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+--- Thread: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 (/showthread.php?tid=1683)
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Adrian - 05 Jan 2016
Mod note: I've removed a couple of posts before it escalates, and I'll pick up the issues individually.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Dan - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:30 pm)LeeCalder I believe it was 9119 on the 18, which broke down.
(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.
I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)
It did not break down - what a shame, eh?
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - DanPicken - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:48 pm)Dan I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)
It did not break down - what a shame, eh?
Was it 6037 as that failed a week or 2 ago?
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Greg in Weardale - 05 Jan 2016
Yes 9119 is plastic and cheap, nowhere as good as an Enviro 400 MMC, but it is better than a knackered, ancient President and Streetdecks on X21 will be an improvement on the current hotch potch of vehicles. If 6037 is out on X21 with no destination tomorrow then someone give the driver a sheet of A4 paper ... A3 even better ... and a black felt tip and tell him to write NEWCASTLE on one side and BISHOP AUCKLAND on the other and put it in the windscreen. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing and perfectly legal, even if the DDA secret police are about.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Dan - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:51 pm)Greg in Weardale Yes 9119 is plastic and cheap, nowhere as good as an Enviro 400 MMC, but it is better than a knackered, ancient President and Streetdecks on X21 will be an improvement on the current hotch potch of vehicles. If 6037 is out on X21 with no destination tomorrow then someone give the driver a sheet of A4 paper ... A3 even better ... and a black felt tip and tell him to write NEWCASTLE on one side and BISHOP AUCKLAND on the other and put it in the windscreen. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing and perfectly legal, even if the DDA secret police are about.
What have DDA / PSVAR regulations got to do with anything?
6037 is a double-deck vehicle, so does not have to comply with these regulations until 1 January 2017.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - BusLoverMum - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:38 pm)DanPicken I wouldn't purely because Presidents are a nicer ride if maintained well.
They're ancient, though. No amount of maintenance can keep a V reg bus reliable enough to make several 3 hour round trips a day, no matter how good a bus it used to be. I'm a big fan of the Presidents as they can offer a nice ride but they're past their best, they're largely beginning to fail permanently and some of them even leak when it rains.
I doubt if the streetdecks will ever see their 16th birthdays in active service and I do think they are somewhat underpowered for rural routes, but they meet with current efficiency and emissions standards without costing as much as some other buses do. I can understand why GNE have bought them. I'll just not sit at the back downstairs, so I don't get to cringe at the engine on the A167.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - LeeCalder - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:48 pm)Dan I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)
It did not break down - what a shame, eh?
Ah right, I was told by a former Crook driver (Now at Scarlet Band) that it had broken down on the 18.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - L469 YVK - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:53 pm)BusLoverMum They're ancient, though. No amount of maintenance can keep a V reg bus reliable enough to make several 3 hour round trips a day, no matter how good a bus it used to be. I'm a big fan of the Presidents as they can offer a nice ride but they're past their best, they're largely beginning to fail permanently and some of them even leak when it rains.
I doubt if the streetdecks will ever see their 16th birthdays in active service and I do think they are somewhat underpowered for rural routes, but they meet with current efficiency and emissions standards without costing as much as some other buses do. I can understand why GNE have bought them. I'll just not sit at the back downstairs, so I don't get to cringe at the engine on the A167.
Agree with this statement but I can't see the Streetdecks lasting in the long term as you've said. I think that Go Ahead do have a good relationship with Wrightbus though and this perhaps heavily influenced their decision to buy the Streetdeck. Bar the SPDs, MPDs and Lolynes / Presidents, GNE have never had such a working relationship with ADL and GNE haven't purchased any Scania products since 2006 / 2007.
I do think that if the demand is there in the near future, Wrightbus could end up offering a double deck heavyweight chassis / body combination again (either integral with Cummins 6.7 Engine as used in ADL E400 / E400MMC or in conjunction with Volvo offering the 7.7 litre unit) but bar ADL offering a Scania heavyweight chassis in combinated with the E400 / E400MMC bodywork , I think the market forces at Wrightbus are geared towards lightweight units. I don't think that the B8RLE on a Wright body will last long at all TBH.
And although on paper the Cummins 6.7 unit is a fairly decent engine, some of Arriva's examples of DB300s have become sluggish and tired already but whether that could just be down to the use of Voith Gearboxes rather than ZF or poor setup by Wrightbus, who knows?
