(07 Apr 2019, 7:32 pm)Stanleyone wrote Omnicities are terrible for rattles, hopefully these Mercs won’t be as bad.

(07 Apr 2019, 7:31 pm)Dan wrote Confirms nothing - I'm just commenting on the lack of any major changes for quite some time now. There's been a pretty stable network over the last year or two, changes few and far between.

Arriva and Stagecoach in the meantime have had quite a few major changes (some admittedly have been improvements) - just look at the 12 in Sunderland being re-routed to compete with the Go North East 56, then reverted back to its original route some three to six months later...

(07 Apr 2019, 7:00 pm)N1cholas wrote time for the guessing to start 

(07 Apr 2019, 8:00 pm)JP6004 wrote We had email atvwork regarding the Prince Bishops

20 reduced to every 12mins
20A scrapped
X20 every 30mins between Sunderland and Durham.

Dont know if these changes are confirmed but that was the changes proposed. Also 35 to run via Rainton every 30mins during the day

(07 Apr 2019, 7:21 pm)Dan wrote They've seen an increasing amount of use at Riverside and Washington on normal service work anyway.

They aren't too shabby inside, and are actually better from a passenger point of view than the OmniCitys they're replacing (fitted with USB sockets, bit more legroom, 2+1 seating, etc).

(07 Apr 2019, 8:00 pm)JP6004 wrote We had email atvwork regarding the Prince Bishops

20 reduced to every 12mins
20A scrapped
X20 every 30mins between Sunderland and Durham.

Dont know if these changes are confirmed but that was the changes proposed. Also 35 to run via Rainton every 30mins during the day

(07 Apr 2019, 8:39 pm)N1cholas wrote Im glad it missed the rest of the changes off 

(07 Apr 2019, 8:57 pm)Michael wrote Any hints then, since you keep going on about how you know the changes?

(07 Apr 2019, 7:17 pm)Dan wrote When were the last major changes in North Sunderland..? Go North East have had a pretty stable network for quite some time now, especially when compared to Stagecoach in the same area... 

I'm sure you'll be a fan of what's to come! 


Do they really need five life-expired Volvo B7RLEs?

(07 Apr 2019, 8:00 pm)JP6004 wrote We had email atvwork regarding the Prince Bishops

20 reduced to every 12mins
20A scrapped
X20 every 30mins between Sunderland and Durham.

Dont know if these changes are confirmed but that was the changes proposed. Also 35 to run via Rainton every 30mins during the day

(07 Apr 2019, 7:35 pm)Dan wrote I've driven 5481, 5486 and 5487 of that batch, plus one of the others previously based at Saltmeadows.

They seem a bit of a mixed bag, but largely rattle-free, quite quick off the mark, and all very warm (so I'd be happy as a driver!) They're all limited to 50mph but shouldn't ever need to exceed that speed on the X30 anyway.

(08 Apr 2019, 6:05 pm)Ds1197 wrote Seems the X30 not been operated by Toonlink branded buses confuses some people

(08 Apr 2019, 8:21 pm)ne14ne1 wrote For the buses with destination controllers which can update the screens at a set location, I don't get why you'd sacrifice a full screen final destination point, e.g 'Market Street' or 'Haymarket', just to make room for 'up to every 10 mins'. Is that really more helpful to passengers than being able to easily read the destination as the bus approaches?

(08 Apr 2019, 9:19 pm)Dan wrote I know you feel quite strongly about this, as has been proven by your recent posts, but it makes perfect sense: to promote the services to people who aren't currently bus users. If these promotional messages appeal to said non bus users, it could get these people travelling by bus. Is that not a good thing? Low fares, high frequency services, convenience (contactless payments etc) are all great things to promote.

The terminal point on the new displays is just four LEDs smaller in terms of height, compared to the previous. There's not a lot in it actually. The perception is that it's much smaller just because of the via point being present, but this is essentially just using the space which was otherwise blank. It's really not vastly different in terms of clarity.

The majority of feedback received thus far is positive - the removal of via points originally was much more of a controversial move.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

Screenshot 2019-04-09 at 01.19.44.png (Size 44.7 KB | Downloads 10)

(09 Apr 2019, 4:28 am)Stanleyone wrote [quote="N1cholas" pid='227724' dateline='1554670719']

no you will have to wait.........


