(28 Dec 2019, 2:37 pm)V514DFT I imagine the upcoming changes will be posted anytime from Wednesday onwards,as Wednesday is New Years DayThey've already been posted
(28 Dec 2019, 2:37 pm)V514DFT I imagine the upcoming changes will be posted anytime from Wednesday onwards,as Wednesday is New Years DayThey've already been posted
(28 Dec 2019, 4:45 pm)JP6004 Think he means breakdown of changes on the newsroom as opposed to timetables being uploadedHaven't they posted the breakdown at the same time as the updated timetables in the past? Either that, or the joy of Christmas is making my already crap memory worse!
(28 Dec 2019, 4:45 pm)JP6004 Think he means breakdown of changes on the newsroom as opposed to timetables being uploadedHaven't they posted the breakdown at the same time as the updated timetables in the past? Either that, or the joy of Christmas is making my already crap memory worse!
(28 Dec 2019, 4:50 pm)streetdeckfan Haven't they posted the breakdown at the same time as the updated timetables in the past? Either that, or the joy of Christmas is making my already crap memory worse!
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(28 Dec 2019, 4:50 pm)streetdeckfan Haven't they posted the breakdown at the same time as the updated timetables in the past? Either that, or the joy of Christmas is making my already crap memory worse!
Sent from my LM-G710 using Tapatalk
(28 Dec 2019, 5:07 pm)JP6004 No they tend to upload timetables first before publishing changes....otherwise there be no link to new timetable lmaoAll this being nice to people must be making me ill!
(28 Dec 2019, 5:07 pm)JP6004 No they tend to upload timetables first before publishing changes....otherwise there be no link to new timetable lmaoAll this being nice to people must be making me ill!
(27 Dec 2019, 10:08 am)Jimmi Most the passengers I could see on the buses yesterday were people heading to the Boxing Day sales in Newcastle and at the Metrocentre, although numbers weren't big on some a fair few were cash fares so likely made enough to at very least breakeven.I think part of the issue is that single bus journeys are fine but as soon as you have to change buses, then the journey becomes needlessly long and complicated. It's bad enough on Sundays but, for example, if you wanted to get from Gilesgate or Newton Hall to Newcastle, then you would, if from Gilesgate, walk to Sunderland road for a 20 or into the city centre then wait for one of the two, unevenly spaced, 21s of the hour, or in Newton Hall, just walk into Fram or Pity me, as the 50 wasn't running. We live on the 21 route but Bigun still didn't fancy it. On a Sunday, we can travel back from Newcastle or the Metrocentre either through Gateshead or Stanley, all in reasonable time, since the connections at Stanley are good, but we didn't really have that as a back up in case we missed the 21s or they were too busy, which made the prospect unappealing for bigun.
My thinking now is only core routes in and out of Newcastle/Metrocentre are particularly worth running on Boxing Day after my observations yesterday, despite statements I've made in the past, I now think there ain't much market to run deeper into County Durham especially Arriva territory.
(27 Dec 2019, 10:08 am)Jimmi Most the passengers I could see on the buses yesterday were people heading to the Boxing Day sales in Newcastle and at the Metrocentre, although numbers weren't big on some a fair few were cash fares so likely made enough to at very least breakeven.I think part of the issue is that single bus journeys are fine but as soon as you have to change buses, then the journey becomes needlessly long and complicated. It's bad enough on Sundays but, for example, if you wanted to get from Gilesgate or Newton Hall to Newcastle, then you would, if from Gilesgate, walk to Sunderland road for a 20 or into the city centre then wait for one of the two, unevenly spaced, 21s of the hour, or in Newton Hall, just walk into Fram or Pity me, as the 50 wasn't running. We live on the 21 route but Bigun still didn't fancy it. On a Sunday, we can travel back from Newcastle or the Metrocentre either through Gateshead or Stanley, all in reasonable time, since the connections at Stanley are good, but we didn't really have that as a back up in case we missed the 21s or they were too busy, which made the prospect unappealing for bigun.
My thinking now is only core routes in and out of Newcastle/Metrocentre are particularly worth running on Boxing Day after my observations yesterday, despite statements I've made in the past, I now think there ain't much market to run deeper into County Durham especially Arriva territory.
