DartSLF Bus Awards 2015

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: DartSLF Bus Awards 2015
1 - Who was the best company of the year?
Arriva without a doubt for transforming their core fleet in Liverpool with 100 new double deckers, and 50 or so more to come in 2016.

2 - Who was the worst company of the year?
Perhaps not the worst but the most lacklustre: Stagecoach Merseyside for me. Their fleet lags behind Arriva's considerably in terms of quality and capacity. With Arriva now offering many more double deck services and additional features such as leatherette seating, it's time for Stagecoach to buck their ideas up in Liverpool.

3 - Which North West depot do you think made the most progress in 2015?
Green Lane by a country mile. From zero to nearly 50 double decks in a few short months. The fleet is starting to look much tidier now too as refurbishments continue, and they seem to be a lot better at keeping the new deckers on their intended routes unlike Bootle and St Helens.

4 - What bus(es) were the best delivery to a company of the year?
The 100 new Enviro400s to Arriva's Speke, Green Lane, Bootle and St Helens depots, unquestionably.

5 - What withdrawn bus(es) were the hardest goodbye from a company of the year?
I can't say I'll genuinely miss anything that has been withdrawn this year, but it's a slight shame to see the DAF Cadets go. Those buses are certainly a considerable step-up from the ragbag collection of Darts Arriva has had over the years, but the unrefurbished ones were absolutely rancid internally so those examples won't be missed.

6 - Which bus(es) looked the smartest during the year?
Nothing in particular stands out, but perhaps the Arriva Enviro400s again, especially the newest batch at Speke.

7 - What was the rarest sighting of the year?
I haven't paid much attention to rare sightings this year so haven't a clue.

8 - What was the biggest surprise in the industry of the year?
The demise of Ace Travel. A solid independent who are missed.

9 - What was the biggest disappointment in the industry of the year?
Stagecoach Merseyside's continuing unwillingness to invest in new double deckers for Liverpool routes. A handful of ageing Enviro400s (some of which have already left) is just not good enough.

10 - What bus was the best during the year?
Nothing stands out.

11 - What bus was the worst during the year?
Take your pick from the 2451-2474 fleet of Myllenniums. Awful, awful buses which can't go quickly enough. Some which stand out as particularly dreadful are 2451, 2455 and 2467, but 2456 still takes the biscuit.

12 - What bus(es) are you most looking forward to in 2016?
The proposed hybrid Enviro400s for Green Lane and pSpeke for the 14, 18 and 79 routes. High time core Liverpool routes benefited from hybrid buses. Additional EcoCity buses for the 82A would be very welcome as well to ease this route's overcrowding issues.

13 - What bus(es) would you like to see in the North West in 2016?
As above: hybrid Enviro400s.