(05 Aug 2024, 9:17 am)Storx wrote I know this might be a bizarre opinion but personally if I was Arriva, I'd be looking at binning off the 95/96 contracts then getting 9 Enviro 200 MMC's as:
1 Darlington - Replace 2841
8 Ashington - 57/57A/434
I'm not sure those routes are really worth it alone to have a microfleet of Solo's which they haven't purchased for years, unless they can nab some of the WF Streetlite's from down South to run it. There is currently 3 without a home at Hemel Hempstead, for example.
Maybe, but a small fleet of Solos (or other minibuses) would allow them to run these routes and the school contracts as now, and also tender for other contracts that might turn up.
Even having them almost as spare buses could be useful. We often see a Solo on the 81 for example, or other routes, and they must save a bit on fuel if you add up all the mileage they do whilst on full sized bus routes. Ok, a very small amount in the total scheme of things but handy nontheless.