DartSLF Bus Awards 2015

[SK15 GZG (Moderator)]

RE: DartSLF Bus Awards 2015
1 - Who was the best company of the year?
Arriva North West for their excellent investment in 100 brand new double deckers for Green Lane, St Helens, Bootle and Speke - with two depots finally getting the correct sized vehicles for a number of routes that have desperately needed the extra capacity for many years
2 - Who was the worst company of the year?
Far from the worst but the most disappointing - Stagecoach Merseyside. I really think double deckers are needed for the 19 and 20/21
3 - Which North West depot do you think made the most progress in 2015?
It has to be Green Lane by a very long way. The fleet is extremely smart both inside and out and the drivers nearly always acknowledge passengers as they board and/or alight the vehicle. The allocation of the Enviro400s on their intended routes has been exceptional throughout the year - with any spare Enviro400s being usefully deployed on 14 ahead of that route receiving its own batch of double deckers in a few months' time. I think the reliability of services operated by Green Lane has been excellent all year too
4 - What bus(es) were the best delivery to a company of the year?
The new Enviro400s for Green Lane, St Helens, Bootle and Speke. Also a mention for Stagecoach's Gold Enviro300s at Rock Ferry has to be made as they're really nice and are much better than the vehicles they replaced in every single department
5 - What withdrawn bus(es) were the hardest goodbye from a company of the year?
Has to be 2345 (one of the few Darts I actually liked) and Bus Vannin's 20. I quite liked the DAF Cadets so I'll include those as well
6 - Which bus(es) looked the smartest during the year?
Arriva North West's new Enviro400s. I think the GHA MetroCitys look really smart as well
7 - What was the rarest sighting of the year?
Green Lane's 4659 was on the 18 a couple of months ago
8 - What was the biggest surprise in the industry of the year?
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400H City. Much better looking than the New Routemaster in my opinion
9 - What was the biggest disappointment in the industry of the year?
The closure of Fishwicks. A real shame to say the least
10 - What bus was the best during the year?
The highlights for me are 2345, 2712, 4412, 4593, 4666 and 4679
11 - What bus was the worst during the year?
Probably Arriva's 2456 which was absolutely dreadful when I last travelled on that particular example. The ride quality was really poor, the seats were very uncomfortable and the idle vibrations and the rattles from the grab poles were dreadful to say the least. The gulf in quality between this and 2473/4 (which I think are both good examples of this type) is vast
12 - What bus(es) are you most looking forward to in 2016?
Green Lane's new double deckers for the 14 and 18. That will see Green Lane move to a much needed majority double decker allocation
13 - What bus(es) would you like to see in the North West in 2016?
As much as I like the Euro V variant of the Enviro400 I'd really like to see Enviro400 MMCs. It'd add some welcome variety to a fleet that is becoming very standardised