(07 Jun 2014, 10:10 am)Dan wrote So do the bus operators fork out the extra cash? In my opinion, there's only so much revenue growth you can expect from buying new vehicles for a bus service.
And if they do fork out the extra cash, are bus operators still expected to withdraw these vehicles in a certain period of time (i.e. 15 years)?
It's a fierce circle, if you ask me.
Yes you have to ask the question of will you get a return on the investment. Of course there's also the vehicle life on the service they were bought for. The B7s that came off X9/X10 were 6-7 years old at the time. Will the B9s last that long? It depends what the reasoning behind their recent absences is, were they mechanical or other reasons like being off for test prep?
If you are going to have to buy new double deck vehicles every 5 years then would it be cheaper over time to buy coaches every 10 years, expecting a longer life from them? The other option would be to downgrade to standard size coaches, with the inevitable frequency boost, but would this create the growth required to sustain the investment?