(26 Jun 2022, 9:02 am)ifm001 wrote Even more so confusing when the 28A does not run on a Sunday 
Granted cancellations are listed for 28B but the phantom cancelled journeys on 28A make it appear to be increased cancellations

Resulting in a bus at 1710 from Newcastle to Kibblesworth then nothing for just shy of 4 hours until 2105.

(Mind this could be a tester for end of July when there is no Sunday service, so a practice run really)

The press release has now been updated to say that the current 28/28B set-up on Sundays is to continue.

(26 Jun 2022, 9:02 am)ifm001 wrote Even more so confusing when the 28A does not run on a Sunday 
Granted cancellations are listed for 28B but the phantom cancelled journeys on 28A make it appear to be increased cancellations

Resulting in a bus at 1710 from Newcastle to Kibblesworth then nothing for just shy of 4 hours until 2105.

(Mind this could be a tester for end of July when there is no Sunday service, so a practice run really)

According to the website the 410 and 510 are running on the 28b or they better be as thats when I finish work!

Plus we were told that the 28b will continue to run on a Sunday - have you heard differently as I doubt nexus would leave lamsly and the surrounding area without a bus on a Sunday?

(26 Jun 2022, 9:32 am)Rob44 wrote According to the website the 410 and 510 are running on the 28b or they better be as thats when I finish work!

Plus we were told that the 28b will continue to run on a Sunday - have you heard differently as I doubt nexus would leave lamsly and the surrounding area without a bus on a Sunday?

Durham County Council are funding the new 28/29 and they originally did not propose to have a Sunday service, so Go North East announced earlier this week that there would be no Sunday service.

Durham County Council has since revised its plans, and there will now be a 28/28B service on Sundays, and Go North East’s website has been updated accordingly.


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(26 Jun 2022, 9:55 am)Dan wrote Durham County Council are funding the new 28/29 and they originally did not propose to have a Sunday service, so Go North East announced earlier this week that there would be no Sunday service.

Durham County Council has since revised its plans, and there will now be a 28/28B service on Sundays, and Go North East’s website has been updated accordingly.


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Cheers Dan thats what i thought. Are DCC paying for the 28b new - kibb buses though? thought that would be Nexus?

(26 Jun 2022, 10:20 am)Rob44 wrote Cheers Dan thats what i thought. Are DCC paying for the 28b new - kibb buses though? thought that would be Nexus?

Durham County Council and Nexus may come to a financial arrangement between themselves, but Durham County Council is the body tendering the service.


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(26 Jun 2022, 1:46 am)Bazza wrote Are these disruptions caused solely by driver shortages? Or is it a lack of working buses?

Across the three main operators I would say probably a combination of the two, but mainly the lack of drivers. 

This has been a problem for some time now, more than enough time to to solve it if it was an attractive job to go into as recruitment and retention wouldn’t be a problem.

The operators need to return to basics.  And if it means working together to provide services that get people from a to b when they want to travel then that is what they should do.

Judging by the amount of buses regularly parked up at places like Washington Galleries and Chester-le-Street, I'd suggest it's almost exclusively driver shortages. Although I appreciate there's no actual public data on this.

Extensive recruitment appears to have been going on for decades. Certainly in my memory, it's always been the case that constant recruitment campaigns have been ran by the three big operators up here, along with several open days etc. Recruitment is one thing, but retention is another. I wonder if operators are struggling with the latter more than the former? 

A lot is said about driver pay, and whilst I'd agree it plays a big part in it, I think there's a lot more (outside of basic pay) that could be done by operators to make the job more attractive.

One thing I am interested in - how have the services with better reliability/low cancellations recovered compared to the ones with a high number of short notice cancellations?

For example - The Coaster 1. It's extremely rare that it is affected by short notice cancellations - and I've noticed services getting increasingly busy at the minute.

However, how have services at Consett faired in their recovery in comparison?

(26 Jun 2022, 7:40 pm)Thomas12 wrote One thing I am interested in - how have the services with better reliability/low cancellations recovered compared to the ones with a high number of short notice cancellations?

For example - The Coaster 1. It's extremely rare that it is affected by short notice cancellations - and I've noticed services getting increasingly busy at the minute. 

However, how have services at Consett faired in their recovery in comparison?

Well at Consett it seems obvious that their recovery isn't going as well, with frequency reductions on most services.

When do we see Drivers shortages end, cos I think it could go into 2023 and 18 months of the same thing, its not getting better its getting worse.

(27 Jun 2022, 1:10 pm)Unber43 wrote When do we see Drivers shortages end, cos I think it could go into 2023 and 18 months of the same thing, its not getting better its getting worse.

Will it ever end?
We've had fingers pointed at Covid, the DVLA, VOSA, HGV operators, the Government and Brexit. 

But ultimately, they're going to constantly struggle to attract and retain drivers.
They always have done and for all the 'TeamGNE' slogans and platitudes, the same issues will continue to apply there and elsewhere with other operators going forward. Office and other staff (such as fitters) shouldn't be the default fall-back option when shortages kick in.

