Disruptions and driver shortages
Disruptions and driver shortages
They just keep turning around at Gateshead which is great if they give you 30 mins notice, and you're actually checking their social media, but if they turn around like X1's do, the 20:25 did from Eldon Square turned around a Gateshead and not tell anyone no one will be happy!
(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north TynesideThey are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
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(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north TynesideThey are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
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(08 Nov 2022, 4:01 pm)Unber43 They are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!
Also wrong brands on wrong routes, GNE are "wasting" thousands on paint to have the wrong bus end up on the wrong route, and then they raise fares.
(08 Nov 2022, 4:01 pm)Unber43 They are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!
Also wrong brands on wrong routes, GNE are "wasting" thousands on paint to have the wrong bus end up on the wrong route, and then they raise fares.
(08 Nov 2022, 4:01 pm)Unber43 They are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!Oh will you stfu about wrong branded buses on routes at GNE,its ALL you go on about,its repetitive and frankly BORING
Also wrong brands on wrong routes, GNE are "wasting" thousands on paint to have the wrong bus end up on the wrong route, and then they raise fares.
(08 Nov 2022, 4:29 pm)Dan Are Go North East ‘wasting thousands’ on paint, or is this speculation?Its all he bangs on about,any excuse to have a snipe at GNE, its starting to piss me off, last time i checked this thread was about reliabilty and cancellations at Arriva, what the hell has bus branding at GNE got to do with the price of cheese
Last I checked, they hadn’t painted a bus in over three months.
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(08 Nov 2022, 4:01 pm)Unber43 They are, especially on the Arriva page, but they just get you to fill a form out in a Copy & Pasted message!Oh will you stfu about wrong branded buses on routes at GNE,its ALL you go on about,its repetitive and frankly BORING
Also wrong brands on wrong routes, GNE are "wasting" thousands on paint to have the wrong bus end up on the wrong route, and then they raise fares.
(08 Nov 2022, 4:29 pm)Dan Are Go North East ‘wasting thousands’ on paint, or is this speculation?Its all he bangs on about,any excuse to have a snipe at GNE, its starting to piss me off, last time i checked this thread was about reliabilty and cancellations at Arriva, what the hell has bus branding at GNE got to do with the price of cheese
Last I checked, they hadn’t painted a bus in over three months.
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(08 Nov 2022, 12:44 pm)Thomas12 Yeah there wasn’t a 53 from North Shields from around 17:00 to 22:00 - pretty disgraceful really.
(08 Nov 2022, 12:44 pm)Thomas12 Yeah there wasn’t a 53 from North Shields from around 17:00 to 22:00 - pretty disgraceful really.
(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north Tyneside
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north Tyneside
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north Tyneside
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
(08 Nov 2022, 3:38 pm)cbma06 No, I would use the car , maybe people show there frustration and anger towards the bus operators themselves instead of using a enthusiast forum for rubbing it in and moaning about it, the problem is uk wide and not on north Tyneside
And you get members on here doing there morning routines of going through bustimes.org and seeing what there can moan about and spot wrong brands on wrong routes, and see if there’s a gap in service etc..
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The 52/53/54 are bad now
54 Whitley Bay to Newcastle, 52 Newcastle to Cramlington, 53 to Palmersvill. 53 Palmersvill to Cramlington. 52 Cramlington to Newcastle. If that 54 journey does not run. Then non of the others will
53 on Sunday was absolutely pathetic. 12.25 to Cramlington was the last 53 to track then the next one tracked at 15.20 to North Shields
51 seems to be hit and miss. Meant to be a bus at Whitley Bay & Newcastle but usual one is in Whitley Bay or Newcastle and non at the other end
(08 Nov 2022, 10:43 pm)logidoodah Oh well lucky you, you have an alternative!
Not everyone has a car, or even has access to one. Some people can't drive for medical reasons, some can't afford to take lessons let alone petrol. This is a Cost of Living Crisis, from what I gather they were talking about why should people have to wait that long! Especially in Dirty dodgy bus stations or in the middle of nowhere. There should be contingency plans in place not just a half arsed apology on social media, which arguably affects vulnerable people the most - which may exclude them even more.
Also if you tell people to 'take it out on the operators' what are they supposed to do?
- Boycott the services? (which leads to routes being permanently withdrawn)
- Block Roads? (which disrupts everyone and leads to services being cut short or cancelled)
- Damage Buses? (services get taken away from areas and people become criminals?)
The reality is that they drivers "represent" the companies they work for (even if they are repulsed by working standards/pay/hours etc....), therefore they get the brunt of it, everyday, every shift.
Those at the top (making those decisions) drive cars and don't have anything to do with public transport other than make decisions that affect Thousands of people everyday! Yet they blame COVID and Putin for their legacy of decisions which had led us to here and now. In my opinion it was always going to go this way just COVID made people see (with Skeleton services and over working employees), and Putin only furthers those 'good' decisions because of the price of fuel.
(08 Nov 2022, 10:43 pm)logidoodah Oh well lucky you, you have an alternative!
