DartSLF Bus Awards 2014

[M113 YKC]

RE: DartSLF Bus Awards 2014
1 - Who was the best company of the year?
Halton Transport for really picking themselves up after a bad few years and trying new things out. Even if those refurbished OmniCitys aren't to everybody's taste, the quality of them after they've been done-up is really good and shows that they're making the effort.

2 - Who was the worst company of the year?
Definitely has to be Cumfybus regarding their fleet. A lot of their buses out of Aintree are in a shocking state and have been for a while. I think that they run a reliable service though.

3 - What bus(es) were the best delivery to a company of the year?
Even though they didn't enter service until this year, definitely has to be the long-overdue Enviro400s for the 10/10A/10B.

4 - What withdrawn bus(es) were the hardest goodbye from a company of the year?
Some of the DLAs, Marshalls and Plaxton Darts that are slowly disappearing.

5 - Which bus(es) looked the smartest during the year?
Howards F17 HOW (ex-Isle of Man DAF Lowlander) is really smart inside and out and suits their nice livery.

6 - What was the rarest sighting of the year?
There were a few odd sightings (Myllenniums and Enviro400s in Wrexham on local services and a Southport B7 on the 47), however DAF Cadet 2556 on the 52/52A was the rarest and most unexpected sighting for me!

7 - What was the biggest surprise in the industry of the year?
Definitely brand-new 'deckers for Green Lane and St Helens after years of rumours, the amount of new Pulsars that are down to leave soon and Avon expanding in Liverpool with cross-river services!

8 - What was the biggest disappointment in the industry of the year?
Some of the designs that new buses have now when they already had nice-looking buses (such as the Gemini 3 and Enviro400 MMC).

9 - What bus was the best during the year?
Ex-Impera and ex-Arriva Speke YJ59 AZA. Bit rattly but had a really good engine behind it and decent kickdown. I liked the bonded-glazed windows on it too.

10 - What bus was the worst during the year?
Arriva Bootle's 2224 went from being a decent bus to a complete shed almost overnight!