Just look at what's happening at Chester and the resentment that is causing. We've even had drivers and staff there saying any goodwill has gone from others.
Throw in the pay and conditions that are being being gradually eroded along with all of these monitoring devices that are installed on vehicles and it's no wonder they have issues.
Regardless of Covid, DVLA, VOSA, HGV operators, the Government and Brexit...

(27 Jun 2022, 1:22 pm)Andreos1 wrote Will it ever end?
We've had fingers pointed at Covid, the DVLA, VOSA, HGV operators, the Government and Brexit. 

Don't forget the outbreaks of football fever

(27 Jun 2022, 1:45 pm)Jimmi wrote Don't forget the outbreaks of football fever

Now come on, be fair. It was a shortage of passengers, not drivers for that one

(27 Jun 2022, 1:22 pm)Andreos1 wrote Will it ever end?
We've had fingers pointed at Covid, the DVLA, VOSA, HGV operators, the Government and Brexit. 

But ultimately, they're going to constantly struggle to attract and retain drivers.
They always have done and for all the 'TeamGNE' slogans and platitudes, the same issues will continue to apply there and elsewhere with other operators going forward. Office and other staff (such as fitters) shouldn't be the default fall-back option when shortages kick in.

Just look at what's happening at Chester and the resentment that is causing. We've even had drivers and staff there saying any goodwill has gone from others.
Throw in the pay and conditions that are being being gradually eroded along with all of these monitoring devices that are installed on vehicles and it's no wonder they have issues.
Regardless of Covid, DVLA, VOSA, HGV operators, the Government and Brexit...

I mean with July 24th around the corner, there's ultimately going to be a need for less drivers to cover the daily PVR, but you wonder whether they'll still be in a position of not being able to fulfil the timetable.

There's also the question around whether a greater spare % in driving resource is going to be required, if GNE end up taking on a proportion of this commercial work that they've chucked towards the local authorities? There's an actual cost to the business for not running secured work, whereas in the absence of a 'delay repay' type model, they can get away with a meaningless apology at most for their commercial stuff.

(27 Jun 2022, 1:45 pm)Jimmi wrote Don't forget the outbreaks of football fever

November/December will be a nightmare with all the England matches in the World Cup!

(27 Jun 2022, 2:18 pm)Adrian wrote I mean with July 24th around the corner, there's ultimately going to be a need for less drivers to cover the daily PVR, but you wonder whether they'll still be in a position of not being able to fulfil the timetable.

There's also the question around whether a greater spare % in driving resource is going to be required, if GNE end up taking on a proportion of this commercial work that they've chucked towards the local authorities? There's an actual cost to the business for not running secured work, whereas in the absence of a 'delay repay' type model, they can get away with a meaningless apology at most for their commercial stuff.


November/December will be a nightmare with all the England matches in the World Cup!

Dunno about you, but I can't see it myself.
To counter existing natural turnover and shortfall, the numbers being processed through the driving school needs to be huge.
Then take in to account any additional turnover as a result of the Chester closure and they're on an even stickier wicket!

It will be interesting to see how they manage the staff resource given the greater reliance on the those routes you mention and penalties that should be in place.

(27 Jun 2022, 2:18 pm)Adrian wrote I mean with July 24th around the corner, there's ultimately going to be a need for less drivers to cover the daily PVR, but you wonder whether they'll still be in a position of not being able to fulfil the timetable.

There's also the question around whether a greater spare % in driving resource is going to be required, if GNE end up taking on a proportion of this commercial work that they've chucked towards the local authorities? There's an actual cost to the business for not running secured work, whereas in the absence of a 'delay repay' type model, they can get away with a meaningless apology at most for their commercial stuff.


November/December will be a nightmare with all the England matches in the World Cup!

The 24th July changes will still save quite a few PVR (20 odd?), and lots of reductions to evening and Sunday services will save drivers.
The big question is how will they cope with all the extra scholars from September and the Metro flow blockade.

(27 Jun 2022, 5:05 pm)busmanT wrote The 24th July changes will still save quite a few PVR (20 odd?), and lots of reductions to evening and Sunday services will save drivers.
The big question is how will they cope with all the extra scholars from September and the Metro flow blockade.

5/6th Sept will be very interesting for sure

(27 Jun 2022, 5:05 pm)busmanT wrote The 24th July changes will still save quite a few PVR (20 odd?), and lots of reductions to evening and Sunday services will save drivers.
The big question is how will they cope with all the extra scholars from September and the Metro flow blockade.

Plus paired with a reduction in establishment due to the school holidays, I wouldn't expect there to be any short-notice cancellations over this period.

All the evening/Sunday services (a lot of which were recently introduced during the pandemic) would save quite a substantial amount of drivers, I'd imagine. More than what you'd first think.

i see the first 28a of the day tomorrow is canceled..... so much for my lye in.... will have to take fun police to work then come back and hang about till 11 when i start

(27 Jun 2022, 6:29 pm)Dan wrote Plus paired with a reduction in establishment due to the school holidays, I wouldn't expect there to be any short-notice cancellations over this period.

