Post by DE20106 on Oct 5, 2024 11:38:51 GMT
Took a trip on a Norwich Wright Kite (nice rhyme😂) for the first time this evening, was interested to see how it would compare with TUK’s 1707
1707 although it had an extremely tasteful and premium looking interior, the build quality was shocking rattling like an old E200 on a vehicle barely 6 months old, and from a company which was once reputable for unrivalled build quality.
First Norwich’s 63635 (not my photo) seemed to have a bit better build quality (still had an unacceptable amount of rattles though imo), and the interior lights were broken on one side - on a 24-reg vehicle . More indications of Wright’s shoddy build quality imo. Not being a London vehicle I don’t think it has ISA, and on quiet roads in the evening it absolutely flew (like a kite😆)  the driver certainly put his foot down. I would give this vehicle around a 6 out of 10.
Still hasn’t dislodged my overall ambivalence towards the type tbh. It does all the superficial things so well and sets a great first impression, but you don’t have to look very far to find evidence of poor quality.
Yeah Norwich has had a coloured route network since 2012. But before the buses themselves were coloured which restricted flexibility if you’re trying to keep buses on the right routes. Now moving to a uniform livery where the display shows the colour is very sensible imo