(26 Dec 2019, 1:19 pm)TEN 6083 wrote X9/X10s are allocated onto the 6 today


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(26 Dec 2019, 10:48 pm)L469 YVK wrote After looking at the allocations for today, I take it that although the Sunday allocations would remain using Streetlites, will the E400MMCs be used on the X5/16A/X30 on Bank Holidays?

(27 Dec 2019, 12:12 am)OrangeArrow49 wrote Anyone know about the free tickets from the X-lines events not being received? Thought it would be emailed through after the events had all finished.

(27 Dec 2019, 12:30 am)Jimmi wrote The journeys I saw/used today it did seem a bit overkill having deckers on them particularly the 16A*, but can't really compare Boxing Day to any other Bank Holidays (I don't know what loadings are like on a typical Bank Holiday)

* Durham was like a ghost town on North Road at least when I was there this afternoon, 21s I used were pretty busy though

(27 Dec 2019, 9:52 am)Jamie M wrote 21 X66 and 53/54 were way busier than anything else coming through Gateshead.

Unusual for deckers not to appear on X66, perhaps 3976 had a part to play. That's my bit of unnecessary speculation for the day.

(27 Dec 2019, 10:08 am)Jimmi wrote Most the passengers I could see on the buses yesterday were people heading to the Boxing Day sales in Newcastle and at the Metrocentre, although numbers weren't big on some a fair few were cash fares so likely made enough to at very least breakeven.

My thinking now is only core routes in and out of Newcastle/Metrocentre are particularly worth running on Boxing Day after my observations yesterday, despite statements I've made in the past, I now think there ain't much market to run deeper into County Durham especially Arriva territory.

(27 Dec 2019, 12:07 pm)Andreos1 wrote Maybe there needs to be some sort of flexibility and annual revision of which area has a focus of attention. 
Apart from shopping, the matches will play a big part in the numbers of bums on seats. 
Newcastle were away yesterday, so those travelling from deepest darkest ANE territory would have been doing other things.
Not sure Sunderland (and the position they're in) would have had much impact on services in East Durham either way
Going back a few years, then I do think things would have been different on that corridor. 

One thing that really bugs me, is that operators trot out the 'not enough demand' patter, when there's not much in the way of scientific analysis of checking out the demand.
Surely it's more of a gut feeling or guess-work. We all know how accurate that can be!

(27 Dec 2019, 2:53 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Saw one of the Xlines spares ex-EYMS Gemini 3s heading north, up from the A19 roundabout earlier, around the Blyth Asda sliproad. Any ideas where that would be heading?
(Didn’t see what was on the destination screen).

(27 Dec 2019, 12:10 pm)Michael wrote Online shopping doesn't help either, but like you said, its always up and down and you can never tell!

(27 Dec 2019, 5:43 pm)Andreos1 wrote Even with Newcastle being away yesterday, there's still a couple of thousand needing to get back home after being dropped off by the coaches. 
Absolutely no provision at all made by local operators and taxis raking it in.

Eldest Constanopolus and his mates had to pay almost £25 for a taxi after their trip back from Old Trafford yesterday. 
Assuming they're the only ones on the bus, I can see the combined fares more than covering the drivers wages. 
Add a couple more passengers and there's the fuel covered. 

But we keep getting told 'there's no demand'...
I would argue there's more than enough demand, its like nobody actually tries to determine where the demand is and when. 

Im not saying that there should be a full service everywhere - but if Gateshead can run X1's, using 49 branded Streetlite and on previous Boxing Days we have seen later X10's, then something can surely be done on other corridors. 

Or, if taxis continue to be cheaper for a group of mates or using the car is quicker, easier and cheaper (like it was for me yesterday) - then bus patronage will continue to fall and we will see poorer levels of service. 

I genuinely wish someone would come in at the top at local operators and shake things up a little, so that using the bus is easier and cheaper than currently and that passengers can actually rely on a decent service on Boxing Day and other bank holidays.

