(05 Jan 2018, 8:20 pm)Michael wrote Hopefully that sees the Omnicities move on to their new routes, or a spare role, like at Washington.

I think most will stay at Percy Main and cascade on to the 11 and 19, I think one will transfer to Stanley. I don't no how many ominicites are at Percy Main but whatever I think whatevers left will end up at Washington.

(05 Jan 2018, 9:15 pm)Ds1197 wrote I think most will stay at Percy Main and cascade on to the 11 and 19, I think one will transfer to Stanley. I don't no how many ominicites are at Percy Main but whatever I think whatevers left will end up at Washington.

The 3 Citaro's are leaving Washington, they'll be replaced by 4 Omnicities (1 extra is needed on the 5/50 from end of the month), leaves 13:


8 for the Blue Arrow
4? for the 19 

leaves 1 spare 

------------

however, i think the Eclipses will stay on the 19 and:

8 on Blue Arrow 
1 to Stanley 

Rest will stay be split as spares.

With 4 to Washington 

= 17

----


It also depends, if the 6/X70/X71 get the ex London B9's, then the X30/X31 keep the Omnicities, they'll be more Omnicities spare, which could move on the 19.

(05 Jan 2018, 9:25 pm)Michael wrote The 3 Citaro's are leaving Washington, they'll be replaced by 4 Omnicities (1 extra is needed on the 5/50 from end of the month), leaves 13:


8 for the Blue Arrow
4? for the 19 

leaves 1 spare 

------------

however, i think the Eclipses will stay on the 19 and:

8 on Blue Arrow 
1 to Stanley 

Rest will stay be split as spares.

With 4 to Washington 

= 17

----


It also depends, if the 6/X70/X71 get the ex London B9's, then the X30/X31 keep the Omnicities, they'll be more Omnicities spare, which could move on the 19.


----


Will Deptford gain at least 1 extra Citaro from Washington?

Doesn't the 6 interwork with the X31.....or at least the 6 I get from Newcastle arrives as an X31. So if the B9s from London do move to the 6 etc that's putting that plan up in the air.

(05 Jan 2018, 9:25 pm)Michael wrote The 3 Citaro's are leaving Washington, they'll be replaced by 4 Omnicities (1 extra is needed on the 5/50 from end of the month), leaves 13:


8 for the Blue Arrow
4? for the 19 

leaves 1 spare 

------------

however, i think the Eclipses will stay on the 19 and:

8 on Blue Arrow 
1 to Stanley 

Rest will stay be split as spares.

With 4 to Washington 

= 17

----


It also depends, if the 6/X70/X71 get the ex London B9's, then the X30/X31 keep the Omnicities, they'll be more Omnicities spare, which could move on the 19.


----


Will Deptford gain at least 1 extra Citaro from Washington?

Deptford is to get 5337 and 5338 so they will have 5292,5325,5337,5338,5438,5439,5479,5480 all spares

(05 Jan 2018, 10:12 pm)Citaro5326 wrote Deptford is to get 5337 and 5338 so they will have 5292,5325,5337,5338,5438,5439,5479,5480 all spares

That's not a bad selection of spares tbh

(05 Jan 2018, 7:05 pm)ne14ne1 wrote I was on an Gateshead bound service that was diverted via the Tyne Bridge. (It was a 21). Coming down the Bigg Market the NSAs had obviously announced the next stop was High Level Bridge North, however being on diversion and turning left onto Mosley St we never reached High Level Bridge North.
If it had been London, the clever iBus system would have been utilised to announce something on the lines of 'This bus is on diversion, please listen for further announcements'. Not being as intelligent though there was no such information given here, (and I didn't hear my driver announce the diversion either) - not great for blind/visually impaired or people unfamiliar with the route/area. Anyway I take it theres no option for our drivers to play pre-recorded announcements in such circumstances?
Is this because our announcements are linked to the destination selected and will only play recordings for that route?
(So if a bus diverts away from the route it'll just not play anything until the bus rejoins the usual route and the NSAs will suddenly catch up?)
I also wondered what happens when services to Newcastle are terminated early at Gateshead due to congestion in Newcastle etc. Is anything altered then or does the bus continue to announce it's going to Newcastle, or if the driver is aware of the short service before reaching Gateshead, is there Gateshead destination screens available & the relevant NSAs linked for those eventualities?

