(7 hours ago)Storx wrote In fairness, it's questionable why Ashington should keep getting all this investment. It's not just the vehicles which are to blame as it's clear as day there's issues beyond that.

Ignoring the X14/X15/X18/X20, nothing at Ashington is more difficult that what Blyth runs so it's not an excuse and what investment are they getting - absolutely buggar all, yet again. It's embarrassing the last new vehicle at the depot (and I'm not counting the ex Jesmond routes as there's zero reason for anyone in SE Northumberland to use them) are 2012 Pulsar's which ironically are totally unfit for purpose. I'm also not counting the buses now in Leeds either. 

No doubt, the shite that Ashington has wrecked to the heavens, is going to end up at Blyth now to see off the much more superior DB300's and no doubt the issues will follow. If you're an engineer at Arriva you might aswell break everything because it's the only way you seem to get new buses, Redcar for example aswell. No doubt the staff there have a similar opinion since they're never out a Sunday aswell while all but 2 of the 59 Plate DB300's are out being a rock, as usual.

Thank god there's a train with 90's stock which are a hell of lot of superior so I don't have to deal with them anymore tbh.

(5 hours ago)Storx wrote Aye don't disagree but I'd deal with it differently personally and deal with the real headache which appears to not being dealt with again the X93/X94.

Personally I'd get 8 deckers at Redcar and get the 4 72 Plates back to Ashington and that's your 19 buses for the X14/15/18/20 with the 17 Plates acting as backups with the 7556/7/8/60/62 joining immediately to plug the gap when the electrics come to Blyth. If Ashington can't keep the rural buses running with 31 decent deckers then they're doing something very wrong imo. What happens to the B9TL's, someone else can decide. 

The 64/15 plate Enviro's are ideal for the 35/X21/X22, for now imo and there's no realistic place for them without dumping them at Blyth which are much better invested in new electics and the X10/X11 and 308, in particular, deserve investment. We're not talking about something like the 57/57A which are marginal routes, these are flagship or should be flagship routes anyway and because of interworking patterns that's every route.

Ironically Arriva being Arriva, I wouldn't put it past them to get new buses at Ashington, and some of the newer buses leaving for Whitby and Liverpool; something has to replace their DB300's down there and it wouldn't be the first time it's happened. The new E200MMC's at Darlington are already pretty much guaranteed to be going aswell.