(08 Aug 2019, 1:35 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Since that seems to have killed this completely, I guess we'll go back to having a discussion.

I remember Martijn tweeting a while back along the lines of "you've seen nothing yet" regarding the interiors of the new buses.

GNE interiors are already pretty nice, so I do wonder what they could do to make it better. The only things I can think of would be changing the seats for something a bit more padded, not to say they're uncomfortable at the minute, I regularly do 2 hour journeys on them without any issue. Having said that, when I tried out the refurbished B9s, I did find the seats rather uncomfortable. Speaking of the B9s, I'd guess they'll be adding the wireless charging (although in my experience it charged so slow that my battery actually went down).

One thing I would actually quite like is blinds, especially on the X21 since it spends most of it's journey going north/south, the side of my head is always burning.

And is there a reason why the front seats upstairs don't have a table? It seems like there's plenty of room to put in a table

Since Dan is a self-confessed 'direct line to GNE's Commercial Team', maybe he can chime in ?

Believe Martijn was referring to the internal vinyls that have been applied. Pictures are on Dan's Flickr. Only changes to X21 will be rebrand to Xlines

(06 Aug 2019, 9:16 pm)Dan wrote To be fair, I do think there's some substance in the view that this thread has become a Q&A thread with very little discussion as we had in the past (and that's probably my fault for answering the questions, I hold my hands up there!)

Go back five years and the quality of our discussions and debate were much better, with far greater participation, don't you think? This good quality discussion is still taking place elsewhere (even on groups which are incredibly militant) and it's probably because answers aren't being given, it's left for everyone to debate and discuss.

I don't think the posts were reported as being offensive etc (which is why they weren't moderated), more so that this thread probably wasn't ever intended to be a direct line to GNE's Commercial Team and there's a customer services team to help with those things.

Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk

I thought long and hard about my response and at the risk of it being reported, I decided to tone it down somewhat.

Regardless of whether the amount and quality of discussion has dropped over the years, I still don't get why posts like the ones you mention would be reported.

If someone doesn't like a question or a comment, then all they need to do is ignore it and maybe read 'the reporting posts guidance' that Liam posted at the hight of 'fleetlistgate'.

I would love to engage in a good debate/discussion and I am waiting with baited breath for some of the old guard and eezypeazy to make a return. My baths just haven't been the same since the days of the QCS debates!

I firmly believe that the discussion of old, is what made the forum. It is disappointing to see (in the main), it splutter along like it does.

Getting back on topic however, I firmly believe the NSA's aren't being used to their full potential.

I was chuffed to get on a corporate Merc on the X20 a few weeks back and it play the required NSA's for that service.

However, I would love to see improvements made when long term or regular closures are in place and for the NSA's to start achieving their potential.

(08 Aug 2019, 3:13 pm)JP6004 wrote

Believe Martijn was referring to the internal vinyls that have been applied. Pictures are on Dan's Flickr. Only changes to X21 will be rebrand to Xlines

He might well have been, it was a while ago and I can't be bothered to spend ages digging through his Twitter to find out the exact context ?

I'm aware that they aren't going to do anything to the X21, I was just putting some ideas out there.

I do hope they don't do full height cove vinyls on the Streetlites though, Arriva's look ridiculous

(08 Aug 2019, 3:32 pm)Andreos1 wrote

Getting back on topic however, I firmly believe the NSA's aren't being used to their full potential.

I was chuffed to get on a corporate Merc on the X20 a few weeks back and it play the required NSA's for that service.

However, I would love to see improvements made when long term or regular closures are in place and for the NSA's to start achieving their potential.

When the 49 I was on got diverted (and by that I mean the driver forgot he was driving the 49 and went along Askew Road West, but the principle is the same), the NSAs just stopped announcing until we got back onto Derwentwater Road and caught straight back up, which I thought was quite good.

You would think it would be relatively simple to easily modify the route on the NSA, but they always seem to make the technology more complicated than it needs to be (the cynic in me thinks they do that so they can charge more for 'support')

(08 Aug 2019, 3:57 pm)streetdeckfan wrote

He might well have been, it was a while ago and I can't be bothered to spend ages digging through his Twitter to find out the exact context ?

