(18 Sep 2022, 12:05 pm)Unber43 wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...HxK9A4Ej6I 

Delayed again

Also another thing all private cars are exempt...what is the point of the CAZ then..

i think with the cost of living they couldnt justify charging private vehicles

(18 Sep 2022, 12:05 pm)Unber43 wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...HxK9A4Ej6I 

Delayed again

Also another thing all private cars are exempt...what is the point of the CAZ then..

The vast majority of the higher pollution areas (according to 2019 data) , are bus only, have bus priority measures OR feature prominently in routes in and out of the city. 

Newcastle: Percy Street (58.4),
Mosley Street (58.1),
Gosforth High Street (53.5),
Neville Street / Westgate Road (52.9),
Market Street (49.8),
Blackett Street / Northumberland Street (49.2),
Swan House / Pilgrim Street (48.3),
St Marys Place / John Dobson Street (48.2),
Near Forth Banks / Pottery Lane (46.7), Neville Street (44.6),
City Road (42.4),
Pilgrim Street (42),
Strawberry Place (41.7),
Pilgrim Street / Swan House Roundabout  (41.3),
Grainger Street / Market Street (41.1),
John Dobson Street / North Street (40.5)

Mind, if the various councils stopped obsessing over whacking in a load of poorly set up traffic lights or operators stopped the obsession of having a conga of buses going in and out of the town, maybe there wouldn't be so much of an issue.

(18 Sep 2022, 12:05 pm)Unber43 wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...HxK9A4Ej6I 

Delayed again

Not delayed again. Delay previously announced has just approved by Gov.

I think GNE are going to really struggle with the Clean Area Zone, there are single deckers on services which need deckers and double deckers on services which need single deckers.

(12 Nov 2022, 3:11 pm)Unber43 wrote I think GNE are going to really struggle with the Clean Area Zone, there are single deckers on services which need deckers and double deckers on services which need single deckers.

How does vehicle capacity have anything to do with air quality?

(12 Nov 2022, 4:13 pm)mb134 wrote How does vehicle capacity have anything to do with air quality?

Those single deckers are Coast & County, and those double deckers are Omnidekkas. 

Tho with the metro contract ending in December that could massively help.

(12 Nov 2022, 4:22 pm)Unber43 wrote Those single deckers are Coast & County, and those double deckers are Omnidekkas. 

Tho with the metro contract ending in December that could massively help.

The Metro Replacement contract releases 27 Euro 6 double-decks back into the main fleet, and GNE are taking additional buses from London on top of this.

Washington have enough single-decks to run the 25 and 28/29 without issue, they just need to allocate the correct buses.

Riverside and Percy Main probably are a bit thin on the ground on Euro 6 double-deck spares at the moment (though this was to be expected as 3941-43/62-65 were used for the Metro Replacement contract due to late delivery of the buses from London), but the ex-London Volvo B9s will assist with this.

(12 Nov 2022, 4:25 pm)Dan wrote The Metro Replacement contract releases 27 Euro 6 double-decks back into the main fleet, and GNE are taking additional buses from London on top of this.

Washington have enough single-decks to run the 25 and 28/29 without issue, they just need to allocate the correct buses.

Riverside and Percy Main probably are a bit thin on the ground on Euro 6 double-deck spares at the moment (though this was to be expected as 3941-43/62-65 were used for the Metro Replacement contract due to late delivery of the buses from London), but the ex-London Volvo B9s will assist with this.

Really the issue is going to be Euro 6 spares which are upto the spec which the usual buses should have. 

Hopefully while not upto spec those 27 will deal with all the issues, are the 27 going to replace all the Dual Door G2's, OmniDekkas & Voyager Deckers?

(12 Nov 2022, 5:05 pm)Unber43 wrote Really the issue is going to be Euro 6 spares which are upto the spec which the usual buses should have. 

Hopefully while not upto spec those 27 will deal with all the issues, are the 27 going to replace all the Dual Door G2's, OmniDekkas & Voyager Deckers?

The E400s are replacing the dual-door Volvo B7s and allow the buses on loan from East Yorkshire to be returned.

(12 Nov 2022, 5:05 pm)Unber43 wrote Really the issue is going to be Euro 6 spares which are upto the spec which the usual buses should have. 

A pretty minor issue in comparison to ensuring buses meet the emissions spec.

I'd be tempted to go further and say that the current MD probably couldn't care less about the branding and interior specs brought in by his predecessor, or at least doesn't care enough to make constant wholesale changes of the sort seen under MG.

Are all of Hexham depots Optare Solos euro five?
If so I wonder what is going to happen there? The 74 uses a Solo and now that the 684 inter works with the now year round AD122, that route also heavily uses them.

