(03 Sep 2022, 8:35 pm)tyresmoke wrote The fact they’re still pushing 17 year old B7s across the Moors on the X93/X94 says a lot about the state of the fleet. They do a sterling job to be fair but have had expensive engine work once again to keep them going.


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Arguably though, what else do they do for it? 

Obviously those B7s will need replacing, but they're not going to replace them with new vehicles. It's a very seasonal route, and I'd imagine through the winter it might barely justify new vehicle investment at all, never mind for 3 seasonal extras. 

Cascade wise, E400s from Ash aren't going to cut it. DB300s from Blyth? At that point you may as well keep the B7s going for a bit longer, at least engineering know them (and realistically only need them to work half the year anyway!). I'd think the best solution would probably be to retire a couple of the B9s into that seasonal role, with maybe a new batch of MMCs as the main allocation either next year or the one after?

Transdev Blazefield have older examples running all year around branded up for the Pendle Wizz - does that say a lot about the state of their fleet? Last I checked they seem to get a hefty share of the industry back patting.