(05 Jan 2026, 7:12 pm)PH - BQA wrote Thinking in the NE, have they ever operated any of the VDL SB200/DB300 products Arriva standardised on for a long while? Similar with the ADL bodied MAN/Scania products that Stagecoach bought huge numbers of in the 2000s/2010s?
GNE did trial a VDL SB200 Wright Pulsar (9162 / YJ59 AZN) in 2010 and was used extensively on the Red Arrows X1/X2/X3. Silver Arrows 2A/2C and Laser 35 as they were back then.
They did also trial in 2012 of the Man Ecocity in Diesel (9140 / WX12 EKO) and Gas variants (9143 / WX61 HSL) which ended up with Arriva North East permanently as there 4813 as they purchased it after demonstration.