(23 Feb 2020, 6:41 pm)scanialover The X9/10 has rarely had vehicles that are suited to the demands of the route, the predominance of which, as we know, is on the A19. I've experienced at all levels; back in the day when Tees ran it as a joint operation with a collection of elderly vehicles being literally hammered between Middlesbrough and Newcastle right through to now with these B5's which look the part but aren't suited to the route. I never got to ride on the Panther, only saw it at M'bro Bus Station when it was on trial; it sure looked the part and would be a great advert to promote the service, whether these could cope with the non-motorway sections of the route I don't know.
(23 Feb 2020, 6:41 pm)scanialover The X9/10 has rarely had vehicles that are suited to the demands of the route, the predominance of which, as we know, is on the A19. I've experienced at all levels; back in the day when Tees ran it as a joint operation with a collection of elderly vehicles being literally hammered between Middlesbrough and Newcastle right through to now with these B5's which look the part but aren't suited to the route. I never got to ride on the Panther, only saw it at M'bro Bus Station when it was on trial; it sure looked the part and would be a great advert to promote the service, whether these could cope with the non-motorway sections of the route I don't know.
(23 Feb 2020, 6:41 pm)scanialover The X9/10 has rarely had vehicles that are suited to the demands of the route, the predominance of which, as we know, is on the A19. I've experienced at all levels; back in the day when Tees ran it as a joint operation with a collection of elderly vehicles being literally hammered between Middlesbrough and Newcastle right through to now with these B5's which look the part but aren't suited to the route. I never got to ride on the Panther, only saw it at M'bro Bus Station when it was on trial; it sure looked the part and would be a great advert to promote the service, whether these could cope with the non-motorway sections of the route I don't know.
(23 Feb 2020, 6:41 pm)scanialover The X9/10 has rarely had vehicles that are suited to the demands of the route, the predominance of which, as we know, is on the A19. I've experienced at all levels; back in the day when Tees ran it as a joint operation with a collection of elderly vehicles being literally hammered between Middlesbrough and Newcastle right through to now with these B5's which look the part but aren't suited to the route. I never got to ride on the Panther, only saw it at M'bro Bus Station when it was on trial; it sure looked the part and would be a great advert to promote the service, whether these could cope with the non-motorway sections of the route I don't know.
Whoops! My fault I think for not remembering bf where we are. It's been a long day !!
Whoops! My fault I think for not remembering bf where we are. It's been a long day !!
Now here's an improvement: arriva are actually communicating on social media about places they're unable to serve due to the snow.
(23 Feb 2020, 12:23 pm)Storx I don't understand your obsession with decreasing the frequency of the 306 and 308. There have been no changes anywhere in the area which would result in passengers in using other services so if the numbers are down then they have more than likely moved to driving not to mention they've been every 15 minutes since forever.
(23 Feb 2020, 12:23 pm)Storx I don't understand your obsession with decreasing the frequency of the 306 and 308. There have been no changes anywhere in the area which would result in passengers in using other services so if the numbers are down then they have more than likely moved to driving not to mention they've been every 15 minutes since forever.
(25 Feb 2020, 7:01 pm)mb134 See I think this is something that is hugely overlooked when it comes to Arriva, at least the Northumbria operations. Since the huge service changes at the start of the last decade, virtually everything has remained the same in terms of routes and frequencies.Well technically, it's every 20 mins if you take into account the 5/15 gaps as most passengers will end up using the X22 as that comes first.
While there have been some alterations, such as the X20 up to Alnwick, the Blyth X30, 43 to Morpeth, by and large the (main) routes are the same.
Then with frequencies, people know that if you're wanting to get from Morpeth to Newcastle there's a bus every 15 minutes, Bedlington to Newcastle every 10, Blyth to Morpeth/Ashington every 20 etc. While passenger numbers are falling across the country, this network stability is something that they need to take advantage of. If people know where the buses go and how often they are, improving vehicle quality on more of them may be the final push to get more people out of cars.
