1492 on 17

1416 on the 12/12A.

1512 is now on 9/27/27a after spending the morning on 5/5a, presumably replaced by 1551

4652 on the 2.

4725 on 4/X4 yesterday. Apparently replaced 1105. (Redcar duty)

1580 on Sapphires today, was passing through Bedlington towards Newcastle around 5 on an X22.

(23 Feb 2016, 8:51 pm)GX03 SVC wrote I thought it was the 43/4/5 that it ran off. Must have changed. Does Jesmond still do the X10 after arriving in Blyth?

Nope.
X30 has one run off the 52, the other the 54

4661 on 43/44/45 again!
2601 on 46

(24 Feb 2016, 5:33 pm)mb134 wrote 1580 on Sapphires today, was passing through Bedlington towards Newcastle around 5 on an X22.

Wonder how much it would cost Arriva to buy back any existant P4XX CCU Palatines back until the DDA deadline to fill in for 7501 - 7509?

(24 Feb 2016, 11:08 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Wonder how much it would cost Arriva to buy back any existant P4XX CCU Palatines back until the DDA deadline to fill in for 7501 - 7509?

Wonder how much it would cost for Arriva to loan some spare MAX/Sapphire vehicles from other depots/opcos...

(24 Feb 2016, 11:08 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Wonder how much it would cost Arriva to buy back any existant P4XX CCU Palatines back until the DDA deadline to fill in for 7501 - 7509?

That's got to be your most ridiculous idea yet :p

(25 Feb 2016, 8:01 am)tyresmoke wrote That's got to be your most ridiculous idea yet

Are any of them even still alive?

This is starting to become more common than rare now but there's a 35-branded hybrid on the X21, 1579 I think it was.

(25 Feb 2016, 9:12 am)X8X9X10 wrote This is starting to become more common than rare now but there's a 35-branded hybrid on the X21, 1579 I think it was.

The Sapphire fleet are still playing up. Customers are now complaining on Facebook about the lack of Sapphire vehicles on the route. Something needs to be done about it and fast.

It's getting to the point where more established routes like the X18 are losing out due to the failings on the X21/X22 fleet. 

Why should people be left inconvenienced on the X18, a route that has high passenger loadings, when a MAX bus has to be removed and placed on the X20 or the X21/X22 and often substituted with an Arriva bus with no features such as WiFi. 

There is no flexibility in the spares fleet either. The logical idea would have been to refurbish 1579/1580/1581/4653/7445/7446/7515/7516/7518/and 3/4x VLAs in Arriva 2014 spec (high back e-leather seats, free WiFi, grey floor and power sockets), these would be in Arriva Interurban livery and would give sufficient vehicles for all routes in times of a shortages/breakdowns. 

The 35 doesn't need route branding. They actually have been losing money since the extra bus was put in for the Woodhorn extension.

1561 on 22/64/64a

1561 on 22

2827 also on 22/64/64a, 7489 will be on a 64/64a only board

(24 Feb 2016, 11:08 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Wonder how much it would cost Arriva to buy back any existant P4XX CCU Palatines back until the DDA deadline to fill in for 7501 - 7509?

Or M-FTYs. They were coach seated weren't they? far more comfortable than any Sapphires/Max.

2849 on the 13A/13B.

(25 Feb 2016, 9:12 am)X8X9X10 wrote This is starting to become more common than rare now but there's a 35-branded hybrid on the X21, 1579 I think it was.

I've just passed 'EEB' (1580 I think?) while driving through Bedlington, it was coming from Newcastle on an X22 around 10 minutes ago.

Meaning that, if it was 1579 you saw, then 2 are on there today.


Without quoting the post, because it's huge, I agree with GX03SVC, something needs to be done NOW

Not sure on what was on there today, but the only ones I've seen consistently over the past few days are 7523/4/7/8, and 7502/5/7/8/9. Obviously there will be another one or two that have been out, however that still leaves a canny few vehicles that are consistently broken.

4809 on the 2.

2842 on the 52.

4517 on the 45.

306 StreetLite on the X30.

(25 Feb 2016, 12:45 pm)Kuyoyo wrote 2827 also on 22/64/64a, 7489 will be on a 64/64a only board

Arriva North East 2827 YJ08XBG by Scott Cooper, on Flickr

Also on the 64/64A was X93 branded 7405 - this one was at Stockton for MOT yesterday I believe

Arriva North East 7405 NK64FSN by Scott Cooper, on Flickr

7405 is now back on X93 and worked the 1620 from Middlesbrough.

1512 is on the 9/27/27a - shame it's not on one that does the 5As.

I'll be honest, the X93 B9's look and sound amazing, don't seem to have any mechanical issues so far, and seem to make light work of the X93 route. I definitely think someone at HQ should look to recruit some in from somewhere, to replace some of the less reliable vehicles. The constant failure of MAX or Sapphire vehicles is making a mockery of the branding and customers are starting to notice. A couple of weeks ago, I was complimented on my "lovely new bus" on X26, "much better than them other big buses"! I was driving 59 plate Solo 2853 in place of a Scania.

1561 is on 63s today

1479 on the 22

Rear view - we were running late this morning!

One of the issues with branding - Sapphire / Max - is that they are good ideas at the time and launched in a veritable sea of publicity and expectation but then down the line the expectation falls apart as vehicles fail and have to be replaced by none branded types and this then begs the question as to just what is the problem/s with the vehicles so branded; why so many failures / breakdowns? Is it a question looking short term without considering the long term future for such ideas ? Sorry if I'm being a little blunt here but it reads that way just now.

2827 on 64/64a

1407 on 17a

1425 on the Sapphire 7.