical platform (you can buy an 11.5m Streetlite with the exact same engine as can be found in the 8.8m version.), and was never designed for some of the routes that they're being deployed on - which is my issue. Streetlites, on city routes, are solid enough and I actually quite enjoy travelling on them for short hops - hearing them strain when trying to reach 50mph on the other hand, is a completely different story. Horses for courses.