(17 Apr 2021, 10:37 am)streetdeckfan wrote I would suggest it was from last nights journey on the X21, but we haven't had 6377 in a while!

Another one? I think these buses need to talk to FRANK as it looks like they might have a problem.

6377 & 7111 seen in Scarborough, StreetDeck seemingly had near covid max capacity and dupe wasn't required.

6377: https://flic.kr/p/2kTrxPE
7111: https://flic.kr/p/2kTmcng

(17 Apr 2021, 10:37 am)streetdeckfan wrote I would actually expect the first journey to be one of the most busy since all the people that need to try everything first will rush to use it (the same crowd that hang around the depots getting the first picture of a new tyre)

Aye, 6377 will require a deep clean tonight.

(17 Apr 2021, 12:38 pm)mb134 wrote Aye, 6377 will require a deep clean tonight.

Indeed.

There was that much froth that it looked like a rabies convention when I was there earlier.

Not to mention there's no toilet stops on the three hour journey to Scarborough.

I think I’d have preferred the dupe from a comfort pov tbh.

Pleased to see a commercial venture pay off though and grand day for it too

Indeed, GNE seemed to have scored lucky this weekend for the launch of their tourist services.

I personally feel have struck lucky with the new X11 as their was as mentioned in previous posts quite a few passengers on board resulting in a duplicate working with 7111 from I understanding joining 6377 at Heworth from what a driver told me during a brief chat a Whitby before heading down to Scarborough.

6377 performed extremely well with some of the steep inclines during the latter part of the route passed with through with ease as I only used it between Whitby and Scarborough having got the X9/X94 from Gateshead down to Whitby to give me a bit of time before it arrived in order to get some decent photos.

On the flip side of Arriva coin I had 7526 a B7 ALX400 which struggled with even a small incline, maybe Arriva need to take note of this new venture from Go North East and up there game with some new buses for the X93/X94 as they are crying out for it when the B9's are out of service, I noted 1438/1569 & I had the pleasure of 2862 on my return X93 journey back to Middlesbrough having photographed it heading in the opposite direction going to Scarborough, this was as a result of having been hit with "Drivers Discression" on "Covid Capacity Restrictions" on the X93/X94 where 1438/1569 were allocated so waited an hour and a half for a bus which was not very fun at all.

Therefore I see a potential gap where Go North East could step in with more Whitby to Scarborough shorts going via Robin Hoods Bay as I do think Arriva are their for the taking in this neck of the woods, I actually tried to ring Arriva to see if an extra bus could be sent as 20 of us were left standing but there offices were closed at 15:40 this afternoon despite the automated person saying they were open 8-5:30, terrible customer service and a clear don't care attitude towards their passengers.

Anyway enough of me having a little rant, see below a few photos of 6377 on the X11.

6377 in Whitby on it's maiden journey to Scarborough - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

6377 in Scarborough following it's first trip to Scarborough heading into the East Yorkshire Depot - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

(17 Apr 2021, 9:19 pm)Malarkey wrote I personally feel have struck lucky with the new X11 as their was as mentioned in previous posts quite a few passengers on board resulting in a duplicate working with 7111 from I understanding joining 6377 at Heworth from what a driver told me during a brief chat a Whitby before heading down to Scarborough.

6377 performed extremely well with some of the steep inclines during the latter part of the route passed with through with ease as I only used it between Whitby and Scarborough having got the X9/X94 from Gateshead down to Whitby to give me a bit of time before it arrived in order to get some decent photos.

On the flip side of Arriva coin I had 7526 a B7 ALX400 which struggled with even a small incline, maybe Arriva need to take note of this new venture from Go North East and up there game with some new buses for the X93/X94 as they are crying out for it when the B9's are out of service, I noted 1438/1569 & I had the pleasure of 2862 on my return X93 journey back to Middlesbrough having photographed it heading in the opposite direction going to Scarborough, this was as a result of having been hit with "Drivers Discression" on "Covid Capacity Restrictions" on the X93/X94 where 1438/1569 were allocated so waited an hour and a half for a bus which was not very fun at all.

Therefore I see a potential gap where Go North East could step in with more Whitby to Scarborough shorts going via Robin Hoods Bay as I do think Arriva are their for the taking in this neck of the woods, I actually tried to ring Arriva to see if an extra bus could be sent as 20 of us were left standing but there offices were closed at 15:40 this afternoon despite the automated person saying they were open 8-5:30, terrible customer service and a clear don't care attitude towards their passengers.

Anyway enough of me having a little rant, see below a few photos of 6377 on the X11.

