Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

[CX54 DKD (Moderator)]

RE: Arriva North West - Bootle Depot

(20/03/2013 21:00)MPTE1955 Wrote:  These 58 plate pulsars at Boole are only 4 1/2 years old and already knackered, think what they will be like in another 4 years. You will think you have gone back in time and riding a knackered marshall like 7675 for example by then.

If they have their panels tightened back up at some stage, I'd disagree and by all accounts, the ride offered by the Pulsars is vastly superior to that of the Darts at this point in their lifetime on a comparable lightweight chassis. It does all seem to be down to the extended maintenance of these vehicles by their respective depots as the initial build quality is reasonably high with no rattles and a smooth ride, with the odd exception on the rattling front and seems to remain that way for differing periods within different depots - Southport's contingent in particular are quite exemplary from my experience. When you compare that to some of the Darts, particularly the Marshalls, which had a poor build quality and ride in many cases from the off, there's a noticeable difference. Darts, Ultralows etc. all rattled their way along after a few years in service and managed 15 years, I don't really understood the seemingly common consensus that these Pulsars won't.

Don't get me wrong, it'd have been much nicer if Arriva had standardised on a heavier chassis such as the Volvo offering but I do think that the Pulsars receive a large amount of unjustified 'bad press' from the enthusiast community for what they do actually offer. Certainly to passengers, they're a much better offering than a Dart with an improved, more comfortable interior and I suppose, at the end of the day, it's the customer's opinion which matters to the company as it is them whom keep them in business.