(03 Apr 2020, 10:41 am)Michael wrote We are continually reviewing the use of each journey that we operate with bus use now at an all time low as the region follows the government's travel advice.

In line with the patterns of use we are now seeing, from Saturday 4 April there will be changes to services 1A, 5, 11, 19, 74, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 309, 310, 683, 684, 921, 923, 937, X1, X20, X84 and X85.

Further changes are planned for services in Gateshead, Sunderland and Chester-le-Street from Saturday 11 April with all existing journeys for key workers maintained. Details for these changes will be announced soon.

https://assets.goaheadbus.com/media/cms_page_media/8083/GNE06_Full_Emergency_Timetable_04-04-20.pdf

Details of service levels from 4th April: https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/coronavirus/?fbclid=IwAR2nC2JamEdBzaJ2_WXfPpl5y_tiLy3uNdBil3R6lr5FPiW31JQAJs2kuqY



More buses delicensed?, don't blame them, buses are getting emptier by the hour.



Service 5: Every 2 hours

Little Coasters 11 – the service will run every two hours

74 - every 3 hours

indiGo Washington 81, 82 - every 2 hours (combined hourly service on certain sections)

indiGo Washington 83, 84 - every 2 hours (combined hourly service on certain sections)

indiGo Washington 85 and 86 - every 2 hours (combined hourly service on certain sections)

309 and 310 evening frequency - every 2 hours (1 hour combined on certain sections of the route)

683 will be revised to run every two hours

X1 - After 7pm will be every 2 hours

Tynedale Express X84 & X85 - every 2 hours

X20/921/923 – will not run after 3 April as npower will be closed

Service 937 – will not run after 3 April

(03 Apr 2020, 12:35 pm)6049 wrote If they had such deep pockets don't you think staff would have been pushing for a higher wage rise last year? 

Not to mention that the figures have been estimated earlier in this thread of how much the weekly cost is for 100 drivers per depot. With a company that has nearly 3000 staff across GNE and EY, the figure to "pay their way" will be astronomical. 

It's far easier for the London operators to collect their fares and have higher footfall simply because it's all operated under the TfL banner. With the Oyster card you can get on any service no matter which company is operating it. Up here, you have competition - the Coast Road is an obvious example. GNE competing with Arriva on a busy route - someone buying an Arriva weekly ticket can't use it on GNE. You have to have a Network One ticket up here for multi operator.

(03 Apr 2020, 3:43 pm)Big O wrote What on earth does a payrise have to do with deep pockets? Do you think staff take into consideration how much GNE make before pushing for a payrise?! 

London operators do not collect fares by the way. Its all automated and sent to Tfl. London operators get paid for the miles operated and because there is no competition it means fewer resources are used in over bussing and actually creating routes that benefit the public. For me to get across the city from where I live, I find that if I do take the bus (which I never do) I have to go into the city centre and come back out again. It's annoying and makes the journey slower.

(03 Apr 2020, 9:04 am)Andreos1 wrote Possibly an East Lancs thing. 
Trying to think what the Vykings were like and I'm struggling. Maybe the centre door on them helped!
Don't think I ever got a go on one of the Pyoneers.

(03 Apr 2020, 12:35 pm)6049 wrote If they had such deep pockets don't you think staff would have been pushing for a higher wage rise last year? 

Not to mention that the figures have been estimated earlier in this thread of how much the weekly cost is for 100 drivers per depot. With a company that has nearly 3000 staff across GNE and EY, the figure to "pay their way" will be astronomical. 

It's far easier for the London operators to collect their fares and have higher footfall simply because it's all operated under the TfL banner. With the Oyster card you can get on any service no matter which company is operating it. Up here, you have competition - the Coast Road is an obvious example. GNE competing with Arriva on a busy route - someone buying an Arriva weekly ticket can't use it on GNE. You have to have a Network One ticket up here for multi operator.

