The Willow Road junction isn't that bad on a Sunday, but Monday to Saturday it can be a nightmare, even in a Solo or MPD. Pease Way surgery is daft, so many cars and vans park on the bus stop, it needs it's own traffic warden! As regards the upcoming Darlington changes, I can't find the post which has them in detail, can anyone assist? Many thanks in advance

I think the darlington consultation is still on the arriva website and from what I read a final decision will be announced in april sometime, I Still think that the 1 should be extended to lingfield point at peak times as there is a few people i know who work up there and live in shildon and they are not happy about losing the service

Maybe it would be better to stick a load of extra time in the 1700 one so it runs around 1710-1715 (like in reality!) and run the extra at 1700. Of course you would then have the issue of overloading a Pulsar at that time.

Pulsar would probably be fine if the X12 went back to limited stop. Of course, this would fill the 56/57 up to bursting point, so they'd need to source some further full size buses.

Delays on the service 22/24/64 due to road works on sherburn road in durham

I think the darlington consultation is still on the arriva website and from what I read a final decision will be announced in april sometime, I Still think that the 1 should be extended to lingfield point at peak times as there is a few people i know who work up there and live in shildon and they are not happy about losing the service

I can't access the page because I have already filled it in but I think it may be closed now, if they are going ahead with changes I expect they will be planning them now to send off to VOSA as the planned date for changes is May 17th and need to give 48 days notice before changes come into affect.

The issue is no-one was using the service between Darlington Town Centre and Darlington College during the daytime. Also the 19 can't interwork with the 3 if the changes go ahead because it is planned to merge the 3 with the 14 to Skerne Park.

People living on the 1 route who use the service to get to Lingfield Point haven't been the only casualties of Arriva cuts losing their direct service it was the same for New College students who lost the 7 running direct to Framwellgate Moor, although there is 3 journeys to Fram on a morning and 3 return journeys on an evening, the evening journeys are too late in my opinion. Let's also not forget that the 1 used to run to Lingfield Point half hourly throughout the daytime too.

I can see Arriva going ahead with all the changes on their survey and any other changes they have planned.

I can't access the page because I have already filled it in but I think it may be closed now, if they are going ahead with changes I expect they will be planning them now to send off to VOSA as the planned date for changes is May 17th and need to give 48 days notice before changes come into affect.

The issue is no-one was using the service between Darlington Town Centre and Darlington College during the daytime. Also the 19 can't interwork with the 3 if the changes go ahead because it is planned to merge the 3 with the 14 to Skerne Park.

People living on the 1 route who use the service to get to Lingfield Point haven't been the only casualties of Arriva cuts losing their direct service it was the same for New College students who lost the 7 running direct to Framwellgate Moor, although there is 3 journeys to Fram on a morning and 3 return journeys on an evening, the evening journeys are too late in my opinion. Let's also not forget that the 1 used to run to Lingfield Point half hourly throughout the daytime too.

I can see Arriva going ahead with all the changes on their survey and any other changes they have planned.

I think the resources can be better used elsewhere for example allowing timing changes on the 1 and the 5/5A where it is needed. I would imagine the number of people travelling to Darlington college can be easily accommodated on service 9/10 which go up that way every 5 minutes already.

I think the resources can be better used elsewhere for example allowing timing changes on the 1 and the 5/5A where it is needed. I would imagine the number of people travelling to Darlington college can be easily accommodated on service 9/10 which go up that way every 5 minutes already.

I think a few extra minutes should be added to the 5/5A as it often falls behind time.

No-one ever really goes Darlington Centre - Darlington College on the 1 because it leaves from the same stop as the 11 on Tubwell Row for when it heads up to Lingfield Point while the 9/10 is more frequent and leaves from Prebend Row.

1902 is now withdrawn at Stockton. Likely that one of the other two due to come off (1903/4) will see a reprieve thanks to the extra work we have picked up

1902 is now withdrawn at Stockton. Likely that one of the other two due to come off (1903/4) will see a reprieve thanks to the extra work we have picked up

Are 1753 and 4039 off now? 1914's back end is a mess!

Are 1753 and 4039 off now? 1914's back end is a mess!

