North East Buses

7636 is now Refurbished.

7631 is now refurbished and is heading to blyth on the 308 and is currently leaving willington square

Sorry for asking but what solos are at redcar/whitby

(03 Jul 2018, 5:45 pm)jimmoc wrote [ -> ]Sorry for asking but what solos are at redcar/whitby

On paper, 2828, 2862, 2870 & 2871.

I think they have 284x (unsure) also at the minute.

(03 Jul 2018, 6:56 pm)RobinHood wrote [ -> ]On paper, 2828, 2862, 2870 & 2871.

I think they have 284x (unsure) also at the minute.

2843 is currently on loan at Redcar depot whilst 1440 has gone to Darlington depot in return.
Arriva North East: 1440 / NK10CFA by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

Is there any particular reason as to why Arriva's Sapphire 22 service does not have double decker vehicles allocated to it?

Out of the four Sapphire services in the Durham city area (22, 24, 6 and 7), it is the only route not to have any Enviro 400 vehicles. Having said that, double deckers are usually allocated to the service at peak times (primarily the 24-branded and 6-branded Enviro 400 vehicles). The point is, if they frequently allocate double deckers to the 22 at peak times, why not brand them for the route like they have done for routes 24, 6 and 7?

Now, if I remember correctly, NK15 DZR (7539) had its branding for the 24 removed in February for a short period of time. However, it has since been restored - evident from the newly-looking vinyl stickers - and now includes a large ad for Dalton Park Shopping Centre on the rear face. So, I wonder if there is a reason why the 22's branding wasn't incorporated onto 7539 with the 24's, given the fact that the 22 and 24 have been cross-branded since the end of last year. It couldn't be down to a lack of space since the X21|X22 in Newcastle have a cross-branded graphic for both routes which fits comfortably onto the sides.

I don't know - just trying to create some conversation that you could engage in.

What are your thoughts?

(04 Jul 2018, 12:33 am)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Is there any particular reason as to why Arriva's Sapphire 22 service does not have double decker vehicles allocated to it?

Out of the four Sapphire services in the Durham city area (22, 24, 6 and 7), it is the only route not to have any Enviro 400 vehicles. Having said that, double deckers are usually allocated to the service at peak times (primarily the 24-branded and 6-branded Enviro 400 vehicles). The point is, if they frequently allocate double deckers to the 22 at peak times, why not brand them for the route like they have done for routes 24, 6 and 7?

Now, if I remember correctly, NK15 DZR (7539) had its branding for the 24 removed in February for a short period of time. However, it has since been restored - evident from the newly-looking vinyl stickers - and now includes a large ad for Dalton Park Shopping Centre on the rear face. So, I wonder if there is a reason why the 22's branding wasn't incorporated onto 7539 with the 24's, given the fact that the 22 and 24 have been cross-branded since the end of last year. It couldn't be down to a lack of space since the X21|X22 in Newcastle have a cross-branded graphic for both routes which fits comfortably onto the sides.

I don't know - just trying to create some conversation that you could engage in.

What are your thoughts?

The 22 will unlikely to be busy enough to justify double deckers. 6 only has them due to the service interworking with scholar's contracts and college runs, 7 has them for busy peak loadings and I think 7538/7539 only ever ended up on the 24 because of Arriva changing their plans to upgrade the 22/24 to Sapphire spec before the 6 due to road works going on in Durham at the time, meaning the 22/24 ended up with the buses that were originally meant to go on the 6.

7539 is allocated to both the 22/24 as both services now interwork, on weekdays it usually seems to be on the same board which starts off the day on the peak X46 journey from Stanhope to Framwellgate Moor. Arriva are useless with route branding which is probably why it still only has 24 branding, at least one of the StreetLite's still only has branding for the 22 as well, the branding was not removed from 7539 at any point.