(27 Dec 2019, 5:43 pm)Andreos1 Even with Newcastle being away yesterday, there's still a couple of thousand needing to get back home after being dropped off by the coaches."No demand" is a vicious circle, isn't it? I think ANE 22 is a good example of that. Used to be unreliable and infrequent and people didn't trust it enough to use it. Then they made it twice as frequent, put newer vehicles on it and rolled it out properly instead of halfassedly on a sunday and suddenly it became busy quite a lot. Similarly, GNE has grown that Durham-Newcastle corridor on a Sunday and the buses are just as busy, presumably because more people find them an attractive and reliable option (though the Chester-Durham journey breaks down a bit with 3 of the 4 journeys an hour (21, X21, 50) all running within a few minutes of each other.)
Absolutely no provision at all made by local operators and taxis raking it in.
Eldest Constanopolus and his mates had to pay almost £25 for a taxi after their trip back from Old Trafford yesterday.
Assuming they're the only ones on the bus, I can see the combined fares more than covering the drivers wages.
Add a couple more passengers and there's the fuel covered.
But we keep getting told 'there's no demand'...
I would argue there's more than enough demand, its like nobody actually tries to determine where the demand is and when.
Im not saying that there should be a full service everywhere - but if Gateshead can run X1's, using 49 branded Streetlite and on previous Boxing Days we have seen later X10's, then something can surely be done on other corridors.
Or, if taxis continue to be cheaper for a group of mates or using the car is quicker, easier and cheaper (like it was for me yesterday) - then bus patronage will continue to fall and we will see poorer levels of service.
I genuinely wish someone would come in at the top at local operators and shake things up a little, so that using the bus is easier and cheaper than currently and that passengers can actually rely on a decent service on Boxing Day and other bank holidays.
(27 Dec 2019, 5:43 pm)Andreos1 Even with Newcastle being away yesterday, there's still a couple of thousand needing to get back home after being dropped off by the coaches."No demand" is a vicious circle, isn't it? I think ANE 22 is a good example of that. Used to be unreliable and infrequent and people didn't trust it enough to use it. Then they made it twice as frequent, put newer vehicles on it and rolled it out properly instead of halfassedly on a sunday and suddenly it became busy quite a lot. Similarly, GNE has grown that Durham-Newcastle corridor on a Sunday and the buses are just as busy, presumably because more people find them an attractive and reliable option (though the Chester-Durham journey breaks down a bit with 3 of the 4 journeys an hour (21, X21, 50) all running within a few minutes of each other.)
Absolutely no provision at all made by local operators and taxis raking it in.
Eldest Constanopolus and his mates had to pay almost £25 for a taxi after their trip back from Old Trafford yesterday.
Assuming they're the only ones on the bus, I can see the combined fares more than covering the drivers wages.
Add a couple more passengers and there's the fuel covered.
But we keep getting told 'there's no demand'...
I would argue there's more than enough demand, its like nobody actually tries to determine where the demand is and when.
Im not saying that there should be a full service everywhere - but if Gateshead can run X1's, using 49 branded Streetlite and on previous Boxing Days we have seen later X10's, then something can surely be done on other corridors.
Or, if taxis continue to be cheaper for a group of mates or using the car is quicker, easier and cheaper (like it was for me yesterday) - then bus patronage will continue to fall and we will see poorer levels of service.
I genuinely wish someone would come in at the top at local operators and shake things up a little, so that using the bus is easier and cheaper than currently and that passengers can actually rely on a decent service on Boxing Day and other bank holidays.
(28 Dec 2019, 9:37 pm)BusLoverMum I think part of the issue is that single bus journeys are fine but as soon as you have to change buses, then the journey becomes needlessly long and complicated. It's bad enough on Sundays but, for example, if you wanted to get from Gilesgate or Newton Hall to Newcastle, then you would, if from Gilesgate, walk to Sunderland road for a 20 or into the city centre then wait for one of the two, unevenly spaced, 21s of the hour, or in Newton Hall, just walk into Fram or Pity me, as the 50 wasn't running. We live on the 21 route but Bigun still didn't fancy it. On a Sunday, we can travel back from Newcastle or the Metrocentre either through Gateshead or Stanley, all in reasonable time, since the connections at Stanley are good, but we didn't really have that as a back up in case we missed the 21s or they were too busy, which made the prospect unappealing for bigun.
