ANE Ashington Vehicle Issues
ANE Ashington Vehicle Issues
(17 Feb 2021, 9:01 pm)L469 YVK Ok, not strictly asset stripping but very similar. DB have effectively washed their hands of Arriva.
(17 Feb 2021, 9:01 pm)L469 YVK Ok, not strictly asset stripping but very similar. DB have effectively washed their hands of Arriva.
(17 Feb 2021, 10:23 pm)Storx Whatever you think of DB, they're no-where near that level.
Tbf though this isn't the first time it's happened as it happened 15 years ago pre DB aswell with Scanias at Blyth which we're leaking, Metroriders on the X31/X32 often. The 308 being ran by the extremely outdated ex London Olympian N113's. Seems to be a trend with Arriva. Arriva North East are arguable in a much better place atm rather than the likes of Prismas doing the X1 and X93 constantly breaking down and so on plus Prestiges in general.
(17 Feb 2021, 10:23 pm)Storx Whatever you think of DB, they're no-where near that level.
Tbf though this isn't the first time it's happened as it happened 15 years ago pre DB aswell with Scanias at Blyth which we're leaking, Metroriders on the X31/X32 often. The 308 being ran by the extremely outdated ex London Olympian N113's. Seems to be a trend with Arriva. Arriva North East are arguable in a much better place atm rather than the likes of Prismas doing the X1 and X93 constantly breaking down and so on plus Prestiges in general.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:03 pm)mb134 Yeah it seems cyclical. Those at the top seem to think large scale investment needs to happen two or three times per 10-15 years, still living in the years of Leyland/Volvo Olympians... If you look at Arriva as a whole, there has been investment at a more steady pace in other regions, Yorkshire, Merseyside and some of the ones down south spring to mind.
DB, ultimately, don't control the day to day goings on at ANE. The regional MD is responsible there, for things like shoddy presentation and deteriorating reliability - lets not forget the new MD has an engineering heavy CV, so its surprising that the overall standard appears to have nosedived since he took over the show.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:03 pm)mb134 Yeah it seems cyclical. Those at the top seem to think large scale investment needs to happen two or three times per 10-15 years, still living in the years of Leyland/Volvo Olympians... If you look at Arriva as a whole, there has been investment at a more steady pace in other regions, Yorkshire, Merseyside and some of the ones down south spring to mind.
DB, ultimately, don't control the day to day goings on at ANE. The regional MD is responsible there, for things like shoddy presentation and deteriorating reliability - lets not forget the new MD has an engineering heavy CV, so its surprising that the overall standard appears to have nosedived since he took over the show.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:17 pm)Andreos1 Budgets will be key and I wouldn't be surprised to see them stretched to the limit.
Looking at Featham's track record and the ongoing issues at GNW, I'd not be surprised if motivation and moral was low.
Tight budget and the implications of it, low moral and ageing vehicles - not a challenge for the faint hearted.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:17 pm)Andreos1 Budgets will be key and I wouldn't be surprised to see them stretched to the limit.
Looking at Featham's track record and the ongoing issues at GNW, I'd not be surprised if motivation and moral was low.
Tight budget and the implications of it, low moral and ageing vehicles - not a challenge for the faint hearted.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:03 pm)mb134 Yeah it seems cyclical. Those at the top seem to think large scale investment needs to happen two or three times per 10-15 years, still living in the years of Leyland/Volvo Olympians... If you look at Arriva as a whole, there has been investment at a more steady pace in other regions, Yorkshire, Merseyside and some of the ones down south spring to mind.
DB, ultimately, don't control the day to day goings on at ANE. The regional MD is responsible there, for things like shoddy presentation and deteriorating reliability - lets not forget the new MD has an engineering heavy CV, so its surprising that the overall standard appears to have nosedived since he took over the show.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:03 pm)mb134 Yeah it seems cyclical. Those at the top seem to think large scale investment needs to happen two or three times per 10-15 years, still living in the years of Leyland/Volvo Olympians... If you look at Arriva as a whole, there has been investment at a more steady pace in other regions, Yorkshire, Merseyside and some of the ones down south spring to mind.
