North East Buses

(24 Apr 2015, 2:54 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]Stockton working so driver change has to take place. Not like he's got a full round trip to do anyway  

I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be at least 10 late by the time it reaches Durham.

From what I can see, it only has 5 mins at Boro to let a bus load off, take whoever is waiting on, and also fit a driver changeover in, which usually takes 2 or 3 mins at a minimum?

(24 Apr 2015, 2:59 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]I can pretty much guarantee that it'll be at least 10 late by the time it reaches Durham.

You'd think I had a crystal ball or something...

Guess it got held up going up Durham Road in Stockton as 3pm onwards is a joke. All 3 58s usually run around together!
To be fair I've been late most of today bar the first two trips before 10am this morning. Worked the 1014 Easington-Middlesbrough and arrived 10 mins late into the bus station. Next trip was the 1250 (departed 1305!) which I spent the whole trip getting back on time (left Guisborough on time at 1456!) only to arrive into Middlesbrough at 1545 (17 late) lol!

(24 Apr 2015, 5:08 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Guess it got held up going up Durham Road in Stockton as 3pm onwards is a joke. All 3 58s usually run around together!
To be fair I've been late most of today bar the first two trips before 10am this morning. Worked the 1014 Easington-Middlesbrough and arrived 10 mins late into the bus station. Next trip was the 1250 (departed 1305!) which I spent the whole trip getting back on time (left Guisborough on time at 1456!) only to arrive into Middlesbrough at 1545 (17 late) lol!

You just were not trying 

(24 Apr 2015, 5:08 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Guess it got held up going up Durham Road in Stockton as 3pm onwards is a joke. All 3 58s usually run around together!
To be fair I've been late most of today bar the first two trips before 10am this morning. Worked the 1014 Easington-Middlesbrough and arrived 10 mins late into the bus station. Next trip was the 1250 (departed 1305!) which I spent the whole trip getting back on time (left Guisborough on time at 1456!) only to arrive into Middlesbrough at 1545 (17 late) lol!

There were a number of X12 trips running around 20m late today. That 1648 journey towards Newcastle in particular has been late almost without fail for months and months now. 

I watched it through today, and that particular trip caught quite a bit of time up between Stockton and Sedgefield, and then again between Sedgefield and Coxhoe. Once it becomes every stop Coxhoe onwards, it starts to lag further and further behind. Then of course it's got 5 or 6 sets of lights to contend with between Maiden Castle and Durham Bus Station alone, but you'd expect the timetable to take that into account.

(24 Apr 2015, 5:11 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]You just were not trying 

Haha wasn't for the lack of trying believe me
Some of the morning ones bring in standing loads and every stop all the way in from Guisborough doesn't help, as well as the aforementioned 3 sets of temp lights (see what's annoying you thread!)... The traffic on Cargo Fleet always seems to be worse on a Friday for some reason too, no matter what time of day!
Filled my Streetlite with about 60 school kids on the afternoon one!

1 hour late 63 from Newcastle to Killingworth tonight. It was 30 minutes late last night and the X63 was 15 minutes late this afternoon. Three buses a combined 1 hour 45 minutes late

The 1435 X12 departure has just arrived into Newcastle... A whopping 32 minutes late...

(01 May 2015, 4:19 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]The 1435 X12 departure has just arrived into Newcastle... A whopping 32 minutes late...

Probably got worse after that... Middlesbrough was gridlocked at 1600-1715! Accident on A66 apparently...

Here's my times from my 5A this afternoon... One of those afternoons where I hit school traffic, school loadings, 4 sets of temporary lights etc - before getting back to Middlesbrough to find the job completely stopped...!

