(01 Jan 2015, 2:31 pm)citaro5284 wrote And with this in mind, what powers do these people have to put things right or is it just a case of a jolly around the UK to look at buses?

If there is an implementation team which is part of Arriva UK and not local management, how come we have different standards across the Sapphire brand - things like different colour destination displays.

Or more importantly - seating configuration/passenger comfort. 


CX14BXV - Interior Shot. by Iveco 59-12, on Flickr


Arriva North East: 7523 / NK14 GFO by mdw9121, on Flickr

The seating in the new E400s for example, are no different to what GNE have in the TTX B9s, apart from the they're eleather rather than fabric? Does eleather provide any additional comfort, or is it simply easier to maintain? It'd take me about 5 minutes per fabric seat to properly foam clean it, whereas I could wipe clean an eleather seat in a couple of seconds?

More positively though, I am a fan of the interior colour scheme and branding both inside and out. I found the next stop announcements good too, as whenever I've used a Sapphire route, I've not actually known where I am. I found the volume excessive on the Pulsars on the 7, but it seemed alright on the E400s I had on my trip up to Ashington. 

I do think that next stop screens should be provided as standard, but perhaps could be a bit more helpful. It'd be good if Arriva (and GNE actually) displayed ticket boundaries. So if I was on the 7, it'd show me the boundary point for the Durham District ticket, for example. It'd be a bit easier for GNE to do this, with perhaps a Buzzfare banner along the top or bottom of the screen.