DB, ultimately, don't control the day to day goings on at ANE. The regional MD is responsible there, for things like shoddy presentation and deteriorating reliability - lets not forget the new MD has an engineering heavy CV, so its surprising that the overall standard appears to have nosedived since he took over the show.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:39 pm)Storx Yeah definitely agree with the local stuff, probably budget stuff with Covid not helping as Andros said. We have to give them credit for trying to keep services as much as they could which you can't really fault them and they were the only one of the big 3 to restore everything back to pre covid levels in the Summer.
I know there's a lot of Arriva / GNE discussion on here but Stagecoach needs a mention here mind as out of the big 3 north of the Tyne they are by far the one in the biggest trouble fleetwise and the lack of investment there is just the same really, especially on singles. God knows what they're planning to do with no investment, an incoming LEZ and approximately 51 MAN buses which tbh are junk and they've just repainted one of the ALX 300's so they're going nowhere. Not to mention the aging Enviro 400 fleet and the hybrids which are having similar breakdowns to Ashington.
Just thought I'd bring that up when you mentioned the cycle patterns as they both do it, but once you start buying junk (let's be honest they are compared to Leylands etc) with poor engines and turbos they aren't going to last 15 years especially on hard work.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:39 pm)Storx Yeah definitely agree with the local stuff, probably budget stuff with Covid not helping as Andros said. We have to give them credit for trying to keep services as much as they could which you can't really fault them and they were the only one of the big 3 to restore everything back to pre covid levels in the Summer.
I know there's a lot of Arriva / GNE discussion on here but Stagecoach needs a mention here mind as out of the big 3 north of the Tyne they are by far the one in the biggest trouble fleetwise and the lack of investment there is just the same really, especially on singles. God knows what they're planning to do with no investment, an incoming LEZ and approximately 51 MAN buses which tbh are junk and they've just repainted one of the ALX 300's so they're going nowhere. Not to mention the aging Enviro 400 fleet and the hybrids which are having similar breakdowns to Ashington.
Just thought I'd bring that up when you mentioned the cycle patterns as they both do it, but once you start buying junk (let's be honest they are compared to Leylands etc) with poor engines and turbos they aren't going to last 15 years especially on hard work.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:39 pm)Storx Just thought I'd bring that up when you mentioned the cycle patterns as they both do it, but once you start buying junk (let's be honest they are compared to Leylands etc) with poor engines and turbos they aren't going to last 15 years especially on hard work.
(17 Feb 2021, 11:39 pm)Storx Just thought I'd bring that up when you mentioned the cycle patterns as they both do it, but once you start buying junk (let's be honest they are compared to Leylands etc) with poor engines and turbos they aren't going to last 15 years especially on hard work.
Modern E400s are fine for frontline service until around 7-8 years of age (5 for endurance routes such as X14/X15/X18/X20) if looked after properly. The 57 plate E400s that didn't fall in the hands of Blyth and Redcar were fine when used on the X21/X22.
If Arriva were to purchase new vehicles (unlikely), I'd suggest the following types depending on the routes:
- 308 = StreetDeck OM934
- X7/X8/X9/X10/X11 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X21/X22 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X14/X15/X18/X20 = StreetDeck OM936
Rest assured Arriva won't be spending a penny on new buses until the long term implications of the covid carry on are understood. Throw in the new SE Northumberland rail link sheduled to open in 2023 and I'd imagine the fleet numbers needed to cover demand could shrink by 20-30% over the next few years. I'm sure there will also continue to be a steady stream of 10-15 year old vehicles arrive from down south to replace the oldest dross up here for the forseeable future as well.
