Wheres the unread posts tab gone off the top

6122, 6123 and 6128 now at Riverside

6123 is out on a 93/94s (93 if they dont interwork but not sure)

Go North East 9090 / YJ15 ARF by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Couple of updates from Hexham. 9090 has been parked at Hexham Bus Station today, presumbaly on driver familiarisation prior to entering service. 723 is currently sat inside the depot shed and still has no route branding. Guessing this will be getting branded within the next day or so as it was parked up at the back of the yard all of last week

Go North East moved into the Deptford Terrace Park & Ride site today...

Go North East: Tall Ships 2018 by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Today I had a day out and listened out for the Next Stop Announcement updates as I said I would last week.

I didn't find the service announcement annoying at all, even on the 21 which stopped regularly. The only thing that I would suggest, if possible, is that the gap between the completion of the terminating stop and the 'where this bus terminates' be reduced.

Go North East moved into the Deptford Terrace Park & Ride site today...

Go North East: Tall Ships 2018 by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Impressive!
 (Hope they make use of the centre doors).

Couple of updates from Hexham. 9090 has been parked at Hexham Bus Station today, presumbaly on driver familiarisation prior to entering service. 723 is currently sat inside the depot shed and still has no route branding. Guessing this will be getting branded within the next day or so as it was parked up at the back of the yard all of last week

723 branded last night.

Still a couple of other jobs to do on it, though.

Today I had a day out and listened out for the Next Stop Announcement updates as I said I would last week.

I didn't find the service announcement annoying at all, even on the 21 which stopped regularly. The only thing that I would suggest, if possible, is that the gap between the completion of the terminating stop and the 'where this bus terminates' be reduced.

Sadly the gap can't be reduced - there's no way to specify the time between the two recordings yet, although this has been requested by GNE to Hanover for a future update.

For passengers I don't think the service announcement is annoying at all - most are getting on with their own business (talking between themselves, earphones in, etc), so don't listen to or care about the announcements. Glad you think they're not so annoying after experiencing them! 

Might be a little bit more annoying for the drivers, but even then I think you learn to blank it out too. I know I can, but I'm slightly bias as I'm all for the system and the benefits it has for the visually impaired and those unfamiliar with the area. As a driver, I love being able to tell a passenger who asks to be reminded to shout of them when we arrive at x to just listen out for the announcement on the speakers.

Impressive!
 (Hope they make use of the centre doors).

Yes, we'll be using the centre-doors where possible!

WRT route announcements after each door opening/closing - isn't it too late once the passengers are on-board?

Will the driver stop the bus and allow passengers on the wrong bus to alight?

WRT route announcements after each door opening/closing - isn't it too late once the passengers are on-board?

Will the driver stop the bus and allow passengers on the wrong bus to alight?

It means you can get off at the next stop and get on the right bus. It's not like there's a massive 1ft by 2 meters display with the service details in huge letters or a driver to ask where the bus goes either.

Having them play with the doors open would only lead to lots of confusion in city centres with many buses and whatnot, or a complete obstruction with background noise.

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It means you can get off at the next stop and get on the right bus. It's not like there's a massive 1ft by 2 meters display with the service details in huge letters or a driver to ask where the bus goes either.

Having them play with the doors open would only lead to lots of confusion in city centres with many buses and whatnot, or a complete obstruction with background noise.

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Yes, but the destination display isn't much use to blind people, who the announcements are aimed at.

Yes, but the destination display isn't much use to blind people, who the announcements are aimed at.

How could the system be more adapted to the current world? I can't think of a way apart from announcements from the bus stop, but I think that's idealism rather than practicality.

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Go North East moved into the Deptford Terrace Park & Ride site today...

Go North East: Tall Ships 2018 by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Will there be any normal fleet buses on the shuttles? Which could lead to odd workings elsewhere on the GNE network? or is it all covered.

Will there be any normal fleet buses on the shuttles? Which could lead to odd workings elsewhere on the GNE network? or is it all covered.

Yes, some loanees from across the region to Tall Ships.

Riverside will be providing 6043, Washington will be providing 3941 and 6033, while Stanley transferred 6156 to Deptford for the Tall Ships on Sunday gone. Shouldn't be too many oddities with that in mind, although the X1 may end up seeing a more frequent single-deck allocation this week.

Go North East: 6156 / LJ62KXX by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

EYMS 790, numbered 9093 in Go North East's fleet, is on temporary loan to Riverside. It will see exclusive use to the private Jewish Scholars contract this week, allowing 6129 to transfer to Deptford for the Tall Ships event.

Go North East: 9093 / BP15OLC by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Yes, some loanees from across the region to Tall Ships.

Riverside will be providing 6043, Washington will be providing 3941 and 6033, while Stanley transferred 6156 to Deptford for the Tall Ships on Sunday gone. Shouldn't be too many oddities with that in mind, although the X1 may end up seeing a more frequent single-deck allocation this week.

Go North East: 6156 / LJ62KXX by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

EYMS 790, numbered 9093 in Go North East's fleet, is on temporary loan to Riverside. It will see exclusive use to the private Jewish Scholars contract this week, allowing 6129 to transfer to Deptford for the Tall Ships event.

Go North East: 9093 / BP15OLC by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Thanks Dan.

What time do the Jewish Scholars leave or return to the depot?

Thanks Dan.

No problem. 6017/23 (float B7s) and 6132 (Percy Main's offering) also at Tall Ships.

The aforementioned 3941, 6033 and 6129 transferred over this morning. Still a handful of the Special Events Vykings yet to transfer, although a few are VOR.

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What time do the Jewish Scholars leave or return to the depot?

