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(10 Sep 2015, 6:39 pm)aureolin wrote I wonder what the X66 and 8/8A changes are. It'd be nice to have an 8/8A Sunday service. I hope the X66 stopping point change is to remove the depot stop, rather than add an additional stop.
You've got the Metro!
(10 Sep 2015, 6:42 pm)S813 FVK wrote The 8/8A has a route amendment. As it had one not too long ago, I was just trying to find stops along the route that don't get used and can be missed out by the bus taking a shortcut. The only one that i can think of is the Royal Hotel stop at Stanley. The buses could just continue around the roundabout and up to East Stanley without the faff. However, if that was the route amendment, an amendment for the 78/78A would have also gone in as the 78A serves that stop too.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:49 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Who knows? It may be a diversion to serve Beamish although it's probably the wrong time of year for that to happen. An amendment can be an addition as well as an omission or shortcut.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:39 pm)aureolin wrote I wonder what the X66 and 8/8A changes are. It'd be nice to have an 8/8A Sunday service. I hope the X66 stopping point change is to remove the depot stop, rather than add an additional stop.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:49 pm)DanPicken wrote Genius Sherlock... What about a Get Around that would've saved a lot of hassle.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:50 pm)S813 FVK wrote I know. I think the route is getting to the point now where if something is added, something will need to be removed for timekeeping.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:54 pm)aureolin wrote No problem, Baldrick. I guess that's the downfall of a transport system that offers very little integration, but that's a discussion for another day.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:56 pm)MurdnunoC wrote West Pelton maybe? Still has the 28/28A to Chester and I imagine crossing the A693 back and forth could cause a delay.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:49 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Who knows? It may be a diversion to serve Beamish although it's probably the wrong time of year for that to happen. An amendment can be an addition as well as an omission or shortcut.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:50 pm)S813 FVK wrote I know. I think the route is getting to the point now where if something is added, something will need to be removed for timekeeping.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:59 pm)S813 FVK wrote You got that one right haha! With the A693 being the main road from Chester-le-Street to Stanley, it gets a lot of users and buses can be there ages waiting to pull out.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:44 pm)S813 FVK wrote Keep checking VOSA! The Newcastle-Lanchester is a well valued service although i don't think many people would use the service between those 2 points. Id say the key journeys are between Lanchester and Stanley and then Stanley and Newcastle.
(10 Sep 2015, 7:07 pm)Arcticrossy92 wrote Yeah I agree, I use the 8:28 service from Lanchester to Newcastle 5 days a week, and most passengers get on at Stanley on that journey. On a evening I usually get a lift, the last direct X31 to Lanchester is 18:20 from Newcastle. If I ever get that service I'm usually the last person on (like tonight, a Ex London president operated that service) there isn't really a demand at all for it!
Sometimes I get the 21 to Durham around 20:00 from Eldon Square, and then get straight onto the 15 to Consett via Lanchester which is usually already parked up, so there is still a link around that time anyways!
(10 Sep 2015, 7:09 pm)S813 FVK wrote You would have had 6133 this morning then? Your bus passed 3830 on the 825 (On time for the first time this academic year!)
(10 Sep 2015, 7:03 pm)aureolin wrote The X12 timetable changes are a great example of that. It's heaving, which causes the delays, so what's the solution? Stop it serving a proportion of people that use it.
(10 Sep 2015, 6:39 pm)aureolin wrote I wonder what the X66 and 8/8A changes are. It'd be nice to have an 8/8A Sunday service. I hope the X66 stopping point change is to remove the depot stop, rather than add an additional stop.
You've got the Metro!
(10 Sep 2015, 6:52 pm)MurdnunoC wrote I believe I've discussed with you my feelings on that particular point.
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(10 Sep 2015, 7:29 pm)Andreos1 wrote I have often wondered how the Christmas crowds on a Streetlite, will impact on the late running of services from Gateshead.
Or, towards drivers being unable to get back to Riverside at the end of their shift.
(10 Sep 2015, 7:44 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I used to live in Gateshead so caught the X66 quite regularly, particularly when I worked near Rowlands Gill for a few months. To be honest, it's always been frequent enough that you don't even stop to think that it runs to a given timetable unless it's so badly delayed that 3 come at once. And that was without the handy little shortcut that some runs can take. Delays were always down to traffic, rather than the buses themselves so I can't see what problem having streetlites would cause. Yes there are single deckers that can carry a handful more passengers, but they cost more to run. In the entire history of the service, the bendy buses were relatively short lived and, I suspect, expensive to run half full.
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(10 Sep 2015, 7:44 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I used to live in Gateshead so caught the X66 quite regularly, particularly when I worked near Rowlands Gill for a few months. To be honest, it's always been frequent enough that you don't even stop to think that it runs to a given timetable unless it's so badly delayed that 3 come at once. And that was without the handy little shortcut that some runs can take. Delays were always down to traffic, rather than the buses themselves so I can't see what problem having streetlites would cause. Yes there are single deckers that can carry a handful more passengers, but they cost more to run. In the entire history of the service, the bendy buses were relatively short lived and, I suspect, expensive to run half full.
(10 Sep 2015, 7:44 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I used to live in Gateshead so caught the X66 quite regularly, particularly when I worked near Rowlands Gill for a few months. To be honest, it's always been frequent enough that you don't even stop to think that it runs to a given timetable unless it's so badly delayed that 3 come at once. And that was without the handy little shortcut that some runs can take. Delays were always down to traffic, rather than the buses themselves so I can't see what problem having streetlites would cause. Yes there are single deckers that can carry a handful more passengers, but they cost more to run. In the entire history of the service, the bendy buses were relatively short lived and, I suspect, expensive to run half full.
(10 Sep 2015, 7:29 pm)Andreos1 wrote I have often wondered how the Christmas crowds on a Streetlite, will impact on the late running of services from Gateshead.
Or, towards drivers being unable to get back to Riverside at the end of their shift.
(10 Sep 2015, 7:55 pm)MurdnunoC wrote I think what Andreos is trying to get at is how Gateshead-based duties will be affected if drivers using the X66 are somehow made late due to potential issues of overcapacity on a smaller vehicle.
(10 Sep 2015, 8:05 pm)aureolin wrote It's clearly been done as a cheap alternative to running a staff shuttle, like Deptford have for example. From what I understand, the Deptford staff shuttle is part of a rota, so they're having to pay a driver to drive it back and forth all day. From that perspective alone, they're probably saving about 40k-50k a year just from not running a Gateshead-Riverside shuttle.
I do agree that X66 festive loadings has the potential to cause problems for drivers trying to travel back to the depot, though I think it'll be something reviewed reactively, with a better solution put in place in the event of problems. I don't think I'd be too far out if I was to suggest that there'll be some sort of collective agreement in place for changeovers, and travel to/from Riverside anyway. It also works both ways remember, and a driver shouldn't be expected to eat into their break to allow for extra time to get back to Gateshead.
