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Full Version: Disruptions and driver shortages
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(09 Aug 2022, 9:43 pm)DeltaMan wrote [ -> ]Just the 45 minute wait for 30/31 in Newcastle today. Added to the 30 minute wait last Thursday and the near 40 minute wait on Saturday.

Stagecoach are getting worse and worse and worse and all they are doing is posting a generic "some services aren't running" tweet. Pathetic

Agree with Stagecoach getting worse recently.

I’ve stopped getting a day ticket for the 22 as half of the time I’ve been getting it in the evening it’s been terminating at Walkergate depot or not showing up at all. No indication of this on the app/website/twitter.
(09 Aug 2022, 9:43 pm)DeltaMan wrote [ -> ]Just the 45 minute wait for 30/31 in Newcastle today. Added to the 30 minute wait last Thursday and the near 40 minute wait on Saturday.

Stagecoach are getting worse and worse and worse and all they are doing is posting a generic "some services aren't running" tweet. Pathetic
Its amazing that Stagecoach doesn't get flack for that. 

If stagecoach produced a list I wonder would it be longer than GNE, same with Arriva.
(09 Aug 2022, 9:43 pm)DeltaMan wrote [ -> ]Just the 45 minute wait for 30/31 in Newcastle today. Added to the 30 minute wait last Thursday and the near 40 minute wait on Saturday.

Stagecoach are getting worse and worse and worse and all they are doing is posting a generic "some services aren't running" tweet. Pathetic

Complete agree re the tweet. Might as well not bother, when that is the level of information that you're putting out.

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On the app I've noticed that there is a big red line with cancelled underneath on SC app.
When we wanted one of the E services, last month, it never showed at Shields interchange and passengers were complaining of long waits. Nothing in the app.

And it's not just buses https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-62469126
Arriva don't seem to be doing great around Darlington - https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2...6iQ-6qAZWI
So, according to that article, the meeting turned from timetabled services not turning up due to driver shortage to it being up to residents to use the bus more?

They had problems aplenty before the pandemic with buses sitting at stops with no driver to do the run.
(12 Aug 2022, 7:34 am)BusLoverMum wrote [ -> ]So, according to that article, the meeting turned from timetabled services not turning up due to driver shortage to it being up to residents to use the bus more?

They had problems aplenty before the pandemic with buses sitting at stops with no driver to do the run.

You couldn't make it up. Gibson has gone in there to represent constituents complaining about a god awful bus service, then came out of it only stopping short of heaping them in praise.

“The overall message that we both need to give is that the service needs to be used by people and we understand the challenges that that has caused for people in recent weeks about that reliability and people losing trust in it but they need those people on the buses to make those services commercially viable,”

How does he expect people to use buses that don't turn up?
Honestly…what an utter utter shambles GNE have been today.

The 15m frequency on the 21 doesn’t work on a match day alongside unannounced cancellations, 6 21s sailed through low fell full today.

It’s an abject abandonment of service, I’m sure Jim Hughes or gateshead central could do better, Getting hone was even worse. A 45 minute wait at Eldon square for the sight of angel chariot.

I’m beyond annoyed now, they are just utterly utterly incompetent
(21 Aug 2022, 8:06 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]Honestly…what an utter utter shambles GNE have been today.
They've been for the last 10 months.
(21 Aug 2022, 8:09 pm)Unber43 wrote [ -> ]They've been for the last 10 months.

Longer than that tbf. 
It's just a little bit more obvious and widespread.
(21 Aug 2022, 9:30 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]Longer than that tbf. 
It's just a little bit more obvious and widespread.
Well for me GNE in Sept 2021 changes where more of a positive move to try and turn a profit. However since then there has been loads of different service changes gutting the network. 

And its just getting worse the July 2022 changes were the final staw for some people, it could be the final chance for GNE to turn a profit then they release Sept Changes slashing services even more.
the 21 i got from eldon square to durhan was full by the high level bridge. driver let several customers off at gateshead at the x10 stop then proceeded to drive past teh 2 dozen or so waiting at the 21 stop. By the time it go to birtly i would say it was half full if that?? Maybe its time GNE tried to do some newcastle to birtly short. Imagine wanting to go to durham and the bus flying past at gateshead only to drop a dozen or so off at springfield garage.
It's always been hard to get a seat on a Durham-bound service at Gateshead. If I've been to the metrocentre, I usually end up returning home via eldon Square or Stanley (though the latter option isn't as fast since the demise of the M services)
The driver I had Newcastle bound yesterday pretty much broke all the rules in the book to get as many passengers as possible on board.

Passengers standing upstairs.
Passengers on the stairs and the newest one he was letting people stand right by the doors but only if they sat down to not block his view.

Comical stuff but it happens every match day. The 15 minute frequency and last minute cancellations really are a killer.

The issue with Birtley/Harlow Green/Allerdene is that the 21 is now the only bus operating along Durham Road on a Sunday evening since the changes so it's always going to be a struggle for Durham bound passengers to get on ahead of those going to Harlow Green and beyond
(21 Aug 2022, 8:06 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]Honestly…what an utter utter shambles GNE have been today.

The 15m frequency on the 21 doesn’t work on a match day alongside unannounced cancellations, 6 21s sailed through low fell full today.