All the evening/Sunday services (a lot of which were recently introduced during the pandemic) would save quite a substantial amount of drivers, I'd imagine. More than what you'd first think.

Hopefully these reductions won't lose too many passengers (if you can't get home on the bus, you won't use it to go out and vice-versa).

Whilst many of the early morning journeys were only introduced during the pandemic, the evening and Sunday reductions seem to be affecting long standing frequencies.

With the reduced frequencies I hope that the drivers are given more running time as each remaining bus will be busier - the 21 on a Sunday for example, where the frequency drops from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes.

(28 Jun 2022, 1:36 pm)busmanT wrote Hopefully these reductions won't lose too many passengers (if you can't get home on the bus, you won't use it to go out and vice-versa).

Whilst many of the early morning journeys were only introduced during the pandemic, the evening and Sunday reductions seem to be affecting long standing frequencies.

With the reduced frequencies I hope that the drivers are given more running time as each remaining bus will be busier - the 21 on a Sunday for example, where the frequency drops from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes. 

I'm sitting here waiting for the inevitable when Newcastle have a home match on a Sunday and the 1bp2h X10 can't cope!

Going to be fun and games with that one at times!

All the parking bays at Park Lane were taken when I arrived, 2 solos (one on the 60 and one on the X6) were abandoned in the stand. People wanting the 61 had been waiting for an hour with cheers when a driver turned up with one passenger commenting she was fed up and would've just gone home if one didn't turn up.

Fun!

(30 Jun 2022, 9:59 am)F114TML wrote All the parking bays at Park Lane were taken when I arrived, 2 solos (one on the 60 and one on the X6) were abandoned in the stand. People wanting the 61 had been waiting for an hour with cheers when a driver turned up with one passenger commenting she was fed up and would've just gone home if one didn't turn up.

Fun!

#betterthanever

#betterthannever

(30 Jun 2022, 9:59 am)F114TML wrote All the parking bays at Park Lane were taken when I arrived, 2 solos (one on the 60 and one on the X6) were abandoned in the stand. People wanting the 61 had been waiting for an hour with cheers when a driver turned up with one passenger commenting she was fed up and would've just gone home if one didn't turn up.

Fun!

There has been two solo's on the 61 & 60 today. I can imagine Park Lane being just an absolute nightmare. 

but you know #betterthanever

Most of the 61's route is also covered by the 22 and 23, but that doesn't really help people who live in Murton, want to go into Sunderland, and don't want to walk all the way over to Dalton Park just because there's an extra 4 buses an hour into Sunderland from there.

(30 Jun 2022, 1:56 pm)wibblejunior wrote Most of the 61's route is also covered by the 22 and 23, but that doesn't really help people who live in Murton, want to go into Sunderland, and don't want to walk all the way over to Dalton Park just because there's an extra 4 buses an hour into Sunderland from there.

Since the 65 connects murton/Dalton park and Seaham for passengers between the 2 areas, service 61 should be non stop on a19 between leaving ryhope and arriving at Dalton park, faster journey times for passengers from Murton to Sunderland, top end of Seaham is well served by service 60 and 22/23.

#bring back the X53


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(30 Jun 2022, 4:12 pm)cbma06 wrote Since the 65 connects murton/Dalton park and Seaham for passengers between the 2 areas, service 61 should be non stop on a19 between leaving ryhope and arriving at Dalton park, faster journey times for passengers from Murton to Sunderland, top end of Seaham is well served by service 60 and 22/23.

#bring back the X53


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Tbh the 65 might be worth extending to Sunderland (for changeovers), atleast once per hour. To make it every 30 mins with the X6.

(30 Jun 2022, 4:28 pm)Unber43 wrote Tbh the 65 might be worth extending to Sunderland (for changeovers), atleast once per hour. To make it every 30 mins with the X6.

If service 20 is every 15 minutes, can’t half the 20’s every hour change to service 65, and the other half change into doing the 204/204a, so service 20/65/204/204a be under the prince bishop brand since there all go into Durham


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(30 Jun 2022, 4:33 pm)cbma06 wrote If service 20 is every 15 minutes, can’t half the 20’s every hour change to service 65, and the other half change into doing the 204/204a, so service 20/65/204/204a be under the prince bishop brand since there all go into Durham


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You'd have to double the frequency of the 204/204A, as they run 2-hourly each, combining to an hourly service.

(30 Jun 2022, 4:33 pm)cbma06 wrote If service 20 is every 15 minutes, can’t half the 20’s every hour change to service 65, and the other half change into doing the 204/204a, so service 20/65/204/204a be under the prince bishop brand since there all go into Durham


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I think the 65 extending to Sunderland demand is there especially from Hetton etc cos the 35 does take ages. You could extend the 65 upto Easington Lane tbh or even as far as South Hetton hourly