(06 May 2015, 3:52 pm)Tommy_1581 wrote In relation to the passenger numbers on X21/X22 - my usual 0900 X21 from Ashington-Newcastle is very busy by Bedlington heading into Newcastle.
However, a stereotype has been set. From day one, vehicles were breaking down, complaints came streaming through about breakdowns, use of 57-reg buses, the power sockets not working etc. Potential passengers have been put off by the fact that Sapphire E400s are being towed.
In all honest opinion, as a daily user of X21, I've seen passengers giving up on the bus when it fails somewhere and continuing their journey on foot/different service.
People expect and say that Sapphire will get passenger numbers on the X21/X22, because of the likes of the 7.
If Arriva bought an entirely new fleet of Enviro400s for the X21/X22, I don't think that I'll be sat here typing this, but commending Arriva on their investment.
Would agree with this point here, I think it was 7504(?) that wasn't in service for ages after Sapphire was launched, and as one other (saw lot's of complaints regarding 7501 on the ANE Facebook Page) was seemingly out of service on a daily basis, standard specification buses were used seemingly daily during the first month of operation.
Indeed, I was in Bedlington quite a bit last summer so saw what was being used, as a result of being there I used the service frequently as well, and on one journey one of 7511-3 turned up, with passengers asking where the "nice" buses were...
However, as has been stated previously, us talking about it on here isn't going to help, so until someone at Arriva figures it out, people will just have to deal with it unfortunately