North East Buses

(09 Jun 2023, 2:16 pm)itsadam wrote [ -> ]Which depot is running the Sam Fender buses? They've practically cancelled the entire timetable for the 21 this evening

You got the list of cancelled runs?

(09 Jun 2023, 2:23 pm)Andreos1 wrote [ -> ]You got the list of cancelled runs?

Angel 21

The following full journeys will not operate  

from Newcastle: 15:00, 16:52, 17:32, 19:14, 20:26, 21:26, 23:26
from Chester-le-Street: 15:54, 17:49, 18:23, 19:44, 22:27
The following journeys will start from Gateshead

from Newcastle: 20:36
The following journeys will only run as far as Gateshead

from Chester-le-Street: 20:44

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(09 Jun 2023, 2:22 pm)itsadam wrote [ -> ]That was my first guess. I'm so pi**ed off, they're prioritising Sam Fender. In all fairness, the 21 has been quite bad lately but today's by far the worst it's been.

Ye, wonder why they couldn't put shuttles on for P!NK too or extend some of the services to run later...... same as Stagecoach Sunderland - buses finish at normal times.

(09 Jun 2023, 12:51 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]I'm not one for jumping to the defence of Nexus, but they're only playing with the hand they're dealt here.

As you well know, we live in a deregulated bus market that is supposed to increase competition. The only problem with that, is when there's a chance to think outside of the box, on the most part it doesn't happen, unless Nexus find a pot of money to throw at it.

I'm a loss as to why when there's sold out gigs at the two biggest stadiums in our region, bus operators by large insist on running their usual evening service. Drifter60 has highlighted above that Fender is due off stage 22.50-23.00, yet that Peterlee bound, and the following Houghton bound X1 would have left before that. That's just one example, but there are many others.

What about Park and Ride services? You've got huge car parks sitting empty most evenings. If the SF1 is running to Kingston Park, surely something could have been worked out with the site management to allow use for park and ride. Same with utilising the Metrocentre, Galleries, Wessington Way, etc.

For me, it highlights yet another reason why we need an integrated network.

I do think Nexus have panicked as well. There is no reason why 2 events should cause this much chaos but I'd argue that Stadium of Light in particular needs a much better travel plan for its gigs and that should be looked at going forward.

We aren't talking huge crowds, Newcastle is just over its usual capacity for home games and there's actually less people in the city than when Loosefest was on at Exhibition Park at the same time Newcastle played at home earlier this season. If they can't figure a way to safely operate between 2 sites that are 14 miles away then god help us all. 

Having seen the state of some people in town already, I wouldn't fancy driving a bus post-gig tonight (but then looking at their cancellations tonight - doesn't look like that many fancied driving pre-gig either!)

(09 Jun 2023, 2:16 pm)itsadam wrote [ -> ]Which depot is running the Sam Fender buses? They've practically cancelled the entire timetable for the 21 this evening

Consett, Sunderland, Percy Main, Washington, Riverside and L&G Coaches are all supplying drivers and vehicles.

(09 Jun 2023, 2:25 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ] Angel 21

The following full journeys will not operate  

from Newcastle: 15:00, 16:52, 17:32, 19:14, 20:26, 21:26, 23:26
from Chester-le-Street: 15:54, 17:49, 18:23, 19:44, 22:27
The following journeys will start from Gateshead

from Newcastle: 20:36
The following journeys will only run as far as Gateshead

from Chester-le-Street: 20:44 

---

Ye, wonder why they couldn't put shuttles on for P!NK too or extend some of the services to run later...... same as Stagecoach Sunderland - buses finish at normal times.

Not sure what there is to be said about this like. 
Hopefully those commuting home or heading back after a day at the shops don't get too delayed.

There's no shuttle buses tonight for Sam Fender... that's Saturday only.

There does seem to be a Shuttle for the Blaydon Races though as I've passed numerous Omnidekka's along Sandy Lane from Percy Main avoiding the LEZ by going all the way around.

https://bustimes.org/vehicles/gnel-6168?.../436691670 - There's one tracking there.

