11 Feb 2017, 12:57 pm
#149
(11 Feb 2017, 12:36 pm)Dan I think Go North East's increasing use of Social Media to report breakdowns is helpful for passengers waiting for a bus that isn't going to arrive. It potentially gives some customers time to make alternative travel arrangements, if it's absolutely crucial.
These reports only seem to be done for infrequent services such as the Tyne Tees Xpress, presumably because the next bus would have arrived by the time a breakdown on a 10-minute frequency service had been noted on Social Media.
I wonder how many breakdowns there are on a service like the Red Arrows, for example? We always seem to discuss the breakdowns on the Tyne Tees Xpress because Go North East have noted the breakdown on Social Media, but never discuss the reliability of the vehicles on the Red Arrows. This of course could be extended to other operators too. We never seem to discuss breakdowns for Arriva and Stagecoach - is this because their buses are more reliable and don't suffer mechanical defects as regularly as Go North East's buses, or is it because they don't record every breakdown on Social Media?
Whilst the use of social media can be applauded in most cases, this one was tweeted 10minutes before its scheduled departure.
Meaning for those standing in Middlesbrough (myself included), it was too late to do much about it or make alternative plans. That's more to do with the time the fault was identified and reported and understandably can't be helped.
Fortunately, I was able to board the X12 and travel on another operators service.
It was fortunate I happened to see the tweet when I did and be in the position to look for an alternative.
Discussions regarding the X9/10 have stemmed from members witnessing vehicles parked up alongside the A19 with hazards on, because of seeing two buses being parked together in a layby with passengers getting transferred between vehicles AND tweets from the social media team.
Just like apparent breakdowns on other routes (and operators) have been reported.
There had been discussion regarding the X24 and vehicle reliability very recently.
If reports regarding one particular service are more frequent than others, I am guessing it is only natural that it will be discussed.
'Illegitimis non carborundum'