So, just as when we lived in arrivaland, we took the car. Bigun even got out of bed before 9am, specially!
(28 Dec 2019, 9:37 pm)BusLoverMum I think part of the issue is that single bus journeys are fine but as soon as you have to change buses, then the journey becomes needlessly long and complicated. It's bad enough on Sundays but, for example, if you wanted to get from Gilesgate or Newton Hall to Newcastle, then you would, if from Gilesgate, walk to Sunderland road for a 20 or into the city centre then wait for one of the two, unevenly spaced, 21s of the hour, or in Newton Hall, just walk into Fram or Pity me, as the 50 wasn't running. We live on the 21 route but Bigun still didn't fancy it. On a Sunday, we can travel back from Newcastle or the Metrocentre either through Gateshead or Stanley, all in reasonable time, since the connections at Stanley are good, but we didn't really have that as a back up in case we missed the 21s or they were too busy, which made the prospect unappealing for bigun.
So, just as when we lived in arrivaland, we took the car. Bigun even got out of bed before 9am, specially!
(28 Dec 2019, 9:53 pm)Jimmi Single journeys are far more attractive, I have less desires to go to Sunderland since Arriva curtailed the X21 at Peterlee as can't be chewed on changing in either Durham or Peterlee to get there.Aye. The only reason we're happy to catch the X30 on a Sunday is because the same vehicle runs on to Durham. Has to be nice weather to contemplate a journey via Consett, though!
Another example is Transdev are withdrawing their service X41 between Accrington & Manchester (via Ramsbottom) in January and they are really trying to push the passengers along that route to use alternative routes that involve connections and try as they might people are not having it, even though from Accrington you get 464 to Rawtenstall then X43 to reach Manchester changing at the newly opened Rawtenstall Bus Station with both services operating on a 15 minute frequency, people would still prefer a slightly less frequent direct service without having to change.
(28 Dec 2019, 9:53 pm)Jimmi Single journeys are far more attractive, I have less desires to go to Sunderland since Arriva curtailed the X21 at Peterlee as can't be chewed on changing in either Durham or Peterlee to get there.Aye. The only reason we're happy to catch the X30 on a Sunday is because the same vehicle runs on to Durham. Has to be nice weather to contemplate a journey via Consett, though!
Another example is Transdev are withdrawing their service X41 between Accrington & Manchester (via Ramsbottom) in January and they are really trying to push the passengers along that route to use alternative routes that involve connections and try as they might people are not having it, even though from Accrington you get 464 to Rawtenstall then X43 to reach Manchester changing at the newly opened Rawtenstall Bus Station with both services operating on a 15 minute frequency, people would still prefer a slightly less frequent direct service without having to change.
I'm the type of person that prefers to take the 'scenic' route to places, so I'll purposely go the long way round and have multiple connections.
When I'm on my way back down, I'll often get the X30 to Stanley, 16 to Durham, then catch the X21 to Bishop rather than getting the X30 to Newcastle (or 49 to Gateshead, depending if I'm craving Cheese Straws or not) then getting the X21 to Bishop.
I find myself trapped in the house on a Sunday because I'm too lazy to walk the 2 miles to Bishop Bus Station, and I'm too cheap to pay the £1.40 to Arriva to get there!
(28 Dec 2019, 10:28 pm)streetdeckfan I'm the type of person that prefers to take the 'scenic' route to places, so I'll purposely go the long way round and have multiple connections.Amount of times you've complained about expresses not being expresses, this has surprised me
When I'm on my way back down, I'll often get the X30 to Stanley, 16 to Durham, then catch the X21 to Bishop rather than getting the X30 to Newcastle (or 49 to Gateshead, depending if I'm craving Cheese Straws or not) then getting the X21 to Bishop.
I find myself trapped in the house on a Sunday because I'm too lazy to walk the 2 miles to Bishop Bus Station, and I'm too cheap to pay the £1.40 to Arriva to get there!
(28 Dec 2019, 10:28 pm)streetdeckfan I'm the type of person that prefers to take the 'scenic' route to places, so I'll purposely go the long way round and have multiple connections.Amount of times you've complained about expresses not being expresses, this has surprised me
When I'm on my way back down, I'll often get the X30 to Stanley, 16 to Durham, then catch the X21 to Bishop rather than getting the X30 to Newcastle (or 49 to Gateshead, depending if I'm craving Cheese Straws or not) then getting the X21 to Bishop.
