Durham isn't much better for buses on layover - Arriva seem to be treating North Road as a bus dumping ground, with the first few stands frequently being blocked by seemingly abandoned buses. Sutton Street isn't much better either.

(05 Jul 2022, 8:46 pm)wibblejunior wrote Durham isn't much better for buses on layover - Arriva seem to be treating North Road as a bus dumping ground, with the first few stands frequently being blocked by seemingly abandoned buses. Sutton Street isn't much better either.

Is there actually anywhere for them to actually go? 

Not rhetorical that just curious, can't really blame Arriva if Durham County Council hasn't actually setup anywhere for drivers to have breaks. It's always been a problem at Durham tbh.

(05 Jul 2022, 8:56 pm)Storx wrote Is there actually anywhere for them to actually go? 

Not rhetorical that just curious, can't really blame Arriva if Durham County Council hasn't actually setup anywhere for drivers to have breaks. It's always been a problem at Durham tbh.

The problem at the moment is that Arriva are suffering from a staff shortage (contrary to popular belief, it’s not just Go North East cancelling services).

Because the bus station is shut, there is no where to park the buses. So they dump them on Sutton Street as much as possible, but once that is full, they need to use North Road.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is parking on Sutton Street not dangerous?

(05 Jul 2022, 9:06 pm)Dan wrote The problem at the moment is that Arriva are suffering from a staff shortage (contrary to popular belief, it’s not just Go North East cancelling services).

Because the bus station is shut, there is no where to park the buses. So they dump them on Sutton Street as much as possible, but once that is full, they need to use North Road.

Yeah that's fair, knew there was problems at Darlington and Durham tbf.

Thought it might have been an issue with reliefs aswell, I know there's been problems at Durham since forever with buses just been dumped on random stands.

Stagecoach cancelled the one journey I was going to make today. Mind what I like about the app they put a line through the scheduled time and underneath cancelled in red.

(05 Jul 2022, 9:32 pm)Unber43 wrote Is parking on Sutton Street not dangerous?

Not really. The bit they park on is a very lightly used but wide side road which has a bus stop. You're probably thinking of the section leading onto the roundabout

(05 Jul 2022, 9:51 pm)Storx wrote Yeah that's fair, knew there was problems at Darlington and Durham tbf.

Thought it might have been an issue with reliefs aswell, I know there's been problems at Durham since forever with buses just been dumped on random stands.

Problem with Durham is everything is timed in a sense where everything must run like clockwork which seems fine on paper but in reality doesn't always play ball, most stands during the daytime are a case of as soon as one bus departs, another should be pulling onto it, if anything is either a minute early or late then there's a blockade cos it can't get on (some stands you can kinda get away with pulling in behind the bus).

7 now has to layover somewhere in Durham prior to departure as it has about 15 minutes turnaround time (usually has to set down behind one waiting to depart).

Arriva are always gonna be a more awkward one for dumping buses and such as with the exception of most trips on the 7 & X12 all their services in Durham is centred around it with changeovers and such occurring there whereas GNE services in Durham (except the 40/41/42 which avoid North Road) changeover elsewhere.

(06 Jul 2022, 7:34 am)Jimmi wrote Problem with Durham is everything is timed in a sense where everything must run like clockwork which seems fine on paper but in reality doesn't always play ball, most stands during the daytime are a case of as soon as one bus departs, another should be pulling onto it, if anything is either a minute early or late then there's a blockade cos it can't get on (some stands you can kinda get away with pulling in behind the bus).

7 now has to layover somewhere in Durham prior to departure as it has about 15 minutes turnaround time (usually has to set down behind one waiting to depart).

Arriva are always gonna be a more awkward one for dumping buses and such as with the exception of most trips on the 7 & X12 all their services in Durham is centred around it with changeovers and such occurring there whereas GNE services in Durham (except the 40/41/42 which avoid North Road) changeover elsewhere.

Thanks for that had a feeling it was the same as both as Blyth and Haymarket where if something goes late it all goes mental, Haymarket is particularly bad especially since the drop off stand usually has a bus dumped on it anyway.

Just curious, does Durham do regulation like the Northern depots, where things just swap around to keep things on time. I believe they do in Durham which I prefer to other operators curtailing services short but not 100% sure.

First two 28As of the day cancelled. Good luck getting to school kids!

