(04 Apr 2015, 11:13 am)Tommy_1581 The conclusion;
- Arriva services are late, dirty and unprofessional
- Arriva employees don't care if power sockets and WiFi don't work and will do nothing about it
- Complain about the poor service and get rude responses
- Don't get on anything which is as dull as Eeyore's bottom
- Drivers don't care if they run late
- Leave vulnerable people waiting for 40 minutes at a cold bus stop
(04 Apr 2015, 11:13 am)Tommy_1581 The conclusion;
- Arriva services are late, dirty and unprofessional
- Arriva employees don't care if power sockets and WiFi don't work and will do nothing about it
- Complain about the poor service and get rude responses
- Don't get on anything which is as dull as Eeyore's bottom
- Drivers don't care if they run late
- Leave vulnerable people waiting for 40 minutes at a cold bus stop
Back on the 22nd March, there were revisions to the X21/X22, this has made the service more unreliable as before, and every time I used the X21 on a Sunday it runs 5 minutes late.
My opinions cover Ashington's operations and NOT the rest of Arriva.
My PREGNANT mother having to wait 40 minutes for a X21 is downright disgraceful. All this has spiralled from me reporting that a bus ran 16 minutes late yesterday and some random Arriva employee having a little rant at me.
I repeat this again; why should I pay, if my service is always running late and so unreliable?
Lots of people have moaned about the Metro; all that happened on my journeys; North Shields to Pelaw, Pelaw to South Shields, had no delays at all, I never burned and the service never broke down. That's what I call "reliable".
Tommy-
Although I still have experienced lateness on the X21 since the changes, I feel that the changes have made an impact, I do feel that instead of adding in time in the section from Newbiggin to Ashington, the service should be given 2 minutes at Bedlington instead of just treating it as a normal stop, quite a few people get on here, and it will allow time to be made up.
I think the problems you see on a Sunday are both down to the high passenger numbers (in my experiences), and the interworking of the X21 with the ridiculously tightly timed 35.
I'm also not saying it was fine for your mam to be standing waiting for 40 minutes either, and I think you should be writing to Arriva about this, but sometimes these things cannot be helped, what if the vehicle had broken down, or there could have been a potentially harmful fault with the vehicle whereby if it continued in service it may have been a lot worse than having to wait 20 extra minutes (As bad as that sounds).
Also, this isn't meant as an "attack" or anything like that, just it does seem Arriva are trying to sort out some punctuality issues. (This also doesn't mean my opinions on some things have changed, I still think they need to respray 7525 for example as at the minute it's showing the company in an unprofessional light)
(04 Apr 2015, 6:19 pm)Tommy_1581 My PREGNANT mother having to wait 40 minutes for a X21 is downright disgraceful. All this has spiralled from me reporting that a bus ran 16 minutes late yesterday and some random Arriva employee having a little rant at me.
I repeat this again; why should I pay, if my service is always running late and so unreliable?
(04 Apr 2015, 6:19 pm)Tommy_1581 My PREGNANT mother having to wait 40 minutes for a X21 is downright disgraceful. All this has spiralled from me reporting that a bus ran 16 minutes late yesterday and some random Arriva employee having a little rant at me.
I repeat this again; why should I pay, if my service is always running late and so unreliable?
(04 Apr 2015, 7:13 pm)Wellsey18 I'm not familiar with the service but I struggle to believe a 40 minute waiting time, because it's a 15 or 20 min frequency? And with sapphire aren't they meant to be regulated to ensure no hold ups? And also so many things could have happemed that day to cause the delay, ie bad traffic so,ethereal, roadworks, a breakdown, a fault, so I dont think it's fair to slate the company. And who's to say that if GNE did operate up there who's to say they wouldn't have delays, the 19 always see,s to be delayed so maybe it's just a problematic area?!I agree with this as absolutely anything could have happened, I once had to wait nearly an hour for a 7 once was this because the company didn't care, no! It was because there was delays in and out of Darlington due to roadworks.
(04 Apr 2015, 7:13 pm)Wellsey18 I'm not familiar with the service but I struggle to believe a 40 minute waiting time, because it's a 15 or 20 min frequency? And with sapphire aren't they meant to be regulated to ensure no hold ups? And also so many things could have happemed that day to cause the delay, ie bad traffic so,ethereal, roadworks, a breakdown, a fault, so I dont think it's fair to slate the company. And who's to say that if GNE did operate up there who's to say they wouldn't have delays, the 19 always see,s to be delayed so maybe it's just a problematic area?!I agree with this as absolutely anything could have happened, I once had to wait nearly an hour for a 7 once was this because the company didn't care, no! It was because there was delays in and out of Darlington due to roadworks.
(04 Apr 2015, 7:54 pm)Robert i think people are starting to over exaggerate their experiences of late buses... As i said before, it is harder to run a bus company than some people think.To some really late means 10 minutes!
(04 Apr 2015, 7:54 pm)Robert i think people are starting to over exaggerate their experiences of late buses... As i said before, it is harder to run a bus company than some people think.To some really late means 10 minutes!
I have just logged into the site today & have read all of the comments regarding Arriva in Ashington.
I live in the area & regularly use the 35 & X21. I have few complaints about the service sure buses run late but generally speaking the service is OK. I am quite in favour of the "Sapphire" branding on the X21 & find the seats perfectly comfortable, my only gripe is the lack of leg room in certain parts of the buses especially the 57 reg. batch.