Just curious. Sorry for the hundred questions.  

As I understand it, a pre-programmed route of NSAs is triggered by GPS signals, so, if the vehicle doesn't reach that location, the NSA will not be triggered.
It is theoretically possible for ALL bus stops throughout the region (and, indeed, the whole of Britain) to be included (much like a standard SatNav) but the current system contains only a linear description of the route and has no facility for diversions (though regular diversions could conceivably be included).


Next generation NSAs maybe? - and work for Dan and his mates.

Having said that,the current system isn't foolproof and gliches can occur with stops being 'missed' - at least initially - with the system catching up later on the journey.

In case anyone is interested I've mapped out the route of the H1.

(06 Jan 2018, 12:34 am)Rapidsnap wrote In case anyone is interested I've mapped out the route of the H1.

Just wondering if this bus observes all stops on route

(06 Jan 2018, 1:10 am)Northern4555 wrote Just wondering if this bus observes all stops on route

according to traveline timetable it does.

(05 Jan 2018, 7:05 pm)ne14ne1 wrote I was on an Gateshead bound service that was diverted via the Tyne Bridge. (It was a 21). Coming down the Bigg Market the NSAs had obviously announced the next stop was High Level Bridge North, however being on diversion and turning left onto Mosley St we never reached High Level Bridge North.
If it had been London, the clever iBus system would have been utilised to announce something on the lines of 'This bus is on diversion, please listen for further announcements'. Not being as intelligent though there was no such information given here, (and I didn't hear my driver announce the diversion either) - not great for blind/visually impaired or people unfamiliar with the route/area. Anyway I take it theres no option for our drivers to play pre-recorded announcements in such circumstances?
Is this because our announcements are linked to the destination selected and will only play recordings for that route?
(So if a bus diverts away from the route it'll just not play anything until the bus rejoins the usual route and the NSAs will suddenly catch up?)
I also wondered what happens when services to Newcastle are terminated early at Gateshead due to congestion in Newcastle etc. Is anything altered then or does the bus continue to announce it's going to Newcastle, or if the driver is aware of the short service before reaching Gateshead, is there Gateshead destination screens available & the relevant NSAs linked for those eventualities?

Just curious. Sorry for the hundred questions.  

(05 Jan 2018, 11:59 pm)G-CPTN wrote As I understand it, a pre-programmed route of NSAs is triggered by GPS signals, so, if the vehicle doesn't reach that location, the NSA will not be triggered.
It is theoretically possible for ALL bus stops throughout the region (and, indeed, the whole of Britain) to be included (much like a standard SatNav) but the current system contains only a linear description of the route and has no facility for diversions (though regular diversions could conceivably be included).

Next generation NSAs maybe? - and work for Dan and his mates.

Having said that,the current system isn't foolproof and gliches can occur with stops being 'missed' - at least initially - with the system catching up later on the journey.

The iBus system is great, and the customer experience in a bus in London is completely different to any bus elsewhere fitted with Next Stop Announcements. It's a really clever system, and the equivalent systems used by operators in the North East and beyond will never be quite as sophisticated.

You're right in suggesting that, unlike the iBus system, the announcements on buses in the North East will only play recordings relevant to the route which has been selected by the driver on the destination controller. So yes, the bus will just show the stop which it should have next reached, until it reaches another stop on the route which is recognised in the programme for that service. Go North East's buses are also set to show a generic message/slide after a period of time without seeing a bus stop the system recognises.

Most services which usually terminate in Newcastle have the option of setting the destination as Gateshead as an alternative. Of course there are regular announcements which say "This is the xxx service to yyy", which would hopefully reiterate to customers that the service is not terminating in Newcastle as it usually does. As well as this, there is also a pre-recorded "transferring passengers" announcement. This plays a recording advising passengers that the bus will terminate early in order to allow the service to make up time and to change at the next bus stop and transfer to another bus, also apologising for the inconvenience. The destination shows Not in Service publicly, so should be selected immediately before reaching the point at which the bus is going to be regulated at.

