North East Buses

Something I was thinking of to distract me from the sheer boredom of sitting on 4811 on over an hour and a half.

I think there should be two X21's an hour with the extra one connecting to service 21A and I think you could time it so there is a bus around every 10 minutes between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The departures from Park Lane could be like this:
05 mins past - 22 to Durham.
15 mins past - X21 to Peterlee and Darlington.
25 mins past - 23 to Hartlepool.
35 mins past - 22 to Durham.
45 mins past - X21 to Peterlee and Middlesbrough.
55 mins past - 23 to Hartlepool.

I still think part of the reason the X21 hasn't been a massive success because it leaves Peterlee Bus Station for Sunderland just behind the 23 and from Park Lane it is sandwiched between the 22 and 23, part the reason the 1615 journey probably left with 2 passengers (me being one of them) was because the 22 and X7 left Park Lane late.

Another thing where have all the people in the Oakerside area in Peterlee who travelled to Sunderland gone, a few used to get on to Sunderland yet now they only have the 21/X21 once an hour they have disappeared (although I've only used the 21/X21 on a morning and an evening so I may not be getting the full picture on numbers on this part of the route).

Also they still can't seem to show the correct display on the 21 to Peterlee with most occasions I've seen it on the branded examples it has just displayed Peterlee instead of Peterlee for Sunderland and I'm not imagining the Peterlee for Sunderland display as I've seen pictures on Flickr.

Saw one of the unbranded refurbished 09 reg MAX Enviro 400's and it still had an advert for Lingfield Point from its days at Darlington depot inside.

(21 Nov 2014, 1:23 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]They shouldn't be far off. Just need the buses back from Blackburn...

Half of them haven't even gone yet!

From some of todays loadings on the X1 best one..... I,m a little concerned that the max streetlites  ordered  may not be the answer!

From some of todays loadings on the X1 best one..... I,m a little concerned that the max streetlites  ordered  may not be the answer!

The Streetlite's have 44 seats (same as the Pulsars). Was there lots of standees, perhaps this route should at least be considered for double deckers.

(22 Nov 2014, 5:56 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]The Streetlite's have 44 seats (same as the Pulsars). Was there lots of standees, perhaps this route should at least be considered for double deckers.

With the Stockton boards not being able to be allocated deckers, due to them not fitting on the maintenance ramps, it's unlikely to happen. The only other option would be a 15 minute frequency on the X1 during the day I think. Would mean only half of them continuing to the X2 towards Newcastle.

(22 Nov 2014, 5:56 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]The Streetlite's have 44 seats (same as the Pulsars). Was there lots of standees, perhaps this route should at least be considered for double deckers.

I would like to see a frequency increase before deckers, but we'll see what will happen. The Streetlites won't give much room for growth if so

Wrong X1 aureolin!

I would like to see a frequency increase before deckers, but we'll see what will happen. The Streetlites won't give much room for growth if so

They could increase the 1 and X1 to every 20 minutes (combined 10 minutes) the only issues are the screens being fitted to the Pulsars and would also mean a PVR increase, also the 1 interworks with services 5/5A and they can't really run as a standalone service (they tried that and it was an utter disaster!) there is nothing in Bishop Auckland that the 5/5A could interwork with in Bishop Auckland either so would have to sit in Bishop Auckland Bus Station for around 25 minutes.

(22 Nov 2014, 6:08 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]With the Stockton boards not being able to be allocated deckers, due to them not fitting on the maintenance ramps, it's unlikely to happen. The only other option would be a 15 minute frequency on the X1 during the day I think. Would mean only half of them continuing to the X2 towards Newcastle.

Think he may have been talking about Darlington's X1?

But yes, the loadings on Stockton/Durham's X1 are also concerning. Today's departure leaving Stockton at 10:50am arrived into Durham with standees (with a Pulsar allocated). I'm thankful I don't have to experience the peak time runs on weekdays...

