(07 Mar 2014, 7:22 am)CatsFast101 wrote All the pulse vehicles been painted red? Are we expecting new vehicles on there before the year is out, seems a bit premature for branded routes.
All "Centurion" and "Pulse" branded vehicles are to be repainted red, as well as yellow spares 5164 and 5166.
I previously referred to secondary routes and the branding on those services. These services can only justify the cost of very basic brand designs as they are, in terms of age, allocated the worst vehicles in the fleet - this means that vehicle types will frequently change. These basic brand designs reduce the quality of branding across the entire network. Is it not better to have these services in the corporate livery instead?
I have previously made reference to the "Centurion" brand essentially being a cost-cutting exercise, a mere cover up technique to hide the previous vinyl markings which were left behind. The cost of doing so was cheaper than repainting the vehicles red - the choice at the time.
In addition, branding in some cases simply does not work. Vehicles appear off-route frequently and brand identity is lost in the process.
Finally, these vehicles are certainly in-line to be withdrawn at the end of the year, if not next year. Repainting the vehicles red will remove exterior vinyl marks left behind and few will exist with the corporate livery as it is rather basic. This is better in terms of sale value, as Ensignbus are more likely to be able to sell the vehicles to independent operators (fairly fresh red base coat, no vinyl marks left behind, etc). An interior clean will go a long way too.