(17 Feb 2021, 11:39 pm)Storx wrote Yeah definitely agree with the local stuff, probably budget stuff with Covid not helping as Andros said. We have to give them credit for trying to keep services as much as they could which you can't really fault them and they were the only one of the big 3 to restore everything back to pre covid levels in the Summer.

I know there's a lot of Arriva / GNE discussion on here but Stagecoach needs a mention here mind as out of the big 3 north of the Tyne they are by far the one in the biggest trouble fleetwise and the lack of investment there is just the same really, especially on singles. God knows what they're planning to do with no investment, an incoming LEZ and approximately 51 MAN buses which tbh are junk and they've just repainted one of the ALX 300's so they're going nowhere. Not to mention the aging Enviro 400 fleet and the hybrids which are having similar breakdowns to Ashington.

Just thought I'd bring that up when you mentioned the cycle patterns as they both do it, but once you start buying junk (let's be honest they are compared to Leylands etc) with poor engines and turbos they aren't going to last 15 years especially on hard work. 

I genuinely think the lightweight, low-rated vehicles are a false economy.
It's the same as when you see a 1litre Ford Focus on the motorway. MPG might be fantastic and the lower tax on the old scheme was very light on the pocket. 
But there's absolutely no-chance that 1.0 Focus is going to stand the test of time vs a 1.5 diesel of the same age, doing the same sort of work. 

Add in all the 'extras' on to the bus, such as the after-market fuel management systems etc and they're asking for trouble.
Short term thinking...