(22 Aug 2014, 6:33 pm)Wellsey18 wrote Is writing a complaint the best thing you have to do with your time?

Should he just accept it instead? Perhaps if more people complained that buses were running late, it would allow the companies to put more pressure on to councils, showing the consequences such works have on their operation.

(22 Aug 2014, 6:46 pm)aureolin wrote Should he just accept it instead? Perhaps if more people complained that buses were running late, it would allow the companies to put more pressure on to councils, showing the consequences such works have on their operation.

But these roadworks have to happen at some point though don't they, otherwise you would be complaining that you's weren't comfy enough on the bus

(22 Aug 2014, 6:50 pm)Wellsey18 wrote But these roadworks have to happen at some point though don't they, otherwise you would be complaining that you's weren't comfy enough on the bus

I've just told you that this has been going on way before the roadworks.

(22 Aug 2014, 6:33 pm)Wellsey18 wrote Is writing a complaint the best thing you have to do with your time?

Is asking me, "Is writing a complaint the best thing you have to do with your time" the best thing you have to do with your time?

See what I did there.

Personally I feel I have Valid Reason to Complain, I got to the Bus Stop 7 Minutes before the 14:57 M2 was due, and I find i'm still waiting for a Bus 20 Minutes Later, Do you think that is an acceptable amount of time to be waiting for a Bus, Then having to Pay £6.20 for a Day Ticket to reach my Destination.

(22 Aug 2014, 6:50 pm)Wellsey18 wrote But these roadworks have to happen at some point though don't they, otherwise you would be complaining that you's weren't comfy enough on the bus

But repair and replacement work happens on broadcast networks too, and it doesn't result in your TV service being severely impacted does it? Nope, because there is a comprehensive plan in place to ensure it doesn't.

My point is that works could be carried out with a lot more consideration to the general public. Another user mentioned earlier that Durham County Council seem to be carrying out all their roadworks at once. Another example is the Wearmouth Bridge works. It was mentioned GNE weren't even contacted by Sunderland council, despite being major stakeholders.

(22 Aug 2014, 5:34 pm)aureolin wrote Quite surprised about that with it being such a short shuttle route. What benefits does it offer the company over what I see as the 'less favourable' GB regs?

Domestic drivers' regulations (bus routes under 50km) are more favourable for companies as you can drive for 5.5 hours without a break and only need one day off per fortnight. European rules (inc bus routes over 50km) mean a maximum of 4.5 hours before a break and basically 45 hours off per week, although it can be more complicated than this and union agreements may impose extra limits.

(22 Aug 2014, 6:40 pm)Robert wrote The M2 have roadworks. Dont know about the 50. There does however seem to have roadworks popping up all over the place at the moment. As i said earlier, massive tailbacks are occurring because of the roadworks around Birtley affecting the M2 quite badly. Hence why its late.

Prior to the recent roadworks, there have been issues with it.

I often stand on one side of the road in Birtley for one (the one being due), to see the other fly by in the opposite direction.

(22 Aug 2014, 7:50 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Prior to the recent roadworks, there have been issues with it.

I often stand on one side of the road in Birtley for one (the one being due), to see the other fly by in the opposite direction.

Its one of the main causes of it been late regardless. Without the roadworks could be due to the amount of layover time at each end been too small so a specific journey wont be able to make that much time up at the other end because it will have to go out on another journey pretty much straight away (ie 2 mins layover or something, again, im no expert).

(22 Aug 2014, 8:08 pm)Robert wrote Its one of the main causes of it been late regardless. Without the roadworks could be due to the amount of layover time at each end been too small so a specific journey wont be able to make that much time up at the other end because it will have to go out on another journey pretty much straight away (ie 2 mins layover or something, again, im no expert).

They get three minutes at each end. However, there is about five minutes at Washington and three minutes at Concord to load etc.
Still unnacceptable for it to be not turning up, 15 mins late late etc. on regulary occasions.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:08 pm)Robert wrote Its one of the main causes of it been late regardless. Without the roadworks could be due to the amount of layover time at each end been too small so a specific journey wont be able to make that much time up at the other end because it will have to go out on another journey pretty much straight away (ie 2 mins layover or something, again, im no expert).

Agreed, roadworks wont and don't help.
But if it is often late without roadworks being on route - then roadworks are only going to add to the delays.

If the layover time isn't adequate, GNE maybe need to twiddle with the timetable, so that it improves reliability.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:13 pm)Tom wrote They get three minutes at each end. However, there is about five minutes at Washington and three minutes at Concord to load etc.
Still unnacceptable for it to be not turning up, 15 mins late late etc. on regulary occasions.

3 minutes at each end isnt a lot so if they are delayed for more than 3 minutes, they have to rely on the 8 minutes en route to make up as much time as possible, some of this will have been lost because of the service been late. May just be a case of the timetable needing to be redesigned, if it can be that is.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:16 pm)Robert wrote 3 minutes at each end isnt a lot so if they are delayed for more than 3 minutes, they have to rely on the 8 minutes en route to make up as much time as possible, some of this will have been lost because of the service been late. May just be a case of the timetable needing to be redesigned, if it can be that is.

I will have ago at coming up with something now.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:17 pm)Tom wrote I will have ago at coming up with something now.

