[quote="deanmachine" pid='232177' dateline='1564593974']
It doesn't serve Durham Road, it goes from Silksworth, to Gilley Law, then through Farringdon, doing a loop around the Board Inn Roundabout to come back along Silksworth Road.
Well that’s what I thought until I tracked it going down Durham road as shown in the picture
(01 Aug 2019, 5:45 pm)GNE6312 wrote
What is the point would be a downgrade
Well, technically not as the ex London B9TLs are the same age as the Coaster B5LHs only missing high back seats & NSA's.
If the ex RK B9TLs were refurbishes into GNE spec and both examples were fitted with NSAs, they'd be fine for the Coaster.
(01 Aug 2019, 6:46 pm)Andreos1 wrote724 appears to be working the 'Bournmoor shuttle'.
Still no idea what the timetable is meant to be.
Chester Road at Bournmoor will be closed westbound (towards Chester-le-Street) from Monday 29 July until Friday 27 September to allow for road reconstruction and utility works in conjunction with the new housing development at this location. During this closure; Services 4, 78 & 78A will be unable to serve Bournmoor (4, 78 & 78A) or Fence Houses (4) in a southerly direction. As such; a shuttle bus will be in operation, ran from Washington Depot. Optare Solo M890/Optare 724 (YJ13 HMY) will be the vehicle allocated, so this bus has transferred from Percy Main Depot to Washington.
(01 Aug 2019, 7:49 pm)park5354 wrote
Chester Road at Bournmoor will be closed westbound (towards Chester-le-Street) from Monday 29 July until Friday 27 September to allow for road reconstruction and utility works in conjunction with the new housing development at this location. During this closure; Services 4, 78 & 78A will be unable to serve Bournmoor (4, 78 & 78A) or Fence Houses (4) in a southerly direction. As such; a shuttle bus will be in operation, ran from Washington Depot. Optare Solo M890/Optare 724 (YJ13 HMY) will be the vehicle allocated, so this bus has transferred from Percy Main Depot to Washington.
Where is that info from?
Any idea where the timetable can be found?
(01 Aug 2019, 8:24 pm)Andreos1 wrote
Where is that info from?
Any idea where the timetable can be found?
http://newsroom.gonortheast.co.uk/news/roadworks-and-diversions-affecting-go-north-east-buses-264086
Mentions it on this page.
(01 Aug 2019, 8:46 pm)citaro5284 wrote
http://newsroom.gonortheast.co.uk/news/roadworks-and-diversions-affecting-go-north-east-buses-264086
Mentions it on this page.
Yeah, Ive copied the information from that page on to the changes thread a week or two back.
It was the info about 724 I was querying along with a timetable.
As I've only seen the shuttle laying over (on the one way system behind the old fire station), I'm keen to know the times it operates and the likely hood of it connecting nicely with an existing service.
If you're at Bournmoor and wanting to get to a point beyond Fencehouses traffic lights, it's a shuttle and then crossing a busy road to get a 71, then a walk or another change of bus.
On top of any waiting around there may be.
If a timetable was available, it might make that trip a little more achievable.
(02 Aug 2019, 4:09 pm)Olympian3521 wrote Has it been confirmed that the 4 red kite b9’s will be moving when Consett get new buses as the ex London B9’s, the x30 mercs and 5409-5419 red kite streetlites total 29 buses and I believe there are 28 deckers going to Consett one less due to pvr reductions? Does this mean that 6118-6121 that I’ve not accounted for in the figures could be staying at Consett after all?
Theres 28 streetdecks 3 E400
(02 Aug 2019, 5:36 pm)Adrian wrote
Were they programmed prior to the changes in May? I've never used the service, so I've no idea.
No idea. I travel quite a lot on this bus but only on Sundays when it terminates at kibblesworth. Through the week and saturdays i think it continues to CLS so not sure if there on for that route?
(02 Aug 2019, 9:11 pm)GNE6312 wrote What will the 16:22 93 & 16:50 X21 run off now that the 137 has gone to stagecoach? I'm sure Jamie will know
Think he’ll be in the same situation as most of the drivers who do scholars, at Consett there’s 6 guys who do the 877 as part of the kite board, that service hasn’t been cancelled (yet) but was ran by a streetlite, no idea if it will be ran by a streetdeck come September when new vehicles arrive and school returns.
(02 Aug 2019, 5:36 pm)Adrian wroteSince May we've been without the NSAs on the X21.
Were they programmed prior to the changes in May? I've never used the service, so I've no idea.
(03 Aug 2019, 9:39 am)streetdeckfan wrote Since May we've been without the NSAs on the X21.
Which is both a blessing because I haven't been hearing "This is the Castles Express X21 service to Bishop Auckland" every time the bus stops, but it's also a curse because even though I know the route, I don't pay attention to where we are!
I'm guessing it's because they didn't want to have to reprogram it twice with the X21 probably rebranding as X-Lines soon
I don't mind that to be honest, but its a bit wordy with "This is the Castles Express" in the announcement. I'm pretty sure iBus in London announces say "X to Y" every other stop, then just the stop name on approach.