Amazingly those two are still going! We are still waiting for 3 more Solo's from Darlington (who in turn are waiting for two Darts from Durham who I think in turn are awaiting DLA's from Jesmond!).

2828 was taken to Jesmond yesterday presumably for repaint, with 7486 going back to Redcar (though not painted!)

Following on from a discussion in the GNE thread, will there be any chance of Arriva making some of the non-DDA complaint vehicles compliant rather than buying new vehicles to replace all of them?

Following on from a discussion in the GNE thread, will there be any chance of Arriva making some of the non-DDA complaint vehicles compliant rather than buying new vehicles to replace all of them?

No all of ours are planned to leave the fleet this year as far as I'm aware. That includes Lowlanders 7436-44, B10BLEs 4501-15, and the remaining mini Darts

That moment when it takes a driver to get from Sunderland to Easington Village (about 28 minutes in) to realise that the destination was still showing "Not In Service"... Let's hope nobody was waiting to go to Hartlepool this morning or they'll be waiting half an hour!

These Streetlites are still awful, too... Been thrown around so much on this bus.

Couple of updates from me...
2807 arrived at Stockton yesterday
2825 has been repainted silver at Thorntons, while 2828 went up on Thursday for the same treatment...
7489 arrived at Redcar yesterday in silver livery

No Wi-Fi to connect to on (what I believe is) 4813. Guess it hasn't been fitted to them all yet...

7515 has only got its route numbers removed.

It still has "Morpeth Newcastle" on the exterior, I've suggested to them that this was removed so it can become a spare for X20/20 too.

That moment when it takes a driver to get from Sunderland to Easington Village (about 28 minutes in) to realise that the destination was still showing "Not In Service"... Let's hope nobody was waiting to go to Hartlepool this morning or they'll be waiting half an hour!

These Streetlites are still awful, too... Been thrown around so much on this bus.

The drivers at AN still haven't been trained on them.

The supervisor told me that a Plaxton Pointer (the long version) is going to be transferred to AN, to displace a StreetLite for training.

The drivers at AN still haven't been trained on them.

The supervisor told me that a Plaxton Pointer (the long version) is going to be transferred to AN, to displace a StreetLite for training.

At a guess, this driver on the 23 hadn't received driver familiarisation on the Streetlite either. The usual bib of the horn suggested this before I boarded, and was further suggested by the fact he was flooring it when trying to go up a gear (which doesn't work well on the Streetlites that haven't been fiddled with!)

EcoCity 4813 replaced by an unbranded example on the 21/X21. Dashboard was making some strange noises, so I guess this is why it was taken off.

Something I noticed, and noted on here, a few months ago, that I noticed again today:
7524 is still the only 14-reg E400 displaying a full rear destination, makes it easy to identify from our point of view, but very unhelpful for the public.

Something I noticed, and noted on here, a few months ago, that I noticed again today:
7524 is still the only 14-reg E400 displaying a full rear destination, makes it easy to identify from our point of view, but very unhelpful for the public.

It's getting beyond a joke now.

Only four months that the Sapphire E400s have actually had a working full rear desty. August to November.

-- Here's another Sapphire rant --

Why can't Arriva follow in GNE's footsteps and have NSA's and power sockets in all new buses. They shouldn't have to be a special feature to boast about. 

It's getting beyond a joke now.

Only four months that the Sapphire E400s have actually had a working full rear desty. August to November.

-- Here's another Sapphire rant --

Why can't Arriva follow in GNE's footsteps and have NSA's and power sockets in all new buses. They shouldn't have to be a special feature to boast about. 

Thought it was earlier than November? 

Even so, Sundays have a far reduced vehicle requirement, why don't they use the 57-reg ones and get all of the 14-reg ones sorted out. I've noticed that on a number the next stop announcement display is shifted slightly to the right, so not everything is on the screen. Also, 7501 hasn't had NSA's working for several weeks to months. 

The power sockets are also extremely iffy on all of the vehicles I've used them on, with an inconsistent supply, cutting out every couple of seconds. 

Thought it was earlier than November? 

Even so, Sundays have a far reduced vehicle requirement, why don't they use the 57-reg ones and get all of the 14-reg ones sorted out. I've noticed that on a number the next stop announcement display is shifted slightly to the right, so not everything is on the screen. Also, 7501 hasn't had NSA's working for several weeks to months. 

