Arriva North East: Service Suggestions

Storx

4,584

06 Apr 2020, 7:52 pm #938

(04 Apr 2020, 9:39 pm)L469 YVK Suggestion for new concept and service suggestion

With regards to Sapphire and MAX branding being applied to Express routes, I would suggest that Arriva move to a new 'express' brand similar to GNE's X-Lines concept.

Arriva 'X'
- Dark blue (similar shade of blue as GNE's Connections 4) and silver livery
- Applied only to 'express' routes
- All routes under the Arriva 'X' brand will offer:
* Free WiFi
* USB charging points / Plug Sockets
* Wireless charging
* Next stop announcements (voiced by the lovely Emma Hignett)
* High specification kiel seating with extra padding (or ADL Smart Seats if ADL vehicle)
* Tables on upper deck for services where double deck vehicles are used
* 1x spare vehicle to the same specification for every 7-8 vehicles

Suggested changes to X21 / X22 (would be launch routes for Arriva 'X') - also see service X19 further down

- Same frequency as now between Newcastle and Ashington on both routes.
- Frequency of X21 between Ashington and Newbiggin reduced to every 60 mins Mon-Sat
- X21 journeys departing Newcastle at xx:35 and arriving into Newcastle at xx:38 will operate to and from Newbiggin.
- Mon-Sat daytime journeys will terminate at Newbiggin Cresswell arms. Evening and Sunday journeys will continue to Seacrest Road.
- Evening and Sunday service remains the same.
- X21 journeys that extend to Newbiggin will interwork with new service X19.
- The combined PVR of services X19/X21/X22 will be 16 vehicles
- 16 (+2 spare) ADL E400MMC ZF 10.9m vehicles purchased with 7541-52 going to Blyth for service 308.

New service X19 Newbiggin Cresswell Arms - Woodhorn - Wansbeck Hospital - Ashington Bus Station - North Seaton then fast to Regent Centre, Gosforth and Newcastle Haymarket (another launch route for Arriva 'X')

- Will provide faster journeys from Newbiggin to Newcastle
- Will replace extra peak time X20 journeys between Newcastle and Ashington
- Will provide a combined frequency of up to every 30 minutes with service X20 between Wansbeck Hospital and Newcastle
- Will operate every 60 mins Mon-Sat (interworking with X21 in Newbiggin) and every 60 mins Sunday daytimes (standalone)

I understand where your coming from here but I'd rather see more localised brands or unique brands to a group of services like Transdev and Trent Barton do. It works better than a uniform brand unless you do what GNE does and brand everything that devalues it altogether. Using the X just copies GNE and offers nothing.

Basically have 4 brands:

One for the X7 / X8 / X9 / X10 / X11 / 308 (Something Blyth related)
One for the X21 / X22 (Something Ashington related, maybe pits)
One for the X18 / X19 (Agree with that idea) / X20 (Something Coastline related)
One for the X14 / X15 / X16 (Something about the express route of Newcastle -> Morpeth -> Alnwick and Berwick or Rothbury)

It's pointless trying to brand anything at Blyth as they swap everything round so by the end of the day everything just ends up everywhere. Also the X21 / X22 doesn't need new buses but won't critise the interior design minus tables as they're a waste of space on the Blyth Expresses and X21 / X22 as the journeys are too short.