(27 Dec 2019, 5:59 pm)cbma06 wrote It’s not up to the local bus operators to take them home, maybe there should keep the taxi receipts and bill Newcastle United as it’s there fans who are stuck when being dropped off by coach.

Bus passengers should count themselves lucky that there’s more of a bus service these days on Boxing Day than years gone by, especially when car ownership have grown quite high.

Drivers like to have time to be with family and friends in these Holidays


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(28 Dec 2019, 2:37 pm)V514DFT wrote I imagine the upcoming changes will be posted anytime from Wednesday onwards,as Wednesday is New Years Day

(28 Dec 2019, 4:41 pm)streetdeckfan wrote They've already been posted

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(28 Dec 2019, 4:45 pm)JP6004 wrote Think he means breakdown of changes on the newsroom as opposed to timetables being uploaded

(28 Dec 2019, 4:50 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Haven't they posted the breakdown at the same time as the updated timetables in the past? Either that, or the joy of Christmas is making my already crap memory worse!

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(28 Dec 2019, 5:07 pm)JP6004 wrote No they tend to upload timetables first before publishing changes....otherwise there be no link to new timetable lmao

(28 Dec 2019, 5:13 pm)streetdeckfan wrote All this being nice to people must be making me ill!

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(27 Dec 2019, 10:08 am)Jimmi wrote Most the passengers I could see on the buses yesterday were people heading to the Boxing Day sales in Newcastle and at the Metrocentre, although numbers weren't big on some a fair few were cash fares so likely made enough to at very least breakeven.

My thinking now is only core routes in and out of Newcastle/Metrocentre are particularly worth running on Boxing Day after my observations yesterday, despite statements I've made in the past, I now think there ain't much market to run deeper into County Durham especially Arriva territory.

(27 Dec 2019, 5:43 pm)Andreos1 wrote Even with Newcastle being away yesterday, there's still a couple of thousand needing to get back home after being dropped off by the coaches. 
Absolutely no provision at all made by local operators and taxis raking it in.

Eldest Constanopolus and his mates had to pay almost £25 for a taxi after their trip back from Old Trafford yesterday. 
Assuming they're the only ones on the bus, I can see the combined fares more than covering the drivers wages. 
Add a couple more passengers and there's the fuel covered. 

But we keep getting told 'there's no demand'...
I would argue there's more than enough demand, its like nobody actually tries to determine where the demand is and when. 

Im not saying that there should be a full service everywhere - but if Gateshead can run X1's, using 49 branded Streetlite and on previous Boxing Days we have seen later X10's, then something can surely be done on other corridors. 

Or, if taxis continue to be cheaper for a group of mates or using the car is quicker, easier and cheaper (like it was for me yesterday) - then bus patronage will continue to fall and we will see poorer levels of service. 

I genuinely wish someone would come in at the top at local operators and shake things up a little, so that using the bus is easier and cheaper than currently and that passengers can actually rely on a decent service on Boxing Day and other bank holidays.

(28 Dec 2019, 9:37 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I think part of the issue is that single bus journeys are fine but as soon as you have to change buses, then the journey becomes needlessly long and complicated. It's bad enough on Sundays but, for example, if you wanted to get from Gilesgate or Newton Hall to Newcastle, then you would, if from Gilesgate, walk to Sunderland road for a 20 or into the city centre then wait for one of the two, unevenly spaced, 21s of the hour, or in Newton Hall, just walk into Fram or Pity me, as the 50 wasn't running. We live on the 21 route but Bigun still didn't fancy it. On a Sunday, we can travel back from Newcastle or the Metrocentre either through Gateshead or Stanley, all in reasonable time, since the connections at Stanley are good, but we didn't really have that as a back up in case we missed the 21s or they were too busy, which made the prospect unappealing for bigun.

So, just as when we lived in arrivaland, we took the car. Bigun even got out of bed before 9am, specially!