(07 Apr 2021, 3:35 pm)Storx wrote [ -> ]Speaking of buses does anyone know what is going on with Blyth, we've got increased timetables coming in 4 days with everything ran by full size buses with the extra scholar services on top. There's by no means enough buses to run the services. Noticed the 2 Streetlites aren't in service at Ashington though, possible these are part of swaps?
6 Pulsars from Durham to Blyth, and 1579/80 to Durham is rumoured.
I don't get why the 306 journeys that are usually docked for the X6 haven't remained docked taking into account extra capacity potentially being needed elsewhere. For instance, extra duplicates (sorry Dan) could be used for short 308's rather than being resourced externally.
(01 Apr 2021, 1:29 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]Strange that the 35/X21/X22 cycle is remaining. From what I've been told there are a few X21 trips in the morning running very close to capacity as it stands, and the 35 is getting good loads throughout the day. I can only imagine with retail opening, and shoppers/workers returning to public transport that they aren't going to cope on a half hourly frequency - the 35 in particular.
Noticed that the summer X18 is making a return, which is good to see.
At the moment, it'll obviously be hit and miss particularly where social distancing is concerned. Arriva fingers crossed will be agile enough to realise and put dupes on where needed. During the day a 30 minute service makes sense though.
Going forward is the big one though and no doubt Arriva will need to streamline. GNE already have over the years and no doubt Arriva will need to. Gone are the days of Cityzens with water leaks or 'Smartie' seat Palatines.
There is of course the threat of the BTR link but even then, the patronage shouldn't be hit too greatly as different commuters / passengers will have different requirements. For some, rail will work better but the bus for others will suit their needs better.
I'd strongly suggest curtailing the top end of the X21 to hourly (Ashington - Newbiggin) and introduce a sister X19 service to the X20 though. Would interwork perfectly with the X21 and solve a missing piece of the puzzle with a lower PVR.
(07 Apr 2021, 4:53 pm)L469 YVK wrote [ -> ]I'd strongly suggest curtailing the top end of the X21 to hourly (Ashington - Newbiggin) and introduce a sister X19 service to the X20 though. Would interwork perfectly with the X21 and solve a missing piece of the puzzle with a lower PVR.
That will never work. During the day, the main bulk of X21/22 passengers use it for local trips rather than to town. Similarly, the one bus per hour on the X20 is generally more than enough. You'd then be leaving Newbiggin with the 35 as the only regular service, which gets busy enough as it is.
Peaks are busier for the X20, yes, but then they've already got two extra trips per day to allow for that.
(07 Apr 2021, 6:13 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]That will never work. During the day, the main bulk of X21/22 passengers use it for local trips rather than to town. Similarly, the one bus per hour on the X20 is generally more than enough. You'd then be leaving Newbiggin with the 35 as the only regular service, which gets busy enough as it is.
Peaks are busier for the X20, yes, but then they've already got two extra trips per day to allow for that.
With some investment and subsequent cascades, the 35 and X19 (with X19 covering Woodhorn) as well as hourly X21 would be more than fine. 35 really should be allocated deckers.
The X19 would offer much quicker links from Newbiggin to Newcastle (just over 1 hour) as well as give some serious competition to BRT with a half hourly X19/X20 from Ashington to Newcastle.
Not forgetting a PVR reduction of 3x vehicles and less reliance on misc workings (scholars etc) to run on to the peak X20's.
(07 Apr 2021, 6:30 pm)L469 YVK wrote [ -> ]With some investment and subsequent cascades, the 35 and X19 (with X19 covering Woodhorn) as well as hourly X21 would be more than fine. 35 really should be allocated deckers.
The X19 would offer much quicker links from Newbiggin to Newcastle (just over 1 hour) as well as give some serious competition to BRT with a half hourly X19/X20 from Ashington to Newcastle.
Not forgetting a PVR reduction of 3x vehicles and less reliance on misc workings (scholars etc) to run on to the peak X20's.
The X20, at one point (2011ish if memory serves), served Newbiggin then Ashington then Newcastle via North Seaton. It was scrapped because there was no demand and subsequently terminated at Ashington (before the Alnwick extension)
The 'current' AM peak X20 is tied to the front of a Sapphire board, so isn't reliant on any miscellaneous boards. Indeed, from memory, none of Ashington's peak services are standalone. The AM X30/Gosforth school board also runs onto a X21/22 board, while the PM peak 116/X30 comes off an X14. Boards are slightly different now obviously and the AM scholars and PM scholars/X30 is currently one board.
(07 Apr 2021, 6:44 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]The X20, at one point (2011ish if memory serves), served Newbiggin then Ashington then Newcastle via North Seaton. It was scrapped because there was no demand and subsequently terminated at Ashington (before the Alnwick extension)
That was because the X21 was also running every 20 minutes and back then, it ran a quicker route missing Nedderton. So that (although it was still a good 10-15 mins more than the X20) plus the fact that the X20 was likely unreliable due to tight timings would've made the X21 a no brainer.
GNE had the same issue in Derwentside so to boost passenger numbers on the X70/X71 and also the X30/X31, journeys were cut from the frequent 43/44 right through to what the 6/6A are now over the years.
(07 Apr 2021, 6:51 pm)L469 YVK wrote [ -> ]That was because the X21 was also running every 20 minutes and back then, it ran a quicker route missing Nedderton. So that (although it was still a good 10-15 mins more than the X20) plus the fact that the X20 was likely unreliable due to tight timings would've made the X21 a no brainer.
The X21 Nedderton section really doesn't have as much of an impact on people from Newbiggin using it as you seem to think. It adds literally 5 minutes onto the journey.
