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+--- Thread: Go North East: Latest News & Discussion - August 2014 (/showthread.php?tid=1258)
RE: Go North East - Latest - S813 FVK - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:13 pm)Tom They get three minutes at each end. However, there is about five minutes at Washington and three minutes at Concord to load etc.
Still unnacceptable for it to be not turning up, 15 mins late late etc. on regulary occasions.
3 minutes at each end isnt a lot so if they are delayed for more than 3 minutes, they have to rely on the 8 minutes en route to make up as much time as possible, some of this will have been lost because of the service been late. May just be a case of the timetable needing to be redesigned, if it can be that is.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Tom - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:16 pm)Robert 3 minutes at each end isnt a lot so if they are delayed for more than 3 minutes, they have to rely on the 8 minutes en route to make up as much time as possible, some of this will have been lost because of the service been late. May just be a case of the timetable needing to be redesigned, if it can be that is.
I will have ago at coming up with something now.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Andreos1 - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:17 pm)Tom I will have ago at coming up with something now.
The Wear Ind Est/Rickleton section is rarely used in experience - the 8 and 2's are frequent enough as it is to/from the Galleries.
Obviously the link from Birtley to those places are lost.
Stand alone 8 diverted via Birtley and then pick up route in Rickleton?
It could be similar to the old 551 route.
You can then send the m2/m3 via Lambton and Ayton, missing out the underused section.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Tom - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:23 pm)Andreos Constantopolous The Wear Ind Est/Rickleton section is rarely used in experience - the 8 and 2's are frequent enough as it is to/from the Galleries.
Obviously the link from Birtley to those places are lost.
Stand alone 8 diverted via Birtley and then pick up route in Rickleton?
It could be similar to the old 551 route.
You can then send the m2/m3 via Lambton and Ayton, missing out the underused section.
What about this?
M3 M2 M3 M2
Heworth Interchange – 05, 20, 35, 50
Concord Bus Station arr – 19, 32, 49, 02
Concord Bus Station dep – 22, 37, 52, 07,
Washington Galleries arr – 41, 56, 11, 26
Washington Galleries dep – 47, 02, 17, 32
Birtley Station Lane - 07, 23, 37, 53
M2 M3 M2 M3
Birtley Station Lane - 13, 28, 43, 58
Washington Galleries arr. -34, 48, 04, 18
Washington Galleries dep. – 38, 53, 08, 23
Concord Bus Station dep. – 57, 12, 27, 42
Concord Bus Station dep. – 00, 15, 30, 45
Heworth Interchange - 12, 29, 42, 59
RE: Go North East - Latest - G-CPTN - 22 Aug 2014
Hexham frequently dispatch the 'spare' TEN (on schedule) before the delayed TEN arrives - not that late arrivals are necessarily frequent or significant - often less than ten minutes with the departing vehicle passing the arriving vehicle in Hexham itself.
The timetable lists a 9 minute turnaround.
The changeover of vehicles allows time for loading (sometimes complicated by congestion with several arrivals/departures occurring together - particularly with the Arriva 685 and other GNE and Tyne Valley services).
Of course the 'delayed' vehicle then becomes the spare.
A 'delayed' driver would have a nominal 30 minutes or 60 minutes (less the delay) for an ongoing drive.
I presume they schedule a regular driver change-over at Hexham as the round-trip to Newcastle and back takes 2 hours 51 minutes (though I have seen changeovers at Blaydon)
Hexham to Blaydon takes a nominal hour.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Malarkey - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:36 pm)Tom What about this?