Not everyone has a car, or even has access to one. Some people can't drive for medical reasons, some can't afford to take lessons let alone petrol. This is a Cost of Living Crisis, from what I gather they were talking about why should people have to wait that long! Especially in Dirty dodgy bus stations or in the middle of nowhere. There should be contingency plans in place not just a half arsed apology on social media, which arguably affects vulnerable people the most - which may exclude them even more.
Also if you tell people to 'take it out on the operators' what are they supposed to do?
- Boycott the services? (which leads to routes being permanently withdrawn)
- Block Roads? (which disrupts everyone and leads to services being cut short or cancelled)
- Damage Buses? (services get taken away from areas and people become criminals?)
The reality is that they drivers "represent" the companies they work for (even if they are repulsed by working standards/pay/hours etc....), therefore they get the brunt of it, everyday, every shift.
Those at the top (making those decisions) drive cars and don't have anything to do with public transport other than make decisions that affect Thousands of people everyday! Yet they blame COVID and Putin for their legacy of decisions which had led us to here and now. In my opinion it was always going to go this way just COVID made people see (with Skeleton services and over working employees), and Putin only furthers those 'good' decisions because of the price of fuel.
(09 Nov 2022, 1:19 am)streetdeckfan One thing I liked about MG was that he did, and still does, actually use public transport.He still uses the bus as well.
IIRC, when he joined GNE he got rid of his car.
Maybe that's why he seemed to care so much about the passenger experience on board, rather than having the 'bus is a bus' mentality that a lot of other operators, and people on here seem to have.
(09 Nov 2022, 1:19 am)streetdeckfan One thing I liked about MG was that he did, and still does, actually use public transport.He still uses the bus as well.
IIRC, when he joined GNE he got rid of his car.
Maybe that's why he seemed to care so much about the passenger experience on board, rather than having the 'bus is a bus' mentality that a lot of other operators, and people on here seem to have.
The traffic in and around north Newcastle is horrific, never seen anything as bad as it has been. Current journey time from Four Lane Ends to Gosforth Park is around 45 minutes (https://bustimes.org/vehicles/alcg-256-s.../335260688), and that's heading away from the issues.
It's disgraceful that the Matthew Bank works haven't been suspended to allow traffic to flow better, but that's what happens when you let councils, water boards and gas boards do whatever they want with the roads.
I've been monitoring traffic levels in Benton, Heaton and Gosforth tonight and to describe it as paralysed is an understatement...
Traffic coming out of Newcastle is atrocious, however there is nothing ANE/GNE can do as they are both suffering driver shortages, especially crippling shortages on Arriva services, and they don't have an unlimited amount of buses and they cant have 1 hour lay over to make time up, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(09 Nov 2022, 5:57 pm)Unber43 Traffic coming out of Newcastle is atrocious, however there is nothing ANE/GNE can do as they are both suffering driver shortages, especially crippling shortages on Arriva services, and they don't have an unlimited amount of buses and they cant have 1 hour lay over to make time up, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(09 Nov 2022, 5:57 pm)Unber43 Traffic coming out of Newcastle is atrocious, however there is nothing ANE/GNE can do as they are both suffering driver shortages, especially crippling shortages on Arriva services, and they don't have an unlimited amount of buses and they cant have 1 hour lay over to make time up, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(09 Nov 2022, 5:57 pm)Unber43 Traffic coming out of Newcastle is atrocious, however there is nothing ANE/GNE can do as they are both suffering driver shortages, especially crippling shortages on Arriva services, and they don't have an unlimited amount of buses and they cant have 1 hour lay over to make time up, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(09 Nov 2022, 6:02 pm)MurdnunoC Thanks, Andy.
(09 Nov 2022, 5:57 pm)Unber43 Traffic coming out of Newcastle is atrocious, however there is nothing ANE/GNE can do as they are both suffering driver shortages, especially crippling shortages on Arriva services, and they don't have an unlimited amount of buses and they cant have 1 hour lay over to make time up, they are really stuck between a rock and a hard place.
(09 Nov 2022, 6:02 pm)MurdnunoC Thanks, Andy.
(08 Nov 2022, 11:47 pm)Aaron21 The 52/53/54 are bad now
54 Whitley Bay to Newcastle, 52 Newcastle to Cramlington, 53 to Palmersvill. 53 Palmersvill to Cramlington. 52 Cramlington to Newcastle. If that 54 journey does not run. Then non of the others will
53 on Sunday was absolutely pathetic. 12.25 to Cramlington was the last 53 to track then the next one tracked at 15.20 to North Shields
51 seems to be hit and miss. Meant to be a bus at Whitley Bay & Newcastle but usual one is in Whitley Bay or Newcastle and non at the other end
(08 Nov 2022, 11:47 pm)Aaron21 The 52/53/54 are bad now
54 Whitley Bay to Newcastle, 52 Newcastle to Cramlington, 53 to Palmersvill. 53 Palmersvill to Cramlington. 52 Cramlington to Newcastle. If that 54 journey does not run. Then non of the others will
53 on Sunday was absolutely pathetic. 12.25 to Cramlington was the last 53 to track then the next one tracked at 15.20 to North Shields
51 seems to be hit and miss. Meant to be a bus at Whitley Bay & Newcastle but usual one is in Whitley Bay or Newcastle and non at the other end
(09 Nov 2022, 5:48 pm)omnicity4659 The traffic in and around north Newcastle is horrific, never seen anything as bad as it has been. Current journey time from Four Lane Ends to Gosforth Park is around 45 minutes (https://bustimes.org/vehicles/alcg-256-s.../335260688), and that's heading away from the issues.
