I agree with Davey that the X21/22 needs replacements for 7501-9, however I don't think that they should then go onto a service that has newer stock currently. I think the best bet for them would be to send them onto a service that currently has old stock, but is profitable (if such a route exists). Either way, most of them are shot and only any real use on a local town/city service, not an "express" route.
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Also to note at Ashington depot was a small sign next to the gates with "ASHINGTON & NEWCASTLE twinned with HECKMONDWIKE" "Arri va va voom"
(11 Apr 2015, 4:40 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Maybe it's just a lack of storage space at Jesmond..?
There are already Sapphire E400s at Darlington, so couldn't these have been sent down as well, instead of being at Ashington? Could have sent them to Belmont or Blyth if that was the case.
Is it possible that Ashington could be preparing the Enviro 400s for service to send them to Darlington/Belmont as it could be a case that Jesmond could be busy trying to get the StreetLite's ready for Darlington/Belmont.
(11 Apr 2015, 4:40 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]I agree with Davey that the X21/22 needs replacements for 7501-9, however I don't think that they should then go onto a service that has newer stock currently. I think the best bet for them would be to send them onto a service that currently has old stock, but is profitable (if such a route exists). Either way, most of them are shot and only any real use on a local town/city service, not an "express" route.
They're better on an express route to Alpha's. Of course in true style on the back of an Alpha truck
1595 should now be at Darlington as I passed it on Durham Road.
(11 Apr 2015, 5:18 pm)danpick wrote [ -> ]1595 should now be at Darlington as I passed it on Durham Road.
1595 is a Sapphire example so it won't be going to Darlington, the Sapphire examples are going to Belmont.
Darlington is only getting MAX StreetLite's.
(11 Apr 2015, 4:22 pm)Jimmi wrote [ -> ]Anyone know the height of the 57 reg Enviro 400's as I don't think they'd fit under Priestgate in Darlington, also do you think it's fair for the passengers on the 7 to get these old sheds in place of modern stock especially with the awful piles of garbage that came before the Pulsars. Also the Enviro 400's are no longer going on the 6 and will now be allocated to service 24 which runs on a half hourly frequency so the passenger numbers would sharp drop if those old heaps end up breaking down on there all the time.
I know the 57 reg heaps are terrible but it seems like they will be used on the X21/X22 for the foreseeable future much to your dismay.
They are 14ft 6ins, which I doubt would be considered by Arriva an ideal allocation for the 7.
Also, why would Arriva pay however many millions on these 5 E400s for the 7 and 2 for the 24 (now) and instead give them to Ashington, who's present standing in the North East Sapphire table I understand is terrible?
There's also the fact that since last year, Thorntons have branded all new Sapphire vehicles might explain why 7536/40 are at Ashington.
(11 Apr 2015, 5:41 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]Also, why would Arriva pay however many millions on these 5 E400s for the 7 and 2 for the 24 (now) and instead give them to Ashington, who's present standing in the North East Sapphire table I understand is terrible?
There's also the fact that since last year, Thorntons have branded all new Sapphire vehicles might explain why 7536/40 are at Ashington.
If Thornton's brand the Sapphire vehicles - why haven't I seen Pulsars and StreetLites in Ashington depot?
Surely they could have taken them straight to Thornton's without faffing about with them in Ashington depot?
Seems that drivers of the X93 still haven't got used to the split route. I saw two consecutive services (Temsa and B7) between Whitby and Scarborough with 'Guisborough' on the destination. According to the B7, it wasnt even supposed to be going to Scarborough as it had Guisborough for Whitby Only on the display.
(11 Apr 2015, 5:41 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]They are 14ft 6ins, which I doubt would be considered by Arriva an ideal allocation for the 7.
Also, why would Arriva pay however many millions on these 5 E400s for the 7 and 2 for the 24 (now) and instead give them to Ashington, who's present standing in the North East Sapphire table I understand is terrible?
There's also the fact that since last year, Thorntons have branded all new Sapphire vehicles might explain why 7536/40 are at Ashington.
