(13 Feb 2020, 1:45 pm)Michael wrote Where as Park Lane is not central, completely out of the way, should of been built more central.

Where would you have put it Michael

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Be interesting to look into the stagecoach reasons for neglecting Sunderland interchange

(13 Feb 2020, 1:45 pm)Michael wrote Where as Park Lane is not central, completely out of the way, should of been built more central.

The central (or focus) points of a city or town centre move around over the years though.
They change and adapt. 

Look at Sunderland and John St/Fawcett St. I would argue they were the main areas until the Bridges was covered up. 
The pedestrianisation and tidying up of Park Lane indicated (to me anyway), that the focus point was going to move up that way and for a while, I think there were signs it was. 
It didn't quite work out like that though. Similar to the whole push towards Sunniside for a period.
Not sure it's the fault of the Park Lane Interchange planners, more the local economy. 

If you look at Newcastle, Northumberland St has been pedestrianised for years but is still popular. The Monument seems to be having its moment, Newgate St had its 5 minutes of fame and going back in time, the Quayside was the beating heart of the city. 
I'd say that only the Monument area has a decent amount of public transport running through it. Newgate St is just somewhere buses pass through and the it is only recently the Quayside has had a regular, reliable service.

(13 Feb 2020, 2:14 pm)Acky81 wrote Where would you have put it Michael

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Be interesting to look into the stagecoach reasons for neglecting Sunderland interchange

Where the old central bus station was.

Stagecoach removed their services from Park Lane due to congestion problems (back when Sunderland had lots of separate routes), now it seems like they could go back in due to stands R, T, V are not currently used (Stand S only has the hourly 73, could include that), if Stagecoach to send their buses back in, it would only be towards of the likes of Hastings Hill, Plains Farm etc.

Stand R: 3/4
Stand S: 10/11/20
Stand T: 12/13
Stand V: 16/23

Some services wouldn't enter the bus station, the likes of the 8,18/18A and X24

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(13 Feb 2020, 2:21 pm)Andreos1 wrote The central (or focus) points of a city or town centre move around over the years though.
They change and adapt. 

Look at Sunderland and John St/Fawcett St. I would argue they were the main areas until the Bridges was covered up. 
The pedestrianisation and tidying up of Park Lane indicated (to me anyway), that the focus point was going to move up that way and for a while, I think there were signs it was. 
It didn't quite work out like that though. Similar to the whole push towards Sunniside for a period.
Not sure it's the fault of the Park Lane Interchange planners, more the local economy. 

If you look at Newcastle, Northumberland St has been pedestrianised for years but is still popular. The Monument seems to be having its moment, Newgate St had its 5 minutes of fame and going back in time, the Quayside was the beating heart of the city. 
I'd say that only the Monument area has a decent amount of public transport running through it. Newgate St is just somewhere buses pass through and the it is only recently the Quayside has had a regular, reliable service.

Ye it does, Shame its still a dump, went for a walk through it today and there's nothing, should just bulldoze it all down and redo it all.

Makes sense to have stagecoach in after all an interchange

(12 Feb 2020, 2:36 pm)Malarkey wrote The new corporate livery was starting to grow on me until I seen this - https://www.flickr.com/photos/royalmailman/49524422536/

I thought it looked bad in the launch photo, but that is bloody awful! 

I honestly don't think there's any saving it anymore!

When will stagecoach north east start repaint new livery on there buses.

(13 Feb 2020, 3:40 pm)glen wrote When will stagecoach north east start repaint new livery on there buses.

Apparently from this month.

Thanks for info mate

(13 Feb 2020, 2:14 pm)Acky81 wrote Where would you have put it Michael

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Be interesting to look into the stagecoach reasons for neglecting Sunderland interchange

There was 2 proposed sites for the new interchange in Sunderland , the council opted for option A as it was closer to the councillors at the civic centre and the metro system

Option B was where Debenhams is now, where the buses would enter from green terrace in lanes and exit out onto crowtree road , this site would of been better as it would of been connected to the extension of the bridges shopping centre at the time, and more centralised.