But yes, the loadings on Stockton/Durham's X1 are also concerning. Today's departure leaving Stockton at 10:50am arrived into Durham with standees (with a Pulsar allocated). I'm thankful I don't have to experience the peak time runs on weekdays...

I've rode it in the middle of weekday afternoons and I've had to stand leaving Durham on a Pulsar.

Dare I say that the 0946 X2 from Durham yesterday morning had a good few passengers on, many got off at Framwellgate Moor (New College students) and then a good few got on in Low Fell.

(22 Nov 2014, 6:09 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]I would like to see a frequency increase before deckers, but we'll see what will happen. The Streetlites won't give much room for growth if so

The Pulsars on the X1 do get full or close to full at peak times during the week, but the last few weeks, Saturdays have seen the biggest loadings with many standees on the service into Darlo. I can see a frequency increase happening especially given the large amount of people coming from Bishop & Shildon into Darlo due in part to the decline of Bishop Auckland and also because Tindale Crescent is also becoming a more popular destination - it was very busy when I was there today.

It would also be good to see a Sunday X1 service.

(22 Nov 2014, 10:30 pm)John_R wrote [ -> ]The Pulsars on the X1 do get full or close to full at peak times during the week, but the last few weeks, Saturdays have seen the biggest loadings with many standees on the service into Darlo. I can see a frequency increase happening especially given the large amount of people coming from Bishop & Shildon into Darlo due in part to the decline of Bishop Auckland and also because Tindale Crescent is also becoming a more popular destination - it was very busy when I was there today.

It would also be good to see a Sunday X1 service.

Something will probably have to be done soon with the X1, whether it be a frequency increase or being upgraded to double decker operation.

Not sure if we're likely to see a Sunday X1, I'm not sure what the loads are like on the 1B on a Sunday. You Could possibly have the X1 run to Crook on a Sunday and have service 1B run as far as Bishop Auckland and possibly divert it to run via Middleton Road, St John's Road, Central Parade and Church Street (Service 5 route) to King William then run the normal daytime service 1 route to Bishop Auckland.

(22 Nov 2014, 10:57 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Something will probably have to be done soon with the X1, whether it be a frequency increase or being upgraded to double decker operation.

Not sure if we're likely to see a Sunday X1, I'm not sure what the loads are like on the 1B on a Sunday. You Could possibly have the X1 run to Crook on a Sunday and have service 1B run as far as Bishop Auckland and possibly divert it to run via Middleton Road, St John's Road, Central Parade and Church Street (Service 5 route) to King William then run the normal daytime service 1 route to Bishop Auckland.

You'll never see the X1 drivers work on a Sunday unless they do overtime on Darlington work, they have 6 days weeks sometimes 

Passed an X24 on the way home from Newcastle Airport that was heading for the Metrocentre, with about 3 or 4 passengers on a Pulsar. Hardly surprising that it's being dropped on a Sunday after Xmas.

Passed an X24 on the way home from Newcastle Airport that was heading for the Metrocentre, with about 3 or 4 passengers on a Pulsar. Hardly surprising that it's being dropped on a Sunday after Xmas.

I rode the X24 when I went to the Metrocentre rally this year and it had a decent amount of passengers onboard. Must have been a one off. I think the timings for the X24 on a Sunday are all wrong, the first one leaves Durham at 0910 arriving at 0952 an hour before the shops open and the last one leaves the MetroCentre at 1755 almost an hour after the shops have closed (I know the cinema and restaurants are open later) I think the service should have started at 1010 and the last one leaving Durham at 1610 and the MetroCentre at 1655.

I still think the X24 would do better if Arriva promoted it a bit more, as apart from the £1 return ticket last week I have never seen any promotion for this service and that was poor as it was just posts on their Facebook page and a small poster next to the timetables in Durham Bus Station and the end result was disappointing there was only a small handful of passengers on the 1110 from Durham that day. I once went to the Metrocentre when the service started at Bishop Auckland and when it arrived at the MetroCentre there was an announcement over the tannoy saying something like "passengers who have arrived off service X24 the last bus to Bishop Auckland today will be at 1625" that doesn't happen anymore, you sometimes still get it for the GNE X22 though. I would like to see timetables on all buses in the Durham area.

