(16 Jun 2024, 6:12 pm)Aaron21 wrote They are not euro6. They were finned for going into the CAZ. So have been temporarily withdrawn (from what I've been told). It's funny if true as they have a euro6 sticker on the back

So they've bought buses, spent money branding them, and they aren't even compliant with the CAZ? Genuinely mental that nobody bothered to check.

(17 Jun 2024, 8:15 am)mb134 wrote So they've bought buses, spent money branding them, and they aren't even compliant with the CAZ? Genuinely mental that nobody bothered to check.

Go North East are going downhill since a lot of people have left now. Gne ain't the same it used to be it seems. Without Dan gne haven't done Blaydon Races & seem to not be doing cruise ship shuttle for Port Of Tyne to Tynemouth and who knows what else will stop. Dread to think what will happen on Great North Run this year

6349 - 

Seen being taken away from Hownsgill today on the back of an Alpha recovery tow, passed through Lanchester towards Durham.

Any idea where its heading?

Hasn't been in service since May.

If this is the wrong place my apologies
Does anyone know any information about any electric buses GNE are expecting? I'm sure I read a while back the 21 was getting electric deckers.

(17 Jun 2024, 8:15 am)mb134 wrote So they've bought buses, spent money branding them, and they aren't even compliant with the CAZ? Genuinely mental that nobody bothered to check.

Someone did check and was given incorrect information.

(29 Jun 2024, 8:08 pm)busmanT wrote Someone did check and was given incorrect information.

Surely procurement and just general good business process would be to…I dunno,  check this?

Any proper business would be launching disciplinary processes

I had the recent pleasure of 3965 plying its trade on the 21 at the ripe old age of 18

It’s been a 724, a 21 (24/7) a pink angel, a green angel, an X10 and now it’s back shuffling along Durham road.

Outlived the tridents, b7, hybrids, the omnicities and the seemingly dying streetdeck rubbish on the 21

Probably a better ride than most of the damp smelling blue lit claustrophobic ex London tat permanently on the 21 and certainly more comfy and a better ride than a lesser spotted streetdeck. Ah progress…

3941-43, and 63-65 are decent just not very reliable.

But would still prefer over most of the other decker fleet

You can hear all of them well before you see them, theyll even wake you up if your window is open

(29 Jun 2024, 8:08 pm)busmanT wrote Someone did check and was given incorrect information.

It can't have been a very thorough check then can it? 

As I've said, I checked using the government website and found out within 30 seconds that they'd not meet the criteria for the Newcastle CAZ. 

Given they're Volvo B9s if they were Euro 6 then they will have been converted to meet that emission specification, so surely the purchasing of the vehicles should have involved requesting the documentation associated with that? Obviously those documents wouldn't have existed given the conversion never took place. 

It shows how bad the operations at Go North East are that they're making huge purchasing decisions on information that is essentially "trust me bro", rather than either doing their own (very basic) research or asking for literally any documentation.

(29 Jun 2024, 11:50 pm)mb134 wrote It can't have been a very thorough check then can it? 

As I've said, I checked using the government website and found out within 30 seconds that they'd not meet the criteria for the Newcastle CAZ. 

Given they're Volvo B9s if they were Euro 6 then they will have been converted to meet that emission specification, so surely the purchasing of the vehicles should have involved requesting the documentation associated with that? Obviously those documents wouldn't have existed given the conversion never took place. 

It shows how bad the operations at Go North East are that they're making huge purchasing decisions on information that is essentially "trust me bro", rather than either doing their own (very basic) research or asking for literally any documentation.

In the interests of fairness, it is worth highlighting that the Government CAZ checker website is not always accurate.

If the retrofit manufacturer has not processed all the paperwork through the CVRAS database, the Government CAZ checker will show the vehicle as non-compliant (even if it is compliant and shows on the London LEZ checker as being compliant).

Almost all the intake of Volvo B9s, E400s and Olympus buses taken from Go-Ahead London in the last year or so originally showed as non-compliant (mentioned on this forum at the time), until Eminox, at the request of Go North East, submitted the conversion paperwork correctly.

For example, compare LX58CXG to LX58CXH. Same type of bus, both Euro 6, one shows as compliant (the one at Go North East), the other shows as non-compliant (the one at East Yorkshire).