I find myself trapped in the house on a Sunday because I'm too lazy to walk the 2 miles to Bishop Bus Station, and I'm too cheap to pay the £1.40 to Arriva to get there!
(29 Dec 2019, 12:46 am)JP6004 Amount of times you've complained about expresses not being expresses, this has surprised me
(29 Dec 2019, 12:46 am)JP6004 Amount of times you've complained about expresses not being expresses, this has surprised me
(29 Dec 2019, 1:20 am)streetdeckfan I've said many times in the past that I like taking the scenic route, most of the time it's to avoid other people, like taking the 1A from Gateshead to Metrocentre instead of the X66I seriously don’t know anyone who would take the longest way around to get between point A and point B whilst there is a direct service, unless somewhat detached from reality.
The thing is it though for me it actually takes the same amount of time to go via Stanley than it does to go to Gateshead/Newcastle and take the X21, including the time waiting for changes. If we take out the time waiting for changes, it's actually 10 minutes faster going via Stanley.
I'm right to complain about some express services not being expresses, because they're bloody well not!
If we look at the X30, the it takes about 10 minutes longer than if you took the car. I'd say that's pretty express for a bus service.
Now look at the X21, if you wanted to drive from Eldon Square to Tindale Tesco, it would take 50 minutes (according to Google Maps anyway following basically the same route, it can be done quicker if you 'know the roads'), the X21 takes pretty much spot on 2 hours. That's more than double the time it takes in the car. The issue is that half of the route isn't actually express!
This also goes back to my other point about express services, you shouldn't be allowed to call it an express service unless there's a slower service available. And with the X21 there isn't! You could argue that it's an express 21, but then what about the Durham to Bishop part of the route. For the most part it follows the 6 (except the 6 goes via the university, and with traffic is actually faster), stopping at every stop.
I have no issue with the route of the X21, only with the branding of it as express. I've said in the past that it should be renamed, and then if they want they can introduce an actual express service to run along side it.
(29 Dec 2019, 1:20 am)streetdeckfan I've said many times in the past that I like taking the scenic route, most of the time it's to avoid other people, like taking the 1A from Gateshead to Metrocentre instead of the X66I seriously don’t know anyone who would take the longest way around to get between point A and point B whilst there is a direct service, unless somewhat detached from reality.
The thing is it though for me it actually takes the same amount of time to go via Stanley than it does to go to Gateshead/Newcastle and take the X21, including the time waiting for changes. If we take out the time waiting for changes, it's actually 10 minutes faster going via Stanley.
I'm right to complain about some express services not being expresses, because they're bloody well not!
If we look at the X30, the it takes about 10 minutes longer than if you took the car. I'd say that's pretty express for a bus service.
Now look at the X21, if you wanted to drive from Eldon Square to Tindale Tesco, it would take 50 minutes (according to Google Maps anyway following basically the same route, it can be done quicker if you 'know the roads'), the X21 takes pretty much spot on 2 hours. That's more than double the time it takes in the car. The issue is that half of the route isn't actually express!
This also goes back to my other point about express services, you shouldn't be allowed to call it an express service unless there's a slower service available. And with the X21 there isn't! You could argue that it's an express 21, but then what about the Durham to Bishop part of the route. For the most part it follows the 6 (except the 6 goes via the university, and with traffic is actually faster), stopping at every stop.
I have no issue with the route of the X21, only with the branding of it as express. I've said in the past that it should be renamed, and then if they want they can introduce an actual express service to run along side it.
(29 Dec 2019, 8:14 am)Stanleyone I seriously don’t know anyone who would take the longest way around to get between point A and point B whilst there is a direct service, unless somewhat detached from reality.As I mentioned before, on a Sunday, it can be quicker to do Metrocentre to Durham via Stanley. From Newcastle, it's a little slower but we still get home the same time as if we'd waited another 10 minutes for a 21. We often drive that way, from the Metrocentre, if the Western bypass is heavy and slow, as it's genuinely scenic. Unlike the 1A through some of the ugliest parts of Gateshead, which is just plain lengthy.