(18 Feb 2021, 9:13 pm)L469 YVK Modern E400s are fine for frontline service until around 7-8 years of age (5 for endurance routes such as X14/X15/X18/X20) if looked after properly. The 57 plate E400s that didn't fall in the hands of Blyth and Redcar were fine when used on the X21/X22.Plz plz oh god let this happen. An MMC on the X8 to Newcastle instead of it being an VDL DB300 Wright Gemini 2
If Arriva were to purchase new vehicles (unlikely), I'd suggest the following types depending on the routes:
- 308 = StreetDeck OM934
- X7/X8/X9/X10/X11 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X21/X22 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X14/X15/X18/X20 = StreetDeck OM936
(18 Feb 2021, 9:13 pm)L469 YVK Modern E400s are fine for frontline service until around 7-8 years of age (5 for endurance routes such as X14/X15/X18/X20) if looked after properly. The 57 plate E400s that didn't fall in the hands of Blyth and Redcar were fine when used on the X21/X22.Plz plz oh god let this happen. An MMC on the X8 to Newcastle instead of it being an VDL DB300 Wright Gemini 2
If Arriva were to purchase new vehicles (unlikely), I'd suggest the following types depending on the routes:
- 308 = StreetDeck OM934
- X7/X8/X9/X10/X11 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X21/X22 = ADL E400MMC (ZF)
- X14/X15/X18/X20 = StreetDeck OM936
One thing I don't think that's helped Arriva is all the Clean Air Zones being introduced or planned to be introduced, the one in Leicester has ended up in a swap shop of buses between depots and divisions. They are now running into the same issue as GNE with Citaros which can't be made Euro 6 with current supplier (or just don't want to) on Green Line routes so are supposedly getting E200MMCs from somewhere to take their place.
If you think we've got it bad, should see some of the other fleets that are still running older stuff than us, there's still W reg Dennis Trident ALX400s running around Luton and 51 plate MPDs in some areas. Think our problem is the nature of some of our routes are just killers.
(19 Feb 2021, 2:45 pm)Jimmi One thing I don't think that's helped Arriva is all the Clean Air Zones being introduced or planned to be introduced, the one in Leicester has ended up in a swap shop of buses between depots and divisions. They are now running into the same issue as GNE with Citaros which can't be made Euro 6 with current supplier (or just don't want to) on Green Line routes so are supposedly getting E200MMCs from somewhere to take their place.The Green Line 724 is getting 7 E200MMCs from Maidstone to replace the 7 Citaros at Harlow which are going to Guildford, which then replace 7 Optare Versas which are going to Maidstone. This because the Citaros don't comply with TfL's Euro 6 emissions requirements., The 724 from Harlow to Heathrow enters the TfL area North West of Uxbridge and Heathrow is also in same area.
If you think we've got it bad, should see some of the other fleets that are still running older stuff than us, there's still W reg Dennis Trident ALX400s running around Luton and 51 plate MPDs in some areas. Think our problem is the nature of some of our routes are just killers.
(19 Feb 2021, 2:45 pm)Jimmi One thing I don't think that's helped Arriva is all the Clean Air Zones being introduced or planned to be introduced, the one in Leicester has ended up in a swap shop of buses between depots and divisions. They are now running into the same issue as GNE with Citaros which can't be made Euro 6 with current supplier (or just don't want to) on Green Line routes so are supposedly getting E200MMCs from somewhere to take their place.The Green Line 724 is getting 7 E200MMCs from Maidstone to replace the 7 Citaros at Harlow which are going to Guildford, which then replace 7 Optare Versas which are going to Maidstone. This because the Citaros don't comply with TfL's Euro 6 emissions requirements., The 724 from Harlow to Heathrow enters the TfL area North West of Uxbridge and Heathrow is also in same area.
If you think we've got it bad, should see some of the other fleets that are still running older stuff than us, there's still W reg Dennis Trident ALX400s running around Luton and 51 plate MPDs in some areas. Think our problem is the nature of some of our routes are just killers.
A month after the PVR reduction, which should have seen the 4 Volvos all parked, 3 of the 4 are still being used. 7445 is on the X20 today, with 7446/7484 on the 35/X21/X22 circuit (old B7TLs making everyday journeys sparkle).
7514 was VOR for nearly a month, made it a (nearly) whole two days in service before coming off the road again.
