North East Buses

I think stagecoach hartlepool depot should get new buses the last time new 2008?

(14 Jun 2023, 8:34 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Happy to be corrected, but would I be right in saying this is the first time Stagecoach has ventured into the post 1974 Co. Durham? I can't think of anything ever serving it.

I recall some Favourite branded services ran around Durham during the Busways era. Im not sure if any of these were still running when Stagecoach took over in the 1990s.

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(15 Jun 2023, 1:58 pm)GrahamD83 wrote [ -> ]I recall some Favourite branded services ran around Durham during the Busways era. Im not sure if any of these were still running when Stagecoach took over in the 1990s.

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Yea Favourite Services started up in competition in County Durham against T.M.S trying to nab secured work, I think one of the last services in County Durham under the stagecoach brand was service 33.

Wouldn’t of mind at the time seeing a double decker in the Favourite fleet in the orange and brown livery without busways just slapping a favourite sticker over the Newcastle busways signs etc….


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Been sent a screenshot of the date and the new 59 by Stagecoach from Hartlepool to Durham will start on the 9th July

(15 Jun 2023, 6:09 pm)Busu284 wrote [ -> ]Been sent a screenshot of the date and the new 59 by Stagecoach from Hartlepool to Durham will start on the 9th July

From Paul Towells Facebook:

?BUS ANNOUNCEMENT FOR TRIMDON?

From 9th July 2023, the tendered service 59 will be extended to run between Durham and Hartlepool via Trimdon, restoring the links of the 57A withdrawn earlier in the year.
I am very pleased that we a new provider has been secured to restore the links of the Arriva 57A that linked Trimdon to Durham and Hartlepool.

Durham County Council have been working with Stagecoach to bring the route back. The route will continue as the 59 and will commence from 9thJuly.

The timetable frequency for customers on the service 59 is largely restored, offering journeys from Monday to Saturday from morning until early evening. However there are several changes to timings for customers in Trimdon on the new timetable compared to the previous 57A.

Heading towards Durham, most daytime journeys will leave at 33 minutes past the hour (previously 45 minutes past the hour). The first bus is at 07:21 (previously 07:30) and the last bus is at 17:43 (previously 17:55).

Heading towards Hartlepool, most daytime journeys will leave at 21 minutes past the hour (previously 41 minutes past the hour). The earliest bus will be at 07:01 on Mondays to Fridays (previously 06:26) with the last bus at 19:31 (previously 19:53).
For passengers returning from Durham, the service 59 will leave at 30 minutes past the hour during the day (previously 00 minutes past the hour) with the first bus at 07:10 (previously 06:45) and the last bus at 18:40 (previously 18:15).

For those travelling from Hartlepool back to Trimdon, most journeys will leave at 00 minutes past the hour (previously 09 minutes past the hour). The first bus will leave at 08:00 (previously 06:54) with the last bus at 20:10 (previously 20:24).

I thank Cllr Elizabeth Scott, who has the transport portfolio at DCC and her team for listening to the needs of residents and finding a solution.

The team have been working on this since the service got with drawn in April. They are now working on all the other services that have been cut by Arriva such as the X21.

(14 Jun 2023, 8:40 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]No, the X90 between Darlington and Newcastle / MetroCentre certainly Newton Aycliffe, there was the short lived X55 from Stockton/Greatham to Newcastle which stopped at Dalton Park, there's a few scholars contracts nowadays too.

Aye you're right forgot about those expresses that used to exist. I'm lost at who runs school buses nowadays ngl.

(15 Jun 2023, 1:58 pm)GrahamD83 wrote [ -> ]I recall some Favourite branded services ran around Durham during the Busways era. Im not sure if any of these were still running when Stagecoach took over in the 1990s.

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Ah I had a feeling they might've had some competiton down there in the past. Wasn't expecting it to be Durham though was thinking more in the Darlington area with the bus wars which used to exist before they sold up. Just before my time that though but just had a Google on it though, interesting.

Favourite name survived into the Stagecoach era with even some Mercs arriving in Favourite livery instead of Stagecoach Stripes.