Now seriously you’ve said time and again your point on the whole express branding, most of us on here I’m sure don’t agree with your point.
(29 Dec 2019, 8:14 am)Stanleyone I seriously don’t know anyone who would take the longest way around to get between point A and point B whilst there is a direct service, unless somewhat detached from reality.As I mentioned before, on a Sunday, it can be quicker to do Metrocentre to Durham via Stanley. From Newcastle, it's a little slower but we still get home the same time as if we'd waited another 10 minutes for a 21. We often drive that way, from the Metrocentre, if the Western bypass is heavy and slow, as it's genuinely scenic. Unlike the 1A through some of the ugliest parts of Gateshead, which is just plain lengthy.
Now seriously you’ve said time and again your point on the whole express branding, most of us on here I’m sure don’t agree with your point.
(28 Dec 2019, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum "No demand" is a vicious circle, isn't it? I think ANE 22 is a good example of that. Used to be unreliable and infrequent and people didn't trust it enough to use it. Then they made it twice as frequent, put newer vehicles on it and rolled it out properly instead of halfassedly on a sunday and suddenly it became busy quite a lot. Similarly, GNE has grown that Durham-Newcastle corridor on a Sunday and the buses are just as busy, presumably because more people find them an attractive and reliable option (though the Chester-Durham journey breaks down a bit with 3 of the 4 journeys an hour (21, X21, 50) all running within a few minutes of each other.)
(28 Dec 2019, 9:48 pm)BusLoverMum "No demand" is a vicious circle, isn't it? I think ANE 22 is a good example of that. Used to be unreliable and infrequent and people didn't trust it enough to use it. Then they made it twice as frequent, put newer vehicles on it and rolled it out properly instead of halfassedly on a sunday and suddenly it became busy quite a lot. Similarly, GNE has grown that Durham-Newcastle corridor on a Sunday and the buses are just as busy, presumably because more people find them an attractive and reliable option (though the Chester-Durham journey breaks down a bit with 3 of the 4 journeys an hour (21, X21, 50) all running within a few minutes of each other.)
With the Ferry replacement service finished, has any of the Scania L94's been withdrawn?, as i know 5230-32 are just float vehicles at Deptford?
Just because, according to bus times. 5230-5232 were all on the 55 yesterday, was just wondering if any others were withdrawn?
(29 Dec 2019, 1:15 pm)Michael With the Ferry replacement service finished, has any of the Scania L94's been withdrawn?, as i know 5230-32 are just float vehicles at Deptford?
Just because, according to bus times. 5230-5232 were all on the 55 yesterday, was just wondering if any others were withdrawn?
(29 Dec 2019, 1:15 pm)Michael With the Ferry replacement service finished, has any of the Scania L94's been withdrawn?, as i know 5230-32 are just float vehicles at Deptford?
Just because, according to bus times. 5230-5232 were all on the 55 yesterday, was just wondering if any others were withdrawn?
(29 Dec 2019, 1:22 pm)Dan As 6337 wasn’t able to be put through MOT test (allowing 5485 to transfer to Deptford), 5230 is now part of the main fleet allocation at Deptford, displacing 8299 to Riverside, allowing 5220 to be withdrawn. 5230 can become a float vehicle again (or withdrawn) once 5485 transfers in from Consett.
5225 has also now been withdrawn following the transfer of 6931 from Consett (Riverside were one double-deck short).
5231/32 remain at Deptford as float vehicles - one covering for a coach which is VOR, the other as a repaint float (the final Wear Xpress Citaros will be repainted in fleet livery over the next few weeks).
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(29 Dec 2019, 1:22 pm)Dan As 6337 wasn’t able to be put through MOT test (allowing 5485 to transfer to Deptford), 5230 is now part of the main fleet allocation at Deptford, displacing 8299 to Riverside, allowing 5220 to be withdrawn. 5230 can become a float vehicle again (or withdrawn) once 5485 transfers in from Consett.
5225 has also now been withdrawn following the transfer of 6931 from Consett (Riverside were one double-deck short).
5231/32 remain at Deptford as float vehicles - one covering for a coach which is VOR, the other as a repaint float (the final Wear Xpress Citaros will be repainted in fleet livery over the next few weeks).
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
