(19 Jul 2020, 7:34 pm)streetdeckfan wrote That's the point I was trying to make!
It's all about perception, like I say, if GNE are pushing the X-Lines brand as being 'premium' then you'd better bloody hope they have some fancy new buses on them. If you're waiting for the X21 expecting to get a bus with WiFi and USB, and an old, leaky OmniDekka turns up, you're not going to be happy!

Plus, X-Lines is basically Arriva's Sapphire but on their MAX routes, so to compare it directly to MAX is a bit cheeky IMO.

This is why Belmont need to seriously sort themselves out. They have multiple Sapphire routes yet their leading drivers clearly have absolutely no clue what buses are branded for what - though they've been a complete joke for years to be honest. Contrast that to, for example, Ashington who virtually always have their X21/22 fully Sapphire allocated.

GNE are always spot on with allocations for the most part, though I wonder what punters on the 21 and Cobalt services are making of the open-toppers...