It varies, but a good starting point would be 08:04 (return 09:22), 11:45 (return 13:07), 14:15 (return 14:52), 15:45 (return 17:10).

Destination done today, so should be available for service tomorrow.

Will this new system be on NSAs or exterior destinations? Also, on X5 dests?

It's simply to fix the issue on the Next Stop Announcements where it 'freezes' on the last known route the bus had announcements programmed for. So on a night when the Red Kites and Durham Diamonds wander onto the likes of the 6 and X70/X71, it would hold whatever the inbound journey was that it last knew (so the 16 on a Durham Diamond, or a 45/46/47 on the Red Kite).

The fix is being uploaded to buses as we speak, following a bit of successful testing today.

It varies, but a good starting point would be 08:04 (return 09:22), 11:45 (return 13:07), 14:15 (return 14:52), 15:45 (return 17:10).

Destination done today, so should be available for service tomorrow.

What's the route? One I've never seen noted with there being limited info on it.

Angel 6331 tonight seemed to be announcing "this is the Angel 21 service to X" when we were stopped with the doors open, then again as the doors were closed.
Maybe one to check?

What's going to be allocated to the 33Ts tommorow?

Angel 6331 tonight seemed to be announcing "this is the Angel 21 service to X" when we were stopped with the doors open, then again as the doors were closed.
Maybe one to check?

5459 was thinking it was on a 49 instead of a 49A between School Street to Gateshead Intertchange too. It even announced 'North Street' (the first stop after leaving Winlaton) instead of the Coatsworth Road stop in Bensham.

5459 was thinking it was on a 49 instead of a 49A between School Street to Gateshead Intertchange too. It even announced 'North Street' (the first stop after leaving Winlaton) instead of the Coatsworth Road stop in Bensham.

Is it possible the driver was just changing the display too early (and incorrectly)? Such is the case on the 45s sometimes.

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Is it possible the driver was just changing the display too early (and incorrectly)? Such is the case on the 45s sometimes.

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No, because the bus was still heading to Gateshead as a 49A and it announced the correct next stop after the one that had 'North Street' announced for instead.

I would suggest changing what you've noted though. The first stop after Chester-le-Street heading in the Stanley direction on the 8/78 has been omitted on both occasions I have been on it, i'm guessing its because it has already played while people are boarding. The Park Avenue announcement was also not heard on the 1 when I was on it yesterday as the driver had changed the destination before passengers boarded (admittedly being slightly late didn't help).

What's going to be allocated to the 33Ts tommorow?

Probables one of the many Ex London deckers.

Probables one of the many Ex London deckers.

I'd say the buses transferred from other depots will be more likely. Imagine they will want to keep all the EYMS & ex-London buses on the Park and Rides (latter even more with their sticker destinations)

Angel 6331 tonight seemed to be announcing "this is the Angel 21 service to X" when we were stopped with the doors open, then again as the doors were closed.
Maybe one to check?

On paper, this is more or less impossible to happen now, following the update carried out today. It's possible 6331 hadn't received this updated version when you noted this issue.

There is a dedicated 'silencer' audio file on doors open (which is essentially just an mp3 file with no audio), and there is a 2-second delay on doors close before the service announcement is played. This would prevent any issues with the door sensors 'bouncing' resulting in the duplication of the announcement.

One to keep an eye on though.

What's going to be allocated to the 33Ts tommorow?

I'd say the buses transferred from other depots will be more likely. Imagine they will want to keep all the EYMS & ex-London buses on the Park and Rides (latter even more with their sticker destinations)

Deptford-based buses will be allocated to the 33T. On paper probably 6099 and 6100, but no real plan set in stone and if the 33T is as quiet as the Park & Ride buses today, there'll be no need for double-deck capacity and a spare single-deck (or minibus) will do, with the doubles being better utilised on their intended purpose of being spare buses for the 56.

I’ve noticed on 20 journeys to Durham and X5 journeys both to Hartlepool and Sunderland. They are displaying scrolling via blinds instead in the Destination only blinds.

Are GNE going back to the scrolling blinds?


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I’ve noticed on 20 journeys to Durham and X5 journeys both to Hartlepool and Sunderland. They are displaying scrolling via blinds instead in the Destination only blinds.

Are GNE going back to the scrolling blinds?


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No. A firmware update was done over the weekend at Deptford (the scrolling displays came from an old database which was used).

Will be reverted back to normal in the next update - not the end of the world having some scrolling for now.

I’ve noticed on 20 journeys to Durham and X5 journeys both to Hartlepool and Sunderland. They are displaying scrolling via blinds instead in the Destination only blinds.

Are GNE going back to the scrolling blinds?


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I was literally about to mention that I am seeing more and more scrolling blinds.
The one that stood out tonight was a branded decker on the X1.

No. A firmware update was done over the weekend at Deptford (the scrolling displays came from an old database which was used).

Will be reverted back to normal in the next update - not the end of the world having some scrolling for now.

I actually prefer the scrolling blinds.


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I was literally about to mention that I am seeing more and more scrolling blinds.
The one that stood out tonight was a branded decker on the X1.

6055 to E-Lane?
I noticed that other day


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I was literally about to mention that I am seeing more and more scrolling blinds.
The one that stood out tonight was a branded decker on the X1.

6055 is the Red Arrows with the scrolling displays - same reason, firmware update was done on June 22nd (when this bus was used on the Great Exhibition Q3 dupes). None of the others at Washington should have scrolling displays, as they haven't had the firmware update done yet.

I actually prefer the scrolling blinds.

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You like pink, I like purple!  

Our personal opinions aside, it's about what the company thinks is right for its passengers. I'm sure passenger research would have been undertaken.