Vehicle investment/refurbishment, bus specification & brand delivery
Vehicle investment/refurbishment, bus specification & brand delivery
There is no point in getting all excited for a 69 plate GNE bus when it drive past the bus stop with sorry not in service on the display.... presumably to make up lost time. Give me a battered, 52 plate, no NSA bus that comes when it says on the time table and get me to where i'm going!
(20 Jul 2020, 10:57 am)Rob44 There is no point in getting all excited for a 69 plate GNE bus when it drive past the bus stop with sorry not in service on the display.... presumably to make up lost time. Give me a battered, 52 plate, no NSA bus that comes when it says on the time table and get me to where i'm going!but its alright for a battered 52 plate with no NSA driving past with not in service on the display.
(20 Jul 2020, 10:57 am)Rob44 There is no point in getting all excited for a 69 plate GNE bus when it drive past the bus stop with sorry not in service on the display.... presumably to make up lost time. Give me a battered, 52 plate, no NSA bus that comes when it says on the time table and get me to where i'm going!but its alright for a battered 52 plate with no NSA driving past with not in service on the display.
My point is Citro5284 in my 30 odd years of using buses I'm yet to have an ARRIVA bus drive passed with NIS on to make up time.... or kick me off at the destination ( for example Gateshead to get on or even wait for another bus to continue journey to Newcastle.) This has happened to me more times than I can remember on service run BY GNE. So instead of investing in new buses maybe they should invest it other areas and maybe punter will come back to then. Quick poll in my office. No one cared what age the bus was, whether it had tables, whether it was x/lines ( no one bar me knew what this was LOL). They want a bus to turn up when its suppose to and get them to where they want to be with NO FUSS.
(19 Jul 2020, 8:00 pm)streetdeckfan Yeah, you never know what's going to turn up on the Arriva 6, could literally be anything!
Honestly, you rarely see GNE run vehicles with the wrong branding, if one of the branded vehicles isn't running, most of the time it's a corporate liveried one of an equivalent spec.
Then again not that long back I seemed to get more OmniDekkas than StreetDecks on the X21!
(19 Jul 2020, 8:00 pm)streetdeckfan Yeah, you never know what's going to turn up on the Arriva 6, could literally be anything!
Honestly, you rarely see GNE run vehicles with the wrong branding, if one of the branded vehicles isn't running, most of the time it's a corporate liveried one of an equivalent spec.
Then again not that long back I seemed to get more OmniDekkas than StreetDecks on the X21!
(20 Jul 2020, 3:35 pm)Big O The average passenger isn't as enthusiastic as you and is probably happy the bus has shown up. Many a time I have had a Cathedral Solo turn up for my X45 in Newcastle during Rush-Hour and it's not to slate GNE but let's not be biased.The main issue at Arriva as I see it is the impending sale of the group by DB that has dragged on for an age (2-3 years now?) and the (lack of) spending due to it being squeezed to an absolute minimum. Most op co’s seem to be struggling with reliability as a result. Certainly the NE fleet has not looked as bad as it has in the last 6 months or so for a long time. I would expect to see cascades one as stated above from London and elsewhere to replace the older fleet members... NW has just taken some E200s from London and I believe some newer ones are due for NE soon too. After all there’s some 15 year old Darts hanging on and much older DDs too of course.
In reference to your earlier post, the B7TL is still a decent bus, well the Wright bodied examples are. Arriva in London have lost far more contracts which affect the cascading of old stock to the provinces, whilst GAL, on the other hand, has gained many of Arriva London's contracts meaning they have fewer buses to cascade. Go-Ahead also lease their buses in London whilst Arriva outright own them. It makes sense to send them to the provinces to make the most money out of them while they can. Saying that following the latest round of tenders and Tfl's ever-changing commitments I'd expect more DB300s to head up North within the next 2 years to oust out any B7TLs. They're not shiny and sparkling but for the most part, the buses still run on time.
That awful new group livery shows that Arriva are not interested in providing an exhilarating bus ride but rather a reliable one that is cost-efficient.