The 7 passenger numbers seem to have shot up since it's induction to the Sapphire brand so it would be stupid to make the vehicle allocations considerably older as I imagine a major factor of the increase of passenger numbers have been because of newer reliable buses being used on the service.
As much as they prove to be unpopular I think people are just going to have to face the 57 reg Enviro 400's on the X21/X22 as I can't see them been taken off these routes anytime soon.
(11 Apr 2015, 5:41 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]They are 14ft 6ins, which I doubt would be considered by Arriva an ideal allocation for the 7.
Also, why would Arriva pay however many millions on these 5 E400s for the 7 and 2 for the 24 (now) and instead give them to Ashington, who's present standing in the North East Sapphire table I understand is terrible?
There's also the fact that since last year, Thorntons have branded all new Sapphire vehicles might explain why 7536/40 are at Ashington.
Maybe to do with the vehicles, and the reliability??
Additionally, look at every other NE Sapphire route, all launched with brand new vehicles.
(11 Apr 2015, 5:58 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]Maybe to do with the vehicles, and the reliability??
Well Arriva need to sort it out ASAP. Fair enough, it's not the fact that they're old vehicles or even ADL E400s for that matter, it's the fact that they've been hammered on very demanding routes (501/505/518/X93/93) bar their intended stints on the 308 and X31/X32/X33. Can see a double deck version scenario of what GNE suffered with the Omnicities on the Angel where until a new order is placed to replace 7501-7509, they might be in a scenario where they'll have to allocate a load of cascaded ex London Deckers if any are available and that would be a disaster.
The only routes that I could see them vehicles appearing on after the X21 / X22 would be the 43/44/45 or if a capacity increase was needed, 35/35A.
(11 Apr 2015, 6:10 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]Well Arriva need to sort it out ASAP. Fair enough, it's not the fact that they're old vehicles or even ADL E400s for that matter, it's the fact that they've been hammered on very demanding routes (501/505/518/X93/93) bar their intended stints on the 308 and X31/X32/X33. Can see a double deck version scenario of what GNE suffered with the Omnicities on the Angel where until a new order is placed to replace 7501-7509, they might be in a scenario where they'll have to allocate a load of cascaded ex London Deckers if any are available and that would be a disaster.
The only routes that I could see them vehicles appearing on after the X21 / X22 would be the 43/44/45 or if a capacity increase was needed, 35/35A.
I agree, I think the only vehicle that could do what 7501-9 have done, and be able to cope without issue on the X21/22 would be an Olympian. Having said that, 7511/2/3 are okay, not brilliant, but better than 7501-9, and out of 7501-9 the only one I can say is still suitable would probably be 7507.
I wonder if Arriva regret refurbishing those to Sapphire instead of 7514-21, which I still believe are better vehicles.
I also want to make clear, that I'm not against Enviro 400's, quite the opposite, last week I sampled some of Blyth's VDL Gemini's and I'd take an Enviro over one of those any day, they were gutless
(11 Apr 2015, 6:26 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]I agree, I think the only vehicle that could do what 7501-9 have done, and be able to cope without issue on the X21/22 would be an Olympian. Having said that, 7511/2/3 are okay, not brilliant, but better than 7501-9, and out of 7501-9 the only one I can say is still suitable would probably be 7507.
I wonder if Arriva regret refurbishing those to Sapphire instead of 7514-21, which I still believe are better vehicles.
I also want to make clear, that I'm not against Enviro 400's, quite the opposite, last week I sampled some of Blyth's VDL Gemini's and I'd take an Enviro over one of those any day, they were gutless
IMO, Sapphire should be a luxury, not having sh***y 57-reg E400 refurbished. Should be NEW buses, which the features should be standardised, unlike another brand (MAX).
MAX should be REFURBISHED buses, and specifically target the route, not the luxuries.
Coast and Castles should have been Sapphire but under the Coast and Castles brand. Just having "Explore Coast and Castles" on the side doesn't do it for me. X15/X18 should have new vehicles. Maybe the 14 too.