How Go North East utilise the system is more or less the system at its limit, as the technology currently stands. The only other thing Go North East could do is show connections to rail stations and Airports (showing scheduled or real-time departures). It works based on having a connection to the Wi-Fi on the bus - Lothian Buses do it on their new Skylink and Airlink buses - but the computer sitting behind the scenes only has so much memory. The more you add, the slower the system will load, and the more problems the system is likely to incur. Go North East's 'bank' of programmed journeys sits at around 500 now - the first time the media is loaded, it takes around 30 minutes to load to the bus.

Two of the new 63XX at Saltmeadows at 0800 this morning. Unable to identify as no registration plates.

(06 Jan 2018, 10:03 am)misfit wrote Two of the new 63XX at Saltmeadows at 0800 this morning. Unable to identify as no registration plates.

6327 and 6328 are outside - delivered between Christmas and New Year.
6329 is inside, being branded today.

Another Coaster should be branded today - 6063 off memory, but may be wrong on that one.

(06 Jan 2018, 10:00 am)Dan wrote The iBus system is great, and the customer experience in a bus in London is completely different to any bus elsewhere fitted with Next Stop Announcements. It's a really clever system, and the equivalent systems used by operators in the North East and beyond will never be quite as sophisticated.

You're right in suggesting that, unlike the iBus system, the announcements on buses in the North East will only play recordings relevant to the route which has been selected by the driver on the destination controller. So yes, the bus will just show the stop which it should have next reached, until it reaches another stop on the route which is recognised in the programme for that service. Go North East's buses are also set to show a generic message/slide after a period of time without seeing a bus stop the system recognises.

Most services which usually terminate in Newcastle have the option of setting the destination as Gateshead as an alternative. Of course there are regular announcements which say "This is the xxx service to yyy", which would hopefully reiterate to customers that the service is not terminating in Newcastle as it usually does. As well as this, there is also a pre-recorded "transferring passengers" announcement. This plays a recording advising passengers that the bus will terminate early in order to allow the service to make up time and to change at the next bus stop and transfer to another bus, also apologising for the inconvenience. The destination shows Not in Service publicly, so should be selected immediately before reaching the point at which the bus is going to be regulated at.

How Go North East utilise the system is more or less the system at its limit, as the technology currently stands. The only other thing Go North East could do is show connections to rail stations and Airports (showing scheduled or real-time departures). It works based on having a connection to the Wi-Fi on the bus - Lothian Buses do it on their new Skylink and Airlink buses - but the computer sitting behind the scenes only has so much memory. The more you add, the slower the system will load, and the more problems the system is likely to incur. Go North East's 'bank' of programmed journeys sits at around 500 now - the first time the media is loaded, it takes around 30 minutes to load to the bus.

Ah I see. Thanks for the info Dan.

On a slightly different note have you noticed quite a lot of Angel21 drivers bound for Newcastle Eldon Sq change their destination too early for the return journey? Fairly often we haven't reached Blackett St and the bus suddenly says its heading to Durham or Chester-le-St. One of the buses I was on last week hadn't even reached Newcastle! The driver must have changed the destination as we were going over the Tyne Bridge. Any blind/partially sighted people or tourists must be left slightly panicked wondering what happened to Newcastle John Dobson St, Blackett St and Eldon Sq Bus Station!
I realise the drivers probably are thinking I'll do it now while I remember, or, so Durham/Chester-le-St is displayed for approaching the Eldon Sq bus stand, but I don't think the destination & 'This is an Angel 21 service, to [Durham/Chester.]' announcement should be heard/seen until maybe the lights on Percy St, waiting to turn right onto the bus station approach. I should probably email this suggestion to GNE actually. 

(06 Jan 2018, 12:34 am)Rapidsnap wrote In case anyone is interested I've mapped out the route of the H1.

I haven't been on the road behind Monkton Business Park for a long time. If the railway bridge is still as it was, that will be fun!

Fancy doing a map showing the 88 route for comparison?

(06 Jan 2018, 10:24 am)Dan wrote 6327 and 6328 are outside - delivered between Christmas and New Year.
6329 is inside, being branded today.