If reliability was an issue, which I'm not sure it was, surely the X19 would have the same problem? You'd still have to do Newcastle and back in less than 2 hours unless there was an interworking somewhere. Remember the allocation then was generally a couple of NCP2 Olympians or a B10BLE thrown in - both more capable than an E400.
(07 Apr 2021, 3:38 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]6 Pulsars from Durham to Blyth, and 1579/80 to Durham is rumoured.
Yeah that's fair had a feeling they might've been part of it.
(07 Apr 2021, 7:13 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]If reliability was an issue, which I'm not sure it was, surely the X19 would have the same problem? You'd still have to do Newcastle and back in less than 2 hours unless there was an interworking somewhere. Remember the allocation then was generally a couple of NCP2 Olympians or a B10BLE thrown in - both more capable than an E400.
And that is why the X19 would interwork with the full X21's. This is what the interworking pattern would look like
Full X21s
- X22 Ashington 0025 > Newcastle 0123
- X21 Newcastle 0130 > N'Biggin Cresswell Arms 0245
- X19 N'Biggin Cresswell Arms 0259 > Newcastle 0401
- X19 Newcastle 0408 > N'Biggin Cresswell Arms 0510
- X21 N'Biggin Cresswell Arms 0521 > Newcastle 0638
- X22 Newcastle 0645 > Ashington 0742
then...........
Short X21s
- X22 Ashington 0755 > Newcastle 0853
- X21 Newcastle 0900 > Ashington 0957
- X21 Ashington 1010 > Newcastle 1108
- X22 Newcastle 1115 > Ashington 1212
Arriva have a small number of bus timetable changes happening from Sunday 23rd May. These include 43/44/45/46 and 55
Are the 46 and 51/51A still being operated by Stanley Travel at certain times or have Arriva now resumed operating all the journeys themselves?
(16 May 2021, 12:12 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote [ -> ]Are the 46 and 51/51A still being operated by Stanley Travel at certain times or have Arriva now resumed operating all the journeys themselves?
Arriva have had full operation since the 12/04
Are Arriva likely to increase their service levels again in the future? Considering we're now another couple stages along in the roadmap out of lockdown, I don't think there have been any increases since the 11th April? So I'm wondering if the current timetables are going to be in place long-term?
(19 May 2021, 5:27 pm)peter wrote [ -> ]Are Arriva likely to increase their service levels again in the future? Considering we're now another couple stages along in the roadmap out of lockdown, I don't think there have been any increases since the 11th April? So I'm wondering if the current timetables are going to be in place long-term?
I don't think we will see anything like that till at least September
(19 May 2021, 5:33 pm)Micheal Aaron wrote [ -> ]I don't think we will see anything like that till at least September
As soon as no social distancing allows, I can see a big streamlining excercise on the Northumbria network.
(19 May 2021, 5:33 pm)Micheal Aaron wrote [ -> ]I don't think we will see anything like that till at least September
Do you have any sources to back this up or is it purely speculation on your part? I can't see why full timetables wouldn't resume in June (if they're going to at all) when lockdown (hopefully) comes to end, as there will be a re-emerging market for bus travel.
GNE have already returned to more-or-less pre-COVID levels - as far as I can tell, the only benefit to Arriva waiting longer is that it avoids driver/vehicle shortages. Having said all that, it might be possible that these new reduced frequencies are here to stay. We saw GNE make significant and seemingly permanent cost-cutting service revisions early on in the pandemic (reduced frequencies being a primary part of this), perhaps ANE are doing the same, as we look forward to a potentially reduced demand for bus-travel in the long-term
(19 May 2021, 6:16 pm)peter wrote [ -> ]Do you have any sources to back this up or is it purely speculation on your part? I can't see why full timetables wouldn't resume in June (if they're going to at all) when lockdown (hopefully) comes to end, as there will be a re-emerging market for bus travel.
GNE have already returned to more-or-less pre-COVID levels - as far as I can tell, the only benefit to Arriva waiting longer is that it avoids driver/vehicle shortages. Having said all that, it might be possible that these new reduced frequencies are here to stay. We saw GNE make significant and seemingly permanent cost-cutting service revisions early on in the pandemic (reduced frequencies being a primary part of this), perhaps ANE are doing the same, as we look forward to a potentially reduced demand for bus-travel in the long-term
My opinion is anything that hasn't been put back 100% by now, is unlikely to be.
CBSSG ends when social distancing ends - so the financial safety net will be removed. Operators will look to rebase against the demand levels that exist at that time - I suspect, only lifting frequencies as demand creeps up.
I read somewhere that passenger levels in North East are still only around 60% of normal, which is a worry.
(19 May 2021, 6:16 pm)peter wrote [ -> ]Do you have any sources to back this up or is it purely speculation on your part? I can't see why full timetables wouldn't resume in June (if they're going to at all) when lockdown (hopefully) comes to end, as there will be a re-emerging market for bus travel.
GNE have already returned to more-or-less pre-COVID levels - as far as I can tell, the only benefit to Arriva waiting longer is that it avoids driver/vehicle shortages. Having said all that, it might be possible that these new reduced frequencies are here to stay. We saw GNE make significant and seemingly permanent cost-cutting service revisions early on in the pandemic (reduced frequencies being a primary part of this), perhaps ANE are doing the same, as we look forward to a potentially reduced demand for bus-travel in the long-term
Arriva have always in the past (apart from 2020) done major timetable changes in the September when kids go back to school then do it in March
(19 May 2021, 5:58 pm)L469 YVK wrote [ -> ]As soon as no social distancing allows, I can see a big streamlining excercise on the Northumbria network.
Would this include the introduction of a fantasy X19 and the cutting of portions of their most profitable routes?