(03 Apr 2020, 4:48 pm)6049 wrote Erm yes. That's what the union is there for, and company performance is assessed to see what is a reasonable demand 

I said virtually the same thing regarding the way London operators are paid - that it isn't based on fares taken because London is by and large tap and go. Routes in the North East are also created for the public benefit, but are only operated if commercially viable - if they aren't, then the local authority or Nexus will decide whether it is an essential service which needs to be kept running even if it is running at a loss.

(03 Apr 2020, 6:07 pm)L469 YVK wrote Next weekend. With it being Easter, will GNE be deploying senior driving staff & other non driving staff on certain routes to ensure that only people who are making essential journeys actually get on (or in theory)?

- Coaster, C&C 309, Crusader, Prince Bishops are routes where some idiots may end up trying to travel for a 'day-out' at the Coast thus potentially putting drivers, key workers and other passengers travelling for essential reasons at risk.

(03 Apr 2020, 7:48 pm)Dan wrote No. Go North East are following the Government’s advice and all office based staff who can work from home, are working from home.

If bus users aren’t following the Government advice to stay at home, it isn’t for bus drivers (regardless of whether they’re a normal bus driver or an office based employee with a PCV licence) to enforce that.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(03 Apr 2020, 9:57 pm)Wybus wrote I don’t know why they’d patrol bus stops. Patrolling the whole town would be sufficient (which they probably will) as you shouldn’t be driving there either.

(03 Apr 2020, 4:48 pm)6049 wrote Erm yes. That's what the union is there for, and company performance is assessed to see what is a reasonable demand 

I said virtually the same thing regarding the way London operators are paid - that it isn't based on fares taken because London is by and large tap and go. Routes in the North East are also created for the public benefit, but are only operated if commercially viable - if they aren't, then the local authority or Nexus will decide whether it is an essential service which needs to be kept running even if it is running at a loss.

(03 Apr 2020, 11:32 pm)L469 YVK wrote No doubt though that there'll be people queing in Walkergate, Wallsend, Howdon, Chirton and North Shields (Coaster route) to go for a "day out" in Tynemouth, Cullercoates and Whitley Bay. Police can close the beaches off but people will still try and go for a wander along the seafront. 

Could be a similar scenario on the Coast Road with the 306, 308 & 309 and people heading to Tynemouth,Whitley Bay, Seaton Sluice and Blyth.

All good police patrolling the Coast but non essential travel particularly on the last 2x services mentioned (308 & 309) could pose an ever greater risk due to both of them routes serving 3x close or nearby hospitals (RVI, Freeman, Rake Lane).

Let's hope if the police see any large queues at Billy Mill heading eastbound etc that they at least pull over and find out what passenger's intentions are.

(04 Apr 2020, 10:09 am)Big O wrote First, you're on about staff and now you're talking about the Union. The union are not employed by any bus company, they are a separate body who are supposed to represent bus company staff. There are no staff members who care about how much the company makes before requesting a bonus. I certainly have never had that thought. These companies have a lot of money are there are other avenues that earn them revenue such as advertisements.

London isn't by large tap and go. There is no alternative, its just tap and go by the way. 

Routes up here are created for the shareholders, however, it may indirectly benefit the customer. The number of variations in routes, with some trips on duties being funded by Nexus will tell you that they aren't run for the customer, it's purely for profit. Tfl is a non-profit organisation who rely on a subsidy of sorts to keep them running. All the money they make is reinvested and benefits are widely seen. The network is easier to understand for any passenger, promotion is good, branding is good etc. It helps growth. 

Nexus is the only organisation that cares about the passenger, they are happy to fund a route for 6 hours that carries around 12 people, why? Because they get a subsidy from NECA.

(04 Apr 2020, 10:27 am)Adtrainsam wrote Promotion for buses in London is next to non existent. When bus routes are changed, bus stops and spider maps are not updated. Compare that to the North East, where you’ve got companies selling their bus routes with posters and adverts. Bus use in London is falling, because the bus routes are so disorganised. There are times where I don’t even know which bus stop the bus stops at! There isn’t any branding in TfL land, it’s all red. And any attempts at branding has been shambolic.