1579 also now been VOR for nearly a month.
4653 has been VOR for the past week, and there's generally at least one off at all times.
7510 hasn't been seen since Friday, but even when it is working it's generally limited to the X30/scholars peak board. Says a lot when the depot staff would prefer to put a 19 year old Volvo B7 onto their premium work ahead of it.
7517 is also enjoying frequent spells off the road.
7530 has been off since Friday, and had been taken out of service 3 times last week.
7553 has been VOR since the 20th Feb.
7556 still hasn't returned from accident repair.
Today, to cover for all the VOR MAX vehicles, 7524/7/8 are on the X15 (7524/7) and X14 (7528). It's a similar story most days with at least a couple of them on there.
(02 Mar 2021, 10:57 am)mb134 A month after the PVR reduction, which should have seen the 4 Volvos all parked, 3 of the 4 are still being used. 7445 is on the X20 today, with 7446/7484 on the 35/X21/X22 circuit (old B7TLs making everyday journeys sparkle).
7514 was VOR for nearly a month, made it a (nearly) whole two days in service before coming off the road again.
1579 also now been VOR for nearly a month.
4653 has been VOR for the past week, and there's generally at least one off at all times.
7510 hasn't been seen since Friday, but even when it is working it's generally limited to the X30/scholars peak board. Says a lot when the depot staff would prefer to put a 19 year old Volvo B7 onto their premium work ahead of it.
7517 is also enjoying frequent spells off the road.
7530 has been off since Friday, and had been taken out of service 3 times last week.
7553 has been VOR since the 20th Feb.
7556 still hasn't returned from accident repair.
Today, to cover for all the VOR MAX vehicles, 7524/7/8 are on the X15 (7524/7) and X14 (7528). It's a similar story most days with at least a couple of them on there.
(02 Mar 2021, 10:57 am)mb134 A month after the PVR reduction, which should have seen the 4 Volvos all parked, 3 of the 4 are still being used. 7445 is on the X20 today, with 7446/7484 on the 35/X21/X22 circuit (old B7TLs making everyday journeys sparkle).
7514 was VOR for nearly a month, made it a (nearly) whole two days in service before coming off the road again.
1579 also now been VOR for nearly a month.
4653 has been VOR for the past week, and there's generally at least one off at all times.
7510 hasn't been seen since Friday, but even when it is working it's generally limited to the X30/scholars peak board. Says a lot when the depot staff would prefer to put a 19 year old Volvo B7 onto their premium work ahead of it.
7517 is also enjoying frequent spells off the road.
7530 has been off since Friday, and had been taken out of service 3 times last week.
7553 has been VOR since the 20th Feb.
7556 still hasn't returned from accident repair.
Today, to cover for all the VOR MAX vehicles, 7524/7/8 are on the X15 (7524/7) and X14 (7528). It's a similar story most days with at least a couple of them on there.
(02 Mar 2021, 1:12 pm)Storx Just had a look there as was curious, guessing 7510 is broken like the rest.Yeah I'm led to believe 7484 failed at Bedlington Station. 7446 also failed in Ashington bus station around the same time but they got that going again and picked up its run an hour or so later on the return leg.
Seems that 7484 had broken down or it's been swapped at Bedlington station by 7554 at 10am, unusual place if it was meant.
Seems like Ashington are running very short atm, especially now that the Max buses are yet again on the 57/57A, 7512 being on today since 1801 and (as usual) 2809 are off the road. Don't think there's any spares buses now at all so anymore breakdowns will be a cancelled service unless I've missed some buses.
(02 Mar 2021, 1:12 pm)Storx Just had a look there as was curious, guessing 7510 is broken like the rest.Yeah I'm led to believe 7484 failed at Bedlington Station. 7446 also failed in Ashington bus station around the same time but they got that going again and picked up its run an hour or so later on the return leg.
Seems that 7484 had broken down or it's been swapped at Bedlington station by 7554 at 10am, unusual place if it was meant.