Merc Engines are pretty good in terms of reliability as proven by the Citaros and I don't think that the OM934 will have any problems reliability wise despite it being a bit slow in a double decker. The Streetdeck might even manage to last 16 years despite it's characteristics for all we know yet.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Greg in Weardale - 05 Jan 2016
Exactly my point. Deckers don't need to be DDA. And I doubt that in the real world anyone is going to be worried about even a single decker going round with no destination for a day or two until it can be fixed. Anything is better than a bus being cancelled. Yes it's reasonable to expect wheelchair access, but many of the DDA regulations are obsessive pedantry and are unfair expense to small operators trying to run buses where everything favours the big guys.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Davie - 05 Jan 2016
I forgot to mention, one of the Redarrow B9's blind wasn't working. It wasn't showing the service number, but did show the destination and via points.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Dan - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 8:35 pm)Davie I forgot to mention, one of the Redarrow B9's blind wasn't working. It wasn't showing the service number, but did show the destination and via points.
If you spot it while you're out and about, drop me a PM on here and I will let the engineers know (if they don't find it and fix it first!)
Cheers.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Adrian - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 8:32 pm)Greg in Weardale Exactly my point. Deckers don't need to be DDA. And I doubt that in the real world anyone is going to be worried about even a single decker going round with no destination for a day or two until it can be fixed. Anything is better than a bus being cancelled. Yes it's reasonable to expect wheelchair access, but many of the DDA regulations are obsessive pedantry and are unfair expense to small operators trying to run buses where everything favours the big guys.
The cost of ensuring a fleet is DDA compliant is the same, no matter whether it's a small or large company. It's not as if these regulations have caught everyone by surprise; operators have had years to get everything in place, yet we're still seeing buses running around without having destination equipment fitted. There's no excuse for that, given how long everyone has known.
I'd disagree, and suggest its looked at in another way. If there's no standard set in writing, then it potentially allows every vehicle to be fitted to a different standard. Being in a wheelchair isn't a prerequisite to being classed as disabled, and it's important to recognise the huge spectrum of disabilities out there.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Davie - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 8:36 pm)Dan If you spot it while you're out and about, drop me a PM on here and I will let the engineers know (if they don't find it and fix it first!)I'll have a look for it tomorrow.
Cheers.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - pdiddy - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 7:51 pm)Greg in Weardale Yes 9119 is plastic and cheap, nowhere as good as an Enviro 400 MMC, but it is better than a knackered, ancient President and Streetdecks on X21 will be an improvement on the current hotch potch of vehicles. If 6037 is out on X21 with no destination tomorrow then someone give the driver a sheet of A4 paper ... A3 even better ... and a black felt tip and tell him to write NEWCASTLE on one side and BISHOP AUCKLAND on the other and put it in the windscreen. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing and perfectly legal, even if the DDA secret police are about.
The destination was working perfectly fine when it left the depot this morning.... otherwise it would of had a temp destination put in the windscreen till the bus got to chester to be repaired/replaced
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - BusLoverMum - 05 Jan 2016
(05 Jan 2016, 8:39 pm)Adrian I'd disagree, and suggest its looked at in another way. If there's no standard set in writing, then it potentially allows every vehicle to be fitted to a different standard. Being in a wheelchair isn't a prerequisite to being classed as disabled, and it's important to recognise the huge spectrum of disabilities out there.
Quite. I can walk for miles, most days, but I have a condition that results in low muscle tone, often with a lot of pain and I lose my balance easily. Without those pesky rails, I'd probably fall off my seat on every bend. There's a few seats towards the rear of the lower deck of the angels that I can't use, for this reason.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - rc81 - 06 Jan 2016
The front destination number on one of the cobalt connects was not working tonight. Was going through earsdon at around 5:30, didn't catch fleet number as going in opposite direction
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Davie - 06 Jan 2016
Looks like Dan & Citaro will have a busy week sending emails regarding blinds then....!
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Dan - 06 Jan 2016
(06 Jan 2016, 12:13 am)rc81 The front destination number on one of the cobalt connects was not working tonight. Was going through earsdon at around 5:30, didn't catch fleet number as going in opposite direction
I should be able to track which bus it was given that the 19 is a fairly infrequent service - which direction was it heading in, when passing through Earsdon at 17:30?
The OmniCitys are renowned for the panel of LEDs for the route number going off. Always a temperamental fault, as they seem to work in the depot but go off when they leave!
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - Davie - 06 Jan 2016
It looked like 8261's side & rear blind wasn't working, although they could have just been turned off.
RE: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - January 2016 - S813 FVK - 06 Jan 2016
Can we start doing the destination reports via PM to the relevant people now? Getting tiring seeing this thread clogged up with 'xxxx's destination wasnt working'