(19 Feb 2020, 7:52 pm)mb134 wrote  I'd echo what Storx has said below. While Arriva are by no means a shining light of a bus operator, out of all of the Northumbrian express routes the only buses that frequently appear and are in need of replacement soon are 1401-3, 4653/9/64 and 7485/7. The vast majority are between 5 and 11 years old with decent interior spec, so while replacement will likely start soon it's by no means essential. 

Majority of the vehicles being used were bought in the last major round of investment and, barring the remaining ex-London deckers, the vast majority can be converted to Euro 6 spec.

Have to agree, apart from those few mentioned that are older, which are supposedly going to be withdrawn in the near future (or possibly transferred) the oldest stuff is only 10 years old, E400s on 43/44/45 are 12 years old but even still compared to some areas, Durham County for example is having to make do with 15 year old London cast offs that have proven to be rather unreliable and an embarrassment especially as they are being subjected to the X93 in the summer months and don't do a particularly good job on it either.

I will agree with other comments about the MPDs, they really should have gone by now or at least been given a bit of TLC at some stage, I will disagree about the Solos though as I don't think they are as bad as they are often made out to be and are actually fairly reliable although I will conceive they could do with a bit of a refresh inside to make them a bit more pleasant to travel on.