(12 Oct 2021, 7:54 pm)Keeiajs wrote Yeah everyone has the right to complain, but it is ignorance not looking at the website I understand Arriva/SC when they don't tell you the services. But when they are on the website, and for a bus to be late through peak times is not common especially with the 50 going on the A19 during rush hour aswell. GNE offer somewhere to look to see your services, and the ignorance in this current climate with DVLA.
(12 Oct 2021, 11:56 pm)L469 YVK wrote Cancelling last buses should be an absolute no no with passengers either given alternative means or common section of route covered by another service with unique parts picked up further down the line.
(14 Oct 2021, 10:52 pm)Adrian wrote Where's the signs at the bus stops telling them to look at the website? What about those without Internet access? Most bus stop timetables advise customers to call the the operator, but they're only there 9-5 Mon-Fri, despite most bus operations being active around 20 hours of the day.There is someone at eldon square/metro/gateshead and sometimes sunderland idk what hours they work though. But I agree they should be someone to put them up in several locations.
(14 Oct 2021, 10:56 pm)Keeiajs wrote There is someone at eldon square/metro/gateshead and sometimes sunderland idk what hours they work though. But I agree they should be someone to put them up in several locations.
(14 Oct 2021, 11:04 pm)Adrian wrote Yes, and that's all good and well for bus stations (if they're there? it's been months since I've seen any staff, other than Metrocentre), but there's not going to be someone stood at the end of the street to advise the elderly couple that they've over an hour to wait for the next bus. I agree that would be impractical, but it emphasises the importance of why a staffed telephone number should be available. Recognising that not everyone has Internet access or would know how to find that information (if they're not told about it)Really their should be a list with cancellations and what you can do to get their...
(14 Oct 2021, 11:04 pm)Adrian wrote Yes, and that's all good and well for bus stations (if they're there? it's been months since I've seen any staff, other than Metrocentre), but there's not going to be someone stood at the end of the street to advise the elderly couple that they've over an hour to wait for the next bus. I agree that would be impractical, but it emphasises the importance of why a staffed telephone number should be available. Recognising that not everyone has Internet access or would know how to find that information (if they're not told about it)
(14 Oct 2021, 11:20 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Totally agree.I thought it was 7-9, I agree it should be brought back. Or put one more in the control room, especially with so many breakdowns.
IIRC, GNE customer services used to be open 7-7 during the week and 9-5 on the weekends, but now it's just 9-5 Monday-Friday, with what looks like no intention to bring back the longer opening hours.
To me, CS being open 9-5 is ridiculous, it's only open in between the peak times, when people are less likely to need to use it!
(14 Oct 2021, 11:22 pm)Keeiajs wrote I thought it was 7-9, I agree it should be brought back. Or put one more in the control room, especially with so many breakdowns.
(15 Oct 2021, 12:12 am)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Presumably comes down to the cost pressures the company and industry is facing with full operating costs and reduced revenue. That said, I can't imagine these staff are on mega bucks and you'd think the marginal gains from offering customer service at this time would be much greater from that gained from repainting and rebranding services.
(14 Oct 2021, 10:52 pm)Adrian wrote Where's the signs at the bus stops telling them to look at the website? What about those without Internet access? Most bus stop timetables advise customers to call the the operator, but they're only there 9-5 Mon-Fri, despite most bus operations being active around 20 hours of the day.
Oh and the DVLA didn't create high attrition rates at just about every operator, so I'm not sure what the current climate is there. As Andreos1 posted a few days ago, this is an industry-wide problem that has existed for far too long, and no one has bothered to deal with it.
Agreed. I'd like to see NEBus come up with a collective guarantee to 'get you home' on this one. It's the ethical thing to do and it's something that will instil confidence in customers using those services.
(19 Oct 2021, 2:09 am)User2613 wrote Both the 17:35 X5 and the 18:05 X15 ie. the last two direct busses from durham to shotley bridge cancelled on Tuesday 19th and leaving a 2 hour gap busses. So much for not cancelling last journeys.
(19 Oct 2021, 8:35 am)Adrian wrote Disappointing. Hopefully they can work to reinstate the last journey at least.
The last three full 50s of the day from Durham are also cancelled, so no service after the 16.32.
(19 Oct 2021, 2:47 pm)Dan wrote I note that the web page was updated this morning to show that the 17:39 journey will now operate.
I'd expect that work will continue through the afternoon to attempt to cover the 18:11 also.
(19 Oct 2021, 3:26 pm)Adrian wrote Good to see the 17.39 reinstated, but we'll see what happens with regards to the 18.11. I'm surprised it was ever deemed operationally acceptable (as it was published) to drop the last three trips of the day for a service, without offering up an alternative.
