You almost made me flip off the table... Who in the world would
convert a non-WAB step entry bus to a WAB bus? It would be too
costly, because so many electrical components need to be rearranged
for such a thing... I would say that it's just because the new B9TL
kits need time for assembly and registration, which would take a
long time into the future (2015-2016).
Currently, it makes sense to extend the VO3Xs because there are
not enough newly registered B9TLs to replace them now. The last 34
Striders (SBS2655Z -SBS2688D) were scrapped when they had done
their 17 years on the road with no extension, because there
were enough Citaros registered then to
replace them.
Oh yes, this case for the VO3Xs getting extended reminds me of
the Volvo B10M MK IIs. Those old buses had done 17 years on the
roads (since 1988/1989) and were supposed to be retired in 2006,
but they got extended and survived till 2008 because there were not
enough Scania KUBs to replace them completely... See what I mean?
Okay, that's all I shall say to you. The end.
For the case of Volvo B10M MK2s, the first five in the 1988
batches (SBS1696L-SBS1700H) are de-registered in 2005 but with 2
years lifespan extension to their 15 years lifespan (prior to June
2003, lifespan of buses were 15 years without extension)...Leyland
Olympian 2-Axle also have lifespan extensions as well.
