DartSLF Opinions 2013

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: DartSLF Opinions 2013
1 - Who was the best company of the year?
Stagecoach Manchester. A superb fleet that just keeps improving year-on-year. The larger Merseyside operators could learn a lot from them.

2 - Who was the worst company of the year?
Impera by a country mile. Terrible buses, negligent treatment of passengers, pulling off routes early and one of the most predictable demises you’ll ever see in the industry.

3 - What bus(es) were the best delivery to a company of the year?
Arriva Runcorn’s MAN EcoCity/Caetano City Golds. They don’t match the standards of the demonstrator, but are warm and comfortable enough to stand out. Eco-friendly and pleasant to ride.

4 - What withdrawn bus(es) were the hardest goodbye from a company of the year?
It has to be the DLAs on Merseyside. Beyond the acceleration problems, these are some of the smoothest riding buses out there and the step up compared with the R-WVRs merely a year older is massive.

5 - Which bus(es) looked the smartest during the year?
Hard to say really, but simply based on how well kept they are for their age, the 7651-7656 batch of Marshalls at Southport. Looked after by both the depot and passengers.

6 - What was the rarest sighting of the year?
No idea on this one. Haven’t paid much attention and not a great deal stands out. Perhaps a Preston – Longridge branded Enviro400 appearing on the X2 a few months back.

7 - What was the biggest surprise in the industry of the year?
Undoubtedly First buying Finglands.

8 - What was the biggest disappointment in the industry of the year?
A few things spring to mind: there is obviously the issue with Liverpool’s bus lanes courtesy of an ignorant man utterly out of his depth as mayor, but also Stagecoach Merseyside missing yet another opportunity to meet supply with demand and draft in double deckers. Enviro300s do not cut it.

Thirdly, the Bolton and Birkenhead Volvo B5L Hybrids are a major disappointment. The livery is gaudy, the ride quality lacklustre and the seats unacceptably hard. I was never a huge fan of the Enviro400s at Birkenhead, but they are a whole lot better than these. The Enviro400H is a vastly superior product.

9 - What bus was the best during the year?
Purely on the surprise factor, it has to be 7654 (V654DVU). Absolutely superb in all departments, and probably the best Dennis Dart I have ever been on.

10 - What bus was the worst during the year?
It could be any of the horrendous ex-Birkenhead ELC Myllennium fleet now lingering at Speke, but 2456 gets my vote. As awful as a bus could conceivably be and completely unacceptable for a large city depot like Speke. Not far behind are the ‘VLW’ 4200-4205 batch at Birkenhead.