Just a thought I had the other day, but I really don't know Arriva would implement it, as the service has recently been launched as MAX:
As the X18 is quite a rural route, would it be beneficial to fit the vehicles used with Next Stop Announcements, especially as it will be used by tourists in the summer, who may be unsure of the area, and it will remove the need to ask the driver. Additionally, I feel it would benefit from sockets, especially on a Sunday where if people want to get from Berwick to Newcastle, it is the only option.
What do people think? I don't know how they'd do it without branding it as Sapphire??
I also think that the X93 should have NSA's, as that is a similarly rural and touristy route from what I gather?
(11 Apr 2015, 7:03 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote [ -> ]IMO, Sapphire should be a luxury, not having sh***y 57-reg E400 refurbished. Should be NEW buses, which the features should be standardised, unlike another brand (MAX).
MAX should be REFURBISHED buses, and specifically target the route, not the luxuries.
Coast and Castles should have been Sapphire but under the Coast and Castles brand. Just having "Explore Coast and Castles" on the side doesn't do it for me. X15/X18 should have new vehicles. Maybe the 14 too.
Sapphire and MAX are both designed to increase passenger numbers on their selected routes. Admittedly one is funded by Arriva UK whilst the other is a commercial decision by the North East team, the end result is expected to be the same. We've been over and over the issues that 7501-9 are facing and I don't think there is anything to gain from going over old ground. One thing I will point out though is that Ashington's Sapphire X21/X22 had one spare bus for a PVR of 15, this clearly wasn't enough and so 7518 was refurbished as an extra bus, giving a spare percentage of 13%. This is a higher spare availability than any other Sapphire route in the North East (and indeed across many regions) currently has.
As for the MAX routes - its purely designed to give an upgraded service offering on our longest inter-urban routes, and although the implementation is supposed to be level across all of the routes, there is definitely a lack of attention to detail!
The X18 getting new double deck vehicles probably tells us a lot about its position compared to the other two routes, with the coastal route between Alnwick & Berwick via Craster, Seahouses and Bamburgh pulling in huge crowds during the summer season. I understand we are having issues with loadings on the more direct X15 with the Scanias, and it will be interesting to see how this problem is fixed otherwise they may well end up being found out in the summer!
It's always possible that the current MAX routes may see future investment to boost them to Sapphire of course!...
(11 Apr 2015, 7:42 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]Just a thought I had the other day, but I really don't know Arriva would implement it, as the service has recently been launched as MAX:
As the X18 is quite a rural route, would it be beneficial to fit the vehicles used with Next Stop Announcements, especially as it will be used by tourists in the summer, who may be unsure of the area, and it will remove the need to ask the driver. Additionally, I feel it would benefit from sockets, especially on a Sunday where if people want to get from Berwick to Newcastle, it is the only option.
What do people think? I don't know how they'd do it without branding it as Sapphire??
I also think that the X93 should have NSA's, as that is a similarly rural and touristy route from what I gather?
X93 is rumoured to be getting NSA in the near future
(11 Apr 2015, 7:42 pm)mb134 wrote [ -> ]Just a thought I had the other day, but I really don't know Arriva would implement it, as the service has recently been launched as MAX:
As the X18 is quite a rural route, would it be beneficial to fit the vehicles used with Next Stop Announcements, especially as it will be used by tourists in the summer, who may be unsure of the area, and it will remove the need to ask the driver. Additionally, I feel it would benefit from sockets, especially on a Sunday where if people want to get from Berwick to Newcastle, it is the only option.
What do people think? I don't know how they'd do it without branding it as Sapphire??
I also think that the X93 should have NSA's, as that is a similarly rural and touristy route from what I gather?
I agree with your suggestion that the X18 should have NSA's based on the heavy tourist usage of the route. The X93 is due to get them very soon so it would make sense to implement this on the X18 too.
(11 Apr 2015, 7:44 pm)Kuyoyo wrote [ -> ]X93 is rumoured to be getting NSA in the near future
I think it'll help, especially as routes like the X93 and X18 (as Tyresmoke posted above), attract a lot of tourists, I seem to remember posts on here from people stuck on single deckers in the Summer which had to leave people behind?? (on the X93 anyway)