(27 Jan 2017, 2:39 pm)Greg in Weardale This 49 livery is unoriginal and boring. Another step in the wrong direction .... and is proper branding on the way out? Why not keep Blaydon Racers? Or couldn't they think of a different name or colour, as happened with IndiGo.

(27 Jan 2017, 2:56 pm)RBZ 5459 Regardless of how uninspiring it is, you've got to think why bother slapping a 49 vinyl on it. If they wanted to bin off a strong service route identity they should have left them unbranded.

(27 Jan 2017, 3:02 pm)Michael Just have to get used to it...... 

(27 Jan 2017, 3:07 pm)RBZ 5459 If it is to be rolled out across other services, I'd suspect it'll just be for the moderately performing routes, and not mainstream core money-makers.

(27 Jan 2017, 2:39 pm)Greg in Weardale This 49 livery is unoriginal and boring. Another step in the wrong direction .... and is proper branding on the way out? Why not keep Blaydon Racers? Or couldn't they think of a different name or colour, as happened with IndiGo.

(27 Jan 2017, 4:04 pm)S813 FVK Because it has very little relation to the 49/49A maybe? Neither service goes along Scotswood Road and only 1 service goes via Blaydon. I'd have expected a critical person like you to have presented that argument pretty quickly!

(27 Jan 2017, 11:58 am)Dan 5455:

Go North East: 5455 / NK66EWD by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

(27 Jan 2017, 4:43 pm)Dans_bus_photos I would like to see 5 of 5275-83/5331 retain their Blaydon Racers branding and allocated to the 12s, allowing 5234-38 to go onto the 28s, as it was hinted before that the 28 was to be upgraded soon.

(27 Jan 2017, 4:52 pm)Adrian I think it looks quite smart. Similar to what Brighton and Hove do with their route branding, which I do think works quite well.

I'd happily see this design rolled out to your so called 'secondary routes', and then keep full branding for the flagships.

(27 Jan 2017, 4:52 pm)Adrian I think it looks quite smart. Similar to what Brighton and Hove do with their route branding, which I do think works quite well.

I'd happily see this design rolled out to your so called 'secondary routes', and then keep full branding for the flagships.

(26 Jan 2017, 10:18 pm)Ambassador Are there still vehicle issues at Chester? The X12 has hopeless reliability lately so I've used the 21 all week and I've had an Omnidekka , a rammed 5401 or a rancid B7. It's doing no use at all to my data allowance or my bum cheeks!

I even let a packed 6038 leave only for bloody 5401 to turn up! Just assuming it's a combination of Hybrids getting tested/a much needed clean or some general off the roadness 

Edit to add, Quorum are in talks to allow the 554 to serve the business park following passenger complaints directly to Quorum. I can see the point. People will wait at Fourl Lane Ends or Quorum for a heavily delayed 555 sitting on Benton Park Road whilst 554 tends to sail through. Seems daft not to add capacity when it can only benefit passengers as a whole. Plus it means the 554 isn't selfishly blocking one lane of traffic at rush hour because it's so early.

(27 Jan 2017, 5:00 pm)Michael Me too, hopefully that happens.

What do you class a "Flagship route" though? - Angel, Castles Express, Fab 56, Red Arrow is defiantly 4 but that's just some examples, don't think we will see it on older buses or NEXUS funded services though.

(27 Jan 2017, 5:23 pm)GX03 As has been said before with depot standardisation maybe the mercs might go on to the 12s releasing the omnicities to Stanley for the 6/x70/x71 along with Deckers to make up the pvr

(27 Jan 2017, 5:18 pm)thetravelman This morning around 9:30am I saw a Blue 'Durham Diamond' Merc Citaro going around Cramlington Nelson Industrial Estate 'Not In Service'. It then parked up at a bus stop on Nelson Road for about 5 mins then set off again. I wasn't close enough to ID it.

Not sure why it was there, but AVID Technology is close by on Admiral Business Park.