Heres a photos of N498RVK by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258881

A couple of Darts carried the livery too.
Alexander bodied K715PCN by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6036153252
Plaxton bodied M770DRG by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258877

Originally set up in response to TMS (Trimdon Motor Services) setting up routes in Tyne and Wear against established Busways routes at De-regulation under the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company (TWOC) name in Sunderland and Newcastle. In response Busways opened a depot in the Durham area mainly using a fleet of secondhand Leyland Leopard from GMPTE still in their Manchester colours (hence why Favourite adopted the Orange livery (here is one of said Leopards in a photo by Ken Weaver https://www.flickr.com/photos/131962719@N04/49517451237). There were Leopards from elsewhere to bolster the fleet. However this came to ahead in 1989 when TMS sold TWOC and it's depot in Gateshead (these days known as Saltmeadows) to Go-Ahead Northern who then sold the vehicles and routes to Busways the very same day (Go-Ahead would lease Saltmeadows to Gateshead Council for a number of years as a base for them to repair their big wagon fleet). TMS would later be sold to Caldaire (Owners of United) in 1990.

Busways maintained a presence in County Durham under the Favourite brand name having won a number of contracts in the area as well as the services they were running were bringing in money still. They also used the TWOC name for a short while on various minibus / small bus routes before the Sunderland part of TWOC were replaced by Favourite whilst the Newcastle part of TWOC were absorbed in to Blue Bus Services.

Despite the Stagecoach takeover in 1994, the Favourite name and livery persisted for contracted routes in the Sunderland Area and Country Durham, effectively the low cost unit for Sunderland depot. Not sure when their County Durham outstation disappeared though. The livery eventually disappeared around 1997 I believe. Some of the low cost routes operated by Favourite (14/14A/139/140) were then sub-contracted to Redby Buses in 1998 originally using buses painted in Stagecoach stripes (like this Marshall bodied Volvo B6 by Peter Barclay - https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/3239187324) until this requirement was relaxed in 1999 where buses can be any colour Redby desired which was basically anything. Though Redby did briefly scale back the number of services it ran with two Darts being sold to Busways (32794/32795) and 5 Leyland Lynxes (Mk1 4817/4856/4857 & Mk2 4818/4819) & a Volvo B10B (4875) to Go North East before plodding along for a number of years before finally closing shop with vehicles being sold to Go North East of which only a Volvo Olympian was briefly used for a School Contract (9367 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...9611267078).

Anyway I've rambled on too much.

(15 Jun 2023, 9:03 pm)Rapidsnap wrote [ -> ]Favourite name survived into the Stagecoach era with even some Mercs arriving in Favourite livery instead of Stagecoach Stripes.

Heres a photos of N498RVK by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258881

A couple of Darts carried the livery too.
Alexander bodied K715PCN by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6036153252
Plaxton bodied M770DRG by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258877

Originally set up in response to TMS (Trimdon Motor Services) setting up routes in Tyne and Wear against established Busways routes at De-regulation under the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company (TWOC) name in Sunderland and Newcastle. In response Busways opened a depot in the Durham area mainly using a fleet of secondhand Leyland Leopard from GMPTE still in their Manchester colours (hence why Favourite adopted the Orange livery (here is one of said Leopards in a photo by Ken Weaver https://www.flickr.com/photos/131962719@N04/49517451237). There were Leopards from elsewhere to bolster the fleet. However this came to ahead in 1989 when TMS sold TWOC and it's depot in Gateshead (these days known as Saltmeadows) to Go-Ahead Northern who then sold the vehicles and routes to Busways the very same day (Go-Ahead would lease Saltmeadows to Gateshead Council for a number of years as a base for them to repair their big wagon fleet). TMS would later be sold to Caldaire (Owners of United) in 1990.

Busways maintained a presence in County Durham under the Favourite brand name having won a number of contracts in the area as well as the services they were running were bringing in money still. They also used the TWOC name for a short while on various minibus / small bus routes before the Sunderland part of TWOC were replaced by Favourite whilst the Newcastle part of TWOC were absorbed in to Blue Bus Services.

Despite the Stagecoach takeover in 1994, the Favourite name and livery persisted for contracted routes in the Sunderland Area and Country Durham, effectively the low cost unit for Sunderland depot. Not sure when their County Durham outstation disappeared though. The livery eventually disappeared around 1997 I believe. Some of the low cost routes operated by Favourite (14/14A/139/140) were then sub-contracted to Redby Buses in 1998 originally using buses painted in Stagecoach stripes (like this Marshall bodied Volvo B6 by Peter Barclay - https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/3239187324) until this requirement was relaxed in 1999 where buses can be any colour Redby desired which was basically anything. Though Redby did briefly scale back the number of services it ran with two Darts being sold to Busways (32794/32795) and 5 Leyland Lynxes (Mk1 4817/4856/4857 & Mk2 4818/4819) & a Volvo B10B (4875) to Go North East before plodding along for a number of years before finally closing shop with vehicles being sold to Go North East of which only a Volvo Olympian was briefly used for a School Contract (9367 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...9611267078).

Anyway I've rambled on too much.

Enjoyed that, honestly never heard of them before now. Interesting little history behind them, never realised there were bus wars in Durham aswell - I did know about the Darlington and Newcastle (Wallsend etc) ones though.

Also speaking of this route, https://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/bygone/...rd1989.pdf - it's as ironic as it can get that they're venturing back there 30 years later on a subsidised route, how times have changed for the worst.

(15 Jun 2023, 9:23 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Enjoyed that, honestly never heard of them before now. Interesting little history behind them, never realised there were bus wars in Durham aswell - I did know about the Darlington and Newcastle (Wallsend etc) ones though.

Also speaking of this route, https://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/bygone/...rd1989.pdf - it's as ironic as it can get that they're venturing back there 30 years later on a subsidised route, how times have changed for the worst.

I did  enjoy the TWOC - Busways competition. Shame it ended too soon. I always keep en eye out for timetables that on EBay .

(15 Jun 2023, 9:03 pm)Rapidsnap wrote [ -> ]Favourite name survived into the Stagecoach era with even some Mercs arriving in Favourite livery instead of Stagecoach Stripes.

Heres a photos of N498RVK by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258881

A couple of Darts carried the livery too.
Alexander bodied K715PCN by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6036153252
Plaxton bodied M770DRG by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258877

Originally set up in response to TMS (Trimdon Motor Services) setting up routes in Tyne and Wear against established Busways routes at De-regulation under the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company (TWOC) name in Sunderland and Newcastle. In response Busways opened a depot in the Durham area mainly using a fleet of secondhand Leyland Leopard from GMPTE still in their Manchester colours (hence why Favourite adopted the Orange livery (here is one of said Leopards in a photo by Ken Weaver https://www.flickr.com/photos/131962719@N04/49517451237). There were Leopards from elsewhere to bolster the fleet. However this came to ahead in 1989 when TMS sold TWOC and it's depot in Gateshead (these days known as Saltmeadows) to Go-Ahead Northern who then sold the vehicles and routes to Busways the very same day (Go-Ahead would lease Saltmeadows to Gateshead Council for a number of years as a base for them to repair their big wagon fleet). TMS would later be sold to Caldaire (Owners of United) in 1990.

Busways maintained a presence in County Durham under the Favourite brand name having won a number of contracts in the area as well as the services they were running were bringing in money still. They also used the TWOC name for a short while on various minibus / small bus routes before the Sunderland part of TWOC were replaced by Favourite whilst the Newcastle part of TWOC were absorbed in to Blue Bus Services.

Despite the Stagecoach takeover in 1994, the Favourite name and livery persisted for contracted routes in the Sunderland Area and Country Durham, effectively the low cost unit for Sunderland depot. Not sure when their County Durham outstation disappeared though. The livery eventually disappeared around 1997 I believe. Some of the low cost routes operated by Favourite (14/14A/139/140) were then sub-contracted to Redby Buses in 1998 originally using buses painted in Stagecoach stripes (like this Marshall bodied Volvo B6 by Peter Barclay - https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/3239187324) until this requirement was relaxed in 1999 where buses can be any colour Redby desired which was basically anything. Though Redby did briefly scale back the number of services it ran with two Darts being sold to Busways (32794/32795) and 5 Leyland Lynxes (Mk1 4817/4856/4857 & Mk2 4818/4819) & a Volvo B10B (4875) to Go North East before plodding along for a number of years before finally closing shop with vehicles being sold to Go North East of which only a Volvo Olympian was briefly used for a School Contract (9367 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...9611267078).

Anyway I've rambled on too much.

There was more than the Oly that operated for both Redby and GNE. 
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/4443385686 here's one.

Favourite had their depot at Hetton Lyons off memory. Not sure if that was the same one that ended up being used by Veola.

(15 Jun 2023, 9:03 pm)Rapidsnap wrote [ -> ]Anyway I've rambled on too much.

Not at all
Enjoyed reading it thanks

(15 Jun 2023, 9:03 pm)Rapidsnap wrote [ -> ]Favourite name survived into the Stagecoach era with even some Mercs arriving in Favourite livery instead of Stagecoach Stripes.

Heres a photos of N498RVK by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258881

A couple of Darts carried the livery too.
Alexander bodied K715PCN by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6036153252
Plaxton bodied M770DRG by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258877

Originally set up in response to TMS (Trimdon Motor Services) setting up routes in Tyne and Wear against established Busways routes at De-regulation under the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company (TWOC) name in Sunderland and Newcastle. In response Busways opened a depot in the Durham area mainly using a fleet of secondhand Leyland Leopard from GMPTE still in their Manchester colours (hence why Favourite adopted the Orange livery (here is one of said Leopards in a photo by Ken Weaver https://www.flickr.com/photos/131962719@N04/49517451237). There were Leopards from elsewhere to bolster the fleet. However this came to ahead in 1989 when TMS sold TWOC and it's depot in Gateshead (these days known as Saltmeadows) to Go-Ahead Northern who then sold the vehicles and routes to Busways the very same day (Go-Ahead would lease Saltmeadows to Gateshead Council for a number of years as a base for them to repair their big wagon fleet). TMS would later be sold to Caldaire (Owners of United) in 1990.

Busways maintained a presence in County Durham under the Favourite brand name having won a number of contracts in the area as well as the services they were running were bringing in money still. They also used the TWOC name for a short while on various minibus / small bus routes before the Sunderland part of TWOC were replaced by Favourite whilst the Newcastle part of TWOC were absorbed in to Blue Bus Services.

Despite the Stagecoach takeover in 1994, the Favourite name and livery persisted for contracted routes in the Sunderland Area and Country Durham, effectively the low cost unit for Sunderland depot. Not sure when their County Durham outstation disappeared though. The livery eventually disappeared around 1997 I believe. Some of the low cost routes operated by Favourite (14/14A/139/140) were then sub-contracted to Redby Buses in 1998 originally using buses painted in Stagecoach stripes (like this Marshall bodied Volvo B6 by Peter Barclay - https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/3239187324) until this requirement was relaxed in 1999 where buses can be any colour Redby desired which was basically anything. Though Redby did briefly scale back the number of services it ran with two Darts being sold to Busways (32794/32795) and 5 Leyland Lynxes (Mk1 4817/4856/4857 & Mk2 4818/4819) & a Volvo B10B (4875) to Go North East before plodding along for a number of years before finally closing shop with vehicles being sold to Go North East of which only a Volvo Olympian was briefly used for a School Contract (9367 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...9611267078).

Anyway I've rambled on too much.

Just to add a bit more detail to this for anyone who’s interested.

Favourite started up way back in Aug 1987 with a couple of services from Durham city to Easington Lane and West Cornforth with more added and extended/amended over the subsequent years up to 1989 – largely across County Durham and what is now the coalfields area of Sunderland, with extension as far south as Stockton at one point.  The moved depots a number of times, staring out on South Hetton Road, then Pearson Industrial Estate then New Herrington Ind Est, before merging into the Wheatsheaf.

The first Sunderland town service to come under the brand was the 13/14 in 1990 (up to that point these had been Sunderland Busways routes based on the former TWPTE 113/114).

Favourite didn’t take over the TWOC services as such in Sunderland.  They coexisted for a time, most of the E6—BVK minis getting TWOC names with the end of the batch carrying Favourite livery, and mostly used for the Durham/Seaham routes.

At the point of acquisition, TWOC operated Services 104, 107, 110 115, 116, 168 and X2 in the Sunderland area.  Services 104 and 115 duplicated existing Sunderland Busways routes and were discontinued.  Service 107/110 became Sunderland Busways services, replacing Busways’ own Service 110 (which was one of a number which had been set up to run TWOC out of business).

Existing Sunderland Busways Minibus Services 17, 21, 25, 31 & 115 together with Service 116 were transferred to the new Tyne & Wear Omnibus Company subsidiary.  The only one of these to ever become a Favourite operated route some three and a bit years later was Service 31.  Services 115 & 116 didn’t last long, while the 17, 21 and 25 went back to Sunderland Busways operation once TWOC was wound down, using the same TWOC liveried vehicles but with huge yellow Sunderland Busways logos applied.  The 139/140 transferred from Busways to TWOC operated in 1991 but were never Favourite routes, again using the vehicles mentioned above after TWOC was discontinued, then became normal Stagecoach Busways routes (and then part of the Redby franchising).

In terms of the Favourite fleet in the end seven Darts carried Favourite livery (three from new) along with four N-reg Mercs (all from new) as well as the older Dodge minis and Leopards & coaches already mentioned.  Once the decision was made to kill off the Busways colours in favour of the stripes, it became a bit of a free for all with the wrong colour/named buses all over the region so there were a number of Blue Bus Services coaches with Favourite names, as well as a couple of former TWOC minis (and e.g. Economic deckers with BBS names, Newcastle buses in Sunderland etc). 

Technically the division became “Stagecoach Favourite” for a time though as far as I recall that logo only appeared on a handful of printed timetable leaflets and wasn’t carried by any vehicles (unlike Stagecoach Economic).

(14 Jun 2023, 8:34 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Happy to be corrected, but would I be right in saying this is the first time Stagecoach has ventured into the post 1974 Co. Durham? I can't think of anything ever serving it.

Stagecoach Hartlepool had the 236 (Trimdom - Hartlepool) evening contract in the mid 90's before losing it to Ok Travel then Jaylaine as the 226 a few years later.

Last I heard that if Busways didn’t start up Favourite Services then Tyne and Wear omnibus company wouldn’t of existed, I heard that Trimdon Motor Services were a massing a lot of vehicles after dereg 86 to start up Teeside motor services for Cleveland area, and Busways thought there were going to enter Tyne and Wear and so started there own subsidiary called Favourite Services to compete against Trimdon Motor Services for contract work in the Durham area, and then in turn Trimdon Motor Services set up Tyne and Wear omnibus Company to compete against Newcastle busways at first then branched out to Sunderland area and picked up lot of contract work in Tyne and Wear. When the owners of T.M.S retired, there didn’t want to sell TWOC to Busways, so there sold it to Northern and there immediately sold the business to Busways but kept TWOC bus depot at Saltmeadows road as part of the deal.


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(15 Jun 2023, 9:23 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Enjoyed that, honestly never heard of them before now. Interesting little history behind them, never realised there were bus wars in Durham aswell - I did know about the Darlington and Newcastle (Wallsend etc) ones though.

Also speaking of this route, https://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/bygone/...rd1989.pdf - it's as ironic as it can get that they're venturing back there 30 years later on a subsidised route, how times have changed for the worst.

maybe stagecoach needs to be back in darlo, stagecoach routes have always been local bus routes mostly especially in the north east, they could probably run the darlington town runs better than arriva

(16 Jun 2023, 2:52 pm)Countydurhambuses wrote [ -> ]maybe stagecoach needs to be back in darlo, stagecoach routes have always been local bus routes mostly especially in the north east, they could probably run the darlington town runs better than arriva

Oh I don't know about that, Darlington was a right mess and that's an understatement. Arriva generally run the place well enough I think tbh. The latest cuts are quite brutal in places but local town bus services don't work anywhere - most were cut years ago in most places so it's outlasted many other places and you can arguably get to every other major town in the area with an at least 30 minute bus service without a change.

(15 Jun 2023, 9:03 pm)Rapidsnap wrote [ -> ]Favourite name survived into the Stagecoach era with even some Mercs arriving in Favourite livery instead of Stagecoach Stripes.

Heres a photos of N498RVK by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258881

A couple of Darts carried the livery too.
Alexander bodied K715PCN by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6036153252
Plaxton bodied M770DRG by John Law. https://www.flickr.com/photos/johnmightycat/6086258877

Originally set up in response to TMS (Trimdon Motor Services) setting up routes in Tyne and Wear against established Busways routes at De-regulation under the Tyne and Wear Omnibus Company (TWOC) name in Sunderland and Newcastle. In response Busways opened a depot in the Durham area mainly using a fleet of secondhand Leyland Leopard from GMPTE still in their Manchester colours (hence why Favourite adopted the Orange livery (here is one of said Leopards in a photo by Ken Weaver https://www.flickr.com/photos/131962719@N04/49517451237). There were Leopards from elsewhere to bolster the fleet. However this came to ahead in 1989 when TMS sold TWOC and it's depot in Gateshead (these days known as Saltmeadows) to Go-Ahead Northern who then sold the vehicles and routes to Busways the very same day (Go-Ahead would lease Saltmeadows to Gateshead Council for a number of years as a base for them to repair their big wagon fleet). TMS would later be sold to Caldaire (Owners of United) in 1990.

Busways maintained a presence in County Durham under the Favourite brand name having won a number of contracts in the area as well as the services they were running were bringing in money still. They also used the TWOC name for a short while on various minibus / small bus routes before the Sunderland part of TWOC were replaced by Favourite whilst the Newcastle part of TWOC were absorbed in to Blue Bus Services.

Despite the Stagecoach takeover in 1994, the Favourite name and livery persisted for contracted routes in the Sunderland Area and Country Durham, effectively the low cost unit for Sunderland depot. Not sure when their County Durham outstation disappeared though. The livery eventually disappeared around 1997 I believe. Some of the low cost routes operated by Favourite (14/14A/139/140) were then sub-contracted to Redby Buses in 1998 originally using buses painted in Stagecoach stripes (like this Marshall bodied Volvo B6 by Peter Barclay - https://www.flickr.com/photos/27204054@N07/3239187324) until this requirement was relaxed in 1999 where buses can be any colour Redby desired which was basically anything. Though Redby did briefly scale back the number of services it ran with two Darts being sold to Busways (32794/32795) and 5 Leyland Lynxes (Mk1 4817/4856/4857 & Mk2 4818/4819) & a Volvo B10B (4875) to Go North East before plodding along for a number of years before finally closing shop with vehicles being sold to Go North East of which only a Volvo Olympian was briefly used for a School Contract (9367 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...9611267078).

Anyway I've rambled on too much.

Thanks for taking the time to write this. Made interesting reading

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So the Sunderland timetables are up, and by a quick glance it looks like we're getting a nice amount of standing time still (can't be arsed to compare running time). Tightest I can see is the 13 which appears to get 1 min at Doxy and 3 mins at Town End, and as I suspected, this means Ashbrooke now has a full nighttime and Sunday service from Stagecoach (will that mean the 61A gets withdrawn?).

Most generous is the 16 (14 mins at Hastings Hill) and 23 (13 mins at Thorney and 5 mins at Dene Estate; up from 9 and 4 currently).

---

On the service change page, click the route numbers
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-up...:33:41:560

(17 Jun 2023, 11:26 am)F114TML wrote [ -> ]So the Sunderland timetables are up, and by a quick glance it looks like we're getting a nice amount of standing time still (can't be arsed to compare running time). Tightest I can see is the 13 which appears to get 1 min at Doxy and 3 mins at Town End, and as I suspected, this means Ashbrooke now has a full nighttime and Sunday service from Stagecoach (will that mean the 61A gets withdrawn?).

Most generous is the 16 (14 mins at Hastings Hill) and 23 (13 mins at Thorney and 5 mins at Dene Estate; up from 9 and 4 currently).

---

On the service change page, click the route numbers
https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-up...:33:41:560

The 11 is going to be a strange one too doubling back on St Lukes Terrace. Wonder if its going to serve the stops on either side of the road

(17 Jun 2023, 4:24 pm)Dans_bus_photos wrote [ -> ]The 11 is going to be a strange one too doubling back on St Lukes Terrace. Wonder if its going to serve the stops on either side of the road

I am really glad it is doing the loop as it is a lot less of an impact then turning right and going straight up to Hylton Road beforehand. As the stop is far up the road in either direction. This may also cause slight passenger increase on the 18/99 & (GNE) 8.

On another note its good to see Stagecoach have kept onto the 18/18A I was sure they were going to go.
And hasn't the 16 gone from 10 - 15 minute frequency? (seems like a big drop especially considering its always packed north and south of the river (being the only direct bus to serve Red House, Witherwack then Hastings Hill).

(14 Jun 2023, 9:14 pm)col87 wrote [ -> ]I believe if it’s true about the 59 this would be the first time Stagecoach will have had a service in Durham City.  

There are also rumours of streetlites from Sheffield depot moving to Hartlepool although it’s probably unlikely.

Stagecoach seem to like 'expanding' the area covered by their ticketing, using funded services such as North Tyneside (10/11/317/54) and UTC contracts now with 59 for County Durham. They are not really considering doing anything for growth besides new X24 Sunday Journey's (Which imo should include the X34 and they can inter-work them to reduce costs)


Its unlikely the rumours of the streetlites are true 1) due to the age they are 18 plates so surely they would cascade older vehicles...however if it is true there are 19 Stagecoach Streetlites. Does anyone have the full PVR requirement for Hartlepool Depot? I am unsure with the frequency reductions whether or not it is above or below that...?

Final note this is probably never going to happen because it is SNE and Hartlepool, probably mass cascades like Stockton gained.

(18 Jun 2023, 5:48 pm)logidoodah wrote [ -> ]Stagecoach seem to like 'expanding' the area covered by their ticketing, using funded services such as North Tyneside (10/11/317/54) and UTC contracts now with 59 for County Durham. They are not really considering doing anything for growth besides new X24 Sunday Journey's (Which imo should include the X34 and they can inter-work them to reduce costs)


Its unlikely the rumours of the streetlites are true 1) due to the age they are 18 plates so surely they would cascade older vehicles...however if it is true there are 19 Stagecoach Streetlites. Does anyone have the full PVR requirement for Hartlepool Depot? I am unsure with the frequency reductions whether or not it is above or below that...?

Final note this is probably never going to happen because it is SNE and Hartlepool, probably mass cascades like Stockton gained.

The X24 isn't running on a Sunday, there's no new timetable for a Sunday on Stagecoach's side... traveline was also wrong... yet NEXUS includes a Sunday service.

I don't know the ins and outs of VOSA applications but re the X24, either someone at Stagecoach mucked up, or someone at Traveline did. That Sunday timetable fits perfectly with the xmas one last year (the duties for that timetable are still up on the board in the office btw). The X24 is NOT getting a Sunday service.

Side note; paper timetables are making a comeback, we recieved a box of them today (or possibly yesterday). I suspect they'll be on buses soon™️.

Updated network map for Sunderland, not showing the 99, so thst defo confirms it’s changed hands (again)! 

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-up...:33:41:560

(21 Jun 2023, 11:27 am)Economic505 wrote [ -> ]Updated network map for Sunderland, not showing the 99, so thst defo confirms it’s changed hands (again)! 

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-up...:33:41:560

Awarded to GNE from July

(21 Jun 2023, 11:27 am)Economic505 wrote [ -> ]Updated network map for Sunderland, not showing the 99, so thst defo confirms it’s changed hands (again)! 

https://www.stagecoachbus.com/service-up...:33:41:560

Timetables are now on the buses.

I do enjoy the various little errors in the map, such as Barnes Park being between Queen Alex Road and Essen Way, the Wheatsheaf appearing to have moved to where my Uni flat was on Swan Street, and the Academy of Light has apparently been flattened to make way for Dene Estate. The Southwick label is borderline. For the ones that label the estates, I feel it would've been better to just shade the area, or attatch the tag to the terminus.

(21 Jun 2023, 9:10 pm)F114TML wrote [ -> ]I do enjoy the various little errors in the map, such as Barnes Park being between Queen Alex Road and Essen Way, the Wheatsheaf appearing to have moved to where my Uni flat was on Swan Street, and the Academy of Light has apparently been flattened to make way for Dene Estate. The Southwick label is borderline. For the ones that label the estates, I feel it would've been better to just shade the area, or attatch the tag to the terminus.

Worrying when it's been produced by professional cartographers, I'd assumed it was in house when I saw it!

Might partly be because they have opted for thin lines for the routes but it struck me how sparse the coverage looks, but then the South Shields one is same format and looks on first glance as being a lot more comprehensive in terms of network coverage.  It's been discussed before but sad to see really what was a network of around 30 services in the Sunderland Busways days reduced to 12 now (excluding the Es which were always Shields' operated till recently).

I don't think it is necessarily sad, considering the 3 (for example) is made up of the 2 (Town - Farringdon), 3 (Town - Plains Farm - Gilley Law) and 27 (Town - North Hylton Road - Hylton Castle), and was there really a need for three routes between Thorney Close, the Town and Fulwell/Dene Estate? Christ knows what a certain someone hellbent on diverting the 61 just cos would've made of that!

(17 Jun 2023, 4:24 pm)Dans_bus_photos wrote [ -> ]The 11 is going to be a strange one too doubling back on St Lukes Terrace. Wonder if its going to serve the stops on either side of the road

Don't think I'd noticed before how mad the timings are at the other end of the route, with the 10 & 11 departing Grangetown within 1 minute of each other (though presumably this is to enable the timings to work out to given the even 10 mins combined on the shared sections of the route).