(04 Jul 2018, 1:05 am)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]The 22 will unlikely to be busy enough to justify double deckers. 6 only has them due to the service interworking with scholar's contracts and college runs, 7 has them for busy peak loadings and I think 7538/7539 only ever ended up on the 24 because of Arriva changing their plans to upgrade the 22/24 to Sapphire spec before the 6 due to road works going on in Durham at the time, meaning the 22/24 ended up with the buses that were originally meant to go on the 6.

7539 is allocated to both the 22/24 as both services now interwork, on weekdays it usually seems to be on the same board which starts off the day on the peak X46 journey from Stanhope to Framwellgate Moor. Arriva are useless with route branding which is probably why it still only has 24 branding, at least one of the StreetLite's still only has branding for the 22 as well, the branding was not removed from 7539 at any point.

Thanks for answering my question. I agree that Arriva are useless when it comes to route branding, as opposed to Go North East which tends to be clear and consistent with artwork. Yes, I've also noticed that one of the Streetlite vehicles still holds branding solely for the 22 - drives me insane when I see it! To be fair, I think most of the Streetlite vehicles for the 22|24 look they are branded for a "2" service due to one of the '2' on 22, and '4' on 24, vinyl stickers being peeled off so quickly after the rebrand on at least two of them.

I must have been thinking of 7538 when referring to the vehicle that had the 24's branding removed - has it been branded with anything since?

I wish Arriva took more pride in their presentation like Go North East does, particularly on Sapphire which is intended to be a "premium" brand. It quite undermines the "premium" concept when their branding materials are evidently cheap and tacky, peeling off within days of being applied - unless that's down to the carelessness of the people who apply them or the surface they are stuck onto - I don't know.

(04 Jul 2018, 11:57 am)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Thanks for answering my question. I agree that Arriva are useless when it comes to route branding, as opposed to Go North East which tends to be clear and consistent with artwork. Yes, I've also noticed that one of the Streetlite vehicles still holds branding solely for the 22 - drives me insane when I see it! To be fair, I think most of the Streetlite vehicles for the 22|24 look they are branded for a "2" service due to one of the '2' on 22, and '4' on 24, vinyl stickers being peeled off so quickly after the rebrand on at least two of them.

I must have been thinking of 7538 when referring to the vehicle that had the 24's branding removed - has it been branded with anything since?

I wish Arriva took more pride in their presentation like Go North East does, particularly on Sapphire which is intended to be a "premium" brand. It quite undermines the "premium" concept when their branding materials are evidently cheap and tacky, peeling off within days of being applied - unless that's down to the carelessness of the people who apply them or the surface they are stuck onto - I don't know.

7538 is still unbranded at Darlington depot, wasn't branded as when it moved to Darlington it was sort of considered a Sapphire spare although it was allocated to the 5A board that works the morning run to Bishop Auckland College although after a few months the additional capacity wasn't required on that 5A run, so is now primarily used on the 7.

Can't remember but 7523 may have briefly ran at Belmont with no branding before being route branded for the 6. 7518 is unbranded still at Belmont.

The presentation of the Belmont Sapphires is appalling, missing and peeling branding and wrong coloured panels are clearly visible on a large number of them.

(04 Jul 2018, 12:31 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]7538 is still unbranded at Darlington depot, wasn't branded as when it moved to Darlington it was sort of considered a Sapphire spare although it was allocated to the 5A board that works the morning run to Bishop Auckland College although after a few months the additional capacity wasn't required on that 5A run, so is now primarily used on the 7.

Can't remember but 7523 may have briefly ran at Belmont with no branding before being route branded for the 6. 7518 is unbranded still at Belmont.

The presentation of the Belmont Sapphires is appalling, missing and peeling branding and wrong coloured panels are clearly visible on a large number of them.

Thanks for the quick response again. I'm quite interested in all of this stuff (very weird - I know). I've just recently left New College Durham after studying graphic design, and one of the units that was covered was based on something of our choice to present at an exhibition. I decided to rebrand all of Arriva's current liveries: Sapphire into Majestic, MAX into Express, Frequenta into Frequalink, and the Eco livery in Eco Network. I made miniature 3D card models so I really had to focus on all of the branding involved on the designs - if you'd like to see them, I'd be happy to attach some photos of the exhibition. I guess taking inspiration from the Belmont vehicles was a mistake then, considering they do look awful.

