Arriva North West - Runcorn Depot

[H101GEV (Administrator)]

RE: Arriva North West - Runcorn Depot
Out on the busway circulars 1 and 2 this afternoon were 5003, 5005, 5006, 5009 and a surprise in the form of soon to depart Pulsar 2952. This was subbed off at approximately 14.00 in favour of 5002 giving a uniform line-up for the 1/2.

I was very impressed with the EcoCitys. They are sleek and very quiet on the move, comfortable and spacious internally and of the four I sampled today (the above, with the exception of 5003), all were excellent. 5005 in particular stands out as one of the best production single deckers I've ridden for a long time. The livery, which looked a little lacklustre in pictures, does look a lot better in the flesh and overall I think they're quite good looking buses - even the roof pod is forgivable!

Their seating arrangement is DP43F with the back few rows being raised noticeably higher than the norm. All rows I used offered plentiful legroom, including the rearmost, which are also head-rested Esteban Civics rather than the bench-like (and often hard) sort the Pulsars offer.

Really the main issue with these so far is the double pram situation. All four of my journeys featured prams at some point, and often three or four were on board at different times throughout the 20 minute trips. As mentioned earlier, the nature of the route means it is a vital connection for mothers, so the inability of this type to carry double prams seems a retrograde step. This is unfortunate because on the whole these buses are fantastic.

Also rode on Pulsar 3139 and Cadet 2535. The Pulsar was slightly disappointing, offering a somewhat crashy ride over certain roads. It also had minor graffiti and some burns on the rear seat row, seems odd as I wouldn't associate the X1 with vandalism. By contrast, I was pleasantly surprised with the Cadet. Although at speed it did suffer from the tuneless din that a lot of this type have in common, the ride was generally very smooth and it moved admirably. This was a busy journey - from my experiences of the 79C and 82A in recent weeks, full-size single decks ought to be considered.