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(20 Jul 2020, 3:35 pm)Big O The average passenger isn't as enthusiastic as you and is probably happy the bus has shown up. Many a time I have had a Cathedral Solo turn up for my X45 in Newcastle during Rush-Hour and it's not to slate GNE but let's not be biased.The main issue at Arriva as I see it is the impending sale of the group by DB that has dragged on for an age (2-3 years now?) and the (lack of) spending due to it being squeezed to an absolute minimum. Most op co’s seem to be struggling with reliability as a result. Certainly the NE fleet has not looked as bad as it has in the last 6 months or so for a long time. I would expect to see cascades one as stated above from London and elsewhere to replace the older fleet members... NW has just taken some E200s from London and I believe some newer ones are due for NE soon too. After all there’s some 15 year old Darts hanging on and much older DDs too of course.
In reference to your earlier post, the B7TL is still a decent bus, well the Wright bodied examples are. Arriva in London have lost far more contracts which affect the cascading of old stock to the provinces, whilst GAL, on the other hand, has gained many of Arriva London's contracts meaning they have fewer buses to cascade. Go-Ahead also lease their buses in London whilst Arriva outright own them. It makes sense to send them to the provinces to make the most money out of them while they can. Saying that following the latest round of tenders and Tfl's ever-changing commitments I'd expect more DB300s to head up North within the next 2 years to oust out any B7TLs. They're not shiny and sparkling but for the most part, the buses still run on time.
That awful new group livery shows that Arriva are not interested in providing an exhilarating bus ride but rather a reliable one that is cost-efficient.
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Service Manager, Coatham Connect
Arriva should ditch all their current branding and go with the following:
ArrivaX (For EXPRESS routes ONLY)
* Dark blue base coat (don't know about vinyls)
* Civic V3 with extra seating, SmartSeats (ADL only) or coach seats for any routes over 31 mile
* Tables on upper decks & wireless charging
* USB Charging Points & WiFi
* NSA's by Emma Hignett
Arriva Premium (For high patronage & popular non express routes, not branded as premium but different colour scheme)
* Silver & Purple
* Same internal spec as ArrivaX
* Spares for both ArrivaX & Arriva premium would be plain silver
Arriva Local (For secondary & local routes)
* Same teal colour as now
* Some vehicles with free WiFi and NSAs
(23 Jul 2020, 12:29 pm)James101 Seen elsewhere that ex Flying Tiger Versas have been branded as Sapphire in Yorkshire. Feel like they're just taking the mick now, next up Sapphire Solo?
(23 Jul 2020, 1:06 pm)L469 YVK Arriva should ditch all their current branding and go with the following:
ArrivaX (For EXPRESS routes ONLY)
* Dark blue base coat (don't know about vinyls)
* Civic V3 with extra seating, SmartSeats (ADL only) or coach seats for any routes over 31 mile
* Tables on upper decks & wireless charging
* USB Charging Points & WiFi
* NSA's by Emma Hignett
Arriva Premium (For high patronage & popular non express routes, not branded as premium but different colour scheme)
* Silver & Purple
* Same internal spec as ArrivaX
* Spares for both ArrivaX & Arriva premium would be plain silver
Arriva Local (For secondary & local routes)
* Same teal colour as now
* Some vehicles with free WiFi and NSAs
(23 Jul 2020, 12:29 pm)James101 Seen elsewhere that ex Flying Tiger Versas have been branded as Sapphire in Yorkshire. Feel like they're just taking the mick now, next up Sapphire Solo?
(23 Jul 2020, 1:06 pm)L469 YVK Arriva should ditch all their current branding and go with the following:
ArrivaX (For EXPRESS routes ONLY)
* Dark blue base coat (don't know about vinyls)
* Civic V3 with extra seating, SmartSeats (ADL only) or coach seats for any routes over 31 mile
* Tables on upper decks & wireless charging
* USB Charging Points & WiFi
* NSA's by Emma Hignett
Arriva Premium (For high patronage & popular non express routes, not branded as premium but different colour scheme)
* Silver & Purple
* Same internal spec as ArrivaX
* Spares for both ArrivaX & Arriva premium would be plain silver
Arriva Local (For secondary & local routes)
* Same teal colour as now
* Some vehicles with free WiFi and NSAs
(23 Jul 2020, 1:45 pm)Storx So assuming you think the X-Lines network is a joke aswell as there's Solos on the X20 or is it one rule for one and one
(23 Jul 2020, 1:45 pm)Storx So assuming you think the X-Lines network is a joke aswell as there's Solos on the X20 or is it one rule for one and one
(23 Jul 2020, 12:29 pm)James101 Seen elsewhere that ex Flying Tiger Versas have been branded as Sapphire in Yorkshire. Feel like they're just taking the mick now, next up Sapphire Solo?Likely done as they were not far off Sapphire spec to begin with, had Sapphire seats minus logos and WiFi, has wood effect flooring though. No clue what they'll be used on, rumours that the E200 MMCs are coming to the North East but Wakefield depot is also rumoured now too so who knows really.
