(05 Nov 2022, 9:41 pm)wibblejunior I've worked out that  the allocations for each of the Durham routes each day this week seem to be exactly the same:

40/41 - LN20 OPO, LO70 KXA
42 - YX21 RUJ
47 - LO70 KXB
52/53 - YX21 RUO
61/62 - YX20 OCF
204 - YX21 RPV
PR1 - YX72 OKU/OKZ/OLH
PR2 - YX72 OKW, YX19 ONR

(25 Nov 2022, 6:17 pm)Andreos1 Dunno if it was ever confirmed on here, but GCT do have their vehicles going back to Tyneside at the end of the shift, rather than running any outstation in the Durham area.

They can often be seen in convoy heading north on the A1 if anyone fancies an artistic nighttime shot

(26 Nov 2022, 12:57 pm)Thomas12 Must admit, GCT seem to have been pretty good in the delivery of the Durham services, without having a knock on effect to the Nexus contracts. Quite surprised about that

(13 Dec 2022, 8:42 am)Jonathan93102 Hello all,

Just wondering if Gateshead Centrals reliability on the Nexus contracts has dipped.

I often get the 558 which runs between Heworth and Seaburn hourly. Last week and this week it seems to be operating on a 2 hourly basis.

Does anybody have any insight into this?

I’m surprised they are getting away with this when there’s no information on the internet about services being cancelled. 2 hours is a long time to wait for a bus, if they are going to do this they should be putting it out like GNE do about cancellations.

Thanks,

Jonathan

(15 Dec 2022, 6:08 pm)Thomas12 They have failed to run several 335 services each day this week.

GCT seem to go through periods of awful reliability for a few weeks, then pretty decent and repeat

(15 Dec 2022, 9:50 pm)Jonathan93102 Hello, 

Thanks for the reply. 

I feel sorry for the drivers who have to operate these services because inevitably they will be the ones who get the complaints and it’s out of their hands. 

Will Nexus be aware they are not running certain services? I don’t know if they’ll get fined or not. Not sure whether the company have to inform Nexus? 

I had a family member who used to work for Redby Buses, they used to operate the 558 and they told me the company used to get fined if they didn’t operate a service. This was going back a long time to 2007/2008. 

I feel public transport up here has really gone down the tubes over the years. London and the South have some fantastic connections and good fares. 

They want more people to use public transport but with the amount of cuts seen lately it’s a bit off putting. 

I should point out the vehicles I’ve been on that GCT were using on the 558 were very smart inside, Wi-Fi and USB’s and high backed seats. 

When my relative was on the 558 with Redby, they had some nice buses to start off with but then rubbish ones started getting put on towards the end of the contract, those long Optare things that are low to the floor. I remember they used to always complain about the light bulb tubes rattling like something not right when stationary. Freezing cold in the winter too. 

Thanks, 

J

(16 Dec 2022, 1:14 am)logidoodah The 558 InterWorks with the 515 and possibly the 568 (all terminating at Heworth) this may be why there's delays? Are these services also affected by the 2 hour frequency.?

(16 Dec 2022, 1:14 am)logidoodah The 558 InterWorks with the 515 and possibly the 568 (all terminating at Heworth) this may be why there's delays? Are these services also affected by the 2 hour frequency.?