(14 Jul 2019, 5:35 pm)Storx wrote Is it really that bad though? Some right stat twisting going on here and I really don't particually like Arriva but for arguments sake GoNorthEast hasn't invested in the Northumbria region at all from 2013 apart from 6 solos at Hexham.
Least Arriva don't downgrade routes ie Indigo at Percy Main with second hand buses from down south which have never been refurbished.
The big 3 all have big issues if there's a limit of only after 2014 and E6. Stagecoach is by far in the worst position for lack of investment lately and also will be hit hardest since pretty much every bus they run goes through the area.
GoNorthEast aren't particular any better; 1, X1, 10, 56, 57, 58, Q1, Q2, 309, 310 just to name a few flagship routes affected.
I'd disagree with some of your comments. Whilst some routes haven't received brand new buses, they have received refurbished stock instead. It's totally irrational to suggest that every area could receive brand new buses all of the time.
In late 2012 to early 2013, Go North East invested in 13 high-specification double-deck buses for the 10 service. Due to service changes in later years there were not enough branded vehicles to meet PVR, but all of the former Tyne Tees Xpress Volvo B9s were displaced to the 10 group of services in September 2017, with same-specification spares allocated also, reducing the likelihood of anything besides a Volvo B9 being allocated, and to further meet customers' expectations on this route. The former Tyne Tees Xpress buses had internal modifications carried out to better match the specification of the native TEN vehicles (buggy bay added, Next Stop audio-visual systems fitted).
March 2016 saw the introduction of five new Optare Solos to Hexham for their minibus services, and also the upgrade of service AD122 to Optare Solos (from MPD), which were also fitted with Next Stop audio-visual announcement systems.
In late 2017, Go North East introduced high-specification refurbished Mercedes Citaros to the 680 and X84/X85 routes at Hexham, in order to replace Scania L94s. These are all fitted with Wi-Fi, Next Stop audio-visual systems and USB charging points, to upgrade these routes.
In late 2018; in order to eliminate the final two MPDs from the fleet, two pre-owned Solos were introduced to the fleet at Hexham, fitted with Wi-Fi to ensure consistency provided on all of the Tynedale Links buses. With Northumberland County Council contracts up for renewal in the next year or two, I would not be surprised to see the renewal of the Hexham minibus fleet, if these contracts were awarded for a further five years.
There has been continued investment into the services in the Tyne Valley, including on non-flagship services, which would otherwise ordinarily be forgotten about. The Volvo B9 buses on the Tyne Valley Ten services are ideal for the route and have no major reliability issues - if new vehicles aren't introduced to the route in the next year or two, I'd expect to see the buses currently allocated refurbished instead.
I'd also question your comment about Arriva not "downgrading" services... Hasn't service 306 recently been downgraded to Volvo B7 vehicles (from brand new Streetlites originally, then refurbished Pulsars)? Wasn't it a similar story with service 35 in Ashington? What about the X12 service which was renowned for having capacity issues in the southern section of the route at peaks - didn't this have all double-decks removed from the service in favour of single-decks? Are the Streetlites still "banned" from operating the premium Sapphire specification service 5 at Stockton, with lower specification vehicles being allocated in lieu?