It's disgraceful that the Matthew Bank works haven't been suspended to allow traffic to flow better, but that's what happens when you let councils, water boards and gas boards do whatever they want with the roads.
I've been monitoring traffic levels in Benton, Heaton and Gosforth tonight and to describe it as paralysed is an understatement...
(09 Nov 2022, 5:48 pm)omnicity4659 The traffic in and around north Newcastle is horrific, never seen anything as bad as it has been. Current journey time from Four Lane Ends to Gosforth Park is around 45 minutes (https://bustimes.org/vehicles/alcg-256-s.../335260688), and that's heading away from the issues.
It's disgraceful that the Matthew Bank works haven't been suspended to allow traffic to flow better, but that's what happens when you let councils, water boards and gas boards do whatever they want with the roads.
I've been monitoring traffic levels in Benton, Heaton and Gosforth tonight and to describe it as paralysed is an understatement...
(09 Nov 2022, 10:04 pm)Storx That's just normal that to be fair, Sandy Lane has been an issue for awhile, the new traffic lights have made it worse - surprise surprise and it backs onto the roundabout and blocks the Newcastle junction.
The X7/X8 have been 40 minutes every night since the timetable change, I know there's the 2 bus stops along there now but the peak buses (or at least the X7) really needs to go via West Moor to avoid it like the old 363/364.
(09 Nov 2022, 10:04 pm)Storx That's just normal that to be fair, Sandy Lane has been an issue for awhile, the new traffic lights have made it worse - surprise surprise and it backs onto the roundabout and blocks the Newcastle junction.
The X7/X8 have been 40 minutes every night since the timetable change, I know there's the 2 bus stops along there now but the peak buses (or at least the X7) really needs to go via West Moor to avoid it like the old 363/364.
(09 Nov 2022, 1:19 am)streetdeckfan One thing I liked about MG was that he did, and still does, actually use public transport.
IIRC, when he joined GNE he got rid of his car.
Maybe that's why he seemed to care so much about the passenger experience on board, rather than having the 'bus is a bus' mentality that a lot of other operators, and people on here seem to have.
(09 Nov 2022, 1:19 am)streetdeckfan One thing I liked about MG was that he did, and still does, actually use public transport.
IIRC, when he joined GNE he got rid of his car.
Maybe that's why he seemed to care so much about the passenger experience on board, rather than having the 'bus is a bus' mentality that a lot of other operators, and people on here seem to have.
(11 Nov 2022, 2:34 pm)logidoodah That is true I will give him that, but all those bells & whistles have costed GNE too much. It makes you think, Passenger Comforts vs cost he had no idea! (I know it was no soley him but he was Managing Director).Xlines wasn't failing until the flu came about though, passenger numbers actually increased for the first time in years (if MG is to be believed anyway)
I say this because those *cough* Failed Xlines buses and initiative. You could also think about what is best for passengers to wait 60+ mins for a bus 6pm onwards to then be cancelled without notice (for whatever excuse they want) to then have to get picked up, pay for another operator (if you're lucky) or a taxi - baring in mind this was in the dark in ALL areas and compromised the safety of passengers.
I doubt he cared about passenger comfort in Hartlepool as their are no GNE customers left. And as for those customers on the X9/X10 no one is EVER comfortable as they are packed onto the bus as much as possible. Yes, the coaches are more comfortable but are no way suited to the route due to the accessibility issues and loading times.
(11 Nov 2022, 2:34 pm)logidoodah That is true I will give him that, but all those bells & whistles have costed GNE too much. It makes you think, Passenger Comforts vs cost he had no idea! (I know it was no soley him but he was Managing Director).Xlines wasn't failing until the flu came about though, passenger numbers actually increased for the first time in years (if MG is to be believed anyway)
I say this because those *cough* Failed Xlines buses and initiative. You could also think about what is best for passengers to wait 60+ mins for a bus 6pm onwards to then be cancelled without notice (for whatever excuse they want) to then have to get picked up, pay for another operator (if you're lucky) or a taxi - baring in mind this was in the dark in ALL areas and compromised the safety of passengers.
I doubt he cared about passenger comfort in Hartlepool as their are no GNE customers left. And as for those customers on the X9/X10 no one is EVER comfortable as they are packed onto the bus as much as possible. Yes, the coaches are more comfortable but are no way suited to the route due to the accessibility issues and loading times.