The reason why you don’t see 38A and 38C in London is because TFL have the idea of “Take it or Leave it”. The reason why you see route variations in the North east is because they are catering to demand. If they run a route that is making a loss, then they can’t run it. And nobody was using it anyway.

(04 Apr 2020, 10:27 am)Adtrainsam wrote Promotion for buses in London is next to non existent. When bus routes are changed, bus stops and spider maps are not updated. Compare that to the North East, where you’ve got companies selling their bus routes with posters and adverts. Bus use in London is falling, because the bus routes are so disorganised. There are times where I don’t even know which bus stop the bus stops at! There isn’t any branding in TfL land, it’s all red. And any attempts at branding has been shambolic.

The reason why you don’t see 38A and 38C in London is because TFL have the idea of “Take it or Leave it”. The reason why you see route variations in the North east is because they are catering to demand. If they run a route that is making a loss, then they can’t run it. And nobody was using it anyway.

(04 Apr 2020, 11:41 am)Ds1197 wrote I think the pop card was meant to be a bit like an
Oyster card but the bus companies thought that gave Nexus to much power. The is the smartzone but that's only in one town or city

(04 Apr 2020, 7:17 am)Charles41 wrote Well the potential passengers could say they are all bus enthusiasts wanting to sample a rare and odd working.

(04 Apr 2020, 2:49 pm)Big O wrote With all due respect what you're saying in regards to London bus use is garbage. Bus use in the North East is falling. Bus use in London has declined recently but there is a surge in Overground use which is also subcontracted from Tfl. The London Overground now runs a frequent orbital service around London, replacing many routes in the process. It has alleviated pressure on the bus network and many routes have been altered to match the new demand. The customers have not gone away, they use a different mode of Tfl travel.

Would you like to elaborate on how the routes are disorganised?

We have an IBUS system which is very easy to understand, the Tfl website contains live updates on each route and stops along the way too. If you don't know what stop the bus is stopping at, then it's your fault. There are so many quick and easy methods to prevent this. When I talk about branding I'm talking about more than Stickers on the bus, its the brand of Tfl I'm talking about...Also not good to comment on what you don't know. Branding is being worked on by an external agency and from what I've seen it's simple and informative. The previous branding on some of the routes was horrible I won't argue that.

There isn't a take it or leave it policy, not sure how you picked that one up along the A1..8000 plus buses and 63-night routes isn't "take it or leave it". The reason you don't see and 38A and 38C in London is because it's confusing and the reason you don't have a 1 to Whitley Bay and a 1 to Cobalt that operate on the same stretch of road is that, again its confusing and a bit ridiculous. My wife was confused when we first moved up here and so was I and I come from a background on the buses...Whether you want to believe it or not, the network up here is not the best and won't be until things are addressed properly and not using the various smokescreen methods.

(04 Apr 2020, 10:31 pm)Gonorth91 wrote China want to pay for all the damage they have done to this country bus company going bust nearly
Shops to ppl lost there jobs

(04 Apr 2020, 10:13 pm)Adtrainsam wrote You can’t say that travel up here is bad. The north east is a hell of a lot better in integrated transport, in that I mean Tyne and Wear, than other parts of the UK (except London). I think we can all agree that bus usage is declining across the UK. 

London is very different to the north east as they have less car ownership than up here. The customers here have “gone away” to cars and not any other transport. Go North East or Stagecoach aren’t TfL. If they’ve lost customers, they don’t get any revenue. TfL will still get the money from Tube, DLR, Overground etc. 

Although the buses might be integrated in terms of fares, Nexus have done a similar thing with the Pop Card and other schemes, but haven’t taken off as Oyster did. The bus stops are looked after by Nexus with updated timetables and info. There’s a nexus journey planner, all very similar to London.

