(28 May 2025, 7:48 pm)Storx wrote Truthfully if they sent them down I'd expect nothing in return tbh. They seem to be trying to invest as little as they can up here but when you've got 10 buses on lease you've probably pushed it a bit too far. There's plenty old and weird buses ie. B9TL E400's which are finished down there I'm sure they could replace.
Can't see much more investment than what they've got personally for any route unless it involves free handouts, as it probably doesn't look good if the local councils are offering you cash and you outright refuse it. It's just fuelling fire for Kim's vendetta against you (rightfully or wrongly).
See, I think GNE do need to keep investing though despite franchising possibly happening.
Other than the EV's (subsidised of course), GNE haven't invested in any new vehicles since the 2019-20 financial year regardless of delivery date. The last new diesel vehicles being the x15 E400MMC originally for the X1 (+1 for the X30) before the fleet was swapped around.
GNE have had 5 clear financial years to get back into good health since the 2020-21 financial year. Demand is returning in quite a lot of instances. I don't think GNE will go all out and do 100+ vehicle orders in a year like seen in the past. But wouldn't be unreasonable to expect 30-40 new vehicles per year.