(21 May 2018, 6:50 pm)Andreos1 wrote One for Scott. When it makes millions, just remember where the idea came from

Operating on market days only: Darlington - Stockton via Great Stainton, Bishopton and Carlton then on to N Tees and current route as variation of existing Stillington runs.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday connecting outlying villages to the two major towns in the area.

Funny you mention this, a thought that I had the other day was merging the 88 with the Scarlet Band 20 route to create one through Darlington - Stockton route to open up more links to the likes of Longnewton and Sadberge (maybe even restore a bus service to Brafferton?), although it may be a struggle to fit in a decent number of journeys on the service if it interworked around college contracts, also it would no longer run to Yarm and also no longer run between Darlington and Neasham.

Darlington market ain't what it once was though, even from when I was a bairn.

(21 May 2018, 7:16 pm)Jimmi wrote Funny you mention this, a thought that I had the other day was merging the 88 with the Scarlet Band 20 route to create one through Darlington - Stockton route to open up more links to the likes of Longnewton and Sadberge (maybe even restore a bus service to Brafferton?), although it may be a struggle to fit in a decent number of journeys on the service if it interworked around college contracts, also it would no longer run to Yarm and also no longer run between Darlington and Neasham.

Darlington market ain't what it once was though, even from when I was a bairn.

I forgot about the Scarlet Band 20 to be honest.

I think a couple of journeys a day would probably suffice. Couple in the morning/afternoon in each direction.
The idea of extending the X8 was to supplement the short runs, but it would need an increase to the PVR - which may or may not be sustainable.

(21 May 2018, 8:03 pm)Andreos1 wrote I forgot about the Scarlet Band 20 to be honest.

I think a couple of journeys a day would probably suffice. Couple in the morning/afternoon in each direction.
The idea of extending the X8 was to supplement the short runs, but it would need an increase to the PVR - which may or may not be sustainable.

It's interesting to see our services get a bit of discussion! Sadly the funding for service 88 runs out in September at the moment. I'd like to see more funding for rural services that link up our long forgotten villages but sadly it doesn't look like there will be any forthcoming as none of the £59m "Transforming Cities" fund can be used for bus services apparently.
I'd be reluctant to do anything dependent on day of the week with our X8 though as that's a strong commercial service on its own now. The latest change to the timetable was requested by our partners at Teesside Park to better align with their staff shift times, and we added a college bus into the middle of the day to offer a half hourly frequency during the main shopping hours. It's going well but I've already identified some tweaks required to the timings.

(21 May 2018, 7:16 pm)Jimmi wrote Funny you mention this, a thought that I had the other day was merging the 88 with the Scarlet Band 20 route to create one through Darlington - Stockton route to open up more links to the likes of Longnewton and Sadberge (maybe even restore a bus service to Brafferton?), although it may be a struggle to fit in a decent number of journeys on the service if it interworked around college contracts, also it would no longer run to Yarm and also no longer run between Darlington and Neasham.

Darlington market ain't what it once was though, even from when I was a bairn.

That would mean neighboring councils co-ordinating. We can't have that! Bring back Cleveland County!

Does the X56 college service have dead mileage at both ends? Seems odd that Stagecarriage has been able to win this contract rather than a Whitby operator.

(24 May 2018, 7:23 am)tvd wrote Does the X56 college service have dead mileage at both ends?  Seems odd that Stagecarriage has been able to win this contract rather than a Whitby operator.

Probably an 'unregistered' operating centre (i.e someone's driveway...).

I'm sure the DVSA will find out one day.

(26 May 2018, 9:58 pm)RobinHood wrote Probably an 'unregistered' operating centre (i.e someone's driveway...).

I'm sure the DVSA will find out one day.

The coach is based at our depot in Grangetown but it does often stay overnight down in Whitby to save on dead mileage.

PB1118065/23 Registered
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Stockton High Street, Stand E to North Tees Hospital Grounds
Service number: 6
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 03 Sep 2018


PB1118065/21 Registered
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Stillington to James Cook Hospital Grounds
Service number: X8
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 03 Sep 2018

loads of school services canceled.

