(24 Feb 2021, 5:10 pm)Andreos1 wrote I think it's too easy to say 'buses are better now'. I'm not sure that is always going to be the case. As was one of the favourite phrases of the apparent former member of this parish 'eezypeazy': "that's a wild statement to be throwing around". Something like that anyway... I think he was distracted by me being in the bath with my face cloth one night. He lurked around for a bit, said something about 'battleship grey', 'wibble wibble' and 'magic money tree' and he's not been seen again!
I honestly think it depends on what element of the bus we're talking about, it isn't black and white. In terms of the actual vehicles, I'd always have more faith in an Olympian getting me somewhere than I'd have in an E400/StreetDeck. Equally, I'd always prefer the old Northumbria style (https://flic.kr/p/7RXw7G) DP seating to a Civic V3 which is the norm these days.
That said, the general ambience of a new vehicle is far more pleasant than something from even 10-15 years ago. Things like improved interior lighting, better fixtures and fittings and improved material choices/colours all contribute to passengers feeling more comfortable in their surroundings, particularly on later journeys where its dark and older vehicles were quite gloomy. Not to mention how certain batches of older vehicles were in the rain, or over the winter, with water ingress issues and poor heating. Then things like WiFi, NSAs, USBs all add to that.