4 26's in a row cancelled

2 56's in a row cancelled

the last 27 is cancelled from Newcastle

(06 Jul 2022, 11:06 pm)Unber43 wrote 4 26's in a row cancelled

2 56's in a row cancelled

the last 27 is cancelled from Newcastle

Do you have nothing better to do than to go through the list every day pointing this out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(06 Jul 2022, 11:21 pm)Dan wrote Do you have nothing better to do than to go through the list every day pointing this out?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah I do, but sadly I need to check these cos I need to go out and I use GNE. And it literally takes a couple mins to check

(06 Jul 2022, 11:29 pm)Unber43 wrote Yeah I do, but sadly I need to check these cos I need to go out and I use GNE. And it literally takes a couple mins to check

You seem to use a wide variety of different services, from all across the region and at different times of day. You must go out quite a lot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It is a bus forum where these things can and should be discussed, Dan. Rich of anyone on here to suggest that others should have better things to do.

Anyway, with the exception of someone capturing the cancellations page on the Wayback Machine, there's not really any other way to keep a public note of all this for the future.

(06 Jul 2022, 11:51 pm)omnicity4659 wrote It is a bus forum where these things can and should be discussed, Dan. Rich of anyone on here to suggest that others should have better things to do.

Anyway, with the exception of someone capturing the cancellations page on the Wayback Machine, there's not really any other way to keep a public note of all this for the future.

Can’t wait to come back to this thread in ten years time to find out that two 56s in a row were cancelled on Thursday 7 July 2022, with no further information than that.

Mark the date in your diary!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(06 Jul 2022, 11:49 pm)Dan wrote You seem to use a wide variety of different services, from all across the region and at different times of day. You must go out quite a lot!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I do use a few regularly. 

Its mainley just scrolling through them, trying to find the ones I need, thankfully only very little of mine are cancelled.

But I mean while scrolling through them its pretty easy to see. And sometimes I do use a lot of GNE, and buses from all different depots.

---

(06 Jul 2022, 11:57 pm)Dan wrote Can’t wait to come back to this thread in ten years time to find out that two 56s in a row were cancelled on Thursday 7 July 2022, with no further information than that.

Mark the date in your diary!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I did laugh at this

(06 Jul 2022, 11:57 pm)Dan wrote Can’t wait to come back to this thread in ten years time to find out that two 56s in a row were cancelled on Thursday 7 July 2022, with no further information than that.

Mark the date in your diary!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe one should go on a Facebook page and take less than veiled ‘SOD’ pot shots at drivers upset their depot is closing instead?

Far better use of time I’d imagine…

(07 Jul 2022, 12:14 am)Ambassador wrote Maybe one should go on a Facebook page and take less than veiled ‘SOD’ pot shots at drivers upset their depot is closing instead?

Far better use of time I’d imagine…

At the end of the day management have decided the depot is closing, no amount of moaning is realistically going to change that. The best they can probably hope to get is a bit extra for moving depots.

In fact, if it was me and drivers were going around wearing badges saying 'SOD GNE' (I haven't seen any, so not sure if that's actually what they say), I'd probably tell them to sod off. A lot of employment contracts have clauses in them that prevent staff from slagging the company off publicly, and I'm fairly sure it would fall under that. Then again, that's probably not very good for business!

(06 Jul 2022, 11:57 pm)Dan wrote Can’t wait to come back to this thread in ten years time to find out that two 56s in a row were cancelled on Thursday 7 July 2022, with no further information than that.

Mark the date in your diary!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Maybe not, but people might want to recall the summer when bus services were really unreliable and a series of comments highlights that. It's obviously one of those situations where your professional and enthusiast sides sit uncomfortably together but that doesn't mean that this tiny part of what will be transport history needs to be glossed over.

If, in 10 years, public transport has declined to the point of being as virtually non-existent in urban areas as it is now in many rural areas, then this marks the start of the rot. (OK, the rot goes way back but this is a significant snowballing)

If it recovers to the point of being the default mode of getting around for far more people than ever, then those 2 cancelled 56s, and more, will be a part of what you came back from.

This is a forum, where people can discuss what they feel within the realms of taste and decency. If someone is posting tedious observations, they die away pretty quickly as no one discusses them. If on the other hand people it leads to a discussion then fair game. That’s how these things work.

What gets me is that this list of cancelled services is inaccurate. The 71 caught me eye apparently the “19:28 & 20:58” from Seaham are cancelled, however there is no Seaham departures that late, the last one is 17:59. I’m guessing it’s meant to be the 19:28 from Houghton but as for the 20:58 there’s not departure from Houghton at that time either, so I’m guessing they mean 20:28. Although there is a CLS departure at that time, but that’s already listed as cancelled underneath.