In terms of being disorganised, read this blogpost https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-a4380-gloucester-place.html 
This is just one of many examples, with misleading bus stop information or routes that aren’t being advertised and left for the public to figure out where buses go. Roger French, a highly respected person in the bus industry, also shows how TfL have forgotten about their buses.  https://busandtrainuser.com/2019/05/29/colin-dales-secret-bus-route/ There are countless examples similar to these. While you might think passengers should figure out where a bus goes, you’re not going to attract customers or get any money if you don’t advertise your bus service. Whether it’s branding,  press launching a bus route or making people aware about it, people aren’t going to use it if they don’t know about it.

TfL are heavily subsidised, and when brand new electric buses entered on their 212 and 444 routes, there wasn’t any promotion, they just slipped quietly (literally) into service, whereas companies such as Transdev and Go North East spent a lot of time advertising their new 1 buses and X lines buses respectively. 

London buses are run so differently to the rest of the UK, there is no way that there is going to anything similar in the North East without large subsidies. London doesn’t really promote the bus network and it doesn’t matter to TfL because they get subsidies and they can rely on revenue from other modes of Transport. The rest of the UK bus companies have to persuade customers to get on board and if the costs of running the service is rising, they will have to reduce the service or increase the prices. Why? Because everything is about money and we don’t get the money that London does.

(05 Apr 2020, 9:19 am)Rob44 wrote Your cant blame nexus for all tyne and wears  bus problems problems. The bus companies don't help. I remember when NEXUS decided they couldn't afford the Q1/Q2 and the white knight of GNE came in to take over the route. I remember the signs and the poster saying GNE save this route - this is why NEXUS shouldn't run the buses like TFL does in London etc etc....... then what do GNE do, offer no service to gateshead after 730 from the QUAY side. In my view if the service were contracted out like London up her it would be a much better service but I guess we'll never know!!

(04 Apr 2020, 10:13 pm)Adtrainsam wrote You can’t say that travel up here is bad. The north east is a hell of a lot better in integrated transport, in that I mean Tyne and Wear, than other parts of the UK (except London). I think we can all agree that bus usage is declining across the UK. 

London is very different to the north east as they have less car ownership than up here. The customers here have “gone away” to cars and not any other transport. Go North East or Stagecoach aren’t TfL. If they’ve lost customers, they don’t get any revenue. TfL will still get the money from Tube, DLR, Overground etc. 

Although the buses might be integrated in terms of fares, Nexus have done a similar thing with the Pop Card and other schemes, but haven’t taken off as Oyster did. The bus stops are looked after by Nexus with updated timetables and info. There’s a nexus journey planner, all very similar to London.

In terms of being disorganised, read this blogpost https://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/2019/02/the-a4380-gloucester-place.html 
This is just one of many examples, with misleading bus stop information or routes that aren’t being advertised and left for the public to figure out where buses go. Roger French, a highly respected person in the bus industry, also shows how TfL have forgotten about their buses.  https://busandtrainuser.com/2019/05/29/colin-dales-secret-bus-route/ There are countless examples similar to these. While you might think passengers should figure out where a bus goes, you’re not going to attract customers or get any money if you don’t advertise your bus service. Whether it’s branding,  press launching a bus route or making people aware about it, people aren’t going to use it if they don’t know about it.

TfL are heavily subsidised, and when brand new electric buses entered on their 212 and 444 routes, there wasn’t any promotion, they just slipped quietly (literally) into service, whereas companies such as Transdev and Go North East spent a lot of time advertising their new 1 buses and X lines buses respectively. 

London buses are run so differently to the rest of the UK, there is no way that there is going to anything similar in the North East without large subsidies. London doesn’t really promote the bus network and it doesn’t matter to TfL because they get subsidies and they can rely on revenue from other modes of Transport. The rest of the UK bus companies have to persuade customers to get on board and if the costs of running the service is rising, they will have to reduce the service or increase the prices. Why? Because everything is about money and we don’t get the money that London does.

(04 Apr 2020, 10:31 pm)Gonorth91 wrote China want to pay for all the damage they have done to this country bus company going bust nearly
Shops to ppl lost there jobs

(05 Apr 2020, 7:00 pm)gordondack wrote Can anyone translate?