Changes released internally, we know the Consett depot changes will only be timing, not to those services already changed on Sunday...would imagine these changes for Chester le Street, Deptford and Percy Main depots will be released online sooner than the 7th April as there’s some big changes.

(09 Apr 2019, 12:01 am)BeachBoy99 wrote I absolutely love the new displays. As much as I liked them with only the terminal point, they did become confusing at various places i.e. Dalton Park which only has one stop in a turning circle. The static displays that include the via points are so much better. I'm over the moon you've brought them back and they are so much better now than the previous ones that had the awful scrolling via points. I also love the modern, bold font for the terminating point and I can't wait for this to be rolled out onto the remaining services. GNE, you've upped your game once again 

Also Dan, I have some feedback about the displays whilst you're in the process of changing them: you should have a go at displaying the route numbers in the font associated with each brand in the same way you have already done with the X1, X9|X10 and the 4. For instance with The Crusader 27 (just something I made quickly) 

...that WOULD be something to see if it was possible! Keep Arial as the standard route number for Go North East services, though.

Just another thought to make your brand stand out even more than the others. Arriva's are rubbish; Stagecoach's are rubbish. Yours are fantastic and would be even more incredible with this feature!

(07 Mar 2019, 7:56 pm)Jamie M wrote 3975 was on 137/93/X21 today due to 6010 being VOR due to defects.


Go North East 3975 (PJ02PZB) by Bus Enthusiast, on Flickr

Someone caught me.. obviously with a smile and wave!

(09 Apr 2019, 9:31 am)S813 FVK wrote My only slight criticism of the displays is that I think the via points could be padded out a bit more. I think some of them are very limited at the moment.

As an example, service 8 appears to just show a static 'via Chester-le-Street' in both directions. To aid with the route number in distinguishing the route between the 8 and 78, I think the addition of the likes of Beamish and Washington wouldn't go amiss.

Could also suggest alternating screens between the via points and the exact location that the bus terminates at, much like was done with the old scrolling format ('Eldon Square via... etc').

(09 Apr 2019, 9:33 am)Jamie M wrote I think it was the 46 or 45 yesterday I passed that flipped between metrocentre and some other place. I couldn't read it beause 5416's display is far too bright to read small text from distance, but definitely happening with more info. Hopefully on a wider scale though.

(10 Apr 2019, 4:24 pm)Michael wrote According to 5407, we are at Queen Alexandrea bridge, and its 17.23pm... 25.8.1999

(10 Apr 2019, 5:48 pm)Dan wrote It's because the Hanover system relies on GPS for time and location.

This 'bug' affects way more than the Next Stop Announcement units on buses, read more:
https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/06/gps-rollover-is-today-heres-why-devices-might-get-wacky/?guccounter=1

(08 Apr 2019, 9:19 pm)Dan wrote it makes perfect sense: to promote the services to people who aren't currently bus users. If these promotional messages appeal to said non bus users, it could get these people travelling by bus. Is that not a good thing? Low fares, high frequency services, convenience (contactless payments etc) are all great things to promote.

The terminal point on the new displays is just four LEDs smaller in terms of height, compared to the previous. There's not a lot in it actually. The perception is that it's much smaller just because of the via point being present, but this is essentially just using the space which was otherwise blank. It's really not vastly different in terms of clarity.

The majority of feedback received thus far is positive - the removal of via points originally was much more of a controversial move.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

(09 Apr 2019, 6:23 am)Dan wrote there's no right or wrong way of doing them and I don't think the Arriva or Stagecoach displays are bad really. Certainly the latter have also worked on trying to create a solution like Go North East whereby they increase the font size for the terminal point whilst having static via points which aren't as difficult to read as scrolling via points.

(11 Apr 2019, 7:52 am)Ianthegoon wrote With everything going on, I think I've lost track of which demonstrator / loan vehicles Go North East is using at the moment!

The Forum fleet list appears to show six, 9079, 9080, 9083, 9084, 9087 and 9088, but I thought some of those had now been returned.

The list on the official GNE site shows just two, 9083 and 9084.

Any clarifications?