(02 Dec 2017, 7:13 pm)S813 FVK Shame there still isn't enough room for the feature symbols, but I am glad that they have sorted that 'l' out at the end of 'angel'. I've always hated the foot (or whatever its called) sticking out.

(02 Dec 2017, 7:13 pm)S813 FVK Shame there still isn't enough room for the feature symbols, but I am glad that they have sorted that 'l' out at the end of 'angel'. I've always hated the foot (or whatever its called) sticking out.

Due to acts of vandalism by groups of youths and for safety issues we are not serving Houghton Church and Newbottle Street diverting via Hillside Way until further notice, many apologies

(02 Dec 2017, 8:32 pm)LeeCalder The Angel brand really suites the StreetDeck, looks brilliant, shame its ruined by that ridiculous picture of people standing up at the back of the bus.

(02 Dec 2017, 6:36 pm)JP6004 Looks very smart. Even its back end looks good

(03 Dec 2017, 8:30 am)S813 FVK Aren’t these new destination displays just a trial though?

(03 Dec 2017, 8:34 am)Dan To gather feedback (both from staff and customers)...

Not sure why Go North East, or any other operator, would go against something which has been proven in surveys to be popular with passengers?

Is there a source for the comment about passenger numbers falling due to a lack of information - with specific references to paper timetables and via points on destination displays? I'd be interested to read more into that.

According to Transport Focus (sources linked below), Go North East scored an 88% passenger satisfaction rating with regards to exterior route/destination information in 2016 (having been 87% the previous year). The marginal increase could relate to the continued investment into white LED displays and the decrease in the number of flipdot displays. Lothian Buses by comparison have a 90% satisfaction rate in this category - notably, they've been moving away from via points too. May be a coincidence, of course?
http://data.transportfocus.org.uk/bus/operator/go-north-east-in-tyne-wear-nexus?wave=6&passenger_type=&sort_by=-satisfaction
http://data.transportfocus.org.uk/bus/operator/lothian-buses-2

(03 Dec 2017, 9:01 am)S813 FVK Indeed, but we are in the enthusiast world where it is very easy to make statements which have absolutely no evidence to support them at all.

The NEXUS bus stops at least (don’t think the County Durham ones do) specify which area of Newcastle the bus terminates at: https://liners.nexus.org.uk/22052.pdf. If this is the case, is there any need for Eldon Square or wherever to appear on the destination itself?

(03 Dec 2017, 9:05 am)Dan As do the timetables which are available online, Google Maps, bus operator mobile apps, etc. There's a lot of information available for those who need it - but I'm not convinced many people do go for a bus without having researched their journey first.

Looking specifically at the 21; the biggest improvement here is that it'll be clearer to passengers waiting for the bus which buses only go as far as Chester-le-Street, and which buses will go the full journey to Durham, as it's easier to see from a distance now.

And yes - Nexus manage and update the liners in all parts of Tyne & Wear and Northumberland, but not County Durham or Tees Valley at this stage.

(02 Dec 2017, 6:31 pm)Dan 6319 was branded yesterday, and is expected to transfer to Chester-le-Street from Monday for driver familiarisation.

Go North East: 6319 / NK67GMX by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

(03 Dec 2017, 9:32 am)L469 YVK With regards to driver familiarisation, would it not have been easier to loan one of the StreetDecks from Crook to CLS with it being used until the majority of drivers have become familiar with the vehicle type?

Also, as long as any of the branded StreetDecks aren't of the road, will the peak time X21's between Durham and Newcastle (which are currently car workings) be operated by the corporate branded spares?

(03 Dec 2017, 9:36 am)Dan These StreetDecks have the Micro-Hybrid 3 system and stop/start technology - so best to use one of the ones they're actually going to drive, than one of the older Castles Express buses.

Still likely at a PVR of 17 that at least one spare will be allocated to the 21 every day. The other is likely to be used on any double-deck service at Chester-le-Street.

(03 Dec 2017, 8:00 am)LeeCalder To be honest, it seems as though Go North East are doing everything against what all these Bus Users surveys are saying, with regards to people not using the bus due to a lack of information etc...... let's get rid of paper timetables, and enrol generic destination displays.

I would say that generic destinations will only work if you have prominent route brands, e.g. Coastliner at Transdev and Red Arrow at trentbarton, who tend to use the route brand as a route number regardless. I couldn't see that working up here through a combination of pick 'n' mix allocations, and ever changing route brands.