It's more likely people are either doing the Blaydon Race or are at Sam Fender and when you rely on overtime from driver's only one thing will happen.

(09 Jun 2023, 5:21 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]There's no shuttle buses tonight for Sam Fender... that's Saturday only.

There does seem to be a Shuttle for the Blaydon Races though as I've passed numerous Omnidekka's along Sandy Lane from Percy Main avoiding the LEZ by going all the way around.

https://bustimes.org/vehicles/gnel-6168?.../436691670 - There's one tracking there.

It's more likely people are either doing the Blaydon Race or are at Sam Fender and when you rely on overtime from driver's only one thing will happen.

Pretty sure those Omnidekkas are Euro 6 compliant - they're used regularly on the 1. 

I'd imagine they went that way to avoid the horrific traffic along the Coast Road tonight.

(09 Jun 2023, 5:36 pm)Thomas12 wrote [ -> ]Pretty sure those Omnidekkas are Euro 6 compliant - they're used regularly on the 1. 

I'd imagine they went that way to avoid the horrific traffic along the Coast Road tonight.

Yeah you're probably right, I just assumed that as it's a rather long winded route to take but didn't think about the traffic in Newcastle.

Seems there's a few buses from Riverside and Deptford aswell.

Looks like the SF2, will be extended if it meets the demand.....


Attention Sam Fender Concert attendees for 10th June!
Due to huge events happening tomorrow evening including Pink at the Stadium of Light & Sam Fender at St James Park. NEXUS have added additional services around the Tyne & Wear area to help people get home safely. We will be operating the late night Shuttle Service SF2 on behalf of NEXUS to help passengers get home from the Sam Fender Gig! What an amazing evening for the North East. We are happy and proud to be a part of it. See the below imagine for information on this service...

(09 Jun 2023, 2:31 pm)Ambassador wrote [ -> ]I do think Nexus have panicked as well. There is no reason why 2 events should cause this much chaos but I'd argue that Stadium of Light in particular needs a much better travel plan for its gigs and that should be looked at going forward.

We aren't talking huge crowds, Newcastle is just over its usual capacity for home games and there's actually less people in the city than when Loosefest was on at Exhibition Park at the same time Newcastle played at home earlier this season. If they can't figure a way to safely operate between 2 sites that are 14 miles away then god help us all. 

Having seen the state of some people in town already, I wouldn't fancy driving a bus post-gig tonight (but then looking at their cancellations tonight - doesn't look like that many fancied driving pre-gig either!)

Yes, I agree. Them closing all the Newcastle City Centre Metro stations for 'crowd control' is a complete cop out. They've managed to run crowd control on match days for years without issue, but again, it comes back to the lack of out of box thinking, with closure being an easier option than coming up with a proper plan. I don't see why they couldn't have used P1/P2 at St James for East Bound travel, Monument for North and South, then Haymarket and Central for exit only. 

It's not a great advert of a rapid transit system, if you have to shut it down when it's a bit busy.

Stadium of Light I completely agree with, and even match days is a problem. But like I suggested above, there's plenty of retail or office parking space that isn't utilised on an evening, which could instead have served as a temporary Park and Ride site. Much in the same way as Durham do with Lumiere.

Honestly I dont get why they didn't use Monument for say Sunderland Bound Trains, and say Haymarket for the South Sheilds direction and Central for Whitly Bay way

(09 Jun 2023, 8:35 pm)Unber43 wrote [ -> ]Honestly I dont get why they didn't use Monument for say Sunderland Bound Trains, and say Haymarket for the South Sheilds direction and Central for Whitly Bay way

There's thousands of people coming in the other direction from Sunderland; Central couldn't cope and Haymarket is down an esculator hence being exit all day.

Plus there's no staff to do it - the real reason beyond all the smoke and ladders.

It's the same with Sunderland (not Stadium of Light / St Peter's).