The power sockets are also extremely iffy on all of the vehicles I've used them on, with an inconsistent supply, cutting out every couple of seconds. 

If the power sockets are not working on a GNE vehicle, by all means report it to Customer Services and we will get them looked at.

If the power sockets are not working on a GNE vehicle, by all means report it to Customer Services and we will get them looked at.

I wish they were GNE vehicles, at least then I'd know something would be done!

Hardly use GNE services, as I only live remotely near one (the 19), but even then I'd need to get an Arriva bus first. 

Hope GNE try to come back into Northumberland... Arriva are far too relaxed, resulting in a below average service standard (no matter how much Sparkle, or MAXimum impact they introduce...) 

Why can't Arriva follow in GNE's footsteps and have NSA's and power sockets in all new buses. They shouldn't have to be a special feature to boast about. 

It all boils down to money, Tommy. Although I can't remember the figures off the top of my head, it is actually very expensive to install Next Stop Announcements and Wi-Fi. There's obviously the ongoing cost of adding Wi-Fi, too, though Arriva North East does seem to be rolling out Wi-Fi as standard on a large number of vehicles now. As you can imagine, there's also a cost to add power sockets to buses, too.

As someone who loves branding and the benefits to both customers (and to a degree, the bus operators themselves, if branding assists in increasing the amount of passengers who use a service), the downsides to "Sapphire" and "MAX" are beginning to show as more and more services are converted to this specification. The issue I have is the inconsistencies between each "MAX" service, for example. The half-hearted refurbishments mean that you can step off one "MAX" specification service and onto another and the specification is completely different. I completely understand the reason why they're not having a full refurbishment as, at the rate of these services being converted, the cost would be huge, but when the presentation of the fleet is improving vastly, it's a shame attention to detail is lacking. As "MAX" is set up primarily for interurban services, wouldn't you expect high backed seating as standard, providing customers with a more superior level of comfort than a standard specification service? Sadly, Arriva is not providing high backed seating on all "MAX" services.

Features of "Sapphire" and "MAX" are being cherry-picked and placed on to standard specification services. Power sockets (on Durham's ADL Enviro200s), Wi-Fi (on many standard specification services), Next Stop Announcements (on some of Darlington's Pulsars), leather seats (on a number of vehicles), etc. This is another of my gripes.

Perhaps it's just me being picky and maybe "ordinary" customers wouldn't give a toss, but I think there's room for improvement. It'd be good if Arriva could start learning from their mistakes.

Go North East and Arriva have completely different business models. Go North East's revolves around branding as one of its main focuses. The advantage of this is that each brand is different and inconsistencies can be made. Why would a customer expect the same specification on the Fab56 as the X66, for an example? If both of these services were branded as the same thing, then customers might well expect the same specification on both services... Plug sockets, Wi-Fi and Next Stop Announcements are pretty much standard for all new orders, but if there's no point in going to the additional cost for that brand, then it's not really a big deal.

Thought it was earlier than November? 

Even so, Sundays have a far reduced vehicle requirement, why don't they use the 57-reg ones and get all of the 14-reg ones sorted out. I've noticed that on a number the next stop announcement display is shifted slightly to the right, so not everything is on the screen. Also, 7501 hasn't had NSA's working for several weeks to months. 

The power sockets are also extremely iffy on all of the vehicles I've used them on, with an inconsistent supply, cutting out every couple of seconds. 

I think that all of the issues that said batch of vehicles are facing relate to the Next Stop Announcements. The profiles are set incorrectly which is causing a number of issues, including those that have been mentioned above and destination displays "flashing" (ie sometimes going blank for a second or two randomly before showing normally again). Go North East had similar issues with their "Venture" branded Solo SRs when they first entered service, but the issues were promptly fixed.

Have you tried raising all of this with Customer Services? It's possible that Arriva isn't actually aware. It depends on what sort of quality checks are in place...

I wish they were GNE vehicles, at least then I'd know something would be done!

Hardly use GNE services, as I only live remotely near one (the 19), but even then I'd need to get an Arriva bus first. 