(24 Jul 2018, 6:26 pm)Michael wrote PB1118065/23 Registered
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Stockton High Street, Stand E to North Tees Hospital Grounds
Service number: 6
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 03 Sep 2018


PB1118065/21 Registered
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Stillington to James Cook Hospital Grounds
Service number: X8
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 03 Sep 2018

loads of school services canceled.

Don't worry they've all been re-registered with different numbers & routes

The 6 is just minor timetable changes to take account of changes to the X8 which will now (hopefully!) extend to James Cook Hospital bus terminus hourly through the day.

(25 Jul 2018, 2:00 pm)tyresmoke wrote Don't worry they've all been re-registered with different numbers & routes

The 6 is just minor timetable changes to take account of changes to the X8 which will now (hopefully!) extend to James Cook Hospital bus terminus hourly through the day.

Confirmed now by Stagecarriage..

We've had our busiest day ever on our X8 buses today with well over 500 passengers in one day - it's great to see so many happy people using the services!

We've got some great news for you too... from Monday 3rd September our X8 buses will extend from Middlesbrough to James Cook Hospital once an hour, running via North Ormesby and Longlands giving direct links to the hospital from Stockton, North Tees Hospital and Stillington!
What's even better is our buses will operate directly into the hospital grounds, dropping you right outside the door.

Watch out for the new timetables available soon

(01 Aug 2018, 8:37 pm)Michael wrote Confirmed now by Stagecarriage..

We've had our busiest day ever on our X8 buses today with well over 500 passengers in one day - it's great to see so many happy people using the services!

We've got some great news for you too... from Monday 3rd September our X8 buses will extend from Middlesbrough to James Cook Hospital once an hour, running via North Ormesby and Longlands giving direct links to the hospital from Stockton, North Tees Hospital and Stillington!
What's even better is our buses will operate directly into the hospital grounds, dropping you right outside the door.

Watch out for the new timetables available soon

Isnt the X8 three buses? Still sounds very poorly used. I hope they have success with James Cook Hospital, but worry that it will fall foul of the same problems that plauged the 37 and X6 when they went in. Peak times, you simply couldnt get out of the grounds!

I think Stagecoach are also running via Longlands again from September, which means 5 buses per hour where the 28/28A currently run on their own. I wonder if Arriva will react? Although they tend to make changes in July and February.

(01 Aug 2018, 8:46 pm)RobinHood wrote Isnt the X8 three buses? Still sounds very poorly used. I hope they have success with James Cook Hospital, but worry that it will fall foul of the same problems that plauged the 37 and X6 when they went in. Peak times, you simply couldnt get out of the grounds!

I think Stagecoach are also running via Longlands again from September, which means 5 buses per hour where the 28/28A currently run on their own. I wonder if Arriva will react? Although they tend to make changes in July and February.

The 10 used to run that way anyway. The X8 uses 4 buses, though two interwork with the 6.

(02 Aug 2018, 11:21 am)Cock Robin wrote The 10 used to run that way anyway. The X8 uses 4 buses, though two interwork with the 6.

They also interwork with various schools and college services. From September it’ll be 5 on the circuit but again with a fair few schools included which helps to boost the revenue even higher.

Currently on loan to Stagecarriage is A-Line Coaches' Volvo B10BLE / Wright Renown - X922 WGR.
A-Line Coaches: 922 / X922WGR by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

Volvo B10M / Van Hool Alizee - RNZ 1201 put in an unusual appearance on the 88 on Wednesday.
Stagecarriage: RNZ1201 by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

As confirmed on 'TM Travel Enthusiasts' Facebook Group, VDL SB120/Plaxton Centre YJ56JYA and YJ07JWU have been purchased by Stagecarriage.

TM Travel 0796 (YJ56 JYA) by Tony Kuy, on Flickr
TM Travel 0800 (YJ07 JWU) by Tony Kuy, on Flickr

Goodbye 88 at the end of October after just less than 4 years

PB1118065/14 Cancelled
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: YARM TOWN HALL to STOCKTON HIGH STREET
Service number: 77
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 30 Oct 2018

(17 Sep 2018, 3:59 pm)Kuyoyo wrote Goodbye 88 at the end of October after just less than 4 years

PB1118065/14 Cancelled
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: YARM TOWN HALL to STOCKTON HIGH STREET
Service number: 77
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 30 Oct 2018

Such a shame that it's not quite commercially viable to continue running it once the funding runs out. I'm lead to believe it will be replaced with a council minibus running to the same schedule, so at least the service will continue.