Another thing I was curious about was the 23... what on earth happened to that? One day it was a lovely, bright green eco-friendly brand and the next all of these Pulsars from Darlington get sent in to replace them... what is the reasoning behind this and are there any plans to upgrade the 23 to another brand? Lots of questions, I know. Sorry.

(04 Jul 2018, 1:09 pm)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Thanks for the quick response again. I'm quite interested in all of this stuff (very weird - I know). I've just recently left New College Durham after studying graphic design, and one of the units that was covered was based on something of our choice to present at an exhibition. I decided to rebrand all of Arriva's current liveries: Sapphire into Majestic, MAX into Express, Frequenta into Frequalink, and the Eco livery in Eco Network. I made miniature 3D card models so I really had to focus on all of the branding involved on the designs - if you'd like to see them, I'd be happy to attach some photos of the exhibition. I guess taking inspiration from the Belmont vehicles was a mistake then, considering they do look awful.

Another thing I was curious about was the 23... what on earth happened to that? One day it was a lovely, bright green eco-friendly brand and the next all of these Pulsars from Darlington get sent in to replace them... what is the reasoning behind this and are there any plans to upgrade the 23 to another brand? Lots of questions, I know. Sorry.

Don't worry, must admit I am very much the same when it comes to vehicle presentation etc. Arriva can be bad for replacing branding and whatnot at all depots, although other companies buses like GNE, Stagecoach and Scarlet Band can be the same at times although Arriva is arguably the worst.

23 StreetLite's went to Jesmond to join the other Eco Green examples in the fleet (excluding the two at Ashington). There was a rumor of the 23 going Sapphire but who knows if or when that's gonna happen.

(04 Jul 2018, 2:04 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Don't worry, must admit I am very much the same when it comes to vehicle presentation etc. Arriva can be bad for replacing branding and whatnot at all depots, although other companies buses like GNE, Stagecoach and Scarlet Band can be the same at times although Arriva is arguably the worst.

23 StreetLite's went to Jesmond to join the other Eco Green examples in the fleet (excluding the two at Ashington). There was a rumor of the 23 going Sapphire but who knows if or when that's gonna happen.

Oh well. One day they might actually realise that appearance plays a big role in any company.

I'm sad to hear that about the 23. It would be good as Sapphire, although I actually really liked the Eco livery that it had - it was probably the only good-looking thing that used to come into Peterlee The only service using the Eco livery that comes into Peterlee now is the X21, i.e. the Frequenta 2 as it might as well be now. Shame.

(04 Jul 2018, 11:57 am)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Thanks for answering my question. I agree that Arriva are useless when it comes to route branding, as opposed to Go North East which tends to be clear and consistent with artwork. Yes, I've also noticed that one of the Streetlite vehicles still holds branding solely for the 22 - drives me insane when I see it! To be fair, I think most of the Streetlite vehicles for the 22|24 look they are branded for a "2" service due to one of the '2' on 22, and '4' on 24, vinyl stickers being peeled off so quickly after the rebrand on at least two of them.

I must have been thinking of 7538 when referring to the vehicle that had the 24's branding removed - has it been branded with anything since?

I wish Arriva took more pride in their presentation like Go North East does, particularly on Sapphire which is intended to be a "premium" brand. It quite undermines the "premium" concept when their branding materials are evidently cheap and tacky, peeling off within days of being applied - unless that's down to the carelessness of the people who apply them or the surface they are stuck onto - I don't know.

Tbh, when there is a double deck vehicle on the 22, not many people go upstairs unless they are fit and strong and capable of coming back down the stairs on a winding street full of speed bumps before the driver misses their stop!

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"although I actually really liked the Eco livery that it had - it was probably the only good-looking thing that used to come into Peterlee"

My husband still visits occasionally

The 22 and 24 branding was done to most vehicles but then abandoned, as the 23 will definately go Sapphire with it from September - all vehicles on 22/23/24 interworking at Hartlepool and Sunderland.

