(02 May 2022, 11:31 am)streetdeckfan wrote E400s would be nothing short of overkill for the route, and no doubt use more fuel. From about 2 seconds of googling, the E400s get around 6mpg, the B5s 8mpg, and the StreetDecks 9mpg, obviously this depends on the route, but I'd imagine the fact the B5s have a gearbox that is suited to driving faster than 30mph, unlike the StreetDecks, the B5s probably end up around the same if not a bit better fuel wise than the StreetDecks on the X21.

Well if that's the case, why didn't GNE & EY follow Lothian and order the B5TL chassis with the ADL E400MMC bodywork rather than ordering the integral Dennis Trident 2 / Cummins chassis especially given the MCV B5TLs that EY already have?

Are they the figures quoted and obtained from actual operators or book figures by manufacturers? You also have to remember that the ADL/Cummins option on the Enviro 400 now comes with Stop/Start too. You have to also remember that the quoted figures don't take into account specific conditions too and some vehicles might actually end up being more efficient than others depending on the route. It wasn't that too long ago that the E400 was considered the "lightweight" option over the likes of the B9TL etc.

But if you look at the current situation regardless of the vehicle types allocated, re-allocating to match the exact PVRs (and not using spare ex dealer stock vehicles to form the PVR) would make more sense.

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(02 May 2022, 8:09 pm)mb134 wrote Yes they are good, but for routes like GNEs X21 they're arguably overkill. Even for the ANE X21/22 they're arguably overkill, though the extra power does probably come in handy with the extremely tight evening/Sunday/BH timetables - and they aid with fleet flexibility (especially with the ongoing debranding). 

Given GNE don't seem to be quite as big on fleet standardisation, and don't have any other routes out of CLS that are too demanding, the B5TL is arguably the perfect vehicle for their X21.

I'd say the E400 / E400MMC is the right vehicle for the X21/X22. However, that's not to say something like a StreetDeck couldn't handle the routes as GNE are using them fine on the X1 now given the extensions to Dalton Park and Peterlee.