(23 Jul 2020, 12:29 pm)James101 Seen elsewhere that ex Flying Tiger Versas have been branded as Sapphire in Yorkshire. Feel like they're just taking the mick now, next up Sapphire Solo?Likely done as they were not far off Sapphire spec to begin with, had Sapphire seats minus logos and WiFi, has wood effect flooring though. No clue what they'll be used on, rumours that the E200 MMCs are coming to the North East but Wakefield depot is also rumoured now too so who knows really.
(23 Jul 2020, 10:38 pm)Jimmi Likely done as they were not far off Sapphire spec to begin with, had Sapphire seats minus logos and WiFi, has wood effect flooring though. No clue what they'll be used on, rumours that the E200 MMCs are coming to the North East but Wakefield depot is also rumoured now too so who knows really.
(23 Jul 2020, 10:38 pm)Jimmi Likely done as they were not far off Sapphire spec to begin with, had Sapphire seats minus logos and WiFi, has wood effect flooring though. No clue what they'll be used on, rumours that the E200 MMCs are coming to the North East but Wakefield depot is also rumoured now too so who knows really.
(24 Jul 2020, 7:03 am)James101 It just seems like confirmation that Sapphire is now just a spec checklist for vehicles, with nothing behind it. When Sapphire was first launched, it was a fully implemented concept - livery & mod cons bus also uniforms, marketing and detail cleaning. Also back then the seating, WiFi & USBs genuinely make Sapphire stand out, like the Darlington 7. Now those features are widely standard, the Sapphire spec should have moved with the times. 2020 Sapphire could have been maybe skylights, at leat phone cradle, push stop & light, tables, wireless charging?
I’d say the only Arriva route I can think of that still carries the ‘spirit’ of Sapphire is the 1 between Chester and Wrexham.
(24 Jul 2020, 7:03 am)James101 It just seems like confirmation that Sapphire is now just a spec checklist for vehicles, with nothing behind it. When Sapphire was first launched, it was a fully implemented concept - livery & mod cons bus also uniforms, marketing and detail cleaning. Also back then the seating, WiFi & USBs genuinely make Sapphire stand out, like the Darlington 7. Now those features are widely standard, the Sapphire spec should have moved with the times. 2020 Sapphire could have been maybe skylights, at leat phone cradle, push stop & light, tables, wireless charging?
I’d say the only Arriva route I can think of that still carries the ‘spirit’ of Sapphire is the 1 between Chester and Wrexham.
(24 Jul 2020, 9:14 am)Jimmi Been having this discussion on Facebook a few times recently and I can't help but feel many of these Premium brands like Sapphire, Platinum from National Express West Midlands/Coventry or Palladium in Blackpool are a bit outdated now as they aren't particularly special anymore, Blackpool in particular is a case of the whole fleet is Palladium now so where do you go from here? Will just be a case of adding little bits to buses with a brand that doesn't stand out anymore.
There are a few exceptions to where this has been done right IMO, such as Transdev Harrogate's 36 as it looks and feels pretty premium and there isn't a fleet full of identical buses in that area to that spec. I feel GNE somewhat get away with X-Lines particularly as it's currently a newly developed brand and IMO isn't too heavily emphasised on being 'premium' it's more geared towards the express elements of the routes and at least they haven't used a very drab grey colour either.