In regards to Service X24 - I was on the 13:55 run from the Metrocentre to Chester-le-Street yesterday. I'd say we left with no more than half a dozen people on.

I'd hate to know what it's like on a Sunday! However, I'm of a fervent belief that Service X22 is more popular purely because of it's frequency, and route. Service X24 always hit traffic on the several times I've used it to and from the Metrocentre, and the result is a constant delay throughout the route.

In regards to Service X24 - I was on the 13:55 run from the Metrocentre to Chester-le-Street yesterday. I'd say we left with no more than half a dozen people on.

 I'd hate to know what it's like on a Sunday! However, I'm of a fervent belief that Service X22 is more popular purely because of it's frequency, and route. Service X24 always hit traffic on the several times I've used it to and from the Metrocentre, and the result is a constant delay throughout the route.

The X22 is hourly and X24 is every 2 hours and Arriva no longer run the X24 during school term time and from January the X24 will no longer run on a Sunday either.

The X22/X24 run pretty much the same route except the X22 stops at all stops between Durham and Birtley while the X24 observes the same stops as the X2, also like we've mentioned alot about the X2 their is no Arriva service to connect to after Framwellgate Moor so unless you live close to a bus stop that the X24 stops at your unlikely to pick up any fare paying customers.

The X1 from Tow law at 8, 9 and 10 30 am usually are well loaded Some student traffic to Darlo is less as the college now has its own buses run by Garnetts.Also Shildon people are now using service 1 more because it is quicker to Cabin Gate and uses Pulsars and is more reliable and punctual since being coupled with the 5/5a It took several attempts to come up with a suitable timetable but is now at its best Remmember when service 1 stood alone and 5's were coupled to 35 and 36 Timekeeping on X1 is an issue as there is little chance to make up any lost time especially on the shorter Darlo to Crook service. The drivers wanted to change the route to go via Hardisty Drive on the outward trips from Darlo to miss the traffic lights bottle neck in Newgate St. but management would not hear of this.The reports on Streetlite performance pulling away and top speed are also a concern for time keeping and possibly a Streetlite should be trialled before 1590 to 1594 are built to Max spec.However as funding is coming from the LST Fund there will be no option but to take the Streetlites

Remmember when service 1 stood alone and 5's were coupled to 35 and 36

Sadly yes! The 5/5A was always late and sometimes never turned up, it became so bad at one point I started getting the Scarlet Band 16 instead.

Thankfully the 5/5A is much better now, but still does run late sometimes.

The 1 does seem better too since the timetable changes and no longer using Enviro 400s.

The X1 has been okay when I've used it but I have seen it arrive in Bishop Auckland Bus Station and Darlington a few minutes a few times and I think the Streetlite's will cause problems on this service.

Was on the 15.45 X21 from Newcastle, it arrived into Haymarket after it was supposed to leave (I boarded at 15.50 and it didn't leave for at least another 5 minutes). Anyway, it was pretty busy, only about 3 double seats left upstairs from what I could see, which made me think, could they run them every half hour individually, making an overall Sunday frequency of every 15 minutes combined? 

(23 Nov 2014, 4:33 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Sadly yes! The 5/5A was always late and sometimes never turned up, it became so bad at one point I started getting the Scarlet Band 16 instead.

Thankfully the 5/5A is much better now, but still does run late sometimes.

The 1 does seem better too since the timetable changes and no longer using Enviro 400s.

The X1 has been okay when I've used it but I have seen it arrive in Bishop Auckland Bus Station and Darlington a few minutes a few times and I think the Streetlite's will cause problems on this service.