(13 Nov 2022, 9:11 am)Echolima07 wrote Are all of Hexham depots Optare Solos euro five?
If so I wonder what is going to happen there? The 74 uses a Solo and now that the 684 inter works with the now year round AD122, that route also heavily uses them.

They can use Ex-Cathedral Buses 717/718 for 74, hopefully they might even add USB's to them. 

And possibly just upgrade 684 to Euro 6 Deckers. 

Then the versa's up Hexham can be moved to Riverside as spare.

(13 Nov 2022, 9:11 am)Echolima07 wrote Are all of Hexham depots Optare Solos euro five?
If so I wonder what is going to happen there? The 74 uses a Solo and now that the 684 inter works with the now year round AD122, that route also heavily uses them.

No-one knows yet, been a debate for awhile, the ZEBRA lack of funding messed things up pretty much. The other post was guessing not fact, should probably say.

The 684 appears to interwork with pretty much everything now though.

(13 Nov 2022, 9:11 am)Echolima07 wrote Are all of Hexham depots Optare Solos euro five?
If so I wonder what is going to happen there? The 74 uses a Solo and now that the 684 inter works with the now year round AD122, that route also heavily uses them.

(13 Nov 2022, 2:16 pm)Unber43 wrote They can use Ex-Cathedral Buses 717/718 for 74, hopefully they might even add USB's to them. 

And possibly just upgrade 684 to Euro 6 Deckers. 

Then the versa's up Hexham can be moved to Riverside as spare.

(13 Nov 2022, 9:10 pm)Storx wrote No-one knows yet, been a debate for awhile, the ZEBRA lack of funding messed things up pretty much. The other post was guessing not fact, should probably say.

The 684 appears to interwork with pretty much everything now though.

The Hexham interworking is split into two sets of 3
3 Versa's do the 680, 688 and half of the 684
3 Solo's do the AD122, 687 and half of the 684
Then the 74, 681, 683, 689 are all largely standalone with a PVR of 1 each. 

If they stick the Cathedral Bus solo's on the 74 that's sorted. If they re-jig the interworking and make the 684 standalone, then 5377/78/79 are already euro 6 for the 684 - it doesn't need deckers.

Anyone know how Arriva and Stagecoach are getting on with their Euro 6 upgrades?

(13 Nov 2022, 9:45 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Anyone know how Arriva and Stagecoach are getting on with their Euro 6 upgrades?

Last I heard from SC is that they might be getting exceptions for their E400 Hybrids

And im pretty sure ANE are sorted, bar a few solos.

(13 Nov 2022, 9:45 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Anyone know how Arriva and Stagecoach are getting on with their Euro 6 upgrades?

As far as I know Arriva are fully ready to go bar the minibuses and reserve fleet Pulsars. Possibly also 7515-7 unless they were converted after arrival at Jesmond?

(13 Nov 2022, 9:33 pm)peter wrote The Hexham interworking is split into two sets of 3
3 Versa's do the 680, 688 and half of the 684
3 Solo's do the AD122, 687 and half of the 684
Then the 74, 681, 683, 689 are all largely standalone with a PVR of 1 each. 

If they stick the Cathedral Bus solo's on the 74 that's sorted. If they re-jig the interworking and make the 684 standalone, then 5377/78/79 are already euro 6 for the 684 - it doesn't need deckers.

Recently there has been a Versa on the 74 quite often.

The 684 has been allocated 3 deckers, and Versas and Solo SRs recently.

Are the Cathedral buses getting repainted? 2 buses probably wouldn't be enough for the 74. 

Does anyone know how long deckers are going to be on the 684?

(16 Nov 2022, 2:49 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Recently there has been a Versa on the 74 quite often.

The 684 has been allocated 3 deckers, and Versas and Solo SRs recently.

Are the Cathedral buses getting repainted? 2 buses probably wouldn't be enough for the 74. 

Does anyone know how long deckers are going to be on the 684?

Since last Thursday one of the Versa boards has been double deck operated (usually 3964) - there have not been 3 deckers allocated - a couple of extra journeys have been covered by deckers running on/off the 643. 

Presumably the Versa displaced by 3964 is being used on the 74 maybe because none of the other services are appropriate for a vehicle of that size. 

I would assume the Cathedral buses will be repainted...why would they not be, they've lost the contract? In what world do you think 2 buses is not enough for the 74, the PVR is 1, 2 buses is more than sufficient.

(16 Nov 2022, 11:50 pm)peter wrote Since last Thursday one of the Versa boards has been double deck operated (usually 3964) - there have not been 3 deckers allocated - a couple of extra journeys have been covered by deckers running on/off the 643. 

Presumably the Versa displaced by 3964 is being used on the 74 maybe because none of the other services are appropriate for a vehicle of that size. 