It’s an abject abandonment of service, I’m sure Jim Hughes or gateshead central could do better, Getting hone was even worse. A 45 minute wait at Eldon square for the sight of angel chariot.

I’m beyond annoyed now, they are just utterly utterly incompetent
If GCT would cope better with the 21 than GNE, I'll eat my hat.
(21 Aug 2022, 8:06 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]Honestly…what an utter utter shambles GNE have been today.

The 15m frequency on the 21 doesn’t work on a match day alongside unannounced cancellations, 6 21s sailed through low fell full today.

It’s an abject abandonment of service, I’m sure Jim Hughes or gateshead central could do better, Getting hone was even worse. A 45 minute wait at Eldon square for the sight of angel chariot.

I’m beyond annoyed now, they are just utterly utterly incompetent
Even on a normal Sunday you can get 2-3. Sheer incompetence
What on earth is up with the 60?
Drove through Seaham and passed a corp solo saying "60 Seaham" (said Parkside on the back tho) then immediately behind was two Drifters - first one on the 60 to Parkside and the other one on the 65, then about a minute later there was a Graphite also on the 60 to Parkside. I've never seen it quite that bad.
(25 Aug 2022, 1:39 pm)F114TML wrote [ -> ]What on earth is up with the 60?
Drove through Seaham and passed a corp solo saying "60 Seaham" (said Parkside on the back tho) then immediately behind was two Drifters - first one on the 60 to Parkside and the other one on the 65, then about a minute later there was a Graphite also on the 60 to Parkside. I've never seen it quite that bad.
The 60 has been bad, checking bus times there was 3-4 Corporates on basically daily, most of the time there are two solos which are great on that route
Apparently Middlesbrough bus station was evacuated around 6:20.
I feel like there should be something done with the X45/X30/X31 interworking pattern, as it seems the X30/31 from Stanley don't run due to delays on the X45. GNE might want to add a PVR for a extended layover Newcastle or Stanley.
Yeah there has been lots of delays on all three lately, going of their twitter anyway.
(27 Aug 2022, 11:12 am)Unber43 wrote [ -> ]I feel like there should be something done with the X45/X30/X31 interworking pattern, as it seems the X30/31 from Stanley don't run due to delays on the X45. GNE might want to add a PVR for a extended layover Newcastle or Stanley.
Could be do-able splitting them if Stanley's bait room is re-opened given the 6 moving back to Consett. A full cycle on the 6 starting and finishing at Lanchester is 6 hours so not all changeovers could be done there with some needing to be done at Stanley.

X45 running basically to and from Hownsgill, should allow a 5 hour driving cycle as I think Arriva Blyth have a 5 hour driving cycle on the 308 with that running from outside the driver office / depot.

Other option would be interworking X30/X31 with X71/X72.
(29 Aug 2022, 10:56 pm)L469 YVK wrote [ -> ]Could be do-able splitting them if Stanley's bait room is re-opened given the 6 moving back to Consett. A full cycle on the 6 starting and finishing at Lanchester is 6 hours so not all changeovers could be done there with some needing to be done at Stanley.

X45 running basically to and from Hownsgill, should allow a 5 hour driving cycle as I think Arriva Blyth have a 5 hour driving cycle on the 308 with that running from outside the driver office / depot.

Other option would be interworking X30/X31 with X71/X72.
I know the X45 was just reduced but surely with so many delays every 30 mins is too infrequent for the capacity. 
When i've been on the X45/6 it was busy, really it should be kept at every 20 mins, but was only done probably so the streetdecks could go else where. 

X30/X31 can't interwork with anything but the X45, unless you were to add back the X70.
(29 Aug 2022, 11:14 pm)Unber43 wrote [ -> ]I know the X45 was just reduced but surely with so many delays every 30 mins is too infrequent for the capacity. 
When i've been on the X45/6 it was busy, really it should be kept at every 20 mins, but was only done probably so the streetdecks could go else where. 

X30/X31 can't interwork with anything but the X45, unless you were to add back the X70.
With the X71/X72 finalised and now no X70, could interwork the X30/X31/X71/X72 and that would be a PVR of 8 with the X45 running standalone on a PVR of 5.

Interworking the X30/X31/X71/X72 would increase layover times too and help with reliability.
Stagecoach 23 in Sunderland suffering from quite a few cancelations today.

Edit:


Stagecoach 16 now has a few cancelations...
Yeah there's been quite a few buses parked in the depot these last few days.
No 204 will run between 11.32 & 16.32 tomorrow

The first two 81s are cancelled same as the 83
Presumably the short notice cancellations will drop to 0 from tomorrow with the further service cuts.
(02 Sep 2022, 7:42 pm)busmanT wrote [ -> ]Presumably the short notice cancellations will drop to 0 from tomorrow with the further service cuts.


Or maybe continue due to ongoing high levels of sickness, lack of desire to work overtime, and, over the next week or two at least, drivers needing to be taken off the road to assist their route learning requirements (as Go North East committed to enabling Chester-le-Street drivers move to their first depot of choice - and therefore need to move work around to depots where it’s less efficient to run from, to ensure there was enough work at the depot for those displaced drivers).


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