6377 in Whitby on it's maiden journey to Scarborough - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

6377 in Scarborough following it's first trip to Scarborough heading into the East Yorkshire Depot - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

I believe 2862 was allocated to the X93 this afternoon as a result of a passenger being sick on 7401 and 2862 was all that was spare at Whitby to replace it, can't say I enjoyed that one all the way from Scarborough to Middlesbrough this afternoon.

I do wish Arriva would do more to try and minimise the liklihoods of single deckers doing X93/X94 during the peak season especially atm with reduced capacity, don't help that some B9s are off for repaint.

(17 Apr 2021, 10:12 pm)Jimmi wrote I believe 2862 was allocated to the X93 this afternoon as a result of a passenger being sick on 7401 and 2862 was all that was spare at Whitby to replace it, can't say I enjoyed that one all the way from Scarborough to Middlesbrough this afternoon.

I do wish Arriva would do more to try and minimise the liklihoods of single deckers doing X93/X94 during the peak season especially atm with reduced capacity, don't help that some B9s are off for repaint.

I'm sure I read that the B9s are having engineering work done on them alongside their repaints to ensure better reliability in the summer. Obviously annoying at the moment, but hopefully beneficial for the summer when they're really needed (though with a bit of foresight, they'd have them all sorted before now).

(17 Apr 2021, 9:19 pm)Malarkey wrote On the flip side of Arriva coin I had 7526 a B7 ALX400 which struggled with even a small incline, maybe Arriva need to take note of this new venture from Go North East and up there game with some new buses for the X93/X94 as they are crying out for it when the B9's are out of service, I noted 1438/1569 & I had the pleasure of 2862 on my return X93 journey back to Middlesbrough having photographed it heading in the opposite direction going to Scarborough, this was as a result of having been hit with "Drivers Discression" on "Covid Capacity Restrictions" on the X93/X94 where 1438/1569 were allocated so waited an hour and a half for a bus which was not very fun at all.

Therefore I see a potential gap where Go North East could step in with more Whitby to Scarborough shorts going via Robin Hoods Bay as I do think Arriva are their for the taking in this neck of the woods, I actually tried to ring Arriva to see if an extra bus could be sent as 20 of us were left standing but there offices were closed at 15:40 this afternoon despite the automated person saying they were open 8-5:30, terrible customer service and a clear don't care attitude towards their passengers.

Hard to justify brand new vehicles for a seasonal PVR increase though, and those B7s are reportedly pretty reliable (and are having engineering attention ahead of the summer season). At the moment the B9s are obviously undergoing work ahead of the summer (though this should have been done in the winter, really).

On the GNE having more shorts, where would they operate that from? It would be far more suited to EYMS, if anyone. Also for the additonal bus, if the spare (2862) has already been put out then realistically nothing would be able to get to Scarborough until the next bus rocked up regardless - drivers also make it known to supervisors if they hit bus full and leave folk behind, to my knowledge, so if something could be done it probably would have been.

(17 Apr 2021, 10:56 pm)mb134 wrote Hard to justify brand new vehicles for a seasonal PVR increase though, and those B7s are reportedly pretty reliable (and are having engineering attention ahead of the summer season). At the moment the B9s are obviously undergoing work ahead of the summer (though this should have been done in the winter, really).

On the GNE having more shorts, where would they operate that from? It would be far more suited to EYMS, if anyone. Also for the additonal bus, if the spare (2862) has already been put out then realistically nothing would be able to get to Scarborough until the next bus rocked up regardless - drivers also make it known to supervisors if they hit bus full and leave folk behind, to my knowledge, so if something could be done it probably would have been.

I won't go into too much detail on here with it being a GNE thread. But realistically, they should be replace with OM936 StreetDecks (as part of wider investment) with 3x or 4x moving to Ashington for the X14 or X20. That would then leave 2x or 3x as NE floats.

(18 Apr 2021, 10:58 am)L469 YVK wrote I won't go into too much detail on here with it being a GNE thread. But realistically, they should be replace with OM936 StreetDecks (as part of wider investment) with 3x or 4x moving to Ashington for the X14 or X20. That would then leave 2x or 3x as NE floats.

There lies the problem.....

(18 Apr 2021, 11:18 am)Adrian wrote There lies the problem.....

Might potentially open up the opportunity for an Eastrider / XLines service to compete against the X93 if Arriva don't book their ideas up!

(18 Apr 2021, 12:17 pm)L469 YVK wrote Might potentially open up the opportunity for an Eastrider / XLines service to compete against the X93 if Arriva don't book their ideas up!

I wonder if it might be viable to have the X11 jointly operated by GNE and EY if things go well.
I could see a northbound morning journey being quite good, with there being a driver change over and an additional southbound journey at lunch time using the EY vehicle (and presumably a GNE driver)

(17 Apr 2021, 10:12 pm)Jimmi wrote I believe 2862 was allocated to the X93 this afternoon as a result of a passenger being sick on 7401 and 2862 was all that was spare at Whitby to replace it, can't say I enjoyed that one all the way from Scarborough to Middlesbrough this afternoon.