Another Coaster should be branded today - 6063 off memory, but may be wrong on that one.

How long does it take SM to brand a bus?

(06 Jan 2018, 10:24 am)Dan wrote 6327 and 6328 are outside - delivered between Christmas and New Year.
6329 is inside, being branded today.

Another Coaster should be branded today - 6063 off memory, but may be wrong on that one.

6063 has already been branded according to the news.

When will the 2 Euro 6 baby Solo's arrive for the Cathedral bus in Durham?, as it part of the Contract to provide Euro 6 buses on the route(s), will a spare also be ordered?

(06 Jan 2018, 11:07 am)Andreos1 wrote Fancy doing a map showing the 88 route for comparison?

That's the relevant bit from Lukes Lane to the hospital anyway (minus the bus gate across John Reid Rd which Google doesn't know exists)

(06 Jan 2018, 5:12 pm)MrBoyt wrote That's the relevant bit from Lukes Lane to the hospital anyway (minus the bus gate across John Reid Rd which Google doesn't know exists)

Cheers. Appreciate it.
Going to have to work out which buses will use the bus gate now. Another example of partnership scheme that has used taxpayers money until it suits?
The other local bus gate (at Wardley) is another example.

In the Bus Changes thread, one of th documents I uploaded last week contains a map showing how much of the population are able to use the 88/88A when visiting the hospital.
Keen to see a comparison once the upcoming changes come in to play.

6063 was on 327 fully done with 6062 at riverside for Psv I believe

(06 Jan 2018, 8:00 pm)Citaro5326 wrote 6063 was on 327 fully done with 6062 at riverside for Psv I believe

6062 is at Riverside to be taken out for NSA testing tomorrow, as mentioned previously.

Will join the others at Percy Main after testing is complete tomorrow.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Is it true Toonlink will be dropped and 6, x30/1, x70/1 will be re branded and are to receive new buses. Heard this maybe B9TL deckers and stretlites or possibly Citaros re-assigned for 6 (previously Diamond from Stanley to Newcastle. ) Swift name may return for Express services X30/X70 range with Kite style graphics but based on a Swift. Service 6 (Toonlink presently) to become Newcastle Diamond or Diamond with Durham Diamond also becoming "Diamond" deleting Durham reference so all buses are branded similarly.

(06 Jan 2018, 12:55 pm)Michael wrote When will the 2 Euro 6 baby Solo's arrive for the Cathedral bus in Durham?, as it part of the Contract to provide Euro 6 buses on the route(s), will a spare also be ordered?

Optare quoting June for delivery, but might come sooner.

A third similar bus has been ordered for the CLS Town Service, which will act as the spare, although the contract allows a Euro 5 bus to be used in the event that Euro 6 aren't available.

---

(05 Jan 2018, 9:25 pm)Michael wrote The 3 Citaro's are leaving Washington, they'll be replaced by 4 Omnicities (1 extra is needed on the 5/50 from end of the month), leaves 13:


8 for the Blue Arrow
4? for the 19 

leaves 1 spare 

------------

however, i think the Eclipses will stay on the 19 and:

8 on Blue Arrow 
1 to Stanley 

Rest will stay be split as spares.

With 4 to Washington 

= 17

----


It also depends, if the 6/X70/X71 get the ex London B9's, then the X30/X31 keep the Omnicities, they'll be more Omnicities spare, which could move on the 19.


----


Will Deptford gain at least 1 extra Citaro from Washington?

The Volvo B7RLE are remaining at Percy Main for the 19.

(06 Jan 2018, 9:55 pm)busmanT wrote Optare quoting June for delivery, but might come sooner.

A third similar bus has been ordered for the CLS Town Service, which will act as the spare, although the contract allows a Euro 5 bus to be used in the event that Euro 6 aren't available.

---

The Volvo B7RLE are remaining at Percy Main for the 19.

Thanks for the info BusmanT,  it's good that a Euro 5 bus can be used if a Euro 6 bus isn't available.


Not surprised the Volvo B7RLE's are stopping on the 19, that was a lucky guess.