(03 Aug 2019, 11:15 am)Adrian wrote
I don't mind that to be honest, but its a bit wordy with "This is the Castles Express" in the announcement. I'm pretty sure iBus in London announces say "X to Y" every other stop, then just the stop name on approach.
Completely agree.
If they want to include the route brand then just do it upon departing big stops like Haymarket, Eldon Square, Gateshead Interchange etc. Maybe have an announcement that says 'Welcome aboard this Citylink 57 service, by Go North East'.
But I think having 'This is the Citylink 57 service, to Hadrian Park' or 'This is the Cobalt & Coast three-O-nine service, to Newcastle' is far too long to have on each departure and risks annoying people.
I'd much prefer a simple London style, '57, to, Hadrian Park' or 'Three-ten, to, Newcastle Haymarket' on door closure.
(03 Aug 2019, 3:22 pm)ne14ne1 wroteCan't see it changing any time soon, I'm afraid.
Completely agree.
If they want to include the route brand then just do it upon departing big stops like Haymarket, Eldon Square, Gateshead Interchange etc. Maybe have an announcement that says 'Welcome aboard this Citylink 57 service, by Go North East'.
But I think having 'This is the Citylink 57 service, to Hadrian Park' or 'This is the Cobalt & Coast three-O-nine service, to Newcastle' is far too long to have on each departure and risks annoying people.
I'd much prefer a simple London style, '57, to, Hadrian Park' or 'Three-ten, to, Newcastle Haymarket' on door closure.
(03 Aug 2019, 5:06 pm)Dan wrote Can't see it changing any time soon, I'm afraid.
Probably count the number of times on one hand that negative feedback has been received about it - and it's only really been from enthusiasts to be honest.
Sometimes gets a bit repetitive but the volume setting is hardly intrusive and I find from my experiences both from using the bus and driving them, that I can just switch off from the announcements.
Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
I agree there that it's quiet enough for you to just switch off from the announcements. Back when we had them I'd completely forget about them until I was getting close to my stop. Then again, I've heard 'This is the Castles Express X21 service to Bishop Auckland' so many times it's permanently ingrained in my brain!
The only thing I don't like about them is the fact that 'Next Stop' is picked up as 'Alexa' on my phone so it pauses my music at every stop
(03 Aug 2019, 5:06 pm)Dan wrote Can't see it changing any time soon, I'm afraid.
Probably count the number of times on one hand that negative feedback has been received about it - and it's only really been from enthusiasts to be honest.
Sometimes gets a bit repetitive but the volume setting is hardly intrusive and I find from my experiences both from using the bus and driving them, that I can just switch off from the announcements.
Sent from my SM-G960F using Tapatalk
Yeah the majority of people wouldn’t go to the length of submitting feedback, they’d just think to themselves that’s a bit annoying, which it would be in any situation if you hear the exact same sentence said to you every 2 minutes.
What makes it worse is that several Angels for example still say it once while the doors are open, then again seconds later when the doors are closed.
(04 Aug 2019, 6:40 am)ne14ne1 wrote
Yeah the majority of people wouldn’t go to the length of submitting feedback, they’d just think to themselves that’s a bit annoying, which it would be in any situation if you hear the exact same sentence said to you every 2 minutes.
What makes it worse is that several Angels for example still say it once while the doors are open, then again seconds later when the doors are closed.
(04 Aug 2019, 6:58 am)Dan wrote Unfortunately without feedback, how can any organisation the size of Go North East review whether what they are doing is right or wrong?
As well as the audio-visual announcements being a tool for visually-impaired customers, they are part of the product and it's important the brand is conveyed through this. The announcements are serving a completely different purpose in London, so there's less need for a more "friendly" approach.
Equally, aside from your comments on this forum, I don't think anyone (including driving staff) has recently reported repeating announcements on the Angel, via the proper channels. Without feedback, how can these things be repaired?
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I’ve fed back to customer services several times to be fair.
(04 Aug 2019, 6:58 am)Dan wrote Unfortunately without feedback, how can any organisation the size of Go North East review whether what they are doing is right or wrong?
As well as the audio-visual announcements being a tool for visually-impaired customers, they are part of the product and it's important the brand is conveyed through this. The announcements are serving a completely different purpose in London, so there's less need for a more "friendly" approach.
Equally, aside from your comments on this forum, I don't think anyone (including driving staff) has recently reported repeating announcements on the Angel, via the proper channels. Without feedback, how can these things be repaired?
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X10 broadcasting that the next stop is Testo's when leaving Dalton Park.
Not sure how many complaints there will be this weekend (or in the past or future).
Appreciate the road closure over an entire weekend isn't a normal occurrence, but there's many a time Testo's is missed out due to issues on the A19.
It still doesn't make it right that an organisation the size of GNE can't reflect, use initiative or common sense to make adaptations to the NSA.
I'm a big advocate of listening and using customer feedback, but it can't just be one way. Surely there has to be some common sense and self analysis used internally in situations like this?