I'd just get rid of Sapphire now as it's somewhat meaningless in terms of being premium now, it's just another brand, I would ditch it and put everything in the new standard livery which although I'm not a fan of, it would at least look fresh and come across like some effort is being put in as quite a lot of the fleet is at a point where they look incredibly shabby now.
(24 Jul 2020, 9:14 am)Jimmi Been having this discussion on Facebook a few times recently and I can't help but feel many of these Premium brands like Sapphire, Platinum from National Express West Midlands/Coventry or Palladium in Blackpool are a bit outdated now as they aren't particularly special anymore, Blackpool in particular is a case of the whole fleet is Palladium now so where do you go from here? Will just be a case of adding little bits to buses with a brand that doesn't stand out anymore.
There are a few exceptions to where this has been done right IMO, such as Transdev Harrogate's 36 as it looks and feels pretty premium and there isn't a fleet full of identical buses in that area to that spec. I feel GNE somewhat get away with X-Lines particularly as it's currently a newly developed brand and IMO isn't too heavily emphasised on being 'premium' it's more geared towards the express elements of the routes and at least they haven't used a very drab grey colour either.
I'd just get rid of Sapphire now as it's somewhat meaningless in terms of being premium now, it's just another brand, I would ditch it and put everything in the new standard livery which although I'm not a fan of, it would at least look fresh and come across like some effort is being put in as quite a lot of the fleet is at a point where they look incredibly shabby now.
(24 Jul 2020, 9:14 am)Jimmi Been having this discussion on Facebook a few times recently and I can't help but feel many of these Premium brands like Sapphire, Platinum from National Express West Midlands/Coventry or Palladium in Blackpool are a bit outdated now as they aren't particularly special anymore, Blackpool in particular is a case of the whole fleet is Palladium now so where do you go from here? Will just be a case of adding little bits to buses with a brand that doesn't stand out anymore.
There are a few exceptions to where this has been done right IMO, such as Transdev Harrogate's 36 as it looks and feels pretty premium and there isn't a fleet full of identical buses in that area to that spec. I feel GNE somewhat get away with X-Lines particularly as it's currently a newly developed brand and IMO isn't too heavily emphasised on being 'premium' it's more geared towards the express elements of the routes and at least they haven't used a very drab grey colour either.
I'd just get rid of Sapphire now as it's somewhat meaningless in terms of being premium now, it's just another brand, I would ditch it and put everything in the new standard livery which although I'm not a fan of, it would at least look fresh and come across like some effort is being put in as quite a lot of the fleet is at a point where they look incredibly shabby now.
(24 Jul 2020, 11:18 am)James101 I'm not even sure it's a brand anymore. I'd say a brand is validated when it becomes the default reference name to the product by customers. I.E 'The Angel bus (21)' versus 'The Sapphire number 6'? Not sure. Sub-brand or tag-line may be more appropriate.
(24 Jul 2020, 9:14 am)Jimmi Been having this discussion on Facebook a few times recently and I can't help but feel many of these Premium brands like Sapphire, Platinum from National Express West Midlands/Coventry or Palladium in Blackpool are a bit outdated now as they aren't particularly special anymore, Blackpool in particular is a case of the whole fleet is Palladium now so where do you go from here? Will just be a case of adding little bits to buses with a brand that doesn't stand out anymore.
There are a few exceptions to where this has been done right IMO, such as Transdev Harrogate's 36 as it looks and feels pretty premium and there isn't a fleet full of identical buses in that area to that spec. I feel GNE somewhat get away with X-Lines particularly as it's currently a newly developed brand and IMO isn't too heavily emphasised on being 'premium' it's more geared towards the express elements of the routes and at least they haven't used a very drab grey colour either.
I'd just get rid of Sapphire now as it's somewhat meaningless in terms of being premium now, it's just another brand, I would ditch it and put everything in the new standard livery which although I'm not a fan of, it would at least look fresh and come across like some effort is being put in as quite a lot of the fleet is at a point where they look incredibly shabby now.
(24 Jul 2020, 11:18 am)James101 I'm not even sure it's a brand anymore. I'd say a brand is validated when it becomes the default reference name to the product by customers. I.E 'The Angel bus (21)' versus 'The Sapphire number 6'? Not sure. Sub-brand or tag-line may be more appropriate.
