The annual dartslf.com awards - 2017 edition!

[RedPanda]

RE: The annual dartslf.com awards - 2017 edition!
1 - Who was the best company of the year?
Vision maybe for their investment in buses. Secondhand but it's investment in the company.
Cumfybus for their hybrid purchases.
Stagecoach is definitely a contender for their continued investment in double deckers in the north west. Not forgetting how well they reacted to Arriva's strikes.

2 - Who was the worst company of the year?
Arriva? Investing in too few Merc Mellor Stratas, the strikes, the livery, etc, etc.
Express Motors isn't a company I'm familiar with but one to look into when I get time.

3 - Which North West depot do you think made the most progress in 2017?
(This can be any depot located in the North West region)
Vision is like to say but are we including independents?
Blackpool isn't a place I've been but a place to go when I've learnt more about Blackpool Transport.
Transdev Burnley for their Cityzap and investment in Optare Versas.

4 - What bus(es) were the best delivery to a company of the year?
(This includes new and old buses to a company/depot that may have already been in use!)
LK66GPF I thoroughly enjoyed my ride on this Wright Streetair even if I had to be out at the crack of dawn for it.

5 - What withdrawn bus(es) were the hardest goodbye from a company of the year?
(This includes new and old buses that left a company/depot, even if they're still in use elsewhere!)
The B10's! I've posted before regarding 2711's originality. I was surprised to see the the St. Helens depot contact number on its rear end while I was in Chester and again in Birkenhead.
I was extremely surprised to read 2712 had been involved in an RTC with a field close to Moss Bank Hotel in St. Helens. I caught this just 24 hours earlier and manage a picture at Leigh.

6 - Which bus(es) looked the smartest during the year?
Blackpool Transport's Enviro 400 Citys

7 - What was the rarest sighting of the year?
Pass
8 - What was the biggest surprise in the industry of the year?
D Jones suddenly cease trading, Arriva North West's Strata investments and strikes, Diamond's expansion.
I can't pick one.

9 - What was the biggest disappointment in the industry of the year?
Arriva, their livery and branding. Very much like Marmite.

10 - What bus was the best during the year?
LK66GPF very nice ride.

11 - What bus was the worst during the year?
My first ride on Stagecoach's Gold Enviro400 MMC branded for 471/472 was from Birkenhead - Heswall. I can't remember the fleetneber but it rattled all the way to Heswall. Luckily the Gold bus back was a much better ride.

12 - What bus(es) are you most looking forward to in 2018?
Enviro's are everywhere. 200's, 300's and 400's. MMC's and City's currently in manufacture and I'm not a lover of them because of how common they are. The only thing however for this is Network Warrington's new fleet of Enviro200's. I can't think of anything else.

13 - What bus(es) would you like to see in the North West in 2018?
Streetairs in St. Helens. More ecofreindly buses in the wider Liverpool City Region (NOT OPERATING IN LIVERPOOL). Too much thought goes on the mass and elsewhere is a dumping ground.