(25 Apr 2015, 4:12 pm)tyresmoke wrote Water leak I believe rather than fuel?
Chavs are par for the course lol

(25 Apr 2015, 5:31 pm)pdiddy wrote 1593 broke down this morning aswell and was replaced by a solo...

Not a great start

(25 Apr 2015, 5:55 pm)Dan wrote At least it's not just certain V-reg vehicles in the area, eh? Must be something in the Bishop Auckland air!  

(26 Apr 2015, 7:52 pm)Tom wrote Going off tomorrow, I definitely think the 33/X14/57/57A need upgraded.

I saw a MPD leaving Regent Centre to Newcastle on a X14 yesterday while on the 44 full to the brim. Might have even been a full standing load. Not practical for going down the A1!!

My 57A back to Whitley Bay (possibly the same bus) was also quite busy, especially from Cramlington to the Seaton Deleval area. Quite  a few from Morpeth to Beacon Lea too. There was also a canny load for the 57 to North Seaton too at 16:10ish at Cramlington Shops. 

Maybe some Streetlites or Pulsars would be good?

(26 Apr 2015, 7:55 pm)mb134 wrote Just something to consider regarding the Pulsar suggestion, I'm sure I saw on here that they've been limited to 50 MPH? Not ideal for the A1 really, especially if running late...

(26 Apr 2015, 7:57 pm)Tom wrote Well something definitely needs to be done about the capacity issues. I completely agree about your point you raised before. If a X15 or X18 was late than it would be even worse. 

The 57A was a few minutes late too, but made up that time by Cramlington.

(26 Apr 2015, 8:01 pm)mb134 wrote This is a problem with split allocations I think, people will see X14 branded deckers, so will go for that service, and an MPD shows up! Totally agree something needs to be done, most MPD operated runs I've seen would definitely justify a full size single decker, maybe a double decker for some.

I followed 1792(?) along the road from Cramlington to Bedlington (past Northumberlandia) yesterday and it was doing 55-60 for the most part.

(26 Apr 2015, 8:03 pm)Tom wrote Yeah definitely! I do think the fares are a bit steep on the Morpeth services too. £5.10 for a single Regent Centre-Morpeth! That's the price of a single on the 57A from Morpeth-Whitley Bay!

I had 1773 and it was fantastic. Got up to really good speeds between Morpeth and Beacon Lea, the Wi-Fi was really fast and efficient, and the seats were very comfortable as well as a warm bus. Was great. I am a big fan of those MPD's.

(26 Apr 2015, 8:07 pm)mb134 wrote Must admit, I do like the three MPD's Blyth had WiFi fitted to (1773/4/5), the others all seem knackered, those three felt alright the last time I was on them.

Can't really comment on the Ashington one's, try to avoid the 57 as much as possible, even if it means getting two buses instead of one, punctuality is terrible in my experience. Although 1792 seemed to shift when following yesterday

Might be asking a tad too much here, but:
Could 4653/9 be reallocated to the X14/57A /33(?), along with however many others are needed from South of the Tyne, or from the 685?

(26 Apr 2015, 8:13 pm)Tom wrote Yeah that sounds like a good idea. And the 685 could get MAX Pulsars?

And I've never had any problems with the 57 tbh, it's more the 57A! 1800 is the one I normally get and it's really nice. Can't remember going on the others. 

(26 Apr 2015, 8:18 pm)mb134 wrote Whats the PVR for the whole cycle? 

I've never used it!! I was going to once, but it was insanely late, and every other time I see it it's always quite late (and busy), so it's never appealed, especially when you look at some Facebook comments on the ANE page. Half of the time the buses aren't tracked either, so you've got no idea where it'll be if it is indeed late. 

(26 Apr 2015, 8:24 pm)Tom wrote I think it's five for the 33/57A/X14, and three for the 57.

If you have never rode it you should try it. It's a nice route. Then maybe ride a couple of Whitley Bay services if you even do a bus outing.

(26 Apr 2015, 8:31 pm)mb134 wrote So they'd need to hunt out one Omnicity? And two new deckers for the X15? 

I might yeah, would just like to know it'd be on time!

(26 Apr 2015, 8:36 pm)Tom wrote Yeah not sure where from though. Stockton maybe but I think they'll go to Blyth when the X4/X5 goes MAX.

(26 Apr 2015, 9:17 pm)mb134 wrote Would the X4/5 not get Pulsars? Keep the fleet standardised? 

(26 Apr 2015, 8:31 pm)mb134 wrote So they'd need to hunt out one Omnicity? And two new deckers for the X15? 

I might yeah, would just like to know it'd be on time!

(27 Apr 2015, 6:38 pm)MrPottski wrote There's plenty at Darlington they could have!

(27 Apr 2015, 10:57 pm)Kuyoyo wrote Now now, Darlington need all the OmniCitys they can get - in fact, why not have 3 more for X75/X76 and Stockton will gladly have 3 X1 Pulsars for 21As  

(28 Apr 2015, 9:22 am)Jimmi wrote Arriva are in Durham Market Place today at 12pm and 4pm with Titan the Robot performing with one of the MAX X12 buses on display.

(28 Apr 2015, 3:38 pm)citaro5284 wrote By mind, certainly getting their monies worth out if Titan...he has had more outings than I have had bags of crisps!!

(26 Apr 2015, 8:13 pm)Tom wrote And the 685 could get MAX Pulsars?

(28 Apr 2015, 3:45 pm)Jimmi wrote Yeah, it's a good show though.

Upside about seeing it a few times though is when the waterworks come you know when to get out of the way, I am bone dry unlike some people