As all services which run into Newcastle suffer from the congestion there I understand why they can run late but generally I find that the X21 arrives around on time into Ashington. Another point which has not been covered is the ridiculous road layout around the bus station in Ashington. This causes problems for all services calling there & was the reason for stopping the 35 calling at the bus station on it's run to Morpeth. It used to have to negotiate 4 sets of traffic lights to get in & 3 of them again to leave now "only" has to contend with the first 4.
With regard to Good Friday I had to catch the 35 at 14:02 off Newbiggin into Ashington but as the bus on X21 which forms it was 15-20 minutes late arriving it was obviously late. The driver was determined to make up time as best he could & recovered about 5 mins into Ashington. I returned on the 15:04 which is formed of the same bus & this was only about 6 mins late into Ashington so the driver had made a good effort to recover time. I noticed that the next X21 at 14:42 off Ashington to Newbiggin was similarly running about 10-15 mins late but this is a regular event in the afternoon on Sundays/Bank Holidays due to congestion in & around Newcastle. I agree with Tyresmoke that these schedules need looking at.
Maybe you need to stand back & think before making comments in this Forum as a lot of the more derogatory comments appear to me to be down to the impetuousness of youth.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:18 pm)mb134 On the back of the subject currently being discussed in the GNE thread;
How old are Arriva's depots in the region?
With the obvious exception of Ashington, which was rebuilt last year, the one's I've seen look quite old.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:18 pm)mb134 On the back of the subject currently being discussed in the GNE thread;
How old are Arriva's depots in the region?
With the obvious exception of Ashington, which was rebuilt last year, the one's I've seen look quite old.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:19 pm)Andreos1 Belmont isn't that old in the grand scheme of things. The old Waddington Street depot was an age like.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:19 pm)Andreos1 Belmont isn't that old in the grand scheme of things. The old Waddington Street depot was an age like.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:39 pm)MarcTheA4 Belmont was built around 2012 iirc? I remember reading about how the people living near the Waddington Street depot were relieved with it's demise. Apparently it was hard to live around it, although I imagine this is the case with a lot of bus depots.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:39 pm)MarcTheA4 Belmont was built around 2012 iirc? I remember reading about how the people living near the Waddington Street depot were relieved with it's demise. Apparently it was hard to live around it, although I imagine this is the case with a lot of bus depots.
(05 Apr 2015, 3:46 pm)Andreos1 It was around that time. Trying to remember what the site was used for prior to ANE adapting it for buses.
(04 Apr 2015, 9:12 am)Tommy_1581 No I'm not going to get you or Tom banned from the forum. I'm voicing my opinions here, the person is telling me that I slate Arriva, because my bus is constantly late, maybe Arriva should think about my pregnant mother who stood at Wansbeck Hospital for 40 minutes waiting for a bus ON A WEDNESDAY.
If Arriva treat their customers so badly, why would I want to travel with them?
Having a pregnant woman wait for 40 minutes is extremely dangerous, would you allow that? I'd think not, I'd have a bus sent straight away and would have carried the people for free and refunded their return ticket.
(04 Apr 2015, 9:12 am)Tommy_1581 No I'm not going to get you or Tom banned from the forum. I'm voicing my opinions here, the person is telling me that I slate Arriva, because my bus is constantly late, maybe Arriva should think about my pregnant mother who stood at Wansbeck Hospital for 40 minutes waiting for a bus ON A WEDNESDAY.
If Arriva treat their customers so badly, why would I want to travel with them?
Having a pregnant woman wait for 40 minutes is extremely dangerous, would you allow that? I'd think not, I'd have a bus sent straight away and would have carried the people for free and refunded their return ticket.
I'm sure no bus driver wakes up in the morning and thinks to theirself:
- I want to have a p!ss in my bus!
- I want to wait in a layby for 40 minutes so I can be late!
- I hate the public, I don't have anything to do with them!
- I don't know what any of these buttons on my dash do, even the ones labelled 'Wifi' and 'Sockets'! Best leave them off!
Drivers aren't mystical creatures who know everything - they may simply not know how they've become x minutes late as each minute can add up easily for no apparent reason.
I'm also sure, no matter if someone is pregnant, elderly, disabled etc or not, a driver will do their best to make up time. However, probably to your surprise and dismay, there isn't the option to put a blue flashing light and sirens on to get through traffic.
Fair enough you giving your own opinion - but when you keep endlessly slating services that aren't the designated brand (imagine the extra delay and cancellations etc that would apply if absolutely no branded buses are allowed to stray elsewhere) and services that are 6 minutes late, coming from someone who can't even drive a car let alone a bus, it's embarrassing.
Oh and don't get me started on reporting someone, if they are an Arriva employee, to Arriva. You have no idea on the implications you could cause for absolutely nothing.
(05 Apr 2015, 8:17 pm)Multi21 As hard as your story is to believe surely a hospital is the best place to be waiting if you think it's "Dangerous" to be stood around..
As for reporting me to Arriva. At what point did I say I worked for arriva, that my opinions have anything to do with Arriva as a company and if Arrivas customer service is so shoddy what makes you think anything would have been done?
(05 Apr 2015, 8:17 pm)Multi21 As hard as your story is to believe surely a hospital is the best place to be waiting if you think it's "Dangerous" to be stood around..
As for reporting me to Arriva. At what point did I say I worked for arriva, that my opinions have anything to do with Arriva as a company and if Arrivas customer service is so shoddy what makes you think anything would have been done?
(06 Apr 2015, 8:32 am)Tommy_1581 Same could be said if an ambulance or a police car went past at the same time that someone gets murdered at a bus stop?
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