(25 Feb 2020, 7:01 pm)mb134 See I think this is something that is hugely overlooked when it comes to Arriva, at least the Northumbria operations. Since the huge service changes at the start of the last decade, virtually everything has remained the same in terms of routes and frequencies.Well technically, it's every 20 mins if you take into account the 5/15 gaps as most passengers will end up using the X22 as that comes first.
While there have been some alterations, such as the X20 up to Alnwick, the Blyth X30, 43 to Morpeth, by and large the (main) routes are the same.
Then with frequencies, people know that if you're wanting to get from Morpeth to Newcastle there's a bus every 15 minutes, Bedlington to Newcastle every 10, Blyth to Morpeth/Ashington every 20 etc. While passenger numbers are falling across the country, this network stability is something that they need to take advantage of. If people know where the buses go and how often they are, improving vehicle quality on more of them may be the final push to get more people out of cars.
anyone know when arriva durhams fleet is set to have the new logo
Nick Knox and his shoddy company in the local news again? Dormanstown operated service 81 making the headlines. If, as Mr Knox claims "he takes pride in the network of services his company" what does losing a couple of quid matter?
(28 Feb 2020, 6:31 pm)scanialover Nick Knox and his shoddy company in the local news again? Dormanstown operated service 81 making the headlines. If, as Mr Knox claims "he takes pride in the network of services his company" what does losing a couple of quid matter?
And then being to Newcastle today and isn't the operation by GNE just so much better than what we have down here on Teesside. New buses, branding everything about it.
(28 Feb 2020, 6:31 pm)scanialover Nick Knox and his shoddy company in the local news again? Dormanstown operated service 81 making the headlines. If, as Mr Knox claims "he takes pride in the network of services his company" what does losing a couple of quid matter?
And then being to Newcastle today and isn't the operation by GNE just so much better than what we have down here on Teesside. New buses, branding everything about it.
(25 Feb 2020, 7:01 pm)mb134 See I think this is something that is hugely overlooked when it comes to Arriva, at least the Northumbria operations. Since the huge service changes at the start of the last decade, virtually everything has remained the same in terms of routes and frequencies.
While there have been some alterations, such as the X20 up to Alnwick, the Blyth X30, 43 to Morpeth, by and large the (main) routes are the same.
Then with frequencies, people know that if you're wanting to get from Morpeth to Newcastle there's a bus every 15 minutes, Bedlington to Newcastle every 10, Blyth to Morpeth/Ashington every 20 etc. While passenger numbers are falling across the country, this network stability is something that they need to take advantage of. If people know where the buses go and how often they are, improving vehicle quality on more of them may be the final push to get more people out of cars.
(25 Feb 2020, 8:38 pm)L469 YVK Well technically, it's every 20 mins if you take into account the 5/15 gaps as most passengers will end up using the X22 as that comes first.
To be fair, Arriva ran a pretty stable network over the recent years. However, they do need serious fleet investment though. It would make sense now that the E400 comes with a 'ZF' stop-start option to replace the E400s on the X21 / X22 with 7541-50 to Blyth for the 308 (with 7551/52 as spares). X10 /X11 would also be another prime candidate for new vehicles too.
Going back to the Coast Road argument, it would be 6 and 2 3's either the 306 & 308 remaining at a 15 minute frequency or, reducing to a 20 minute frequency but both remaining on the Coast Road no longer serving Battle Hill Drive. However, with the news that GNE are dropping the 19, many passengers will be relying upon the X6 connection in Newcastle, which of course would either have to be withdrawn or worked using scholars / split shifts if the 306 & 308 was reduced to every 20 minutes. I think given the circumstances surrounding the 19, ANE will most likely stick with a 15 minute frequency on both services for the time being.
(25 Feb 2020, 7:01 pm)mb134 See I think this is something that is hugely overlooked when it comes to Arriva, at least the Northumbria operations. Since the huge service changes at the start of the last decade, virtually everything has remained the same in terms of routes and frequencies.
