(15 Oct 2018, 11:26 am)Jamie M wrote 2 longnidekkas up. Were in riverside depot the morning but have now disappeared.

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(15 Oct 2018, 10:00 am)Michael wrote They would suit the route but would come with a few problems.... Eldon Square, Peterlee bus station, Dalton Park? (are they bigger than the coach which used to be allocated to the Stagecoach X55?).

(15 Oct 2018, 3:58 pm)pbjd wrote 6167 & 6171.

(15 Oct 2018, 4:17 pm)Stanleyone wrote More than a few spare bus stops on Newgate Street. Eldon square could do with freeing up some space.

(15 Oct 2018, 7:35 am)Dan wrote I don't think this necessarily suggests poor reliability - rather that they're under warranty and Volvo prefer to work on their own premises rather than a Go North East site, unlike Wrights and Optare, who more commonly carry out work on-site (so arguably less noticeable). Scania and ADL are often seen on-site at Stagecoach sites, so I'd say this is how they prefer to carry out their maintenance work.

The Volvo B5 Hybrids and Volvo B11RT coaches are also regularly parked at Volvo on Crowther Industrial Estate, again because they are under warranty.

Similarly when Wrightbus vehicles have issues on the engine side (Daimler/Mercedes), they are often sent to Bells near Benton, as that is the preference of their engineers.

While they are under warranty, you'd expect bus operators to get the issues fixed (regardless of however small they are) as soon as it is flagged up.

When the warranty expires, Go North East's own engineers carry out work during the night to reduce impact on operations. You don't tend to be that lucky when the work is outsourced (under warranty) as they have more than Go North East as a customer!

I have said this in the past but will say it again - if every operator reported every incident/breakdown as Go North East does with the X10, we would be suggesting that there isn't a single vehicle type in the country which can be deemed reliable.

That said, I do think the 5-litre engined Volvo is perhaps being strained a little too much up and down the A19 seven days a week, but I don't think there's a bus on the market that could cope with such a demanding route. The X9/X10 needs coaches for the work that it does, no doubt about that, but there isn't one on the market that could deliver what Go North East needs for this type of route. The coach would need to be low-floor and high capacity (peak time journeys need every single seat currently on the B5TLs), with a dedicated wheelchair bay.

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(16 Oct 2018, 2:42 pm)Northern wrote Bring back the days when there used to be the ExpressLink deckers & Tynelink deckers. The Tynelink deckers had amazing acceleration & power. More than capable back then.

(16 Oct 2018, 3:13 pm)cbma06 wrote Buses are made to cheap and not last long these days under the rules of the EU. Hope the UK doesn’t adopt these rules and get back to making buses last longer that there used to be

(16 Oct 2018, 7:28 pm)MrBoyt wrote What's the EU got to do with worse standards of bus construction?

(17 Oct 2018, 6:19 pm)missedbus wrote Not a lot, many EU countries are still wedded to three-door heavyweights, as far removed from a Streetlite as one can get. I believe buses (as opposed to coaches) are subject to the UK's own Construction and Use rules, so nothing to do with the EU, other than the emissions legislation (Euro VI).

(17 Oct 2018, 6:19 pm)missedbus wrote Not a lot, many EU countries are still wedded to three-door heavyweights, as far removed from a Streetlite as one can get. I believe buses (as opposed to coaches) are subject to the UK's own Construction and Use rules, so nothing to do with the EU, other than the emissions legislation (Euro VI).

(17 Oct 2018, 6:31 pm)cbma06 wrote The EU has the final say on what the UK government can spend the money on and the rules, at present the UK government are just puppets with the EU holding the strings, buses would stay in commercial service a lot longer than present


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(16 Oct 2018, 5:35 pm)xpm wrote For all the talk of there's no suitable decker on the market for the X9/X10's I can't believe no one has mentioned this (the shorter version of the two):

http://www.route-one.net/articles/Ensign_s_new_Enterprise_challenges_the_market

Particularly as they will build to an operator's specification - although I suspect the price tag may be too rich for GNE.

How many different buses are going to be prematurely aged by this route before something gives?  The figures can't be adding up as it stands surely?

(19 Oct 2018, 3:56 am)TEN 6083 wrote https://flic.kr/p/Nr4ZyR

6115 has had its Big Days Out branding updated

(15 Oct 2018, 3:58 pm)pbjd wrote 6167 & 6171.

(20 Oct 2018, 11:14 am)Michael wrote When will these enter service and which depot will they go to?

Will they replace two of 6010, 6017, 6023, 6030 and 6033?

(19 Oct 2018, 3:56 am)TEN 6083 wrote https://flic.kr/p/Nr4ZyR

6115 has had its Big Days Out branding updated

(24 Oct 2018, 8:48 pm)Acky81 wrote Why does the 516 always use a black cats solo? Shouldn’t deptford be using a corporate vehicle. The bus used today was 700. Surely this should be on the 33 38 or 238. Also what is the point of the solar black cats branding surely this should now be removed as no longer used on 2/2a/39

(24 Oct 2018, 8:48 pm)Acky81 wrote Why does the 516 always use a black cats solo? Shouldn’t deptford be using a corporate vehicle. The bus used today was 700. Surely this should be on the 33 38 or 238. Also what is the point of the solar black cats branding surely this should now be removed as no longer used on 2/2a/39

(24 Oct 2018, 9:33 pm)Michael wrote No point, they could be gone after June next year. It looks like they don't want to waste time ripping the branding off and repainting them in to the Go North East livery for 8 months or just a little longer.