I'm aware that they aren't going to do anything to the X21, I was just putting some ideas out there.

I do hope they don't do full height cove vinyls on the Streetlites though, Arriva's look ridiculous

The vinyls on the staircase and the cove panels look great. It was only the other day they were posted so should be too far down. I think you'll be surprised at the extent they've gone to. Im sure they will have something sorted for the streetlites

(08 Aug 2019, 4:00 pm)JP6004 wrote

The vinyls on the staircase and the cove panels look great. It was only the other day they were posted so should be too far down. I think you'll be surprised at the extent they've gone to. Im sure they will have something sorted for the streetlites

I've seen what they've done on the Cobalts and it looks alright, I'm personally not a fan of the big vinyl on the staircase though. I much prefer the minimalist design

Arriva did the same on some of their deckers and I wasn't a fan of theirs either. I will give them credit for the amount of effort they put into the theming, even if they didn't put the blue sky vinyls on the ceiling like they did on the Streetdecks! (Maybe they thought the blue sky wouldn't fit the beach theme and couldn't find it with thunderstorms on!)

With the Streetlites, what I was referring to was because the coves are so tall, I just hope they don't stretch the vinyls to the full height like Arriva did

A Fab 56 B9 was involved in a crash tonight near the Beacon Of Light in Sunderland

https://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/crim...and-489189

5247 back from repaint: https://www.flickr.com/photos/142814434@...ed-public/

I agree that some NSA's could be used more effectively.  We live in a very diverse part of the country with lots of points of interest which a lot of people know little about.

For example, on the Red Kite you could have something like:-

"The next stop is Winlaton Mill.  Alight here for the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre and Derwentheugh Park"

"The next stop is Rowlands Gill.  Get off here to visit Gibside Chapel and Grounds."

"The next stop is Forge lane.  Alight here to visit the historic Dovecote Steel Furnace - the first steel furnace in the world"

Which other services could benefit from PoI's added to the NSA's?

(09 Aug 2019, 9:57 am)R852 PRG wrote 5247 back from repaint: https://www.flickr.com/photos/142814434@...ed-public/

Yes they will be kept busy over next few months

---

(09 Aug 2019, 10:15 am)grandad wrote

I agree that some NSA's could be used more effectively.  We live in a very diverse part of the country with lots of points of interest which a lot of people know little about.

For example, on the Red Kite you could have something like:-

"The next stop is Winlaton Mill.  Alight here for the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre and Derwentheugh Park"

"The next stop is Rowlands Gill.  Get off here to visit Gibside Chapel and Grounds."

"The next stop is Forge lane.  Alight here to visit the historic Dovecote Steel Furnace - the first steel furnace in the world"

Which other services could benefit from PoI's added to the NSA's?

St Nicholas Street - Alright here for the Vampire Rabbit of Newcastle

(09 Aug 2019, 10:15 am)grandad wrote

I agree that some NSA's could be used more effectively.  We live in a very diverse part of the country with lots of points of interest which a lot of people know little about.

For example, on the Red Kite you could have something like:-

"The next stop is Winlaton Mill.  Alight here for the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre and Derwentheugh Park"

"The next stop is Rowlands Gill.  Get off here to visit Gibside Chapel and Grounds."

"The next stop is Forge lane.  Alight here to visit the historic Dovecote Steel Furnace - the first steel furnace in the world"

Which other services could benefit from PoI's added to the NSA's?

I mean, it would certainly be on brand if the X21 actually told you where to get if if you wanted to see some Castles!

The only issue with that would be regular passengers might get a bit sick of it.

Will more Omnidekka's be transferred from B&H for the renewal of the majority of scholars contracts?

(09 Aug 2019, 10:15 am)grandad wrote

I agree that some NSA's could be used more effectively.  We live in a very diverse part of the country with lots of points of interest which a lot of people know little about.

For example, on the Red Kite you could have something like:-

"The next stop is Winlaton Mill.  Alight here for the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre and Derwentheugh Park"

"The next stop is Rowlands Gill.  Get off here to visit Gibside Chapel and Grounds."

