(13 Aug 2020, 9:33 pm)L469 YVK wrote Agree on the statement for stop / start routes. Wouldn't surprise me if we see "green shoots of recovery" economic wise that GoNE will order them for the 56 & Cobalts with the B9TLs cascaded either within Go North East or nationally. They're perfect for both routes and would reduce the fuel bill massively.
Perhaps won't be for another 2-3 year at least and economic wise, I think it's just a matter of taking it day by day for all operators at the moment.
For routes like the 56 and Cobalts, the B9s are definitely overkill, but I suppose that's what gives them their reliability. The downside is they use nigh on twice as much fuel as a StreetDeck (allegedly, I doubt we'd ever see the real world figures)
The fact that the 56 B9s won't be receiving a full refurb, at least to the extent of the Cobalt B9s, suggests they had plans to upgrade at some point in the not too distant future.
The 4 cylinder StreetDecks would definitely be more than enough for both routes IMO, the 6 cylinder would definitely be overkill.