----
Then i would guess the Omnicities:


8 to Blue Arrow
3 remain at Percy Main as spares.
2 to Stanley
4 to Washington

(06 Jan 2018, 6:44 pm)Andreos1 wrote Cheers. Appreciate it.
Going to have to work out which buses will use the bus gate now...

Just the 88/26 and the Stagecoach 18. Of course it was closed for a week or so back in October and we had to divert back up John Reid Road and the A194 to the Tesco, and then turn down Henderson Road. Not helpful for timekeeping.

,’

(06 Jan 2018, 10:44 pm)MrBoyt wrote Just the 88/26 and the Stagecoach 18. Of course it was closed for a week or so back in October and we had to divert back up John Reid Road and the A194 to the Tesco, and then turn down Henderson Road. Not helpful for timekeeping.

What services will the new drivers at Riverside be deployed onto now, when the 88’s are withdrawn at the end of the month?

(07 Jan 2018, 12:28 am)thetravelman wrote ,’


What services will the new drivers at Riverside be deployed onto now, when the 88’s are withdrawn at the end of the month?

Prob onto one of the other "short" Versa routes like the 67 / 69 / Q1 / Q2 / Q3. Prob the Nexus Bus routes too.

(06 Jan 2018, 10:24 am)Dan wrote 6327 and 6328 are outside - delivered between Christmas and New Year.
6329 is inside, being branded today.

Another Coaster should be branded today - 6063 off memory, but may be wrong on that one.

(06 Jan 2018, 11:38 am)Tom wrote 6063 has already been branded according to the news.

It was 6064 (I was close!)

6061 branded 15/12/2017, 6056 18/12/2017, 6060 and 6063 between Christmas and New Year, 6062 on 04/01/2018 and 6064 yesterday.
6066 should be branded on Monday, following repaint this week, along with another Angel double-deck.

(06 Jan 2018, 11:16 am)Michael wrote How long does it take SM to brand a bus?

Saltmeadows Road don't fit the vinyls to branded buses, just the small amount of vinyl on buses in fleet livery.

An external company, local to us based in Pelaw, fit the vinyls to branded buses - they received a small mention on the Daft as a Brush livery, as they designed the livery and fitted the vinyls together in partnership with Go North East and Daft as a Brush. The designs are usually done by another local company whose portfolio contains a lot of work for Disney, Nickelodeon and Coca Cola, based near the Tyne Bridge.

The length of time it takes to fit the vinyls depends on how detailed the design is, and how many fiddley bits there are! The recent Angel double-decks also contain more vinyl inside (covering the two back windows, and a blue sky vinyl along the upper-deck ceiling) which adds to the time. I would expect that the team of fitters would have been at Saltmeadows for around 10-12 hours to fit an Angel and a Coaster yesterday.

(07 Jan 2018, 12:28 am)thetravelman wrote ,’


What services will the new drivers at Riverside be deployed onto now, when the 88’s are withdrawn at the end of the month?

Possibly Metrocentre Mini, as per service changes thread these are moving from Stanley to Riverside from 28 January.

(07 Jan 2018, 7:30 am)Dan wrote It was 6064 (I was close!)

6061 branded 15/12/2017, 6056 18/12/2017, 6060 and 6063 between Christmas and New Year, 6062 on 04/01/2018 and 6064 yesterday.
6066 should be branded on Monday, following repaint this week, along with another Angel double-deck.



Saltmeadows Road don't fit the vinyls to branded buses, just the small amount of vinyl on buses in fleet livery.

An external company, local to us based in Pelaw, fit the vinyls to branded buses - they received a small mention on the Daft as a Brush livery, as they designed the livery and fitted the vinyls together in partnership with Go North East and Daft as a Brush. The designs are usually done by another local company whose portfolio contains a lot of work for Disney, Nickelodeon and Coca Cola, based near the Tyne Bridge.

The length of time it takes to fit the vinyls depends on how detailed the design is, and how many fiddley bits there are! The recent Angel double-decks also contain more vinyl inside (covering the two back windows, and a blue sky vinyl along the upper-deck ceiling) which adds to the time. I would expect that the team of fitters would have been at Saltmeadows for around 10-12 hours to fit an Angel and a Coaster yesterday.

Getting through them quickly then! Hopefully they will be out on the 1 soon.