Middlesbrough 1435 - 1441 +6
North Ormesby 1446 - 1453 +7
Ormesby 1455 - 1509 +14
Nunthorpe 1500 - 1515 +15
Guisborough 1512 - 1529 +17
Skelton 1523 - 1543 +20
Hollybush 1527 - 1545 +18
Skelton Asda 1533 - 1552 +19
Brotton Kilton Lane 1538 - 1558 +20

Brotton Green Tree 1544 - 1601 +17
Skelton Asda 1550 - 1608 +18
Hollybush 1556 - 1615 +19
Skelton 1600 - 1617 +17
Guisborough 1611 - 1626 +15
Nunthorpe 1620 - 1637 +17
Ormesby 1624 - 1641 +17
North Ormesby 1634 - 1657 +23
Middlesbrough 1643 - 1719 +36

(01 May 2015, 8:39 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Probably got worse after that... Middlesbrough was gridlocked at 1600-1715! Accident on A66 apparently...

Here's my times from my 5A this afternoon... One of those afternoons where I hit school traffic, school loadings, 4 sets of temporary lights etc - before getting back to Middlesbrough to find the job completely stopped...!

Middlesbrough 1435 - 1441 +6
North Ormesby 1446 - 1453 +7
Ormesby 1455 - 1509 +14
Nunthorpe 1500 - 1515 +15
Guisborough 1512 - 1529 +17
Skelton 1523 - 1543 +20
Hollybush 1527 - 1545 +18
Skelton Asda 1533 - 1552 +19
Brotton Kilton Lane 1538 - 1558 +20

Brotton Green Tree 1544 - 1601 +17
Skelton Asda 1550 - 1608 +18
Hollybush 1556 - 1615 +19
Skelton 1600 - 1617 +17
Guisborough 1611 - 1626 +15
Nunthorpe 1620 - 1637 +17
Ormesby 1624 - 1641 +17
North Ormesby 1634 - 1657 +23
Middlesbrough 1643 - 1719 +36

See, to me, there seems little sense in a bus still running if it's that late? Surely it's better to take it out and drop it back in at a point in the timetable where it'll be back on time? Lets face it, anyone waiting that long will have given up on that bus a long time ago! 

I think some services need more minutes added to the timetables around school times as I often experience services running late around these times.

An example, the 1537 7 from Durham Bus Station has 4 minutes to get from Durham Bus Station to Nevilles Cross but because of all the schools in this area the service always gets butchered some days it can take 10 minutes other days it can take even longer.

Today the service ended up running over 10 minutes late yet it arrived in Durham on-time.

(01 May 2015, 8:49 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]See, to me, there seems little sense in a bus still running if it's that late? Surely it's better to take it out and drop it back in at a point in the timetable where it'll be back on time? Lets face it, anyone waiting that long will have given up on that bus a long time ago! 

My reasoning behind carrying on was the fact I had 17 min layover in Middlesbrough (in 1643, out 1700) - had there been no traffic I would have got in more or less 12-15 late to go straight back out. As it was I got done over on the way and left 21 late on the 1700.

Caught the 1625 one up in Guisborough (the 1640 5a didn't run as far as I could tell?!) and we both ran upto Easington together (him via Skinningrove and me via Liverton). I got to Easington at 1829 more or less on time, sent the other one back light and I ended up covering both villages on the way back...

Yesterday there was an hours worth of X26/7 all together on Tubwell Row. I was the X27 which was 32 mins late, due to various issues. Nightmare!

(02 May 2015, 7:50 am)MrPottski wrote [ -> ]Yesterday there was an hours worth of X26/7 all together on Tubwell Row. I was the X27 which was 32 mins late, due to various issues. Nightmare!

At that point how come control don't ask you to run NIS, straight down the A1, back to Catterick (or wherever the terminus is)? They'd lose mileage, but at least the next departure from the other end of the route would go out on time?

I might be missing something here, with not being in the industry, but it does seem baffling from the outside looking in.

(02 May 2015, 9:17 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]At that point how come control don't ask you to run NIS, straight down the A1, back to Catterick (or wherever the terminus is)? They'd lose mileage, but at least the next departure from the other end of the route would go out on time?

I might be missing something here, with not being in the industry, but it does seem baffling from the outside looking in.