While there have been some alterations, such as the X20 up to Alnwick, the Blyth X30, 43 to Morpeth, by and large the (main) routes are the same.
Then with frequencies, people know that if you're wanting to get from Morpeth to Newcastle there's a bus every 15 minutes, Bedlington to Newcastle every 10, Blyth to Morpeth/Ashington every 20 etc. While passenger numbers are falling across the country, this network stability is something that they need to take advantage of. If people know where the buses go and how often they are, improving vehicle quality on more of them may be the final push to get more people out of cars.
(25 Feb 2020, 8:38 pm)L469 YVK Well technically, it's every 20 mins if you take into account the 5/15 gaps as most passengers will end up using the X22 as that comes first.
To be fair, Arriva ran a pretty stable network over the recent years. However, they do need serious fleet investment though. It would make sense now that the E400 comes with a 'ZF' stop-start option to replace the E400s on the X21 / X22 with 7541-50 to Blyth for the 308 (with 7551/52 as spares). X10 /X11 would also be another prime candidate for new vehicles too.
Going back to the Coast Road argument, it would be 6 and 2 3's either the 306 & 308 remaining at a 15 minute frequency or, reducing to a 20 minute frequency but both remaining on the Coast Road no longer serving Battle Hill Drive. However, with the news that GNE are dropping the 19, many passengers will be relying upon the X6 connection in Newcastle, which of course would either have to be withdrawn or worked using scholars / split shifts if the 306 & 308 was reduced to every 20 minutes. I think given the circumstances surrounding the 19, ANE will most likely stick with a 15 minute frequency on both services for the time being.
Touched a nerve there with my "couple of quid" remark! To be honest I'm all for service rationalisation; little point in running buses just in case the odd individual decides to have a look out and aren't these just the very people who are up on their soapbox when the latest round of service revisions hits the press? Arriva will have crunched the numbers and undoubtedly listened to the requests; I believe that Service 81 did go out to local publicity and obviously it hasn't attracted enough feedback to warrant a change of the plans.
In comparing my day in Newcastle with GNE against a day here in Teesside with Arriva it was just a 'tounge in cheek' comment to be honest and I don't know enough about the operations on Tyneside to say more.
See the Facebook announcements a couple of days ago? Durham buses off for hours on end as they didn't have any replacement buses! Abysmal service.
(28 Feb 2020, 8:02 pm)scanialover Touched a nerve there with my "couple of quid" remark! To be honest I'm all for service rationalisation; little point in running buses just in case the odd individual decides to have a look out and aren't these just the very people who are up on their soapbox when the latest round of service revisions hits the press? Arriva will have crunched the numbers and undoubtedly listened to the requests; I believe that Service 81 did go out to local publicity and obviously it hasn't attracted enough feedback to warrant a change of the plans.
In comparing my day in Newcastle with GNE against a day here in Teesside with Arriva it was just a 'tounge in cheek' comment to be honest and I don't know enough about the operations on Tyneside to say more.
(28 Feb 2020, 8:02 pm)scanialover Touched a nerve there with my "couple of quid" remark! To be honest I'm all for service rationalisation; little point in running buses just in case the odd individual decides to have a look out and aren't these just the very people who are up on their soapbox when the latest round of service revisions hits the press? Arriva will have crunched the numbers and undoubtedly listened to the requests; I believe that Service 81 did go out to local publicity and obviously it hasn't attracted enough feedback to warrant a change of the plans.
In comparing my day in Newcastle with GNE against a day here in Teesside with Arriva it was just a 'tounge in cheek' comment to be honest and I don't know enough about the operations on Tyneside to say more.
(28 Feb 2020, 9:10 pm)Cock Robin See the Facebook announcements a couple of days ago? Durham buses off for hours on end as they didn't have any replacement buses! Abysmal service.Would that have been Monday when many roads around Durham were impassable due to the snow?
(28 Feb 2020, 9:10 pm)Cock Robin See the Facebook announcements a couple of days ago? Durham buses off for hours on end as they didn't have any replacement buses! Abysmal service.Would that have been Monday when many roads around Durham were impassable due to the snow?
