Go North East's Next Stop Announcements are currently being reviewed - the main visual changes are summarised below:

• The company is expected to roll out a new 'line-plan' format on all services with Next Stop Announcements, allowing passengers to see the previous, next and future stops, as well as the ultimate terminal point, with scope in future of showing expected journey times.
  
• Go North East will depict connections to other Go North East buses at key interchange points by showing images of the brightly coloured buses. Passengers should recognise the striking livery design and know that they need to alight to connect to that service.
  
• BuzzFare ticketing zones will be advertised, so that passengers are aware of where a boundary starts and ends on the route.
  
• Go North East will make use of the TFT monitors on express routes in between long-distance bus stops by promoting the company's smartphone application which allows customers to see live times, buy tickets and download timetables while on the go; as well as other things such as the company's 'Key' smartcard that makes travelling by bus easier, cheaper and more secure.
  

The new line-plan format has now been rolled out on two "Red Arrows" branded Volvo B9TL double-deck vehicles (6007 and 6050). The audio and names of stops will be reviewed next month in line with service changes, but a number of minor tweaks have been made to the existing audio, cutting down on some of the more "playful" announcements.

A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Looks good will have to ride either 6007/50 on Saturday.

(27 Jan 2016, 4:56 pm)DanPicken wrote Looks good will have to ride either 6007/50 on Saturday.

For those wishing to see the new screens in the flesh, I will post which running boards 6007 and 6050 have both been allocated to on Saturday.

Feel free to drop me a note with any feedback.

Looks really good, great work.

Looks great Dan. Really strong visuals.

Can I ask a question regarding next stop announcements on the Angel?

The first stop in Birtley is called Northdene and it literally drops you off outside Coach and Horses. The second by Windsor Rd (called Windsor Rd on northbound next stop announcements)is called Coach and Horses. Makes no sense!

(27 Jan 2016, 5:04 pm)Ambassador wrote Looks great Dan. Really strong visuals.

Can I ask a question regarding next stop announcements on the Angel?

The first stop in Birtley is called Northdene and it literally drops you off outside Coach and Horses. The second by Windsor Rd (called Windsor Rd on northbound next stop announcements)is called Coach and Horses. Makes no sense!

I can't comment on any of the old stuff, I'm afraid, as I had absolutely nothing to do with it back then!

The Next Stop Announcements on the Angel will be reviewed at some point this year, in the new style depicted by the Red Arrows, and with new audio. The announcements on the Peterlee indiGo services should hopefully be implemented at some point during March - this is one of the highest priorities, given that the vehicles were launched a few months ago and they still haven't had announcements programmed yet. After that, other routes such as the Angel will be reviewed.

I suppose we now know the X1 livery is staying the same, following the repaints.

Quick question though, between Wrekenton and Easington Lane it only indicates 4 stops. I guess these will be highlighted and will be at Springwell, Galleries, Houghton and Hetton?
What happens at Shiney or Herrington Burn? Both key stops, but with no indication on the imagery, other than the NSA's we see presently.
I imagine it isn't possible to represent every stop between the Galleries and Easington Lane, whereas it is on the limited stop section of the route.

(27 Jan 2016, 5:12 pm)Andreos1 wrote I suppose we now know the X1 livery is staying the same, following the repaints.

Quick question though, between Wrekenton and Easington Lane it only indicates 4 stops. I guess these will be highlighted and will be at Springwell, Galleries, Houghton and Hetton?
What happens at Shiney or Herrington Burn? Both key stops, but with no indication on the imagery, other than the NSA's we see presently.
I imagine it isn't possible to represent every stop between the Galleries and Easington Lane, whereas it is on the limited stop section of the route.

Who's to say I haven't prepared another version for next month's changes?

The line-plan format is the same as the format used on the Quaylink services, if you have used any of those services following the re-launch last year. The bus remains static, and it is the stops that move along the line.

In the example I took a photograph of - when the bus reaches the High Level Bridge, 'St Nicholas Cathedral' will move behind the bus (Eldon Square will no longer be shown), and 'Gateshead Interchange' will be highlighted red and move in front of the bus. Everything moves along one, and 'Springwell Village' then takes the place of 'Wrekenton High Street'. The number of squares in between Wrekenton High Street and Easington Lane does not represent the amount of stops - merely that there are a number of stops in between those two locations.

As the bus approaches the end of the route, the squares start to disappear, meaning that there are fewer and fewer stops until the terminal point. When there are just five stops remaining, the bus starts to move along the line.

(27 Jan 2016, 5:49 pm)Dan wrote Who's to say I haven't prepared another version for next month's changes?

The line-plan format is the same as the format used on the Quaylink services, if you have used any of those services following the re-launch last year. The bus remains static, and it is the stops that move along the line.

In the example I took a photograph of - when the bus reaches the High Level Bridge, 'St Nicholas Cathedral' will move behind the bus (Eldon Square will no longer be shown), and 'Gateshead Interchange' will be highlighted red and move in front of the bus. Everything moves along one, and 'Springwell Village' then takes the place of 'Wrekenton High Street'. The number of squares in between Wrekenton High Street and Easington Lane does not represent the amount of stops - merely that there are a number of stops in between those two locations.