M3 M2 M3 M2
Heworth Interchange – 05, 20, 35, 50
Concord Bus Station arr – 19, 32, 49, 02
Concord Bus Station dep – 22, 37, 52, 07,
Washington Galleries arr – 41, 56, 11, 26
Washington Galleries dep – 47, 02, 17, 32
Birtley Station Lane - 07, 23, 37, 53
M2 M3 M2 M3
Birtley Station Lane - 13, 28, 43, 58
Washington Galleries arr. -34, 48, 04, 18
Washington Galleries dep. – 38, 53, 08, 23
Concord Bus Station dep. – 57, 12, 27, 42
Concord Bus Station dep. – 00, 15, 30, 45
Heworth Interchange - 12, 29, 42, 59
Another major problem is that the M2/M3 Interwork at both ends of the Route also, so for example the M2 Coming into Birtley will depart as an M3, Overall having an Knock on Effect to the Service again once it reaches Heworth, where it changes back into an M2, simply to keep the PVR as low as Possible.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Kuyoyo - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:54 pm)NEBCD Malarkey Another major problem is that the M2/M3 Interwork at both ends of the Route also, so for example the M2 Coming into Birtley will depart as an M3, Overall having an Knock on Effect to the Service again once it reaches Heworth, where it changes back into an M2, simply to keep the PVR as low as Possible.
Lower PVR = Lower Costs. Adding an additional vehicle in means increased running costs (extra fuel, extra drivers so increased wage costs) which may drag the service from a small profit into a lose, which would then of course see it cut back or even frequency reduced.
Re: RE: Go North East - Latest - Dan - 22 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 8:59 pm)Kuyoyo Lower PVR = Lower Costs. Adding an additional vehicle in means increased running costs (extra fuel, extra drivers so increased wage costs) which may drag the service from a small profit into a lose, which would then of course see it cut back or even frequency reduced.It goes without saying that Go North East do increase the PVR of services (either by increasing the frequency of a service or by adding another bus in to improve reliability), but only where it can be justified, recent examples including the TEN and Cobalt Clipper.
The issues that have been reported with the timekeeping of services M2/M3 do not happen with every single run, because whenever I happen to use the services (not very regularly), they're in on time and have plenty of waiting time. I can't hit lucky every time, so a fair proportion of the journeys must be running on time.
If increasing the PVR of the service cannot be justified (either down to the lack of buses available or the lack of profit already currently being generated), all Go North East can do is take a minute from one section of the route and add it to another section - which is what Stagecoach are said to have done quite a lot in the past - but this is not ideal.
Adam - please do send that e-mail to Customer Services if you already haven't. I know from past experience that those complaints do assist management when they are considering route/timetable alterations to assist reliability. Customer feedback is key - negative or positive.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Dan - 23 Aug 2014
Scania L94 4949 has now been repaired following its engine bay fire and is currently undergoing repaint (into corporate livery, so far as I know). It should emerge from the paintshop by the middle of next week.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Michael - 23 Aug 2014
(23 Aug 2014, 6:51 am)Dan Scania L94 4949 has now been repaired following its engine bay fire and is currently undergoing repaint (into corporate livery, so far as I know). It should emerge from the paintshop by the middle of next week.
When it enters service will a B10 be withdrawn?
RE: Go North East - Latest - Dan - 23 Aug 2014
(23 Aug 2014, 8:32 am)Michael When it enters service will a B10 be withdrawn?
No, as 4949 was a spare vehicle. Technically, Riverside are one short at the moment because they didn't get a replacement for 4949 when it was temporarily withdrawn.
On another note, Riverside will be operating a shuttle service from the Metrocentre to The Lancastrian Suite in Gateshead today.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Michael - 23 Aug 2014
(23 Aug 2014, 8:37 am)Dan No, as 4949 was a spare vehicle. Technically, Riverside are one short at the moment because they didn't get a replacement for 4949 when it was temporarily withdrawn.
On another note, Riverside will be operating a shuttle service from the Metrocentre to The Lancastrian Suite in Gateshead today.
Ah right
Re: RE: Go North East - Latest - Malarkey - 23 Aug 2014
(22 Aug 2014, 9:17 pm)Dan It goes without saying that Go North East do increase the PVR of services (either by increasing the frequency of a service or by adding another bus in to improve reliability), but only where it can be justified, recent examples including the TEN and Cobalt Clipper.Haven't done it yet, but I will do This Afternoon, and thats great about 4949, itll be good to see it back in Service at last.
