(09 May 2014, 5:38 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote As I said initially, was just a query - but pleased adaptations have been made to take into account emergency window exits.
On the emergency door, it is obvious cuts have been made, but harder to see on an emergency window.
(09 May 2014, 8:49 pm)busman101 wrote Pleased to have been of assistance !
The FPF seemed quite when I passed through this morning, although there was a few of them about - you just don't know who's who !!!
A brand is no longer what we tell the consumer it is – it is what consumers tell each other it is.
(01 Jun 2015, 6:58 pm)Andreos1 wrote I am not a fan of branding and I think I have mentioned it a few times, but the whole Max/Sapphire thing and the spare in Durham got me thinking.
Can anyone explain why the 22 was set up as Sapphire, yet the X12 designated Max?
Forum Moderator | Let us know if you have any issues
Service Manager, Coatham Connect
(01 Jun 2015, 7:59 pm)tyresmoke wrote Don't know for sure but I imagine it's down to the potential growth available on each service. There's also the fact that each Sapphire bid means ANE don't have to spend any money on it, and reap the rewards of the growth. We are limited in what we can do with the X12 too by Durham University, think we are allowed one or two changes per year to the timetable and that's it.
The Durham University inter campus link is currently out to tender again I understand.
(07 Aug 2015, 6:57 pm)JakeSavage wrote Yeah, logic dictates there's got to be some truth in this, although many operators may choose to base a part of their maintenance/ inspection periods on a mileage element, rather than just a straightforward 'standard' max 21 days.
Using this sort of observation, and whilst not as pronounced, stagecoach's branded 100 and x34 buses must have a similar situation, given their high mph sections? Will be interesting to see whether the cascaded Tayside e400 ultimately head to the x34 to displace its current stock, or if they are utilised elsewhere in the fleet.
(07 Aug 2015, 7:10 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Most buses in, say, Gateshead, are going to end up with a hilly run, regardless, though.
And you can equally argue that those routes with long, fast inter-urban stretches, like the prince bishops, pronto and even angel already have a mix of different paces and challenges on their journey - they spend as much time in nose to tail town or city traffic as they do stretching their legs. I should imagine that if you compared buses of similar mileage, rather than age, those doing long distance routes would probably be in better condition than those doing mostly stop start routes at fairly low speeds.
(10 Aug 2015, 11:27 am)R852 PRG wrote While I do like some of the branding in our region, I do think some of them are pointless. It seems there was a time when Go North East were intent on branding nearly every service. Take the ''Kingfisher'', which later became the ''Pulse'', and is now brand-less. There are some other examples of this, I think it's a sign that Go North East are trying to scrap a few brands/improve them with updated liveries. The ''Toon Link'' and ''Coast & Country'' are two in particular that I can think of.
Personally, I like what Stagecoach have done with their X47 branded ALX300s. With simple tag lines and a few vinyls, it is easy to distinguish an X47-branded bus from a corporate-liveried example. I think they do something similar at Brighton & Hove, where a few large vinyls on the bus make it easy to tell which brand it is, while it maintains the corporate livery to some extent. I think Lothian Buses have something similar, with a red swoosh at the front of some deckers and then the classic madder and white livery. I personally think some of Go North East's brands should be more like this, where a corporate livery is still recognisable but the brand of the vehicle is too. I'm not trying to say the brands aren't good in any way, some of the more recent brands are outstanding in my opinion, but I'd like to see if this would work. It seems to work fine for some of the other operators who do similar. Another pro to this, is that with just minor branding; I think allocations can be slightly more carefree. I'm not trying to suggest that branded buses should always be off-route because they look closely like corporate-liveried buses, as the whole point of branded vehicles is to keep them on one route and one route only, their own. What I'm trying to say is that with just a few vinyls, a branded bus can look very much like a corporate vehicle, and such a fuss might not be kicked up. How many times have people gone into orbit about a ''Sapphire'' appearing on a ''MAX'' route? A bit random but hopefully somebody knows what I'm trying to say.
I'm not usually one to post in these debates, but I thought I may as well.
(04 Apr 2016, 9:06 am)Andreos1 wrote Just been chatting to a woman in the office I am in today
She was talking about how she had to get the 639 at some point over the weekend.
Appreciate you can lead a horse to water and can't make it drink - but she was totally oblivious to branding and route number changes since the 639 ceased to exist however many years ago it was.
(04 Apr 2016, 9:06 am)Andreos1 wrote Just been chatting to a woman in the office I am in today
She was talking about how she had to get the 639 at some point over the weekend.
Appreciate you can lead a horse to water and can't make it drink - but she was totally oblivious to branding and route number changes since the 639 ceased to exist however many years ago it was.
(06 Apr 2016, 11:44 am)Chris wrote Funnily enough I had a similar thing with a friend the other week. He text me to ask me what time the 639 was due. Similarly, a lot of people in my local area still refer to 'The Northern'. And not just older people either.
(06 Apr 2016, 11:44 am)Chris wrote Funnily enough I had a similar thing with a friend the other week. He text me to ask me what time the 639 was due. Similarly, a lot of people in my local area still refer to 'The Northern'. And not just older people either.
(06 Apr 2016, 12:33 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Similarly, I've heard people refer to the Red Kites services as the 745 some 16 years after that route number became obsolete.
(06 Apr 2016, 7:26 pm)Andreos1 wrote Never mind the picture, what about the rest of the Early Learning Centre (?) Etch a sketch stampers?Hah! There's 3 sets of them, lurking around somewhere. My favourite magnets are the human genome ones on my freezer (I did sciency things with my brain in a former life, so they appeal to me very much!) i threatened husband with unspeakable things when he messed them all up.
(06 Apr 2016, 7:33 pm)citaro5284 wrote Mind BLM, you draw a canny bus