On Sep 16, 11:18 pm, wrote:
On 16 Sep, 22:52, Paul Corfield wrote:

On Sun, 16 Sep 2007 13:51:44 -0700, wrote:
To my mind, leather seats (of the kind specified in public transport)
have a fairly spartan look compared to many of the bright moquettes
used and although they may offer a "wipe-clean" surface, they are more
prone to damage by scratching or other mistreatment / vandalism.
However, they are gradually creeping into many fleets now.

I might be out of date but the only fleets with leather seats are all
part of the Transdev (formerly Blazefield) group - Keighley and District
(single decks), Harrogate and District (route 36) and Lancashire United
(route X43).
--
Paul C

Transdev have certainly been trailblazers in this area but these
services are generally over fairly long distances into major
conurbations - route X43 into Manchester from Burnley, route 36 from
Ripon / Harrogate into Leeds etc.

National Express have specified that their operators procure coaches
with leather seats - first Scania Irizars and more recently the
Volvo / Caetano Levante model.

Other bus services I am aware of include Reading (Thames Valley Park
Shuttle), Lothian (Edinburgh Airport link), First Group in Plymouth
(park and ride), Trent Barton (their new Optare Tempos also have wood
laminate floors [1]), Arriva serving Teeside (Middlesborough
OmniCity), Travel West Midlands (new buses for premier line services).

However, most of these are premier routes or part of quality route
corridors.

Jonathan

[1]http://www.netescape-secure.co.uk/netescape/clientzones/trent/sitefil...

And First Manchester Just in last couple of months introduced some on
its expresses

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:00:04 -0700, Connaire
wrote:

And First Manchester Just in last couple of months introduced some on
its expresses

And Ryanair

(Actually, there's a useful point there. Leather seats both look
impressive as a selling point and are easier to clean and maintain.
Given that Ryanair does not do anything unless it saves them money, it
must be pretty clear-cut).

Neil

--
Neil Williams
Put my first name before the at to reply.

On 24 Sep, 21:10, (Neil Williams)
wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 13:00:04 -0700, Connaire
wrote:

And First Manchester Just in last couple of months introduced some on
its expresses

And Ryanair

(Actually, there's a useful point there. Leather seats both look
impressive as a selling point and are easier to clean and maintain.
Given that Ryanair does not do anything unless it saves them money, it
must be pretty clear-cut).

Neil


But of course Ryanair's aeroplanes still have air conditioning -
whilst I'm sure that Michael O'Leary would dispense with this if at
all possible, and I'm also quite certain it's turned down to the
minimum possible level, it is nonetheless there. My big question over
leather bus seats is how well they'll fare with regards to comfort in
the blazing hot summer, given that London buses don't have air con.