It's clearly not the same as dropping a trip out of something on a 10-15 minute frequency, so there should always be an alternative offered for last journeys of the day. If they end early enough, as the 50 does, then you could for example advise customers to use the 21/X21 and get the Durham-bound 50 for stops between Waldridge and Chester Moor, or connect on to the later running 50s South Shields-bound at Chester-le-Street. You could also say that for the additional 4 minutes the 50 takes to go via Waldridge, a 21 from Durham could have been diverted, which would have only ate into the 4 minutes it has timetabled between the Lambton Arms and Front Street.
It feels to me that the onus is being placed firmly on the customer to find a solution, with an expectation that they'll have enough knowledge to work it out for themselves. Its pointless them using the journey planners, as they advise you to use cancelled trips.
(19 Oct 2021, 3:32 pm)Dan wrote I'm not sure it was ever deemed operationally acceptable.
It was published, but the cancellations are published at a certain time every day, reviewed again the following morning, and work continues right until the moment the journey is cancelled, to get it covered. Consecutive journeys, and first/last buses, still remain the utmost priority to cover - but the nature of how duties are compiled and allocated, as well as restrictions around driving time and breaks, mean it's really not as easy as taking a driver off one shift and putting them onto another.
There is a huge amount of resource that goes into compiling this list, on a daily basis including weekends - whilst I agree that more could, and should, be done to offer alternatives, I don't think it'd be quite as easy as has been suggested in the past.
Obviously diverting services is another beast completely, and comes with its own complications, which is why it's not done very often other than on the X9/X10.
(22 Oct 2021, 4:39 pm)Keeiajs wrote https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/short-noti...%20October I don't think I have seen such bad cancellations ever. (also I put it here didn't know whereelse)
(22 Oct 2021, 4:45 pm)Michael wrote That's the worst its been for a while now.
(22 Oct 2021, 4:52 pm)Ambassador wrote In my 18 or odd so years in my sector we’ve never had absence so bad as we’ve had this past week. Majority aren’t Covid either but this cold bug that is sweeping the area. If it wasn’t for home working and some folk soldiering on from their sofas I’d reckon we’d have been at 45% absence this week.
(22 Oct 2021, 4:52 pm)Ambassador wrote In my 18 or odd so years in my sector we’ve never had absence so bad as we’ve had this past week. Majority aren’t Covid either but this cold bug that is sweeping the area. If it wasn’t for home working and some folk soldiering on from their sofas I’d reckon we’d have been at 45% absence this week.
(22 Oct 2021, 5:02 pm)Dan wrote Indeed - I think the fact it fluctuates so greatly tells you it’s still largely sickness-driven rather than a shortage of staff (although, obviously, without the shortage of staff sickness wouldn’t pose an issue).For me about cancellation's they can cancel a every 12 min route every 24 mins. But its when it comes to routes whcih are every 60 mins 730/X31 while the passengers might not be happy about the 12 min one, the passengers for the every 60 min one would rejoice. Like 730 tomorrow has 240 mins between buses, which afaik no other buses go to anywhere on that route bar Lanchester.
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(22 Oct 2021, 5:02 pm)Dan wrote Indeed - I think the fact it fluctuates so greatly tells you it’s still largely sickness-driven rather than a shortage of staff (although, obviously, without the shortage of staff sickness wouldn’t pose an issue).
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(22 Oct 2021, 5:02 pm)Dan wrote Indeed - I think the fact it fluctuates so greatly tells you it’s still largely sickness-driven rather than a shortage of staff (although, obviously, without the shortage of staff sickness wouldn’t pose an issue).
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(22 Oct 2021, 6:45 pm)Storx wrote Ngl it screams like you've been relying on drivers doing overtime to fill the gaps but when things like the football is on they're refusing to come in as they'd rather go to the match (or at least watch it).god knows how they will mange if there is a strike.
(Just an outsider view rather than factual).
(22 Oct 2021, 6:57 pm)big mac wrote Feel sorry for anybody wanting an X1 tomorrow night. The last two journeys from Newcastle are both off.
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(22 Oct 2021, 7:04 pm)Dan wrote That is of course the worst case scenario, as of 15:00 this afternoon.Approximately what percentage of journeys that get posted on the cancellation list end up actually running?
I’m sure work will go into attempting to cover those journeys, as well as the two final journeys on the 49 and 57, four final journeys on the 96, and the large gap in the 730 during the day tomorrow.
As we saw the other day, the final 50 of the day from Durham was covered in the end - but Go North East are posting the worst case scenario as they continue to try and get shifts covered and/or swapped.
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(22 Oct 2021, 7:10 pm)big mac wrote Approximately what percentage of journeys that get posted on the cancellation list end up actually running?
Or, on the flip side, how many journeys that don't appear on the list end up getting cancelled?
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