(21 Nov 2013, 3:32 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Another GNE cock up. Nexus livery Solo 625 on 14.30 27X from Newcastle was stopped at Heworth allegedly because they needed that vehicle for a different route. The replacement MPD took so long to arrive that the passengers were kicked off, several having to pay again to travel on the non-GNE 515, and the un-identified MPD omitted the loop to Hebburn and returned to Newcastle. Yet again the convenience of the operator takes precedence over the needs of the passengers and GNE are giving more strength to the ITA proposals for the Quality Contract, which would presumably impose fines for such incompetence. Perhaps there should be compensation for delays as on the railways - I've just received £32 of vouchers from Northern Rail for a cancelled train.
If they needed the Solo SR for another service, it means they needed it for a service which is secured by Nexus. If they do not allocate a vehicle with the correct minimum Euro specification, Go North East will receive a fine. I understand that said fines can often be more expensive than fines for dead mileage on a secured service too!
The replacement MPD should have been at Heworth when control contacted the driver organising 625's changeover - if this didn't happen, passengers should have been advised to get on Go North East's "Crusader" 27 for free of charge.
Undoubtedly, this situation was of very little convenience to Go North East, as the 27X is also secured. This means that Go North East could incur a penalty fine for the dead mileage on it today, or 'incompetence' as you put it.
Regarding your last point - if events within Go North East's control lead to a journey being delayed by 20 minutes or more, they will refund the fare via voucher or BuzzFare ticket. I doubt that there were many fare paying passengers on Nexus-secured service 27X though, so they won't be receiving "compensation" for the events that happened today.