(28 Jul 2014, 8:28 am)Drifter60 wrote I'm very shocked about that! The 38 can get decent loads so I'm shocked they out solos on it, seems daft. The 99 seems like a much better option in my opinion, also bit daft that they won't be used on a evening! Solo during daytime but a Versa on the evening doesn't really seem logically either. The fact they remain in NexusBus livery aswell isn't very good, it makes it look like the 38 is nexus service.
Can they repaint these vehicles into GNE corporate livery?
Likewise - as I mentioned before, I've experienced Volvo B10BLEs on the service with standees... Much better option for me would have been service 99, with MPDs transferring to Chester for service 71, releasing two or three Volvo B10BLEs to allow for the withdrawal of elder Volvo B10BLEs, but hey ho..!
Services 135/136 have always had the Solos on an evening/Sunday, so it doesn't come as too much of a surprise to me that this is going to continue. The contract for service 38C is only a Euro 4 stipulation, meaning that either the 8306-09 series Versas OR the 8319-29 series Versas can be allocated.
Go North East could repaint the vehicles into corporate livery, but at three years of age, it's unlikely. Repaints usually come every five years, but when necessary, they can be brought forward (usually only by a year, but there have been instances where vehicles have undergone repaint sooner than this too). Given that the paintshop is fully booked up for the summer holidays, I can't see the Solo SRs going in for repaint - if nothing else, it is something of a waste to repaint the buses so soon. It's not like the cost of a can of Dulux - it's a few thousand pounds we're talking about.