(16 Mar 2018, 7:58 am)GuyParkRoyal wrote 06:35 X9 from Middlesbrough did not operate this morning due to technical problems. The early morning commuters using the  X9 X10 from Middlesbrough are getting a sub standard service with these vehicle failures.
The lost mileage on those routes might be of interest to VOSA.

VOSA aren't the 'animals' some enthusiasts make them out to be.

They're in regular contact with all operators, and as long as a marked improvement can be seen in the area of complaint, or the operator can prove the measures they're putting in place to avoid repeat occurrences, then VOSA are happy.

Whilst any breakdown on such an infrequent service like the X9/X10 is going to cause an inconvenience, Go North East do more than they have to, to ensure that the least disruption is caused to customers. They don't have to divert the following service via the alternative route to ensure any stranded passengers are picked up, but they do. They don't have to report each and every single breakdown or incident that happens on these services, but they do.

A lot of the incidents may not actually be due to the reliability of the vehicle type - the posts are often quite vague - but a recent example would be a woman entering labour whilst on-board the X10 service. As quickly as possible, a plan was devised to notify passengers in Newcastle and transport them across to Gateshead, where a spare bus and Leading Driver took over the duty towards Middlesbrough. This is only possible thanks to Go North East's Service Delivery Centre, who work around the clock to try and minimise disruption customers face (something which the likes of Arriva North East do not have!)

(16 Mar 2018, 10:48 am)Jimmi wrote Looked on their Facebook and in the last fortnight, I saw two journeys that failed to operate plus one instance where the service was reportedly delayed whilst engineers attended to a bus, also the service had to be diverted quite a few times due to various incidents and some delayed trips.

Unfortunately with this mornings breakdown, they mentioned that the X10 would operate via Stockton  Norton and Billingham but sadly neglected to say it would run the X9 route through Peterlee to which passengers had to aquire this info by commenting on said post.

Some questions I have:
If a Newcastle bound X9 doesn't operate and the X10 has to cover parts of the X9 route, when it gets to Peterlee, does it still stop at the A19 slip road stop or is it omitted because its going right through Peterlee? Also, does Dalton Park get covered by the X9 when the X10 breaks down?

I feel the X9/X10 break downs are slightly exaggerated but at the same time  if it increases much more than the rate, I fear it could potentially have some impact on passenger numbers.

The A19 slip-road would be omitted because it's going right through Peterlee and would need to serve the stops for Crawford Avenue etc - there aren't a great deal of passengers who board at this stop anyway - but the driver would probably make sure to go round the roundabout slow enough to undertake a quick visual check of whether anyone is waiting at the stop, and I'd go as far to suggest would probably wait a few moments if someone was waiting there, to allow the passengers time to walk/jog/run to the Moorcock bus stop. I'd say most passengers probably would have already done this after 20-minutes of an X10 being a no-show, anyway.

Yes, the X9 should serve Dalton Park if the previous X10 had broken down. There are announcements programmed in for both eventualities, which also apologise for the inconvenience caused etc. An apology won't always make up for the disruption to the customer's day, but it's better than nothing at all.

Breakdowns on the X9/X10 are exaggerated by enthusiasts. There's no denying that any breakdown is going to cause inconvenience, but we're only aware of all of these breakdowns because Go North East report every single one on Social Media. Truth of the matter is, if these weren't reported on Social Media by Go North East, I'd say it would largely go unnoticed.

There could be breakdowns left, right and centre on Andreos1's beloved Prince Bishops services, but a big thing isn't made of it, because Go North East don't report them on Social Media (by the time they did, the next bus would have arrived for the majority of customers, who live on the combined 10-minute headway sections of the route).

(16 Mar 2018, 3:00 pm)Jamie M wrote Nah, they're solid motors if they can evade fires . Get yourself onto a 50A, and you'll see they can build up speed well and remain integral at 60mph. They have a tendancy to lean, and occasionally the ferry mechanism can stick. That means they drive around with the body at 45* angle, but overall, remain good buses.

A lot of them are limited to 50mph, these days.

(16 Mar 2018, 3:14 pm)Citaro5326 wrote they would of looked better if they did the interior properly like on current B9s , they are ok but not a big fan of them.
on the note of the 6:35am X9 or X10 I seen B5 6314 just coming off A1 towards the round about near eighton banks at 6:55am with engineer

The speed limiters are planned to be upped to Go North East's more usual 60-ish mph limiter soon.

The seats aren't the most comfortable, but a marginal improvement on what the seats were like previously when in London, as they've had extra padding added during refurbishment. In an ideal world, the seats would have been swapped out for standard Civic V3s and covered in the new leather (like the Citaros) but this would have added significant cost, when the idea was sourcing low-cost replacements for the V-reg Volvo B7s.

Have to remember that some of these buses are only being allocated to St Bede's scholars services, so the buses don't need to be the absolute bees knees.

6314 was dropping in on the 06:25 X9 from Newcastle, from Peterlee, at around 07:50am. So around 30 minutes late, but better than not at all.