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(13 Feb 2020, 1:19 pm)Acky81 wrote Sunderland and South Shields interchanges are both run by nexus. So how come stagecoach are running in South Shields but not allowed in Sunderland. I know they have to pay a fee in Sunderland but does this not apply in South Shields. Makes no sense at all.

There will be a fee to pay per bus that enters the interchange


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(13 Feb 2020, 3:51 pm)cbma06 wrote There was 2 proposed sites for the new interchange in Sunderland , the council opted for option A as it was closer to the councillors at the civic centre and the metro system

Option B was where Debenhams is now, where the buses would enter from green terrace in lanes and exit out onto crowtree road , this site would of been better as it would of been connected to the extension of the bridges shopping centre at the time, and more centralised.


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There will be a fee to pay per bus that enters the interchange


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Does this apply to go north east and GCT too. Why a fee for Sunderland and not shields

(13 Feb 2020, 4:36 pm)Acky81 wrote Does this apply to go north east and GCT too. Why a fee for Sunderland and not shields

There's a fee for everyone, can't make one company pay and not the others, although i would imagine the contracted services (such as the 73, 939) fee would come out of the NEXUS's money.

(13 Feb 2020, 4:53 pm)Michael wrote There's a fee for everyone, can't make one company pay and not the others, although i would imagine the contracted services (such as the 73, 939) fee would come out of the NEXUS's money.

Although, I can't imagine GNE paying quite as much as Stagecoach for Park Lane at least anyways, part of the land was owned by GNE for Park Lane depot, and having the canteen and a couple of offices there you'd think there was some sort of deal.

That livery looks like a GNE drifter

(13 Feb 2020, 6:25 pm)deanmachine wrote Although, I can't imagine GNE paying quite as much as Stagecoach for Park Lane at least anyways, part of the land was owned by GNE for Park Lane depot, and having the canteen and a couple of offices there you'd think there was some sort of deal.

I would say its equal, can't see GNE getting a discount because of that, that's unfair on the other companies.


The difference between the amount of services from 2001 to 2020 - although times have changed and services have been merged, still a massive difference!


Edit: Won't let me add attachment so here is the link:

Page 4: https://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/bygone/...er2001.pdf

Might I add, that a lot of the reason the Sunderland routes are unreliable is due to stagecoach trying to run the least amount of buses on the route as possible with unrealistic journey and turn-around times. It used to be a nightmare, the 39xxx are terrible batch of buses and with their borderline legal brakes, when driving those things you often have to go much slower which looses even more time.

(13 Feb 2020, 6:45 pm)Michael wrote I would say its equal, can't see GNE getting a discount because of that, that's unfair on the other companies.


The difference between the amount of services from 2001 to 2020 - although times have changed and services have been merged, still a massive difference!


Edit: Won't let me add attachment so here is the link:

Page 4: https://www.northeastbuses.co.uk/bygone/...er2001.pdf

The links and connections lost though?! 
No wonder patronage is falling.

(13 Feb 2020, 7:17 pm)Big O wrote Might I add, that a lot of the reason the Sunderland routes are unreliable is due to stagecoach trying to run the least amount of buses on the route as possible with unrealistic journey and turn-around times. It used to be a nightmare, the 39xxx are terrible batch of buses and with their borderline legal brakes,  when driving those things you often have to go much slower which looses even more time.

I read somewhere that Ex Hartlepool's 39671-5 are the worst / least liked ones out of all of Sunderland MAN E200s.

There is a photo on Flickr of 39707 in South Shields depot missing its front axle, front bumper and front destination screen & glass cover. 39715 (at Sunderland) & 39724 (at Slatyford) are also apparently long term VOR with engine failures according to the Stagecoach Bus Depot website.

I think its about time the North East got a decent batch of new short ADL E200 MMCs to replace a lot of the MAN E200s. 39723-32 at Slatyford will definitely need replacing this year due to the upcoming clean air zone in Newcastle.