I did leave NIS, however, when I joined the A1, it was at a complete standstill, so much so, I ended up behind the two X26 that left in service! By the time I got to the terminus, I'd only actually caught up 9 minutes. The X26/7's are a complete mess at the minute, all outside Arriva's control, and because of the route it takes, there aren't really any alternatives while still serving Richmond and Catterick Tesco. I truly believe Arriva are losing money hand over fist while the timings are as bad as they are, but, aside from missing Tesco out completely, there's not much that can be done.

(02 May 2015, 9:34 am)MrPottski wrote [ -> ]I did leave NIS, however, when I joined the A1, it was at a complete standstill, so much so, I ended up behind the two X26 that left in service! By the time I got to the terminus, I'd only actually caught up 9 minutes. The X26/7's are a complete mess at the minute, all outside Arriva's control, and because of the route it takes, there aren't really any alternatives while still serving Richmond and Catterick Tesco. I truly believe Arriva are losing money hand over fist while the timings are as bad as they are, but, aside from missing Tesco out completely, there's not much that can be done.

Will it be a temporary thing or not?
if not then surely something will have to be done if they are running that late?

(02 May 2015, 9:34 am)MrPottski wrote [ -> ]I did leave NIS, however, when I joined the A1, it was at a complete standstill, so much so, I ended up behind the two X26 that left in service! By the time I got to the terminus, I'd only actually caught up 9 minutes. The X26/7's are a complete mess at the minute, all outside Arriva's control, and because of the route it takes, there aren't really any alternatives while still serving Richmond and Catterick Tesco. I truly believe Arriva are losing money hand over fist while the timings are as bad as they are, but, aside from missing Tesco out completely, there's not much that can be done.

Forgive me, because I'm not familiar with the area at all, but what's causing the delays on the route it takes? Volume of traffic, temporary lights, roadworks or? If it's just volume of traffic, is it always like that?

(02 May 2015, 10:23 am)Tom wrote [ -> ]Will it be a temporary thing or not?
if not then surely something will have to be done if they are running that late?

(02 May 2015, 10:25 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Forgive me, because I'm not familiar with the area at all, but what's causing the delays on the route it takes? Volume of traffic, temporary lights, roadworks or? If it's just volume of traffic, is it always like that?

The A1 is chaos from where the A66 Darlington section joins, all the way to Leeming, due to upgrading the road from dual carriageway to Motorway.
It will be like that for another year or so.
Add in any bumps/breakdowns and you ain't going anywhere.

The local roads are affected too, with changes to the infrastructure etc

Two Number 2s past me about 15 Minutes ago within approximately 5 Seconds of each other as I was coming back onto the Estate, both Silksworth Bound.

1335 X12 from Boro is running 17 late towards Durham.
1351 X12 from Durham is running 33 late towards Newcastle.
1420 X12 from Newcastle is running 18 late towards Durham.

1310 X24 from Durham is running 60 late towards the Metrocentre.
1437 22 from Sunderland is running 13 late towards Durham.
1412 64 from Sherburn is running 32 late towards the Arnison Centre.

(02 May 2015, 1:41 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]Two Number 2s past me about 15 Minutes ago within approximately 5 Seconds of each other as I was coming back onto the Estate, both Silksworth Bound.

The 4's aren't much better.
Waited over 20mins for my first one of the day. It caught the other one up, after 20mins... Apparently mine was 12 late.
Fancy doing the maths?.
I have seen them running in pairs in the opposite direction, with others not far behind.

(02 May 2015, 1:41 pm)Malarkey wrote [ -> ]Two Number 2s past me about 15 Minutes ago within approximately 5 Seconds of each other as I was coming back onto the Estate, both Silksworth Bound.

I missed 3 27's when I decided to walk up and get one of them and they all left. There was also 2 57's leaving Newcastyle earlier, 2 53's, think everything in Newcastle has been affected.

As we don't hear oh too many positive stories in this thread, let me turn a negative into a positive...

I was told that there was a late-running X31 which was regulated at Gateshead yesterday, and the driver of the 21 who was at Eldon Square was asked to accept all passengers' tickets for the X31 from Newcastle to Gateshead. Upon arrival at Gateshead, the 21 dropped all X31 passengers off on the X31 stand, and then went round to observe its normal stop. Both departed on-time.