Would a service from easingwold to Teesside park work only way to that village now is by train and people in easingwold can only go to York I think if their was bus service to take them Teesside it would get used alot gives people more choice where to go and would be a great service for stagecarriage to run expand the Teesside park service more

(05 Oct 2018, 4:48 pm)jimmoc wrote Would a service from easingwold to Teesside park work only way to that village now is by train and people in easingwold can only go to York I think if their was bus service to take them Teesside it would get used alot gives people more choice where to go and would be a great service for stagecarriage to run expand the Teesside park service more

Think you could have some difficulty getting to Easingword by train. According to Wikipedia (always a valuable source of information ), it'll be 70 years next month that a passenger train last served the town. The bus service on the other hand is fairly good for a small North Yorkshire market town. Theres hourly links a couple of other towns such as Sutton, Helmsley and Thirsk. And of course there's up to 4 buses per hour to York. I'll be honest, If I was rich enough to live in Easingwold, going to Teesside Park or anywhere near Middlesbrough wouldn't enter my head for a second. Seriously, think about it... York or Teesside Park?

(05 Oct 2018, 8:01 pm)tcts24 wrote Think you could have some difficulty getting to Easingword by train. According to Wikipedia (always a valuable source of information ), it'll be 70 years next month that a passenger train last served the town. The bus service on the other hand is fairly good for a small North Yorkshire market town. Theres hourly links a couple of other towns such as Sutton, Helmsley and Thirsk. And of course there's up to 4 buses per hour to York. I'll be honest, If I was rich enough to live in Easingwold, going to Teesside Park or anywhere near Middlesbrough wouldn't enter my head for a second. Seriously, think about it... York or Teesside Park?

Yeah you got a good point rather go to York then Teesside

Can Double Deckers be used on the full X8 journeys from James Cook Hospital to Stillington?

Yes they certainly can. Several have been used (including the Neoplan once or twice back in the day!).

Public Inquiry (77760) to be held at Hillcrest House (Leeds), LS9 6NF, 386 Harehills Lane,
LEEDS, on 23 October 2018 commencing at 10:00
PB1118065 SN
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Director(s): WAYNE IAN BROWN, JOHNATHON ATKIN
STAGECARRIAGE LTD, LEE ROAD, MIDDLESBROUGH, TS6 7AR
S17 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 17 (The Public Passenger
Vehicles Act 1981)
S28 - Consideration of disciplinary action under Section 28 (The Transport Act 1985)
Sch.3 - Consideration of Transport Managers Repute under Schedule 3 (The Public
Passenger Vehicles Act 1981)

A coach on long X8s today!

Anyone seen the X8 branded Citaro on the X8 recently? Is it back from maintenance?

(01 Jan 2019, 1:02 pm)SnarledComic1 wrote Anyone seen the X8 branded Citaro on the X8 recently? Is it back from maintenance?

It's still off the road at the moment, I had it out on a test run before Christmas but it's still not ready.

Is it also the same story with the VAMOOZ Omnidekka? Haven’t seen that in ages either.

Yes I understand that is off the road. And the Solo. The open top Bristol VR has been sold.

PB1118065/23 Cancelled
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Stockton High Street, Stand E to North Tees Hospital Grounds
Service number: 6 ()
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 17 Feb 2019

PB1118065/22 Cancelled
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Norton, Norton Avenue/Grassholm Road to Northfield School
Service number: 986 ()
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 17 Feb 2019

PB1118065/43 Registered
STAGECARRIAGE LIMITED
Route: Middlesbrough Bus Station to Owington Farm via Teeside Park, Stockton, Norton, Billingham
Service number: X7 (X7S)
Service type: Normal Stopping
Effective date: 17 Feb 2019