I do wish Arriva would do more to try and minimise the liklihoods of single deckers doing X93/X94 during the peak season especially atm with reduced capacity, don't help that some B9s are off for repaint.

Arriva could've easily allocated 7609/7610 as the Whitby P&R's carried nothing but fresh air throughout the day for the journey's I seen in both the morning and afternoon rather than allocating a Solo, Pulsar or a Streetlite but I see this as going to be a repeat occurance throughout the summer.

As noted by someone else the B9's should've been repainted and sorted mechanically in the winter prior to the summer timetable coming into effect, saying that all 4 B9's were out in service at one point yesterday.

I'm sure Jesmond could spare some E400's off of the 43/44/45 as again I don't see these ever been at full capacity and a single decker would be more than justified.

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(18 Apr 2021, 1:22 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I wonder if it might be viable to have the X11 jointly operated by GNE and EY if things go well.
I could see a northbound morning journey being quite good, with there being a driver change over and an additional southbound journey at lunch time using the EY vehicle (and presumably a GNE driver)

I think having EY doing shorts between Whitby and Scarborough via Robin Hoods Bay and Peasolm Park operating Every 30 Minutes would offer a massive improvement but then you still have issue of more journey's being needed back to Middlesbrough, maybe increase the X93 from Hourly to Half Hourly with X94 short from Whitby to Scarborough staying Houry creating a service Every 20 Minutes from Arriva and Every 30 Minutes for EY resulting in a service Every 12 Minutes between Whitby and Scarborough as loadings on RHB seem to be quite unpredictable as I noted yesterday. The X11 would then remain as it is with the potential of EY operating a NB journey to Newcastle.

(18 Apr 2021, 1:24 pm)Malarkey wrote I'm sure Jesmond could spare some E400's off of the 43/44/45 as again I don't see these ever been at full capacity and a single decker would be more than justified.

The same ones that were done on the 308, 501, 505, 518 and ironically the X93 that by the time they ended up on the X21 / X22, most (particularly 7501-06) were not suitable.

(18 Apr 2021, 1:24 pm)Malarkey wrote Arriva could've easily allocated 7609/7610 as the Whitby P&R's carried nothing but fresh air throughout the day for the journey's I seen in both the morning and afternoon rather than allocating a Solo, Pulsar or a Streetlite but I see this as going to be a repeat occurance throughout the summer.

They couldn't have "easily" allocated either of those, as the P&R is a contracted route with certain requirements - one of those being the use of a decker.

(18 Apr 2021, 2:03 pm)L469 YVK wrote The same ones that were done on the 308, 501, 505, 518 and ironically the X93 that by the time they ended up on the X21 / X22, most (particularly 7501-06) were not suitable.

Yep. Really, looking at the ANE fleet the only suitable deckers (bar 7424-6) would probably be Ashington's 14-plates (7524-8). The 64/15 plate E400s there aren't as solid as the 14-plates in terms of reliability as far as I'm aware. However, even then, you'd be taking stuff away from a depot which also has a seasonal PVR increase. 

Remember that, bar being slow up a hill, all 3 B7TLs were out and performing yesterday. The reason why the single decks were allocated was because 3x B9TLs are off for repaint/engineering (and sickness, as was mentioned yesterday?) ahead of the actual summer. While B7TLs may be a bit lacklustre in terms of performance, they are generally pretty bulletproof. Investment in the ANE fleet is most definitely required, but those B7TLs are having engineering attention so shouldn't be an issue - remember also that Transdev, who can do no wrong in the eyes of many, are using 05-plate B7TLs on the "Pendle Wizz".

Well Said mb134 - this thread along with many others seems to turn into bash arriva north east. You mention o5 plates Transdev.... i'll offer the 05 plate single decks of stagecoach Newcastle that was ploughing out loads of smoke as followed them last night. But yet to see anyone complain about Stagecoach;s ageing fleet!

It's a case of just being unfortunate timing of the repainting of the B9s that has screwed things up, seemed like it was a last minute decision to rebrand them after 7405 was forced into a repaint after being involved in an RTC.

Like mentioned Whitby Park & Ride has to take priority for allocations of 7609/10 plus the B9s, just fortunate both branded buses were out on Park & Ride yesterday. Other issue being spares in Whitby, there is still cost implications in keeping buses sat spare doing nothing and to make matters worse the spare could be needed on anything including the 95 that can't use anything really any bigger than a Solo or the X4 which has low bridges so a Solo is all that can be there without having to add a second bus.