I would assume the Cathedral buses will be repainted...why would they not be, they've lost the contract? In what world do you think 2 buses is not enough for the 74, the PVR is 1, 2 buses is more than sufficient.

3964 has replaced 6916 which is now withdrawn due to MOT expiry.

I think Hexham have had two Solos VOR, and only have 1x spare mini and 1x spare decker, so have to step everything up - spare double-deck goes on the 684, Versa goes on the 74, and then an extra Solo then becomes available.

The two Cathedral Buses are withdrawn and are pending transfer to Go South West. They do not meet contract specification for the 74 due to their low capacity (contract was re-negotiated for a year earlier this year, albeit with new terms by the council).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(16 Nov 2022, 11:50 pm)peter wrote Since last Thursday one of the Versa boards has been double deck operated (usually 3964) - there have not been 3 deckers allocated - a couple of extra journeys have been covered by deckers running on/off the 643. 

Presumably the Versa displaced by 3964 is being used on the 74 maybe because none of the other services are appropriate for a vehicle of that size. 

I would assume the Cathedral buses will be repainted...why would they not be, they've lost the contract? In what world do you think 2 buses is not enough for the 74, the PVR is 1, 2 buses is more than sufficient.

3 deckers have been allocated over the week, not at the same time is what I meant. 

The Cathedral buses might not be repainted, they could stay white and just have the branding removed. We now know they have been withdrawn anyway, plus not suitable for the 74 contract specification, which sparked my question initially.

Yes, I am well aware the PVR is 1 (sometimes 2 buses required due to breakdowns), all I meant is currently there is corporate Solo SRs 665/666, Tynedale Links 667-671 and 721 and corporate Versas 5377-5379 available for the 74 (not at once, but on individual days) whereas only 2 Cathedral buses exist in total, leaving 1 spare in the event of a breakdown.

Is the 684 partly operated by Riverside then, when deckers are on? 6196 is based at Riverside I believe, and has recently been used on the 643, 684, 941 and various scholars routes.

(17 Nov 2022, 9:45 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote 3 deckers have been allocated over the week, not at the same time is what I meant. 

The Cathedral buses might not be repainted, they could stay white and just have the branding removed. We now know they have been withdrawn anyway, plus not suitable for the 74 contract specification, which sparked my question initially.

Yes, I am well aware the PVR is 1 (sometimes 2 buses required due to breakdowns), all I meant is currently there is corporate Solo SRs 665/666, Tynedale Links 667-671 and 721 and corporate Versas 5377-5379 available for the 74 (not at once, but on individual days) whereas only 2 Cathedral buses exist in total, leaving 1 spare in the event of a breakdown.

Is the 684 partly operated by Riverside then, when deckers are on? 6196 is based at Riverside I believe, and has recently been used on the 643, 684, 941 and various scholars routes.

I believe Hexham run the 643, atleast for part of the day.

They would need atleast a PVR 5, 3x 684, 1x 74, 1 Spare

There are no Euro 6 Solo's apart from 717 & Sunderland Connect Vehicles which also have USB's

Hexham runs the 643 Monday to Friday, usually split across two running boards. Riverside run the route on Saturdays, usually with a B7RLE.

Has there been a decision made on whether the GNE Hybrid buses can enter the Clean Air Zone without a charge?

Not long now for GNE to start prioritising allocations again and keep their non compliant stuff out of the city.

(19 Dec 2022, 9:08 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Not long now for GNE to start prioritising allocations again and keep their non compliant stuff out of the city.

Yeah...youll still get an E400 on X1 while there is a StreetDeck on the 81 or 50 or smth

(19 Dec 2022, 9:13 pm)Unber43 wrote Yeah...youll still get an E400 on X1 while there is a StreetDeck on the 81 or 50 or smth

That example doesn’t matter in relation to the CAZ.
If GNE want to sell a ‘premium’ service but then allocate standard stock to it then that’s up to them, as along as they prioritise allocating Euro 6 or EV vehicles to routes entering the CAZ then at least they won’t be hit with avoidable fines.

4 days left to improve allocations. 
Yesterday we had a euro5(?) Eclipse and today an ancient Omnidecker.

(25 Jan 2023, 8:00 pm)ne14ne1 wrote 4 days left to improve allocations. 
Yesterday we had a euro5(?) Eclipse and today an ancient Omnidecker.

There were about 5-6 OmniDekkas on today.

(25 Jan 2023, 8:00 pm)ne14ne1 wrote 4 days left to improve allocations. 
Yesterday we had a euro5(?) Eclipse and today an ancient Omnidecker.

Take the Euro 6 versas from Depford, they have loads and they don't need all of them, all they have is the 56. Swap them for some omnidecker as they can just go on the 35, a few 20's and then the South Tyneside Circuit (the boards that don't run onto the 60) or the 61. Its just common sense.