(11 May 2017, 6:23 pm)JP6004 wrote Just noticed that all the refurbed mercs appear to be having manual ramps installed while down in Blackburn. Are GNE still carrying this out in the fleet or is it only the refurbs that are getting them done?
Yes - any of the Mercedes Citaros which haven't had manual ramps fitted locally by Go North East will have them fitted as part of the refurbishment work at Bus & Coach World, Blackburn.
Go North East are still carrying these conversions out locally on other buses, but the next lot aren't likely to be done until July, now.
(11 May 2017, 8:48 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Are the NSAs up and running on the refurbished mercs out on the Blaydon Racer 12s and Citylink57s?
Yes - they're working on 12/12A, 27 and 57. Should be working on the Nexus-secured 32A service from Wednesday, all being well.
(13 May 2017, 2:53 pm)thetravelman wrote How are the New Ticket machines performing?
I heard from someone the other day that some of the drivers at Percy Main are dreading them being installed there and some just don't understand them from the training.
Is it this week that Percy Main get them? I suppose it is all just practice, but if you are not a techy/gadget type person you may struggle for a while.
Largely positive feedback. The main gripes from a driver perspective tend to be with the placement of various ticket options and the majority think the new machines are really easy to use. After using them for a while, it'll become second nature.
(13 May 2017, 6:40 pm)Jamie M wrote They take longer to scan GNE passes for me.
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They are slightly slower than the old machines (it's only a difference of about a second) but probably faster overall; as the scanners on the old machines weren't quite as robust, and the pass had to be positioned in an exact place on the machine otherwise it would take a hissy-fit.