Stockton are trialling a Streetlite that has had it's gearbox re-mapped (by Voith) at present to see what effect it has on performance, reliability, and punctuality. Hopefully if successful it will be used across the fleet. I've been on holiday for the last 2 weeks so haven't had chance to drive it yet but hopefully this week I will... It's 1550 anyway being used as the trial vehicle.

(23 Nov 2014, 5:23 pm)tyresmoke wrote [ -> ]Stockton are trialling a Streetlite that has had it's gearbox re-mapped (by Voith) at present to see what effect it has on performance, reliability, and punctuality. Hopefully if successful it will be used across the fleet. I've been on holiday for the last 2 weeks so haven't had chance to drive it yet but hopefully this week I will... It's 1550 anyway being used as the trial vehicle.

And how much extra fuel it is using

(23 Nov 2014, 5:24 pm)citaro5284 wrote [ -> ]And how much extra fuel it is using

Of course!... Hopefully it won't kill the fuel consumption

good to hear that work being done on re mapping gearboxes. Hopefully this will be sorted before 1590 etc. are put into service

Two MAX Scanias are in Darlington, tucked right in the corner of the garage so unfortunately I couldn't ID them.

Hmm, I don't know like. I still say that they should bring back the old X31 / X32 and X33 (refer to the timetable I made a while back) for the following reasons :

- Faster journey times between Newbiggin and Bedlington Red Lion to Newcastle via Hartlands. (X31 / X32)
- Main 15 min combined frequency (X31/X32) with one service every 30 mins via North Seaton (X31) or Wansbeck Hospital (X32).
- 30 min standalone service for other areas of Ashington and Bedlington such as Guide Post and Nedderton (X33)
- Regular evening and Sunday service with a bus approximately every 25-35 mins from Ashington, Bedlington (either Red Lion or Glebe Bank) and inbetween the A1068 and Newcastle.
- Better timekeeping across the board.
- 11 buses would be needed for the X31 / X32 and a further 5 needed for the X33 meeting the current Sapphire amount of buses. Spares could be sourced in time.
- The evening PVR for the X31 / X33 and 35 combined would stand at 7 with minimal idle time but sufficient layover time.
- Evening service to North Seaton provided by X33.
- And yes, it might not be a fancy pancy 10 minute easy combined frequency at Newcastle and Ashington but, the X31 and X32 would be 8 minutes quicker (52 minutes as opppsed to an hour) than the current X21 between Ashington and Newcastle. The X33 would do it in the same time as the current X22 (1 hour).

Something that hasn't been mentioned yet is Jesmond are running a shuttle service 115 between Morpeth and Alnwick, via Felton which has been cut off from the A1 due to a contraflow so the X15 is unable to serve. 2 of the (former) Park & Ride Solo's will be operating this for the next 4 weeks, but I'm unsure which 2 have been chosen.

Another quick note that coach 1207 (V207DJR) has now transferred to Yorkshire

Whilst waiting for service 5 to Darlington today, I overheard someone say that the 5/5A may be going down to operate only once an hour. Can anyone shed some light on this as I use this service and so does other members of my family and carries many elderly passengers and would leave many places with only one bus an hour. I imagine this will turn out to not be true as it is usually quite busy when I've used it but if this did happen I would probably send an email off to Durham County Council to see if they could reroute The Eden's Town Service 17 to miss out Alston Crescent and run Straight along Greenfield Way then via Meadowfield Way then rejoin the route at Burnhill Way.

(24 Nov 2014, 5:11 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Whilst waiting for service 5 to Darlington today, I overheard someone say that the 5/5A may be going down to operate only once an hour. Can anyone shed some light on this as I use this service and so does other members of my family and carries many elderly passengers and would leave many places with only one bus an hour. I imagine this will turn out to not be true as it is usually quite busy when I've used it but if this did happen I would probably send an email off to Durham County Council to see if they could reroute The Eden's Town Service 17 to miss out Alston Crescent and run Straight along Greenfield Way then via Meadowfield Way then rejoin the route at Burnhill Way.

As far as I know there are no changes planned beyond what we already know about.