Great to see AVL working well and a company using initiative thanks to its centralised control room. Makes a nice change to the recent stories shared on this thread of late-running buses left to run 30+ minutes late with nobody asking drivers to regulate to make up time.

(02 May 2015, 5:42 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Great to see AVL working well and a company using initiative thanks to its centralised control room.

It's a shame that other companies don't use AVL to their advantage! 

(02 May 2015, 5:43 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]It's a shame that other companies don't use AVL to their advantage! 

Arriva Durham seems to be so bad.

Up here I've had very few problems with Arriva, and most seem to be running spot on time. But down Durham the service is horrendous. Wonder what the reason for that is though? At Newcastle there is a spare bus and always seems to be used if needed. 

(02 May 2015, 2:16 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]The 4's aren't much better.
Waited over 20mins for my first one of the day. It caught the other one up, after 20mins... Apparently mine was 12 late.
Fancy doing the maths?.
I have seen them running in pairs in the opposite direction, with others not far behind.

Just to add to this, spoke to a few people who stood 25mins for the 4 at various times over the course of today.

The 82 I used was only a few mins late on boarding. It was 10mins by the time I got off.
Boarding the same vehicle a short while later, it was 15mins late. The driver wasnt in any particular hurry and there weren't any delays en-route.

(02 May 2015, 10:36 am)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]The A1 is chaos from where the A66 Darlington section joins, all the way to Leeming, due to upgrading the road from dual carriageway to Motorway.
It will be like that for another year or so.
Add in any bumps/breakdowns and you ain't going anywhere.

The local roads are affected too, with changes to the infrastructure etc

So, the biggest issue at the minute is a new leisure complex being built opposite Tesco in Catterick Garrison, the roadworks outside this has caused have lasted ages, and can cause significant delays. Add into this, the diversion which has to be observed to ensure you serve Tesco in both directions. Next, is the upgrading of the A1, narrow lanes, a 50mph speed limit which, like yesterday, can be a standstill if an incident occurs. Then we have had the temporary roadworks in and around Richmond which has caused issues, and then the cordoning off of the area for today's royal visit. Plus, the inevitable delays of the school runs, then you have got problem on top of problem which cannot be avoided.
Arriva can only do so much to keep buses to time unfortunately.

(02 May 2015, 6:58 pm)MrPottski wrote [ -> ]So, the biggest issue at the minute is a new leisure complex being built opposite Tesco in Catterick Garrison, the roadworks outside this has caused have lasted ages, and can cause significant delays. Add into this, the diversion which has to be observed to ensure you serve Tesco in both directions. Next, is the upgrading of the A1, narrow lanes, a 50mph speed limit which, like yesterday, can be a standstill if an incident occurs. Then we have had the temporary roadworks in and around Richmond which has caused issues, and then the cordoning off of the area for today's royal visit. Plus, the inevitable delays of the school runs, then you have got problem on top of problem which cannot be avoided.
Arriva can only do so much to keep buses to time unfortunately.

Had no idea about issues in Richmond. Know all too well about the others unfortunately.
Whilst I understand those issues are out of ANE control, there must be some sort of alternative/compromise, during the duration of the lengthy works?
Some sort of shuttle service or something?

(02 May 2015, 9:34 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Had no idea about issues in Richmond. Know all too well about the others unfortunately.
Whilst I understand those issues are out of ANE control, there must be some sort of alternative/compromise, during the duration of the lengthy works?
Some sort of shuttle service or something?

Alternatives could be to miss out Tesco, diverting past the golf course for the X26, and the X27 could go straight through Hipswell. These were operated when Gough Road was closed a couple of months back, and it worked really well. Problem with that is, you are effectively cutting Tesco off completely, and as it is the only supermarket in those parts, it affects a lot of people. Another option would be to stick an extra bus in both services, then change the timetable to have recovery time at either end.