"The next stop is Forge lane.  Alight here to visit the historic Dovecote Steel Furnace - the first steel furnace in the world"

Which other services could benefit from PoI's added to the NSA's?

Would that work on all routes or just certain ones?

Washington F Put is probably a niche market, but I could see it working in other areas.

I think the priority is to let people know about road closures, that are going to affect them - however nice the other ideas are.

Blackett St in the town is one to jump out, in addition to the long-term works on Chester Road at Bournmoor and the regular closures at Testo's. Amongst many others.

(09 Aug 2019, 12:56 pm)Andreos1 wrote

Blackett St in the town is one to jump out, in addition to the long-term works on Chester Road at Bournmoor and the regular closures at Testo's. Amongst many others.

Last summer when Blackett Street was closed each weekend in summer, Go North East amended their Next Stop Announcements on service 21, advising passengers that the next available stop would be St. Mary's Place. It was given as an alternative destination for drivers to use, so that the normal route could still be announced during the week.

Obviously Blackett Street doesn't affect Go North East nowadays - only really affects Stagecoach, who don't provide Next Stop Announcements on their buses (yet) anyway.

(09 Aug 2019, 1:29 pm)Dan wrote

Last summer when Blackett Street was closed each weekend in summer, Go North East amended their Next Stop Announcements on service 21, advising passengers that the next available stop would be St. Mary's Place. It was given as an alternative destination for drivers to use, so that the normal route could still be announced during the week.

Obviously Blackett Street doesn't affect Go North East nowadays - only really affects Stagecoach, who don't provide Next Stop Announcements on their buses (yet) anyway.

My bad. Forgot about Blackett St, but hopefully you get the gist.

The fact it was temporarily rolled out on the 21 last summer, really emphasises the ability to do it for other services that are affected by closures.

(09 Aug 2019, 10:15 am)grandad wrote

I agree that some NSA's could be used more effectively.  We live in a very diverse part of the country with lots of points of interest which a lot of people know little about.

For example, on the Red Kite you could have something like:-

"The next stop is Winlaton Mill.  Alight here for the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre and Derwentheugh Park"

"The next stop is Rowlands Gill.  Get off here to visit Gibside Chapel and Grounds."

"The next stop is Forge lane.  Alight here to visit the historic Dovecote Steel Furnace - the first steel furnace in the world"

Which other services could benefit from PoI's added to the NSA's?

As a regular commuter I certainly wouldn't mind the odd '...alight for X' if it was warranted. E.g. I think the stop 'High Level Bridge North' should be named properly & would warrant saying 'Next stop, Saint Nicholas St - alight here for Central Station'. 
Personally I don't think the NSAs should have bits added like '....the first X', '...the only X', or '...the best X in all the land!'. That would sound unprofessional and make you wonder if there was some sort of sponsorship or paid deal between the bus company and whatever the POI was.
And I think 'get off here for...' sounds too casual - Keep that for tour bus commentary.

(09 Aug 2019, 4:54 pm)ne14ne1 wrote

As a regular commuter I certainly wouldn't mind the odd '...alight for X' if it was warranted. E.g. I think the stop 'High Level Bridge North' should be named properly & would warrant saying 'Next stop, Saint Nicholas St - alight here for Central Station'. 
Personally I don't think the NSAs should have bits added like '....the first X', '...the only X', or '...the best X in all the land!'. That would sound unprofessional and make you wonder if there was some sort of sponsorship or paid deal between the bus company and whatever the POI was.
And I think 'get off here for...' sounds too casual - Keep that for tour bus commentary.

Is it the 10 that has the 'change here for 49 and x66 services to Gateshead', or something along those likes, when it get to the Metrocentre?

I think GNE for the most part already does a good job naming the stops properly. Like on the 49 we have Dunston - Aldi instead of just Ellison Road, same with The Ropery - Paramount Care. More akin to your example, on the x21/21, we have Wharton Park - For rail station in Durham.

(09 Aug 2019, 9:57 am)R852 PRG wrote 5247 back from repaint: https://www.flickr.com/photos/142814434@...ed-public/

Smart!

(09 Aug 2019, 4:57 pm)streetdeckfan wrote

Is it the 10 that has the 'change here for 49 and x66 services to Gateshead', or something along those likes, when it get to the Metrocentre?