The 21.20 X21 being axed from Durham to Chester-le-Street last night forced me to fork out £4.70 on the train, otherwise I'd miss the 50 or the 8 into Washington.

It's not great pre-paying for a month worth of travel, then having to fork out more because of unreliability. I wasn't going to chance an hour wait for the last 50, as I'd have been left up the creek without a paddle, if it was one of the reported cancellations that don't appear on the list.

(07 Jul 2022, 1:17 pm)Adrian wrote The 21.20 X21 being axed from Durham to Chester-le-Street last night forced me to fork out £4.70 on the train, otherwise I'd miss the 50 or the 8 into Washington.

It's not great pre-paying for a month worth of travel, then having to fork out more because of unreliability. I wasn't going to chance an hour wait for the last 50, as I'd have been left up the creek without a paddle, if it was one of the reported cancellations that don't appear on the list.

Is there no way you can claim that back from GNE?

Something that caught my eye tomorrow - between 1400 and 1800, only one 28 (at 1459) and one 28A (at 1722) will run. Same story from Chester; one 28 (at 1614) and one 28A (at 1408) are set to run, so that 2-hour void will be fun for those that use it.

The x21 is looking dire. If my fingers are doing the sums correctly, there are all of 2 X21's running between Durham and Newcastle between 9am and 1pm, tomorrow.

Now some people might want to sweep that under the carpet as not at all interesting but a 25% hit rate on a supposedly premium service is shockingly poor.

Unsurprisingly, I've never seen the X12 as busy as it has been, recently, on the Durham to Newcastle stretch. A few months ago I wouldn't have been surprised if Arriva had abandoned it for mostly carrying fresh air but that is no longer the case.

(08 Jul 2022, 9:41 pm)BusLoverMum wrote The x21 is looking dire. If my fingers are doing the sums correctly, there are all of 2 X21's running between Durham and Newcastle between 9am and 1pm, tomorrow.

Now some people might want to sweep that under the carpet as not at all interesting but a 25% hit rate on a supposedly premium service is shockingly poor.

Unsurprisingly, I've never seen the X12 as busy as it has been, recently, on the Durham to Newcastle stretch. A few months ago I wouldn't have been surprised if Arriva had abandoned it for mostly carrying fresh air but that is no longer the case.

Tomorrow ain't a day they want to be abandoning Durham services if they're wanting to make money!

Said it elsewhere, but ANE would be crazy not to push the X12 bearing in mind the huge gaps left over on Teesside and the cancellations in to and out of Durham.

(08 Jul 2022, 9:41 pm)BusLoverMum wrote The x21 is looking dire. If my fingers are doing the sums correctly, there are all of 2 X21's running between Durham and Newcastle between 9am and 1pm, tomorrow.

Now some people might want to sweep that under the carpet as not at all interesting but a 25% hit rate on a supposedly premium service is shockingly poor.

Unsurprisingly, I've never seen the X12 as busy as it has been, recently, on the Durham to Newcastle stretch. A few months ago I wouldn't have been surprised if Arriva had abandoned it for mostly carrying fresh air but that is no longer the case.

I went to Newcastle last Saturday and used the X12 both ways from Durham and the X12 had to pick up the slack for the 21 on the way to Newcastle and both the 21 & X21 back to Durham in the evening, honestly some times lately I'd have had to get a train to Durham or Darlington to get home for a reasonable hour.

There is 1 25 for 5 hours from Newcastle
a 26 for 2 hours (3 cancelled)
2 either 2 or 2a's,
28A, has two cancelltions in a row 10:08/11:08, followed by 15:08, 16:08, 17:08, 19:08
Several dual cancellations for the 39
2 Dual 61 Cancellations
X1 is just a Sh*t show

(08 Jul 2022, 9:48 pm)Andreos1 wrote Tomorrow ain't a day they want to be abandoning Durham services if they're wanting to make money!

Said it elsewhere, but ANE would be crazy not to push the X12 bearing in mind the huge gaps left over on Teesside and the cancellations in to and out of Durham.

The 6 will be raking it in, this morning.

(08 Jul 2022, 9:48 pm)Andreos1 wrote Tomorrow ain't a day they want to be abandoning Durham services if they're wanting to make money!

Said it elsewhere, but ANE would be crazy not to push the X12 bearing in mind the huge gaps left over on Teesside and the cancellations in to and out of Durham.

I suspect Arriva don’t have the resource to do it themselves, given their own cancellations.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk