North East Buses

(16 Apr 2014, 9:40 am)peter wrote [ -> ]The contract for the H1/H2 ends on the 30th April, unless it is to be replaced, could the two solos used not be repainted and then subsequently used to replace 2827 and 2828 in the long-term?

As I understand, 2835/6 will return to the main Darlington use fleet but one of them will replace one of the newer MPDs to Durham for the 168.

(16 Apr 2014, 10:10 am)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]As I understand, 2835/6 will return to the main Darlington use fleet but one of them will replace one of the newer MPDs to Durham for the 168.

May, not will. Still to be decided who is losing the Euro3 vehicle required for the 168. It may end up being Stockton, who will gain another MPD from elsewhere to cover.
True enough saying 2835/6 will be freed up in a few weeks, though. Redcar could never lose buses to Darlington without leaving themselves short, given 2827/8 are to increase the PVR at Whitby. It remains to be seen what will happen with those two during the winter, though!

Wonder how long it will be before one of the solos end up on the X4

4005, which has been parked in a corner of Blyth depot for a few months,has gained a wavy yellow line around its front,and is now minus it's lower front centre number plate panel- perhaps in readiness for disposal.

(16 Apr 2014, 9:35 am)peter wrote [ -> ]I was led to believe that 1302 has already transfered to Durham, unless it has transfered back, in theory they must be rejecting 1301 which is still 'supposed' to be at Darlington.

I know 1301 has been at Belmont depot for about a fortnight now, one of those X reg Darts (possibly 1302) was parked up in Darlington depot tonight.

(16 Apr 2014, 6:03 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]I know 1301 has been at Belmont depot for about a fortnight now, one of those X reg Darts (possibly 1302) was parked up in Darlington depot tonight.

There must have been some confusion as I was told 1302 was at Durham while 1301 was still at Darlington. But as it turns out (according to yourself), 1301 is in fact at Durham while 1302 is at Darlington. In theory, 1302 should also be at Durham but Belmont have decided they'd rather have 1712....in that case, it must be bad!

(16 Apr 2014, 6:44 pm)peter wrote [ -> ]There must have been some confusion as I was told 1302 was at Durham while 1301 was still at Darlington. But as it turns out (according to yourself), 1301 is in fact at Durham while 1302 is at Darlington. In theory, 1302 should also be at Durham but Belmont have decided they'd rather have 1712....in that case, it must be bad!

Them Darts aren't great, when they were on Service 7 they were constantly breaking down, I especially took a disliking to them after one day one was on Darlington Service 5A and was replaced by another one in Darlington and the replacement only made it as far as High Northgate (the next stop) as it had lost all power, so I had to cram on another one on Service 7 to complete my journey.

A couple have blown engines and gearboxes which have had "second hand" replacements sourced from Alphas. I take it Durham aren't impressed with 1302 and have taken 1712 as a replacement from Darlington (even though in reality it never got there).

Arriva Fleet Movements 18th April 2014

1309/1739: Redcar to Darlington (officially temporary move until H1/H2 finishes, in reality these will remain at Redcar and instead 1711 and the un-moved X-reg Dart are the replacements)
2827/8: Darlington to Whitby
7367: Ashington to disposal
7469: Jesmond to Reserve (due to move to Durham in May)
7484-9: Reserve to Whitby
7490/2/4: Reserve to Ashington
7501-4: Whitby to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7505-8: Ashington to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7512/3: Whitby to Ashington

1712 is currently parked up in Durham Bus Station.

An Optare Solo has been branded for the new Whitby Park and Ride. It uses the same logo as the Scarborough Park and Ride only its purple instead of blue and its obviously got Whitby on it rather than Scarborough. The system for the route number is also the same as the Scarborough Park and Ride with the number being 171 since the Park and Ride site (or what there is of it so far) is located on the A171.

The new timetables for Durham changes from May 4th and Darlington changes from May 18th are now on the Arriva website.

Its mostly minor changes to timings.

Services 6/42 don't advertise connections anymore, so presumably they won't interwork anymore.

Service 75/76 will be diverted once again due to the landslip at Carlbury from Saturday 12th May for an expected 10 months.

(17 Apr 2014, 11:23 am)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]Arriva Fleet Movements 18th April 2014

1309/1739: Redcar to Darlington (officially temporary move until H1/H2 finishes, in reality these will remain at Redcar and instead 1711 and the un-moved X-reg Dart are the replacements)
2827/8: Darlington to Whitby
7367: Ashington to disposal
7469: Jesmond to Reserve (due to move to Durham in May)
7484-9: Reserve to Whitby
7490/2/4: Reserve to Ashington
7501-4: Whitby to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7505-8: Ashington to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7512/3: Whitby to Ashington

NEB Fleet Lists updated accordingly.

(17 Apr 2014, 2:36 pm)Robert wrote [ -> ]An Optare Solo has been branded for the new Whitby Park and Ride. It uses the same logo as the Scarborough Park and Ride only its purple instead of blue and its obviously got Whitby on it rather than Scarborough. The system for the route number is also the same as the Scarborough Park and Ride with the number being 171 since the Park and Ride site (or what there is of it so far) is located on the A171.

The Optare Solos are 2827 and 2828 - the second link shows the vehicle in service showing service 171 (as you've referred to) on its destination display.

Is EcoCity 4809 back on the road yet?

I'm intrigued as to what an EcoCity would look like in Arriva's Interurban livery, quite nice I would reckon.

Just to confirm, do Arriva (as well as SNE and GNE) accept Network One tickets with no problems?
Hopefully going to use this for my trip on Saturday; just don't want to run into any problems with it.

http://www.networkonetickets.co.uk/ticke...cing#rover

I wonder why they're using the older Enviro 400's for the Sapphire upgrade? I thought it would've been 7514 to 7521.

(17 Apr 2014, 6:36 pm)northern156 wrote [ -> ]Just to confirm, do Arriva (as well as SNE and GNE) accept Network One tickets with no problems?
Hopefully going to use this for my trip on Saturday; just don't want to run into any problems with it.

http://www.networkonetickets.co.uk/ticke...cing#rover

Jesmond drivers should be fine with it, with them being based in Tyne & Wear. Any other drivers may question it though, as I doubt they're commonly used on services which do go outside of Tyne & Wear.

(17 Apr 2014, 7:45 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Jesmond drivers should be fine with it, with them being based in Tyne & Wear. Any other drivers may question it though, as I doubt they're commonly used on services which do go outside of Tyne & Wear.

It's the Durham/Stockton drivers that question it. Generally, Ashington/Blyth drivers know what the Nexus CAT is, and the Network One.

(17 Apr 2014, 7:50 pm)Tom wrote [ -> ]It's the Durham/Stockton drivers that question it. Generally, Ashington/Blyth drivers know what the Nexus CAT is, and the Network One.

I've had a few problems with Ashington drivers in the past, but not as many as Belmont drivers to say the least (but that could be down to the amount of times I travel on buses housed at both of those depots).

Never had a problem with a Blyth driver and off the top of my head, I've only had to explain what the ticket was to a Stockton driver once.

(17 Apr 2014, 7:53 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]I've had a few problems with Ashington drivers in the past, but not as many as Belmont drivers to say the least (but that could be down to the amount of times I travel on buses housed at both of those depots).

Never had a problem with a Blyth driver and off the top of my head, I've only had to explain what the ticket was to a Stockton driver once.

Fair enough if I even properly knew what it was!

What is the difference between that and a North East Explorer? Surely the latter must be more recognised?

(17 Apr 2014, 7:55 pm)northern156 wrote [ -> ]Fair enough if I even properly knew what it was!

What is the difference between that and a North East Explorer? Surely the latter must be more recognised?

You can only use a Day Rover in Tyne & Wear (albeit on any form of public transport), but you can use a North East Explorer on all forms of public transport in the North East (minus a few 'special' bus services).

All drivers should know about the North East Explorer, but some drivers that aren't based in Tyne & Wear mightn't know about the Day Rover because it's a Tyne & Wear only ticket (just like the Nexus CAT as Tom refers to).

I'll just settle for an Explorer then. Might as well as I'm planning on going as far north as Morpeth, and I will use it for going across to Newcastle in the morning on the 685.

Thanks for the help guys!

Have to say I've sold tons of Explorers in this holiday period! More than I've ever known... Sold another one today, did 6 in one day last week! Didn't think that many people knew about them... lol

(17 Apr 2014, 8:25 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Have to say I've sold tons of Explorers in this holiday period! More than I've ever known... Sold another one today, did 6 in one day last week! Didn't think that many people knew about them... lol

Out of interest, how much do the companies get for the explorers. I've noticed loads of drivers not keying in the day tickets/weekly tickets onto the machines, so revenue could be lost from this?

(17 Apr 2014, 8:34 pm)Tom wrote [ -> ]Out of interest, how much do the companies get for the explorers. I've noticed loads of drivers not keying in the day tickets/weekly tickets onto the machines, so revenue could be lost from this?

Not sure how it works exactly but the revenue will be split between all operators who sell, and accept, said tickets.

For example you've got Arriva, Go North East and Stagecoach, Weardale, Nexus (Metro) and all of their contractors (Nexusbus), Durham CC and all of their contractors (Scarlet Band, Weardale etc etc), Northumberland CC and all of their contractors - plus any other operators who accept them on commercial services (not sure if Glen Valley etc do any more commercially).

Not to mention a cut of the revenue will go to Network Ticketing to pay for the scheme and advertising and all that.
Obviously each operator will get a different cut of revenue depending on how many they accept, which is why drivers need to be keying in these tickets.

At Stockton our machines have a "Pass" button and a separate button for Explorers and Easyriders which we obviously gain revenue from!

(17 Apr 2014, 8:47 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Not sure how it works exactly but the revenue will be split between all operators who sell, and accept, said tickets.

For example you've got Arriva, Go North East and Stagecoach, Weardale, Nexus (Metro) and all of their contractors (Nexusbus), Durham CC and all of their contractors (Scarlet Band, Weardale etc etc), Northumberland CC and all of their contractors - plus any other operators who accept them on commercial services (not sure if Glen Valley etc do any more commercially).

Not to mention a cut of the revenue will go to Network Ticketing to pay for the scheme and advertising and all that.
Obviously each operator will get a different cut of revenue depending on how many they accept, which is why drivers need to be keying in these tickets.

At Stockton our machines have a "Pass" button and a separate button for Explorers and Easyriders which we obviously gain revenue from!

I know the Coast & Castles services sell a lot of them, as tourists obviously will be visiting a lot of places around the area. One one occasion, I saw a driver sell 3 X £26.50 Arriva Weekly Passes, so that's good for Arriva, and they sell loads of Family Day Tickets too. Fairly profitable services like, probably the most profitable at Ashington. However, I do find the single fares on them a bit expensive, like £2.50 from Regent Centre to Morpeth is a rip off. If child singles work out as half of the adult fare, that'd make it £5 for a adult :O
Must admit, the £7.50 day ticket is fantastic value, aswell as the £13.50 family day saver.

At most Go North East depots, the ticket machines I've saw have had loads of different options, like ''Buzzfare'', ''Get Around'' etc. Go North East drivers do usually key these in. When I had a look on the 1 today on when I was sitting on the front seat, I noticed it said it had 95 (!) passengers, not sure if the driver has been keying too many of the fares in, as the bus was full, but no where near 95 passengers!

(17 Apr 2014, 8:53 pm)Tom wrote [ -> ]I know the Coast & Castles services sell a lot of them, as tourists obviously will be visiting a lot of places around the area. One one occasion, I saw a driver sell 3 X £26.50 Arriva Weekly Passes, so that's good for Arriva, and they sell loads of Family Day Tickets too. Fairly profitable services like, probably the most profitable at Ashington. However, I do find the single fares on them a bit expensive, like £2.50 from Regent Centre to Morpeth is a rip off. If child singles work out as half of the adult fare, that'd make it £5 for a adult :O
Must admit, the £7.50 day ticket is fantastic value, aswell as the £13.50 family day saver.

At most Go North East depots, the ticket machines I've saw have had loads of different options, like ''Buzzfare'', ''Get Around'' etc. Go North East drivers do usually key these in. When I had a look on the 1 today on when I was sitting on the front seat, I noticed it said it had 95 (!) passengers, not sure if the driver has been keying too many of the fares in, as the bus was full, but no where near 95 passengers!

The single fares outside of town/city areas are always more expensive, for example once we get into North Yorkshire or County Durham, the fares go up rapidly. Middlesbrough-Sedgefield if I remember right is £5.20 single for example, compared to Middlesbrough-Easington for just £3.60 - so £5 RGC-Morpeth wouldn't surprise me. At least you can still get step entrance haulage on long runs up there for a few more months with 7482/3 staying!

The ERG machines have tons of "hot keys" across the bottom which can be set up according to different needs - Stagecoach had them with Megarider, Tripper etc, basically saves you going through the menus, a quicker way to issue the heavily used tickets. Interesting to hear GNE have a passenger count (on the main screen?) - I'm guessing it just counts hoardings though so part way through the route it could show 95 but say 50 people have alighted since the start of the trip, then only 45 would remain on board.

(17 Apr 2014, 9:19 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]The single fares outside of town/city areas are always more expensive, for example once we get into North Yorkshire or County Durham, the fares go up rapidly. Middlesbrough-Sedgefield if I remember right is £5.20 single for example, compared to Middlesbrough-Easington for just £3.60 - so £5 RGC-Morpeth wouldn't surprise me. At least you can still get step entrance haulage on long runs up there for a few more months with 7482/3 staying!

The ERG machines have tons of "hot keys" across the bottom which can be set up according to different needs - Stagecoach had them with Megarider, Tripper etc, basically saves you going through the menus, a quicker way to issue the heavily used tickets. Interesting to hear GNE have a passenger count (on the main screen?) - I'm guessing it just counts hoardings though so part way through the route it could show 95 but say 50 people have alighted since the start of the trip, then only 45 would remain on board.

I noticed when I asked for a £5 Arriva Day Ticket on the 306 a few months ago, when I was going up to Alnwick, it took ages for the driver to find it, whereas on Go North East buses I normally get my ticket instantly, so there is one good thing about ERG machines. However, I do like Arriva's Wayfarer 200 machines because they update the location automatically, and this will avoid people been wrongly charged, or tickets not being accepted on smartcards, like some members brought up a few weeks ago.

And yeah, brilliant news about 7482/7483 statying, but they'll probably only be found on the 20/X20, 30 and 34 because of the ''Low Floor Guarantee'' they have on some Ashington services. Regarding Ashington depot, is it likely the 57/57A will receive newer buses this year? Even though the current MPD's used on the service are well suited due to the comfortable seating, I think it could do with bigger buses, especially due to the fact it interworks with the X14. However, to be fair, I can only see it getting Solos if it does get upgraded, and it does only really get standees from Seaton Deleval area to Cramlington, and sometimes around Whitley Bay-Earsdon. Morpeth-Cramlington has decent loads, but Cramlington-Ashington normally doesn't.