So, one would assume GNE checked the CAZ database and asked for clarification from Oxford Bus Company or Go-Ahead who (wrongly) confirmed their Euro VI status, leading to their transfer. I suppose the point on requesting the paperwork is fair, but for inter-company transfers there’s probably a degree of trust involved given it’s one group.

I might be missing something but surely it would be pretty visible that the mods were missing. Surely someone would check the vehicle when it came up and thought hang on it's missing, we're not accepting that.

(30 Jun 2024, 7:22 am)Storx wrote I might be missing something but surely it would be pretty visible that the mods were missing. Surely someone would check the vehicle when it came up and thought hang on it's missing, we're not accepting that.

That seems to have been done afterwards - the final time they were used on Toon Tour.

(30 Jun 2024, 7:32 am)Dan wrote That seems to have been done afterwards - the final time they were used on Toon Tour.

Must admit I don't know how things work, but I'm quite surprised that no-one has checked a vehicle before it got onto the road after coming in from another area, even if it's the same company. Or alternatively they've done a check and somehow completely missed that the mod was completely missing.

I know the engineering at some depots is a bit questionable lately but that's quite a big miss.

(30 Jun 2024, 8:13 am)Storx wrote Must admit I don't know how things work, but I'm quite surprised that no-one has checked a vehicle before it got onto the road after coming in from another area, even if it's the same company. Or alternatively they've done a check and somehow completely missed that the mod was completely missing.

I know the engineering at some depots is a bit questionable lately but that's quite a big miss.

A safety inspection - which would have been undertaken prior to the entry into service of both vehicles as part of the legal obligation which operators have - wouldn’t include checking of the Euro VI exhaust conversion.

That has nothing to do with engineering standards, it just isn’t something that needs to be checked.

(30 Jun 2024, 9:23 am)Dan wrote A safety inspection - which would have been undertaken prior to the entry into service of both vehicles as part of the legal obligation which operators have - wouldn’t include checking of the Euro VI exhaust conversion.

That has nothing to do with engineering standards, it just isn’t something that needs to be checked.

Aye, but we all know there's a difference between the safety inspection you mention and an overall post-delivery inspection.

You'd not buy a car and not check out several different components or features before signing the deal would you?

Call me stupid but i've never checked a car i've bought new or used from a dealer. Never have a problem either touch wood!

(30 Jun 2024, 6:53 am)Dan wrote In the interests of fairness, it is worth highlighting that the Government CAZ checker website is not always accurate.

If the retrofit manufacturer has not processed all the paperwork through the CVRAS database, the Government CAZ checker will show the vehicle as non-compliant (even if it is compliant and shows on the London LEZ checker as being compliant).

Almost all the intake of Volvo B9s, E400s and Olympus buses taken from Go-Ahead London in the last year or so originally showed as non-compliant (mentioned on this forum at the time), until Eminox, at the request of Go North East, submitted the conversion paperwork correctly.

For example, compare LX58CXG to LX58CXH. Same type of bus, both Euro 6, one shows as compliant (the one at Go North East), the other shows as non-compliant (the one at East Yorkshire).

So, one would assume GNE checked the CAZ database and asked for clarification from Oxford Bus Company or Go-Ahead who (wrongly) confirmed their Euro VI status, leading to their transfer. I suppose the point on requesting the paperwork is fair, but for inter-company transfers there’s probably a degree of trust involved given it’s one group.

I get that the Government CAZ checker may be inaccurate, but if that is the case then I assume at some stage GNE would have expected to need provide proof of the buses being Euro 6 (likely after receiving a fine, or pre-empting a fine). 

In this instance I'd have assumed that those purchasing the vehicles would have known that Volvo B9s were not Euro 6 as standard and, given the intended use case (almost entirely within the CAZ), it would sensible to ask for proof of Euro 6 conversion as part of due diligence prior to purchasing the vehicles. I understand that there is a level of trust between companies within a group, but equally in situations where thousands of pounds are at play it is common sense to ask for documentation to support any claims and in a professional environment that level of demand would be completely understood (and not perceived as a lack of trust).

So which buses arent Euro 6?

Hi,

Does anyone know what's happening with the Angel Streetdecks?