Hope GNE try to come back into Northumberland... Arriva are far too relaxed, resulting in a below average service standard (no matter how much Sparkle, or MAXimum impact they introduce...) 

If the Crusader was ever to get an upgrade, the Mercs after a deep clean, NSAs and Moovbox fitted would be perfect for a similar setup to the old X31 / X32 services both running every 30 Mon to Sat and 60 eve and Sun with buses only calling at the Regent Centre between Hartford Road and Newcastle. Arriva wouldn't be too angry though as they'd still have the Guide Post / Wansbeck patch fully covered only by Arriva with the X22 operating that way.

I think that all of the issues that said batch of vehicles are facing relate to the Next Stop Announcements. The profiles are set incorrectly which is causing a number of issues, including those that have been mentioned above and destination displays "flashing" (ie sometimes going blank for a second or two randomly before showing normally again). Go North East had similar issues with their "Venture" branded Solo SRs when they first entered service, but the issues were promptly fixed.

Have you tried raising all of this with Customer Services? It's possible that Arriva isn't actually aware. It depends on what sort of quality checks are in place...

I've gave up with Arriva customer service to be honest, even if I did raise it I'm nearly 100% sure that I'd get a "we'll pass your comments on to the depot manager" and see nothing done about it. They don't care at all, and I can't wait until I can learn to drive so that I don't have to get their late, cold and disappointing buses every morning. 

The management of Ashington must be the worst (except maybe Redcar, although it seems that they've improved), the allocation is shocking, the drivers clearly don't care about being on time, and the presentation of the vehicles is terrible. Now I know there will be exceptions, some drivers seem to do everything to ensure they're on time for example. So even if customer services do pass on my comments, I highly doubt Ashington will do anything to rectify it, as it seems they just don't care. 

If the Crusader was ever to get an upgrade, the Mercs after a deep clean, NSAs and Moovbox fitted would be perfect for a similar setup to the old X31 / X32 services both running every 30 Mon to Sat and 60 eve and Sun with buses only calling at the Regent Centre between Hartford Road and Newcastle. Arriva wouldn't be too angry though as they'd still have the Guide Post / Wansbeck patch fully covered only by Arriva with the X22 operating that way.

Honestly, if a GNE bus turned up with WiFi and POWER!! I'd be very happy, don't need NSA's, power sockets , or "Sparkle", what I do want is what the Olympians managed to provide, a reliable service, with a warm (watertight) bus!

In fact, Dan and Citaro, could you have a word, block GNE scrapping the Yellow Olympians, and send them on a mission in Northumberland?   

I told the (moustache) supervisor at AN that 7501's NSAs and wifi didn't work. He didn't give a toss.

"As long as the brakes and engine are fine, it's a minor problem". I'm not going to pay £7.00 for a DaySaver if this is how they handle a problem with a service that is supposed to "sparkle".

I've gave up with Arriva customer service to be honest, even if I did raise it I'm nearly 100% sure that I'd get a "we'll pass your comments on to the depot manager" and see nothing done about it. They don't care at all, and I can't wait until I can learn to drive so that I don't have to get their late, cold and disappointing buses every morning. 

The management of Ashington must be the worst (except maybe Redcar, although it seems that they've improved), the allocation is shocking, the drivers clearly don't care about being on time, and the presentation of the vehicles is terrible. Now I know there will be exceptions, some drivers seem to do everything to ensure they're on time for example. So even if customer services do pass on my comments, I highly doubt Ashington will do anything to rectify it, as it seems they just don't care. 

That ginge one springs to mind lol

I told the (moustache) supervisor at AN that 7501's NSAs and wifi didn't work. He didn't give a toss.

"As long as the brakes and engine are fine, it's a minor problem". I'm not going to pay £7.00 for a DaySaver if this is how they handle a problem with a service that is supposed to "sparkle".

Exactly.

Think the tyres and heating should be just as important as the brakes and engine like  having said that, Arriva promise "WiFi ", they don't actually promise a working engine  

Exactly.

Think the tyres and heating should be just as important as the brakes and engine like  having said that, Arriva promise "WiFi ", they don't actually promise a working engine  

The condensation worries me.

I'm surprised that a bus hasn't burned yet with power sockets and condensation. (57-reg ones)