Still with all this in mind, hope more is done to try and prevent stuff like this happening, even just trying to ensure the full X93s get the deckers as opposed to the X94 which spends half the day just running as far as Whitby.

Capacity issues seemingly wasn't just an issue with Arriva yesterday, East Yorkshire allocated a B7RLE Centro to the 128 which is more commonly a double decker route.

I noticed on bustimes.org that the X11 completely missed Billingham out both yesterday and today on the return trip.

This resulted in the bus basically running incredibly early and arriving into Gateshead eventually around half an hour early.

Given this is a registered local bus service by definition, that is ridiculous. Appreciate not many will target it after Middlesbrough, but that's not the point.

Possible because nobody wanted to get on or off

(18 Apr 2021, 7:13 pm)Micheal Aaron Parker wrote Possible because nobody wanted to get on or off

And how exactly would the driver know that if he's on the A19?

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(18 Apr 2021, 6:36 pm)RobinHood wrote I noticed on bustimes.org that the X11 completely missed Billingham out both yesterday and today on the return trip.

This resulted in the bus basically running incredibly early  and arriving into Gateshead eventually around half an hour early.

Given this is a registered local bus service by definition, that is ridiculous. Appreciate not many will target it after Middlesbrough, but that's not the point.

I noticed it got into Gateshead very early yesterday but assumed it was just a timetable error on Bustimes. As it's a registered service, as you say, I do wonder how leaving a timing point 15-20 minutes early can be allowed? (Unless it's listed as set down only northbound, would that exempt it?)

Edit: Got the timing slightly wrong, changed to 15-20 from 30.

The coach went through Billingham today according to the map. Maybe 6377 does the A19 if its full and the coach does Billingham

(18 Apr 2021, 8:10 pm)Micheal Aaron Parker wrote The coach went through Billingham today according to the map. Maybe 6377 does the A19 if its full and the coach does Billingham

6377 also went through Billingham this morning. It's the evening journey we're talking about.

(18 Apr 2021, 6:36 pm)RobinHood wrote I noticed on bustimes.org that the X11 completely missed Billingham out both yesterday and today on the return trip.

This resulted in the bus basically running incredibly early and arriving into Gateshead eventually around half an hour early.

Given this is a registered local bus service by definition, that is ridiculous. Appreciate not many will target it after Middlesbrough, but that's not the point.

Middlesbrough Bus Station seemingly omitted on tonight's journey if the tracking on BusTimes is correct.

Another thing I've picked up on from looking at photos online is the service is not leaving from the correct stand in Scarborough Town Centre, its registered to leave from stand U (same as 7A & 128) but is leaving from the first stand enabling it to turn onto Hanover Road to join Victoria Road rather than do the length of Victoria Road prior to turning left onto Northway towards Whitby.

(18 Apr 2021, 9:30 pm)Jimmi wrote Middlesbrough Bus Station seemingly omitted on tonight's journey if the tracking on BusTimes is correct.

Another thing I've picked up on from looking at photos online is the service is not leaving from the correct stand in Scarborough Town Centre, its registered to leave from stand U (same as 7A & 128) but is leaving from the first stand enabling it to turn onto Hanover Road to join Victoria Road rather than do the length of Victoria Road prior to turning left onto Northway towards Whitby.

I asked the driver about this yesterday afternoon prior to 6377 doing the Whitby short and he responded "It was quicker for leaving Scarborough", in all honesty I think doing a right hand turn off of Stand S into on coming traffic is quite dangerous and in all fairness it did cut off traffic coming onto Westbrough from Northway/Valley Bridge Road.

But, but... Isn't it just independents who miss sections of route out? I'd hope BSOG wasn't being claimed for these missing sections mind. 

Either way, glad to hear the first weekend was a success. Hopefully it is sustainable and loads are like that on a regular basis.

(19 Apr 2021, 8:24 am)Andreos1 wrote But, but... Isn't it just independents who miss sections of route out? I'd hope BSOG wasn't being claimed for these missing sections mind. 

Either way, glad to hear the first weekend was a success. Hopefully it is sustainable and loads are like that on a regular basis.

Was just going to say the same but you beat me to it.

(19 Apr 2021, 8:24 am)Andreos1 wrote But, but... Isn't it just independents who miss sections of route out? I'd hope BSOG wasn't being claimed for these missing sections mind. 

Either way, glad to hear the first weekend was a success. Hopefully it is sustainable and loads are like that on a regular basis.

Come on, Andreos1 - when has anyone ever suggested that?

What has been suggested in the past is that larger operators deal with drivers in these situations much better than some independent operators do - as we often find with independent operators, the issue keeps happening time and time again. I'd be VERY surprised if this happened again next weekend with the X11.