(06 Jun 2023, 10:19 pm)idiot wrote [ -> ]Kind of understand why St James is closed, but monument could be open using different entrances for different platforms surely

I can't. If anything, it should assist with crowd control. Send all east bound traffic via there around the coast and skip P3/P4 at Monument.

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(09 Jun 2023, 7:23 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]Yes, I agree. Them closing all the Newcastle City Centre Metro stations for 'crowd control' is a complete cop out. They've managed to run crowd control on match days for years without issue, but again, it comes back to the lack of out of box thinking, with closure being an easier option than coming up with a proper plan. I don't see why they couldn't have used P1/P2 at St James for East Bound travel, Monument for North and South, then Haymarket and Central for exit only. 

It's not a great advert of a rapid transit system, if you have to shut it down when it's a bit busy.

Stadium of Light I completely agree with, and even match days is a problem. But like I suggested above, there's plenty of retail or office parking space that isn't utilised on an evening, which could instead have served as a temporary Park and Ride site. Much in the same way as Durham do with Lumiere.

The Stadium of Light is ridiculous if you get stuck in it, I did it once on a 56 i was stuck for about 20 mins and that was when they were League One. There needs to be some sort of advertised travel arrangements for people to get home, which advertises public transport, I know in park lane the queues can be huge after a match and on sundays a lot of them are every 30-60 mins.

(10 Jun 2023, 6:53 pm)Unber43 wrote [ -> ]The Stadium of Light is ridiculous if you get stuck in it, I did it once on a 56 i was stuck for about 20 mins and that was when they were League One. There needs to be some sort of advertised travel arrangements for people to get home, which advertises public transport, I know in park lane the queues can be huge after a match and on sundays a lot of them are every 30-60 mins.

The Stadium of Light really isn't that bad, most people are gone after about an hour. It's only when GNE, Nexus, Trains or Stagecoach are being crap and it feels like it's one of them every other week lately. The 56 is only affected as it passes the stadium.

The SOL will always get priority as there's a large chunk of people there tonight outside the region who will be stopping in Newcastle whereas Sam Fender will be majority local as it's a complete NUFC cringefest and intolerable for most people.

(10 Jun 2023, 7:46 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]The Stadium of Light really isn't that bad, most people are gone after about an hour. It's only when GNE, Nexus, Trains or Stagecoach are being crap and it feels like it's one of them every other week lately. The 56 is only affected as it passes the stadium.

The SOL will always get priority as there's a large chunk of people there tonight outside the region who will be stopping in Newcastle whereas Sam Fender will be majority local as it's a complete NUFC cringefest and intolerable for most people.

Aye seen a video of the crowd singing, Toon Toon Toon and all the Newcastle flags.

I know he's a "Local" lad but its still cringey.

(10 Jun 2023, 7:54 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]Aye seen a video of the crowd singing, Toon Toon Toon and all the Newcastle flags.

I know he's a "Local" lad but its still cringey.

Newcastle flags at St James Park... whatever next!

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(10 Jun 2023, 8:16 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]Newcastle flags at St James Park... whatever next!

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Aye, hopefully not local floggings next...

What would the Newcastle fans be saying if we took "Sunderland" flags in to the Stadium Of Light for Beyonce etc?

Probs slag us off.

(10 Jun 2023, 8:25 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]Aye, hopefully not local floggings next...

What would the Newcastle fans be saying if we took "Sunderland" flags in to the Stadium Of Light for Beyonce etc?

Probs slag us off.

They probably wouldn't care? It's a concert, not a football rivalry.

To be fair, you're the first person I've seen mention it!

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(10 Jun 2023, 8:36 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]They probably wouldn't care? It's a concert, not a football rivalry.

To be fair, you're the first person I've seen mention it!

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On paper it's not but there's been reports that some 16 year old and his father have been beaten up because of that exact reason.

That's the Tweet and it's been mentioned on Readytogo - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...2390911874&set=a.10150717103266874&type=3&ref=embed_post

Football should be no-where near a gig and having stuff like the Champions League song as you're walk on is just too far.