(02 Jul 2024, 12:14 am)itsadam wrote Hi,

Does anyone know what's happening with the Angel Streetdecks?

Same problem as on StreetDecks throughout the country - many awaiting replacement Mercedes engines (which have become the Achilles Heel of StreetDecks).

(02 Jul 2024, 1:41 pm)busmanT wrote Same problem as on StreetDecks throughout the country - many awaiting replacement Mercedes engines (which have become the Achilles Heel of StreetDecks).

Didn't the first batch (6301-7) have a load of engine issues, and yet GNE continued to order more? 

Obviously the decision making behind putting batches of buses with engine problems onto express services seems very logical.

When the bus that was operating on the route 20 years ago is more reliable than the current streetdeck, it’s hard to know who to feel sorry for…

(02 Jul 2024, 3:22 pm)mb134 wrote Didn't the first batch (6301-7) have a load of engine issues, and yet GNE continued to order more? 

Obviously the decision making behind putting batches of buses with engine problems onto express services seems very logical.

I think that batch eventually just got new engines and are now on a less demanding route the 50

(02 Jul 2024, 11:05 pm)Ds1197 wrote I think that batch eventually just got new engines and are now on a less demanding route the 50

They are decent buses, they just need to remove the X5/15 interior vinyls off a few of them. I've even seen them on the 81/82/84/85.

6117 in quite a state upstairs sporting quite a bit of "art" (graffiti)

(03 Jul 2024, 7:40 am)ASX_Terranova wrote They are decent buses, they just need to remove the X5/15 interior vinyls off a few of them. I've even seen them on the 81/82/84/85.

someone started at Riverside on Monday to sort out issues like this, however it could be some time as he is in high demand with producing timetables and working part time at national express at the moment

Rome wasn't built in a day, as they say 

(03 Jul 2024, 9:19 am)V514DFT wrote 6117 in quite a state upstairs sporting quite a bit of "art" (graffiti)

should be reported on gocheck/defect card, and rectified quickly, however is already on the radar of the relevant teams to speed it up

And yet, passengers on the X10 & X21 are going to still have to suffer due to GNE's insistence of their Derwentside interworking patterns, hence vehicles capable of sorting many issues out at Riverside (including conserving the TVT B9TLs on Sundays) are being held back on arguably less challenging work, bar a few hills that even a Cummins StreetLite could handle.

If GNE dropped the X31 and went X71>X30>X30>X71 (4x low height) and X70>X32>X73>X73>X32>X70 (7x full height), that would free up enough E400MMC to cover the X10 & X21 with 8x StreetDeck going the opposite way to Consett.

See my attachment & post in the July 2024 changes thread (with X32 re-numbered X30 and current X30 re-numbered X31) and you'll get what I mean.

Having the same 4x vehicles relied upon every day being booted up and down the A19, or StreetDecks doing regular 60+ mile round trips to West Auckland does no favours.

https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...e_vignette

Another bus collided with a bus stop in Newcastle

(04 Jul 2024, 12:21 am)itsadam wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...e_vignette

Another bus collided with a bus stop in Newcastle

That can't have long been replaced, if it's the one just outside of Wilkos? It had been destroyed by a bus previously.

It feels like I don't use buses an awful lot nowadays, but I'm staggered at the state of the GNE fleet every time I do.

• Buses looking filthy inside and out.
  
• Bits of branding missing for months and months on end. 
  
• Buses appearing to be randomly allocated to services.
  

I'd be embarrassed expecting my customers to sit in a pigsty, or have a bus turn up that looks like it's been in a fight. I get that there's an importance to get buses back out on the road, but when you start corner cutting at one point, where do you stop.

The allocations are a mess. It's bloody confusing to customers, when you're training them to look out for a brand and not a service number. Looking right now for example, you've got a Tyne Valley 10 and a X45/X46 Red Kite on the X21, an Gateshead Rider on the 21, a Country Ranger on the 4, and a connections4 on the 8. 

I get that there'll be times it's unavoidable, but this is every day and seemingly at random. Does the depot allocate buses with a bingo caller or something? 

Is anybody actually running this business nowadays, or have they given up? There's no pride whatsoever in the fleet anymore.