(28 Sep 2013, 12:47 pm)nk55 I know one of the plaxton premier coaches was registered K2 VOY but last time i seen the plaxton it was still registered as above and i've not seen any new triaxles in chester depot. I do believe national express have a large standing area with ordered and delivered coaches, but that haven't been moved on to operators. It would seem unusual to have 11 plate coaches taken off the network (yourbus) and replaced by 63 plate coaches as will be the case with all new contracts being taken over.

(28 Sep 2013, 7:20 pm)BJ10VUS Regarding the Q1 - I've noticed for a few months now, that the Q1 (towards Central Station) now tends to operate via Bottle Bank and up the hill to The Sage rather than through the bus only junction. Not sure that's worth a registration though, as there are no stops on either route it takes.

(26 Sep 2013, 9:59 pm)tyresmoke Shame to see GNE cost cutting on the X7 already (and adding extra stops into it) in a desperate attempt to make it profitable. Not exactly surprising, though!

(28 Sep 2013, 8:05 pm)busman101 Or lots of pushing of Arriva's X1 group - 3 extra buses and fares gone from £6.50 returns down to £4 day tickets. You do the maths !

(28 Sep 2013, 8:17 pm)tyresmoke Sorry my original post probably sounded a bit blunt!
What I meant was its a shame to see it being cut so soon, thought you might have left it a bit longer to see it grow a bit more before taking a look at it? Having said that I'm not surprised by some of the trips being cut as they do have no-one on (the last one out of Middlesbrough for example).

(28 Sep 2013, 7:53 pm)busman101 The Q1 has been doing Bottle Bank due to a problem with the traffic lights at the end of the Tyne Bridge as the loop is knackered for them to turn right as they head from Gateshead Interchange towards the Sage

(28 Sep 2013, 8:35 pm)citaro5284 A little bit of backtracking there Scott

(28 Sep 2013, 9:29 pm)tyresmoke Haha you could say that....
Then again it only started on 25th March, so that's only 6 months running... Surely just starting to get going in terms of building a commercially viable service? To introduce cuts so quickly seems a bit strange to me, not in terms of the actual trips being cut (I can understand that) but to change a service so soon into its life won't inspire customer confidence surely? I still think they missed a trick by not sending it via Dalton Park, a shopping park that tends to get forgotten by people in Teesside due to the poor transport links. Contrast that to the amount that use the X9/X10 to get to Metrocentre/Newcastle... The X7 could have had an extra slice of revenue by serving the shopping park there.

(29 Sep 2013, 8:37 am)danpick which area of tyne and wear does the gne travel shop in Washington cover for timetables because im planning to go on u16 pop card which I didn't know coverd Washington and where would be the qickest way on gne buses on a sat before 2pm otherwise the travel shop will be shut

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(29 Sep 2013, 8:44 am)Daniel The "POP" Card covers all of Tyne & Wear. It should also be noted that you can travel on the Metro, Ferry and Newcastle to Sunderland rail services with a POP Card, in addition to buses anywhere in Tyne & Wear.

I have attached two methods of travelling - one of which uses the Tyne & Wear Metro, and the other that uses GNE buses only, as per your request. The former allows for more flexiblity.

(29 Sep 2013, 12:17 pm)GuyParkRoyal That dark blue colour on the new M1 replacement buses looks interesting I wonder if we are going to see a return of the SDO brand that was once familiar on the Washington to Houghton route.

(29 Sep 2013, 12:24 pm)Michael It's already being confirmed its gonna be - 4 Connections by Rob

Shame i really like the MetroLINK brand =(

(29 Sep 2013, 12:26 pm)Daniel "Connections 4" is what it will be named - I think it must have been a little typo by Rob!

(29 Sep 2013, 12:26 pm)Daniel "Connections 4" is what it will be named - I think it must have been a little typo by Rob!

(28 Sep 2013, 10:55 pm)CatsFast101 This dalton park argument always get me wondering. I think dalton park does need more transport links, but the X7 to serve dalton park would increase timings and possibly the PVR. It's a funny one a bus from Middlesbrough, Stockton, Wingate, Station Town to Dalton Park would be good but logistically I'm not sure. One thought crossed my mind as to how well used the X7 is on Teeside. Obviously could be difficult to market, but an hourly express from Station Town-Sunderland via Wingate, Peterlee, Dalton Park, Seaham, Grangetown sounds like a nice idea and that would probably give a PVR of 2. But then that's take away Teeside links to Dalton Park the issue we were trying to resolve. Difficult one.