As the bus approaches the end of the route, the squares start to disappear, meaning that there are fewer and fewer stops until the terminal point. When there are just five stops remaining, the bus starts to move along the line.

Simple really..

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote Go North East's Next Stop Announcements are currently being reviewed 

The TEN announcements for Station Road Corbridge have the Dyvels (pub) sounding like D'vels when it should be Die-vels.

Just saying.

(27 Jan 2016, 6:00 pm)G-CPTN wrote The TEN announcements for Station Road Corbridge have the Dyvels (pub) sounding like D'vels when it should be Die-vels.

Just saying.

The TEN is another route high up the list to do (and put right) 

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

them NSA reminds me of the Lynx buses they use over in Florida when i have been on them last time i was on a Lynx bus was September 2015 except these NSA didn't talk only said this "Thank You for riding the bus" or "Lynx 42 to Orlando Premium Outlet"

(27 Jan 2016, 5:56 pm)citaro5284 wrote Simple really..

You deleted your other comment before I had a chance to reply...
I think we all worked out the bus moved along, even though nobody asked that.
Do the wheels turn too?

The question was about the stops not on the visual imagery and how they would be portrayed.

Simple really..

(27 Jan 2016, 6:32 pm)Andreos1 wrote You deleted your other comment before I had a chance to reply...
I think we all worked out the bus moved along, even though nobody asked that.
Do the wheels turn too?

The question was about the stops not on the visual imagery and how they would be portrayed.

Simple really..

Not sure I understand the question, but I'd say it's fairly common to break up a long passage of information by using "..." or another visual representation. It works quite well on Quaylink, and you can immediately the next stop plus another 4 or 5, at any one time. It doesn't catch you out at least, as it does with the old slides.

(27 Jan 2016, 5:56 pm)citaro5284 wrote Simple really..

Yeah when system works , experienced the teething issues first hand as I had the pleasure of the Updated NSAs on 6050 tonight, there was no announcement of St Nicholas Cathedral being the next stop upon departing Eldon Square as you would expect, and didnt come on till we went past the Cathedral itself, this pattern continued as we went through Gateshead, Q.E. Hospital, Wrekenton and Springwell Village, with no announcement for Washington Galleries where 6050 terminated, other than the above issue I really like the look of the updated announcements.

What about on the cobalt clippers theres a few stops that come up on screen but arent spoken

(27 Jan 2016, 7:35 pm)dannygee wrote What about on the cobalt clippers theres a few stops that come up on screen but arent spoken

Dan has only said a few posts earlier, that they're expecting to roll out the new format on all services.

(27 Jan 2016, 7:34 pm)Malarkey wrote Yeah when system works , experienced the teething issues first hand as I had the pleasure of the Updated NSAs on 6050 tonight, there was no announcement of St Nicholas Cathedral being the next stop upon departing Eldon Square as you would expect, and didnt come on till we went past the Cathedral itself, this pattern continued as we went through Gateshead, Q.E. Hospital, Wrekenton and Springwell Village, with no announcement for Washington Galleries where 6050 terminated, other than the above issue I really like the look of the updated announcements.

It actually said next stop after you had gone through the stop, just it was not doing that when we were on it this morning?

Was it not announcing the next stop as soon as the doors were closed (ie saying next stop is Springwell Village when the doors were closed at Wrekenton)

(27 Jan 2016, 6:42 pm)Adrian wrote Not sure I understand the question, but I'd say it's fairly common to break up a long passage of information by using "..." or another visual representation. It works quite well on Quaylink, and you can immediately the next stop plus another 4 or 5, at any one time. It doesn't catch you out at least, as it does with the old slides.

The question about the wheels turning?
Simple really..

Nah, the initial question was about the line map and how stops not on it would be represented.
So if you look at the photo, there is no mention of Shiney Row.
However, Dan has explained that as the journey progresses those stops not shown on the map early on, appear further on with an updated map.

I have been on the Q3 since the changes, but as I knew where I was going - I didn't bother looking or using the display.

However, I do prefer these visual screens or the ANE versions as opposed to the scrolling dot matrix ones seen on the 78.
I keep expecting my name to appear telling me to go to consulting room 3. 

(27 Jan 2016, 7:42 pm)citaro5284 wrote It actually said next stop after you had gone through the stop, just it was not doing that when we were on it this morning?

Was it not announcing the next stop as soon as the doors were closed (ie saying next stop is Springwell Village when the doors were closed at Wrekenton)

No it was announcing after we had already passed that stop, so when we departed Wrekenton for example, it would then announce the next stop is Wrekenton and continued on in that pattern for every stop we passed.

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

I'm guessing this'll only be on the services, like the X1, which have big screens for their NSAs? I can't see it working on the little matrix signs in the Indigos and C&Cs!

