(20 Feb 2020, 9:58 pm)GNE6312 wrote Here is my suggestion:

7x Plaxton panther LEs (with rear axel steering) for the X20 (+2) spare
Features: high backed seats with seat belts, free WiFi, USB charging & wheelchair ramp & bay

6x Plaxton leopards (like the Lothian Country ones) for the X14 (+2 spare)
Features: high backed seats with seat belts, Free WiFi, USB charging, curtains, quiet low emission engine & wheelchair ramp and bay

7x Plaxton panoramas (with rear axel steering) for the X15 (+ 2 spare)
Fearures: high backed seats with seat belts, Free WiFi, Toilets (if facilities in the depot allow), tabels (4 on each deck), USB charging, wireless charging, seat back tray tabels, curtains, quiet low emission engine, wheelchair ramp and bay

Cascades:
7401-6 to Ashington for the X18 (temporarily to mermanent dependent on a sustainable bus/coach being found)
7511/2 kept as spare decker at Ashington replacing 7484/6, 7514-7 to the Belmont for th£ X12 releasing 4 pulsars to blyth replacing 1401-3 with one extra spare, 7529-33 to Redcar/Whitby for the X93 (+2 spare meaning only 1 spare ALX needs allocated in the summer) finally omnis cascaded around the region or country.

So:

Coach stock on the X14 - firstly won't have the capacity required on some runs from Newcastle and Morpeth, there's also a board that goes onto a scholars that I believe requires a decker. 

Coach stock on the X20 - again that type of coach doesn't have the capacity for some of the runs between Ashington and Newcastle. 

Coach stock on the X15 is an ideal scenario, but Panoramas are just too much money for that route. Add to that the tight roads into Berwick Rail Station. You also have the issue of not being able to put them anywhere once they're finished on the X15, no other ANE route is really suitable - and by the time they're up for replacement it's anyone's guess what coach operators are wanting/needing. 

That's also far too many on order for each route. The PVR for each route is 3/4/4 respectively - assuming a spare per route (unlikely to require that with new vehicles), even then you'd only need 14 - not 20. 

Further to that 7401-6 to Ashington for why? The E400s on the X18 currently do a good job, and depot standardisation helps with both engineering and operational costs. B9s that have been flogged on the X93 for the same length of time as 7529-33 have been on the X18 will provide little to no benefit - both routes ideally need new vehicles every 5-6 years. 7529-33 going to Redcar makes even less sense, seems like moving buses for the sake of moving buses. 

7484/6 are already on the way to being replaced - I'd imagine once 7446 is back in service that's one gone, and they're due a Streetlite from Jesmond to replace the other. 

The X12, as it stands, doesn't really require deckers - and putting some shot 09 plates on there isn't going to help matters. If Arriva want to grow the X12 the best way is to take some of the newer Pulsars, give them a fresh internal refurb to a high spec and aggressively market it.