Seems like Ashington are running very short atm, especially now that the Max buses are yet again on the 57/57A, 7512 being on today since 1801 and (as usual) 2809 are off the road. Don't think there's any spares buses now at all so anymore breakdowns will be a cancelled service unless I've missed some buses.
Are there any legal consequences that could arise because of this?
(02 Mar 2021, 2:17 pm)mb134 Yeah I'm led to believe 7484 failed at Bedlington Station. 7446 also failed in Ashington bus station around the same time but they got that going again and picked up its run an hour or so later on the return leg.
I've been critical of the lack of investment, but ultimately this looks more and more like it's just shoddy maintenance at Ashington. In the space of a month you'd like to think they'd get to the point where they could meet PVR without having to use vehicles that should be parked up. 7514 being off for a month then being taken off on its second day screams of an incomplete repair and/or inadequate road testing. The amount of times 7530 failed last week equally reeks of engineers patching it, or not being bothered to properly diagnose and fix a problem. Again, with the frequency 7517 is taken off the road I think it's fair to assume it has an ongoing issue - competent management at depot level should be aware of that and demanding answers from engineering staff as to why it is - and getting them to fix it properly. Eventually customers notice the same vehicles having issues, and it starts to look bad on the company. I was on an Elite i up here in September which failed just outside of Aberdeen, one of the regulars got off and you could hear him saying to the driver that it was the second day running the same bus had failed in virtually the same location - punters pay attention to these things when it inconveniences them.
(02 Mar 2021, 2:17 pm)mb134 Yeah I'm led to believe 7484 failed at Bedlington Station. 7446 also failed in Ashington bus station around the same time but they got that going again and picked up its run an hour or so later on the return leg.
I've been critical of the lack of investment, but ultimately this looks more and more like it's just shoddy maintenance at Ashington. In the space of a month you'd like to think they'd get to the point where they could meet PVR without having to use vehicles that should be parked up. 7514 being off for a month then being taken off on its second day screams of an incomplete repair and/or inadequate road testing. The amount of times 7530 failed last week equally reeks of engineers patching it, or not being bothered to properly diagnose and fix a problem. Again, with the frequency 7517 is taken off the road I think it's fair to assume it has an ongoing issue - competent management at depot level should be aware of that and demanding answers from engineering staff as to why it is - and getting them to fix it properly. Eventually customers notice the same vehicles having issues, and it starts to look bad on the company. I was on an Elite i up here in September which failed just outside of Aberdeen, one of the regulars got off and you could hear him saying to the driver that it was the second day running the same bus had failed in virtually the same location - punters pay attention to these things when it inconveniences them.
(02 Mar 2021, 3:57 pm)ASX_Terranova Are there any legal consequences that could arise because of this?
(02 Mar 2021, 3:57 pm)ASX_Terranova Are there any legal consequences that could arise because of this?
(02 Mar 2021, 8:37 pm)Andreos1 Lost mileage could be an issue.
If it is being recorded and reported accurately.
It was a lot easier to cover it up in the past and for operators to tell a complaining passenger that 'the bus definitely ran' and subsequently claim for BSOG or other financial incentives.
With the advent of all the open data and tracking, I'd imagine it is a lot more difficult for an operator to cover up the lost mileage and fraudulent BSOG claims, should DVSA or anyone else start sniffing around in a determined enough fashion.
(02 Mar 2021, 8:37 pm)Andreos1 Lost mileage could be an issue.
If it is being recorded and reported accurately.
It was a lot easier to cover it up in the past and for operators to tell a complaining passenger that 'the bus definitely ran' and subsequently claim for BSOG or other financial incentives.
With the advent of all the open data and tracking, I'd imagine it is a lot more difficult for an operator to cover up the lost mileage and fraudulent BSOG claims, should DVSA or anyone else start sniffing around in a determined enough fashion.
To add further insult to injury today Darlington currently have 1422 and 1423 on loan unsure whether it’s in replacement on 1445/1448 that have been on loan or if there really that short, just seems odd that we’re loaning buses of other depots when there’s load of buses up the depot that aren’t being used