I presume they will all be rebranded then, into a standard.

(04 Jul 2018, 7:23 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]Tbh, when there is a double deck vehicle on the 22, not many people go upstairs unless they are fit and strong and capable of coming back down the stairs on a winding street full of speed bumps before the driver misses their stop!

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"although I actually really liked the Eco livery that it had - it was probably the only good-looking thing that used to come into Peterlee"

My husband still visits occasionally

Haha nice one

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(04 Jul 2018, 7:27 pm)RobinHood wrote [ -> ]The 22 and 24 branding was done to most vehicles but then abandoned, as the 23 will definately go Sapphire with it from September - all vehicles on 22/23/24 interworking at Hartlepool and Sunderland.

I presume they will all be rebranded then, into a standard.

Well I'm excited to see what goes ahead with the 23 and the other two, as the three are routes that I currently use frequently.

(04 Jul 2018, 7:27 pm)RobinHood wrote [ -> ]The 22 and 24 branding was done to most vehicles but then abandoned, as the 23 will definately go Sapphire with it from September - all vehicles on 22/23/24 interworking at Hartlepool and Sunderland.

I presume they will all be rebranded then, into a standard.

If the buses are set to interwork at Hartlepool, is the 23 going to go back to Asda, or is the 24 going to terminate at Morrisons?

(04 Jul 2018, 8:49 pm)beefcake wrote [ -> ]If the buses are set to interwork at Hartlepool, is the 23 going to go back to Asda, or is the 24 going to terminate at Morrisons?

23 being extended back to the Marina - believe the 22/23/24 will interwork at both ends so you’ll have so many buses doing 22/23/24 and so many doing 24/23/22.

(04 Jul 2018, 11:57 am)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Thanks for answering my question. I agree that Arriva are useless when it comes to route branding, as opposed to Go North East which tends to be clear and consistent with artwork. Yes, I've also noticed that one of the Streetlite vehicles still holds branding solely for the 22 - drives me insane when I see it! To be fair, I think most of the Streetlite vehicles for the 22|24 look they are branded for a "2" service due to one of the '2' on 22, and '4' on 24, vinyl stickers being peeled off so quickly after the rebrand on at least two of them.

I must have been thinking of 7538 when referring to the vehicle that had the 24's branding removed - has it been branded with anything since?

I wish Arriva took more pride in their presentation like Go North East does, particularly on Sapphire which is intended to be a "premium" brand. It quite undermines the "premium" concept when their branding materials are evidently cheap and tacky, peeling off within days of being applied - unless that's down to the carelessness of the people who apply them or the surface they are stuck onto - I don't know.

Totally agree. Look at the state of the Streetlites in East Cleveland with varying amounts of branding missing.

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(04 Jul 2018, 7:27 pm)RobinHood wrote [ -> ]The 22 and 24 branding was done to most vehicles but then abandoned, as the 23 will definately go Sapphire with it from September - all vehicles on 22/23/24 interworking at Hartlepool and Sunderland.

I presume they will all be rebranded then, into a standard.

More buses getting converted then?

(04 Jul 2018, 9:15 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]23 being extended back to the Marina - believe the 22/23/24 will interwork at both ends so you’ll have so many buses doing 22/23/24 and so many doing 24/23/22.

That'll be a long stint for the drivers, particularly if there's delays and they don't have time to nip out for a wee at Sunderland!

(05 Jul 2018, 5:32 pm)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]That'll be a long stint for the drivers, particularly if there's delays and they don't have time to nip out for a wee at Sunderland!

Just as bad as a X21 Darlo to Sunderland and back.

(04 Jul 2018, 9:15 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]23 being extended back to the Marina - believe the 22/23/24 will interwork at both ends so you’ll have so many buses doing 22/23/24 and so many doing 24/23/22.

So will it be all Pulsars on those services?, don't really follow Arriva.

(05 Jul 2018, 5:55 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]So will it be all Pulsars on those services?, don't really follow Arriva.