(28 Feb 2020, 8:02 pm)scanialover Touched a nerve there with my "couple of quid" remark! To be honest I'm all for service rationalisation; little point in running buses just in case the odd individual decides to have a look out and aren't these just the very people who are up on their soapbox when the latest round of service revisions hits the press? Arriva will have crunched the numbers and undoubtedly listened to the requests; I believe that Service 81 did go out to local publicity and obviously it hasn't attracted enough feedback to warrant a change of the plans.Lets be honest who's going to miss the 81 between Guisborough and Stokesley other than a few ENCTS passengers (which NYCC reimbursement is shockingly bad anyway) and the odd fare payer? It's a shame, but it's clearly not viable and most other parts of the route are covered by other options anyway. Great Ayton still has the 28a which offers an hourly service to Stokesley which more than covers the demand there.
In comparing my day in Newcastle with GNE against a day here in Teesside with Arriva it was just a 'tounge in cheek' comment to be honest and I don't know enough about the operations on Tyneside to say more.
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(28 Feb 2020, 8:02 pm)scanialover Touched a nerve there with my "couple of quid" remark! To be honest I'm all for service rationalisation; little point in running buses just in case the odd individual decides to have a look out and aren't these just the very people who are up on their soapbox when the latest round of service revisions hits the press? Arriva will have crunched the numbers and undoubtedly listened to the requests; I believe that Service 81 did go out to local publicity and obviously it hasn't attracted enough feedback to warrant a change of the plans.Lets be honest who's going to miss the 81 between Guisborough and Stokesley other than a few ENCTS passengers (which NYCC reimbursement is shockingly bad anyway) and the odd fare payer? It's a shame, but it's clearly not viable and most other parts of the route are covered by other options anyway. Great Ayton still has the 28a which offers an hourly service to Stokesley which more than covers the demand there.
In comparing my day in Newcastle with GNE against a day here in Teesside with Arriva it was just a 'tounge in cheek' comment to be honest and I don't know enough about the operations on Tyneside to say more.
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(28 Feb 2020, 10:08 pm)tyresmoke Lets be honest who's going to miss the 81 between Guisborough and Stokesley other than a few ENCTS passengers (which NYCC reimbursement is shockingly bad anyway) and the odd fare payer? It's a shame, but it's clearly not viable and most other parts of the route are covered by other options anyway. Great Ayton still has the 28a which offers an hourly service to Stokesley which more than covers the demand there.
(28 Feb 2020, 10:08 pm)tyresmoke Lets be honest who's going to miss the 81 between Guisborough and Stokesley other than a few ENCTS passengers (which NYCC reimbursement is shockingly bad anyway) and the odd fare payer? It's a shame, but it's clearly not viable and most other parts of the route are covered by other options anyway. Great Ayton still has the 28a which offers an hourly service to Stokesley which more than covers the demand there.
(28 Feb 2020, 9:52 pm)BusLoverMum Would that have been Monday when many roads around Durham were impassable due to the snow?
(28 Feb 2020, 9:52 pm)BusLoverMum Would that have been Monday when many roads around Durham were impassable due to the snow?
Nope, I with Tyresmoke on this one. Effectively penalising the majority - charging a fee per journey on the concessionary scheme - to please, and encourage, the minority is really not a workable solution. Service 81 between Guisborough and Stokesley has been losing money for years and who wants to travel late in the evening and run the risks posed by some of the undesirables that make this idea untenable. How many attacks have there being on buses, drivers and passengers recently? What I can't understand is why Arriva are apparently planning to enhance certain routes in the face of this.
Arriva Dormanstown/Whitby have a fleet of double deck vehicles, 7401-6, 7609/10 and 7424/5 (?). 10 vehicles in all. Why then are we all being shoehorned on to a clapped out VDL 1439 on the 1120 journey from Middlesbrough (29/02/2020). It just doesn't make sense!