Ah okay. Never been on the 10 at that point. '...change here for X66 services to Gateshead Interchange' would be fair enough. Not sure why you'd bother promoting the 49 as another option too though. I once made the mistake of jumping on a 49 between Metrocentre & G'head Int when I'd just missed a X66, and I won't be doing it again.

(09 Aug 2019, 5:05 pm)ne14ne1 wrote

Smart!

 

Ah okay. Never been on the 10 at that point. '...change here for X66 services to Gateshead Interchange' would be fair enough. Not sure why you'd bother promoting the 49 as another option too though. I once made the mistake of jumping on a 49 between Metrocentre & G'head Int when I'd just missed a X66, and I won't be doing it again. " alt="" title="">

If you think that's bad, imagine accidentally getting on the 1A!

Which is what I do all the time because I don't like sitting next to people? I think I've been on the 1A twice when there was someone else sitting upstairs, plus you do get a nice view over Newcastle when it's on Knightside Gardens

5390 has lost it poems branding and now carries a promotional livery for a change in law from 2020 for organ donation retaining it's white base livery.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/bazza90/48...ateposted/

Has anyone else had experience with drivers not being pleased when you tell them they have the wrong destination on the display?

Not too long back on one of the X21s that terminate in Woodhouse the driver had the display that still said Tindale Crescent. When I asked if the bus went to Tindale (it could have just been running late) the driver said no, so I told him that he had the wrong destination up he got snappy, but still didn't change it.

I know in the past I've told drivers and they've thanked me for telling them, but recently that hasn't been the case, and it's not just the X21

(10 Aug 2019, 4:49 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Has anyone else had experience with drivers not being pleased when you tell them they have the wrong destination on the display?

Not too long back on one of the X21s that terminate in Woodhouse the driver had the display that still said Tindale Crescent. When I asked if the bus went to Tindale (it could have just been running late) the driver said no, so I told him that he had the wrong destination up he got snappy, but still didn't change it.

I know in the past I've told drivers and they've thanked me for telling them, but recently that hasn't been the case, and it's not just the X21

I've not had any issues the few times I've pointed this out, although do remember when the Citaro demonstrator was here recently and in Newcastle the driver put 27 for South Shields on the display instead of 26 so had to point that out to him, he was a bit confused by what I was saying but eventually got what I was on about.

Reports of a GNE bus getting a bit hot on Gateshead High Street this evening.

(10 Aug 2019, 7:43 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Reports of a GNE bus getting a bit hot on Gateshead High Street this evening.

Citaro 5323.

(10 Aug 2019, 7:47 pm)pbjd wrote

Citaro 5323.

A Citaro.... on fire.... I'm not having that like!

(10 Aug 2019, 7:57 pm)streetdeckfan wrote

A Citaro.... on fire.... I'm not having that like!

Again weren't all the citaro tested last year after 5319

(10 Aug 2019, 9:41 pm)Ds1197 wrote

Again weren't all the citaro tested last year after 5319

Citaros have been catching fire for years, I think if they knew what to test properly they would have solved the problems by now

Anymore Cobalt and Coast B9's back from refurbishment yet?

MG has stated on Twitter that the E400s will have gold headrests......maybe tying in the gold from Xlines livery. Wonder if streetdecks be the same...

(11 Aug 2019, 12:36 pm)JP6004 wrote MG has stated on Twitter that the E400s will have gold headrests......maybe tying in the gold from Xlines livery. Wonder if streetdecks be the same...

That'll look smart, i would imagine the streetdecks will be the same?.. hopefully

MG also put this picture on...

https://twitter.com/MartijnGNE/status/11...51808?s=20

(11 Aug 2019, 12:36 pm)JP6004 wrote MG has stated on Twitter that the E400s will have gold headrests......maybe tying in the gold from Xlines livery. Wonder if streetdecks be the same...

(11 Aug 2019, 1:12 pm)Michael wrote That'll look smart, i would imagine the streetdecks will be the same?.. hopefully

He's previously tweeted a look of the E400 seats - and he confirmed last night the E200s will have the same spec but with red leather headrests rather than Gold