The issues that have been reported with the timekeeping of services M2/M3 do not happen with every single run, because whenever I happen to use the services (not very regularly), they're in on time and have plenty of waiting time. I can't hit lucky every time, so a fair proportion of the journeys must be running on time.
If increasing the PVR of the service cannot be justified (either down to the lack of buses available or the lack of profit already currently being generated), all Go North East can do is take a minute from one section of the route and add it to another section - which is what Stagecoach are said to have done quite a lot in the past - but this is not ideal.
Adam - please do send that e-mail to Customer Services if you already haven't. I know from past experience that those complaints do assist management when they are considering route/timetable alterations to assist reliability. Customer feedback is key - negative or positive.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Malarkey - 23 Aug 2014
(23 Aug 2014, 11:50 am)NEBCD Malarkey Haven't done it yet, but I will do This Afternoon, and thats great about 4949, itll be good to see it back in Service at last.
Email has been sent.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Wellsey18 - 24 Aug 2014
(23 Aug 2014, 2:22 pm)NEBCD Malarkey Email has been sent.
Did you get a worthwhile response, or just the usual sorry for any inconvenience this has caused
RE: Go North East - Latest - S813 FVK - 24 Aug 2014
What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.
RE: Go North East - Latest - Dan - 24 Aug 2014
(24 Aug 2014, 9:48 am)Wellsey18 Did you get a worthwhile response, or just the usual sorry for any inconvenience this has caused
I may be wrong, but I think like most of the employees who work at Bensham, the majority of Customer Services staff will be at home. Most office-based employees only work between Monday and Friday. There will be a few members of staff present (enough to man the Social Media pages, answer phones, etc), but I suspect not enough to get through all of the e-mails the company receives.
I'd be very surprised, with it being Bank Holiday weekend, if Adam gets a reply before Tuesday.
He is likely to receive a bog-standard response, with the reason being related to the roadworks previously mentioned, but that does not mean to say that he has just been palmed off. Prior to this, the member of staff dealing with Adam's complaint will forward the e-mail to a member of staff at Washington and Chester-le-Street depot who will then review the CCTV footage for the bus scheduled to operate that service as well as the tracking data which shows where the vehicle was at what time. If they identify that the bus was late (which they should), this will be logged. After multiple complaints build up, the Service Delivery Manager (or another personal responsible) will pass his/her comments up to higher management who can then review the timetable and see if there's anything that can be done to improve reliability.
Again, unless it can be justified, the PVR will not increase - it's more likely that a few minutes will be taken from one section of the timetable where it's thought to be slacker and added to a section of the route where there's less leniency.
Sending e-mails to the company really isn't pointless, and it can really help shape the bus network in your area. The customer may feel like they've been palmed off if they've received a generic e-mail back, but a lot more happens behind the scenes than you'd think.
The process takes a fair bit of time at the moment and relies on members of staff being entirely honest, but this will reduce when new systems (previously discussed) are brought in...
RE: Go North East - Latest - Greg in Weardale - 24 Aug 2014
(24 Aug 2014, 10:23 am)Robert What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.You wouldn't believe how many people are totally incapable of understanding a timetable.
RE: Go North East - Latest - G-CPTN - 24 Aug 2014
One Saturday evening, I saw two 30-something men at the bus-stop trying to read the timetable. As I approached they asked me for help - could I tell them when the next bus was expected . . .
To be fair they had spent the day in Corbridge visiting every pub (as they confirmed as I listed all the pubs) however when I mentioned the Dyvels (not in the centre of the village) they enquired if there was time to walk to it, have a swift half and still catch the bus - so maybe their ability to read the timetable was affected by their befuddled state?
RE: Go North East - Latest - Adrian - 24 Aug 2014
(24 Aug 2014, 10:23 am)Robert What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.
I agree. In that instance people should simply be referred to the view all timetables URL.