They could swap 1595 - 1601 with pulsars from Stockton and allow Stockton's 7 to be upgraded to Sapphire. Then refurbish the 09 plate Pulsars into Sapphire for Belmont.

(05 Jul 2018, 5:55 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]So will it be all Pulsars on those services?, don't really follow Arriva.

Mix of Pulsars, Streetlites and E400s if they use what's currently on those services.

(05 Jul 2018, 5:55 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]So will it be all Pulsars on those services?, don't really follow Arriva.

Some of the Pulsars that moved from Darlington to Durham are due to be refurbished to Sapphire Standard - believe 1498, 1506/7 are amongst them. Not sure what is happening regarding the current stock - we’ll see closer to the time.

(05 Jul 2018, 6:09 pm)S830OFT wrote [ -> ]They could swap 1595 - 1601 with pulsars from Stockton and allow Stockton's 7 to be upgraded to Sapphire. Then refurbish the 09 plate Pulsars into Sapphire for Belmont.

1595-1601 aren’t going anywhere. Given 1423/4 are in the process of or have been fitted with the NSA screen size taken out of the Solos - they are staying.

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(05 Jul 2018, 5:55 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]So will it be all Pulsars on those services?, don't really follow Arriva.

Some of the Pulsars that moved from Darlington to Durham are due to be refurbished to Sapphire Standard - believe 1498, 1506/7 are amongst them. Not sure what is happening regarding the current stock - we’ll see closer to the time.

(05 Jul 2018, 6:09 pm)S830OFT wrote [ -> ]They could swap 1595 - 1601 with pulsars from Stockton and allow Stockton's 7 to be upgraded to Sapphire. Then refurbish the 09 plate Pulsars into Sapphire for Belmont.

1595-1601 aren’t going anywhere. Given 1423/4 are in the process of or have been fitted with the NSA screen size taken out of the Solos - they are staying.

(04 Jul 2018, 7:27 pm)RobinHood wrote [ -> ]The 22 and 24 branding was done to most vehicles but then abandoned, as the 23 will definately go Sapphire with it from September - all vehicles on 22/23/24 interworking at Hartlepool and Sunderland.

I presume they will all be rebranded then, into a standard.

Will be interesting to see how the branding looks on the new buses and how they will adapt it for all three routes if they decide to do that.

(05 Jul 2018, 7:23 pm)BeachBoy99 wrote [ -> ]Will be interesting to see how the branding looks on the new buses and how they will adapt it for all three routes if they decide to do that.

What's the betting we end up with a mix of new and old Sapphire liveries like the X21/X22 [emoji57]

(05 Jul 2018, 7:48 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]What's the betting we end up with a mix of new and old Sapphire liveries like the X21/X22 [emoji57]

Pretty much guaranteed.

2854 now has a rear advert for chapters homes

(05 Jul 2018, 6:09 pm)S830OFT wrote [ -> ]They could swap 1595 - 1601 with pulsars from Stockton and allow Stockton's 7 to be upgraded to Sapphire. Then refurbish the 09 plate Pulsars into Sapphire for Belmont.

Good idea.

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1595-1601 aren’t going anywhere. Given 1423/4 are in the process of or have been fitted with the NSA screen size taken out of the Solos - they are staying.
[/quote]

Send 1423/4 etc to Durham as Sapphire for 22/23/24 then.

(07 Jul 2018, 2:41 pm)Cock Robin wrote [ -> ]Good idea.

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1595-1601 aren’t going anywhere. Given 1423/4 are in the process of or have been fitted with the NSA screen size taken out of the Solos - they are staying.

Send 1423/4 etc to Durham as Sapphire for 22/23/24 then.
[/quote]

Or you know.... Send all 10 Stockton Streetlites to Durham for brand standardisation across 22/23/24 and send 10 pulsars to Stockton for fleet standardisation ??

In other news... 15 branded pulsars on the 5/5A and 5/5A branded Streetlites on the 15 for the next few weeks... Wonder if that has anything to do with the above comment.. Hmmm.