(27 Jan 2016, 7:34 pm)Malarkey wrote Yeah when system works , experienced the teething issues first hand as I had the pleasure of the Updated NSAs on 6050 tonight, there was no announcement of St Nicholas Cathedral being the next stop upon departing Eldon Square as you would expect, and didnt come on till we went past the Cathedral itself, this pattern continued as we went through Gateshead, Q.E. Hospital, Wrekenton and Springwell Village, with no announcement for Washington Galleries where 6050 terminated, other than the above issue I really like the look of the updated announcements.

There was no issues with the announcements towards Easington Lane this morning (I did a full round trip), so I'm not too sure why you've experienced some issues? It uses the exact same file, and I have run the slides in simulation mode and it all works perfectly.

There were some issues towards Newcastle, once the bus hit Shiney Row, but I corrected the CSV file behind the scenes earlier tonight to cure these issues, and will upload to both buses tomorrow morning before they go out in service.

There mightn't have been a "This is" announcement for Washington Galleries if the driver did not drop off at the usual Easington Lane bound X1 stand, or if s/he had already changed the destination to "NOT IN SERVICE" before the bus stopped.

(27 Jan 2016, 7:35 pm)dannygee wrote What about on the cobalt clippers theres a few stops that come up on screen but arent spoken

These are likely to have been stops added after the original announcements were recorded.

When the Cobalt Clipper is refreshed, every stop will be recorded again.

(27 Jan 2016, 7:55 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I'm guessing this'll only be on the services, like the X1, which have big screens for their NSAs? I can't see it working on the little matrix signs in the Indigos and C&Cs!

Yes - all of the brands on the link below, excluding indiGo*, Coast & Country and Red Kite:
http://www.simplygo.com/nextstop/

* Not yet shown on that webpage, as the announcements haven't been programmed yet.

(27 Jan 2016, 8:04 pm)Dan wrote There was no issues with the announcements towards Easington Lane this morning (I did a full round trip), so I'm not too sure why you've experienced some issues? It uses the exact same file, and I have run the slides in simulation mode and it all works perfectly.

There were some issues towards Newcastle, once the bus hit Shiney Row, but I corrected the CSV file behind the scenes earlier tonight to cure these issues, and will upload to both buses tomorrow morning before they go out in service.

There mightn't have been a "This is" announcement for Washington Galleries if the driver did not drop off at the usual Easington Lane bound X1 stand, or if s/he had already changed the destination to "NOT IN SERVICE" before the bus stopped.


These are likely to have been stops added after the original announcements were recorded.

When the Cobalt Clipper is refreshed, every stop will be recorded again.


Yes - all of the brands on the link below, excluding indiGo*, Coast & Country and Red Kite:
http://www.simplygo.com/nextstop/

* Not yet shown on that webpage, as the announcements haven't been programmed yet.

Will anything be done with the CCTV screens on the South Tyne Versa's as none of them work, could they be made into NSA's?

(27 Jan 2016, 8:12 pm)DanPicken wrote Will anything be done with the CCTV screens on the South Tyne Versa's as none of them work, could they be made into NSA's?

Same as the screens on coaster and cobalt connect

(27 Jan 2016, 8:12 pm)DanPicken wrote Will anything be done with the CCTV screens on the South Tyne Versa's as none of them work, could they be made into NSA's?

(27 Jan 2016, 8:14 pm)dannygee wrote Same as the screens on coaster and cobalt connect

I don't think so, Dan & Danny!

Go North East changed CCTV suppliers a few years ago, so it would be quite costly to repair any faulty passenger CCTV screens with the new supplier as it's not their product. I think this is why they're just turned off when they develop faults.

Although you probably could hook the Next Stop Announcement kit up to any sort of monitor, I think the unit itself is quite expensive, so it's quite unlikely that they'll ever be used for this purpose. The TFT monitors are more robust as they are built specifically for this purpose. Never say never, though!

(26 Jan 2016, 9:53 pm)Jackamcardle wrote That's the 681.

They interwork

(27 Jan 2016, 4:33 pm)Andreos1 wrote Did you report it?
Don't want you getting injured like the fella in Scotland, after the chimney attacked the window of a Lothian decker.

Yes, I've emailed Go North East.

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Looks great Dan.

(27 Jan 2016, 4:54 pm)Dan wrote A few photographs taken today are below:

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Go North East: 'Next Stop' Announcements by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Credit where credit is due that is great, I very much like the second photo, it is better in every way to the old system, I was on the X1 recently and the NSAs were off. The worst is the TEN because all you here is Steve and Karen telling you to stop the bus you need to press the bell.

(27 Jan 2016, 8:35 pm)Davie wrote Looks great Dan.

I'd have been stuffed if I didn't have the approval of our Wrekenton resident! 

(27 Jan 2016, 6:00 pm)G-CPTN wrote The TEN aniouncements for Station Road Corbridge have the Dyvels (pub) sounding like D'vels when it should be Die-vels.

Just saying.

D'vels or dyvels is geordie slang for devils. If you look at the sign outside the pub, there are two black devils on top of it. So i would say that GNE have the pronounciation correct.