Then there's Ivo's opinion that the B&W version is "crippled." Interesting that most of his "street" shots are "crippled" B&W.
In this case, the B+W version is crippled.
In other cases, B+W is the better choice.
I live in Western Europe, in this time of the year, the short days are mostly heavily overcast and the light is very flat. This is the moment I prefer B+W, it is a way to overcome dull light, certainly in combination with clever user of pre or post process filters.
B+W tools are sometimes a good choice, color tools are that as well.
Sticking to B+W sometimes results in boring images, same can be said to color images as well.
For me it is not a matter of ‘or’ it’s a matter of ‘and’