(13 Feb 2020, 7:57 pm)Andreos1 wrote The links and connections lost though?! 
No wonder patronage is falling.

I think a lot of it is how far Sunderland has fell to be honest, why would you go from Winlaton or Langley Park to Sunderland these days?

(13 Feb 2020, 8:20 pm)deanmachine wrote I think a lot of it is how far Sunderland has fell to be honest, why would you go from Winlaton or Langley Park to Sunderland these days?

Would depend on whether it was a Streetlite operating it or not

Seriously though. Although it might be to do with Sunderland falling behind, the 638 and X6 aren't far off we see now with some operators and the seemingly never ending consolidation of services and people using the services for part of the route.

I can't see many using the 638 or X6 for their full routes back then, never mind now.

(13 Feb 2020, 8:04 pm)AIG20 wrote I think its about time the North East got a decent batch of new short ADL E200 MMCs to replace a lot of the MAN E200s. 39723-32 at Slatyford will definitely need replacing this year due to the upcoming clean air zone in Newcastle.

Not if they stick them on the 6/7.

(13 Feb 2020, 8:52 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Not if they stick them on the 6/7.

Apparently Gateshead and North Tyneside are also getting clean air zones at some point, but the exact locations haven't been confirmed yet.

It was mentioned in the Newcastle Chronicle a while back when the Newcastle clean air zone locations were revealed.

(13 Feb 2020, 9:20 pm)AIG20 wrote Apparently Gateshead and North Tyneside are also getting clean air zones at some point, but the exact locations haven't been confirmed yet.

It was mentioned in the Newcastle Chronicle a while back when the Newcastle clean air zone locations were revealed.

In the consultation, Gateshead was just near the Tyne Bridge when they were proposing the crazy bridge tolls, and North Tyneside was just so far along the Coast Road - both of which have been dropped.  Not sure if they have been replaced with new hairbrained schemes, but suspect not.

They can't use them on 6/7 as those buses run on the 8 into Newcastle...
They could swap them with the new E200MMCs on Teesside if it comes desperate to get Euro 6 buses...

(13 Feb 2020, 10:34 pm)S830OFT wrote They can't use them on 6/7 as those buses run on the 8 into Newcastle...
They could swap them with the new E200MMCs on Teesside if it comes desperate to get Euro 6 buses...

It would be possible to run the 8's on late starting boards of other city routes pretty easily though if they chose to

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on...e-17760592

Stagecoach raises bus fares in Newcastle - here's how much you'll pay


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(17 Feb 2020, 6:40 pm)TEN 6083 wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on...e-17760592

Stagecoach raises bus fares in Newcastle - here's how much you'll pay


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It's not just me who sees the irony in this statement is it? 
More holes than the colander I drained the taties in for yesterdays dinner! 

In a statement, Stagecoach said:  "We want to provide customers with the best value travel we can while also ensuring we are able to continue operating a stable bus network over the longer term. We do our absolute best to keep prices as low as possible as we continue to face rising costs.
"Operating costs within our business have risen, predominantly due to the growing effect of congestion in our towns and cities, which pushes up the cost of delivering our services and impacts our ability to keep fares low for our customers. For example, in   Newcastle over the last five year, Stagecoach North East has increased the number of vehicles required during peak times by an additional 10 buses as a direct result of traffic congestion.
"Using additional vehicles and drivers to try and maintain punctuality for customers adds almost £2m each year.

36978 looks to have been recently repainted, or just SUNderland Bus vinyls stripped.

Photo via “Thomas transport photography” page on Facebook.




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Can we have a update please .

(17 Feb 2020, 10:27 pm)Dan wrote 36978 looks to have been recently repainted, or just SUNderland Bus vinyls stripped.

Photo via “Thomas transport photography” page on Facebook.




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Its had a full repaint and has also lost its rear SUNderland branding too. Quite surprised they've started repainting another batch with the introduction of the new corporate livery.

Will we be seeing an Eco-green version of the new livery for the hybrids & gas buses