(10 Jun 2023, 8:25 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]Aye, hopefully not local floggings next...
What would the Newcastle fans be saying if we took "Sunderland" flags in to the Stadium Of Light for Beyonce etc?
Probs slag us off.

They'll all be crying, they're already trying to argue that St James is a better place for gigs but it's not. All the big bands / gigs go to Sunderland as St James has all sorts of problems hence the stage being in the corner.

Mental football rivarly up here and taking it beyond football.

(10 Jun 2023, 9:04 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]On paper it's not but there's been reports that some 16 year old and his father have been beaten up because of that exact reason.

That's the Tweet and it's been mentioned on Readytogo - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=...2390911874&set=a.10150717103266874&type=3&ref=embed_post

Football should be no-where near a gig and having stuff like the Champions League song as you're walk on is just too far.



They'll all be crying, they're already trying to argue that St James is a better place for gigs but it's not. All the big bands / gigs go to Sunderland as St James has all sorts of problems hence the stage being in the corner.

Mental football rivarly up here and taking it beyond football.

Aye it is, did he really have the Champions League theme playing before he came on? Dickhead.... no the wonder people think the Newcastle fans are cringey.


Ye, I agree and that's not because I'm a Sunderland Fan, St James isn't set up for gigs.

(10 Jun 2023, 9:09 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]Aye it is, did he really have the Champions League theme playing before he came on? Dickhead.... no the wonder people think the Newcastle fans are cringey.


Ye, I agree and that's not because I'm a Sunderland Fan, St James isn't set up for gigs.

Aye loads of people have been taking the piss, supposedly he doesn't even like football either.

Yeah had technical issues, not enough space etc, even known on paper it's in a much better location tbh and I am a Sunderland fan ha.

(10 Jun 2023, 9:16 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Aye loads of people have been taking the piss, supposedly he doesn't even like football either.

Yeah had technical issues, not enough space etc, even known on paper it's in a much better location tbh and I am a Sunderland fan ha.

Only supports Newcastle because they finished in the top 4.

(10 Jun 2023, 9:21 pm)Michael wrote [ -> ]Only supports Newcastle because they finished in the top 4.

Aye, or more to the point the management can see the loophole that would get idiots to turn up. Can't see him having 100k people there over 2 nights if he didn't do it, so quite clever really.

Still, I don't see what this has to do with transport and infrastructure for the gigs?

Obviously bad crack about the post referenced above, but these isolated incidents happen everywhere nowadays, sadly. Most others at both venues have really enjoyed themselves.

As for transport, it'll be interesting to hear how this is playing out on the ground. There's a lot of people critical of or mocking the decision to close the Metro on social media, but you never know whether that is a vocal minority or not.

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(10 Jun 2023, 9:38 pm)Adrian wrote [ -> ]As for transport, it'll be interesting to hear how this is playing out on the ground. There's a lot of people critical of or mocking the decision to close the Metro on social media, but you never know whether that is a vocal minority or not.

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The one SF1 that has passed me in Gosforth had it's interior lights off, so I'm assuming nobody was on that (11298). There should have been about 4 more past me since then, none have.

(10 Jun 2023, 9:44 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]The one SF1 that has passed me in Gosforth had it's interior lights off, so I'm assuming nobody was on that (11298). There should have been about 4 more past me since then, none have.

I noticed the same thing, when I was looking at SF1 on bustimes about 10 mkns ago. Not that I'd say that is the voice of truth, but interesting that there looked to be such a significant gap.

Also noticed two SF1 buses appear to be sat in Walkergate depot. Presuming they're for later runs though?



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Supposedly a frequent service:



Can't filter by SF2/SF3 on bustimes, but the vast majority seem to be stuck in the City Centre.

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Surely they'll just be waiting to get a reasonable load before taking off, it's all drop off only so no point running the service if there's no-one on.

It seems Arriva ran a few extra buses out of Haymarket. 306 at one point was a mix of Walkergate/Blyth/Ashington buses. Seen a few extra X7/8(even though that doesn't run)X9/10/11/21/22/308/52/43/44 be about one or two more of these services