The Wear Ind Est/Rickleton section is rarely used in experience - the 8 and 2's are frequent enough as it is to/from the Galleries.
Obviously the link from Birtley to those places are lost.

Stand alone 8 diverted via Birtley and then pick up route in Rickleton?
It could be similar to the old 551 route.

You can then send the m2/m3 via Lambton and Ayton, missing out the underused section.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:23 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote The Wear Ind Est/Rickleton section is rarely used in experience - the 8 and 2's are frequent enough as it is to/from the Galleries.
Obviously the link from Birtley to those places are lost.

Stand alone 8 diverted via Birtley and then pick up route in Rickleton?
It could be similar to the old 551 route.

You can then send the m2/m3 via Lambton and Ayton, missing out the underused section.

What about this?


M3 M2 M3 M2

Heworth Interchange – 05, 20, 35, 50
Concord Bus Station arr – 19, 32, 49, 02
Concord Bus Station dep – 22, 37, 52, 07,
Washington Galleries arr – 41, 56, 11, 26
Washington Galleries dep – 47, 02, 17, 32
Birtley Station Lane - 07, 23, 37, 53

M2 M3 M2 M3

Birtley Station Lane - 13, 28, 43, 58
Washington Galleries arr. -34, 48, 04, 18
Washington Galleries dep. – 38, 53, 08, 23
Concord Bus Station dep. – 57, 12, 27, 42
Concord Bus Station dep. – 00, 15, 30, 45
Heworth Interchange - 12, 29, 42, 59

Hexham frequently dispatch the 'spare' TEN (on schedule) before the delayed TEN arrives - not that late arrivals are necessarily frequent or significant - often less than ten minutes with the departing vehicle passing the arriving vehicle in Hexham itself.

The timetable lists a 9 minute turnaround.

The changeover of vehicles allows time for loading (sometimes complicated by congestion with several arrivals/departures occurring together - particularly with the Arriva 685 and other GNE and Tyne Valley services).

Of course the 'delayed' vehicle then becomes the spare.
A 'delayed' driver would have a nominal 30 minutes or 60 minutes (less the delay) for an ongoing drive.

I presume they schedule a regular driver change-over at Hexham as the round-trip to Newcastle and back takes 2 hours 51 minutes (though I have seen changeovers at Blaydon)

Hexham to Blaydon takes a nominal hour.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:36 pm)Tom wrote What about this?


M3 M2 M3 M2

Heworth Interchange – 05, 20, 35, 50
Concord Bus Station arr – 19, 32, 49, 02
Concord Bus Station dep – 22, 37, 52, 07,
Washington Galleries arr – 41, 56, 11, 26
Washington Galleries dep – 47, 02, 17, 32
Birtley Station Lane - 07, 23, 37, 53

M2 M3 M2 M3

Birtley Station Lane - 13, 28, 43, 58
Washington Galleries arr. -34, 48, 04, 18
Washington Galleries dep. – 38, 53, 08, 23
Concord Bus Station dep. – 57, 12, 27, 42
Concord Bus Station dep. – 00, 15, 30, 45
Heworth Interchange - 12, 29, 42, 59

Another major problem is that the M2/M3 Interwork at both ends of the Route also, so for example the M2 Coming into Birtley will depart as an M3, Overall having an Knock on Effect to the Service again once it reaches Heworth, where it changes back into an M2, simply to keep the PVR as low as Possible.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:54 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Another major problem is that the M2/M3 Interwork at both ends of the Route also, so for example the M2 Coming into Birtley will depart as an M3, Overall having an Knock on Effect to the Service again once it reaches Heworth, where it changes back into an M2, simply to keep the PVR as low as Possible.

Lower PVR = Lower Costs. Adding an additional vehicle in means increased running costs (extra fuel, extra drivers so increased wage costs) which may drag the service from a small profit into a lose, which would then of course see it cut back or even frequency reduced.

(22 Aug 2014, 8:59 pm)Kuyoyo wrote Lower PVR = Lower Costs. Adding an additional vehicle in means increased running costs (extra fuel, extra drivers so increased wage costs) which may drag the service from a small profit into a lose, which would then of course see it cut back or even frequency reduced.

It goes without saying that Go North East do increase the PVR of services (either by increasing the frequency of a service or by adding another bus in to improve reliability), but only where it can be justified, recent examples including the TEN and Cobalt Clipper.

The issues that have been reported with the timekeeping of services M2/M3 do not happen with every single run, because whenever I happen to use the services (not very regularly), they're in on time and have plenty of waiting time. I can't hit lucky every time, so a fair proportion of the journeys must be running on time.

If increasing the PVR of the service cannot be justified (either down to the lack of buses available or the lack of profit already currently being generated), all Go North East can do is take a minute from one section of the route and add it to another section - which is what Stagecoach are said to have done quite a lot in the past - but this is not ideal.

Adam - please do send that e-mail to Customer Services if you already haven't. I know from past experience that those complaints do assist management when they are considering route/timetable alterations to assist reliability. Customer feedback is key - negative or positive.

Scania L94 4949 has now been repaired following its engine bay fire and is currently undergoing repaint (into corporate livery, so far as I know). It should emerge from the paintshop by the middle of next week.

(23 Aug 2014, 6:51 am)Dan wrote Scania L94 4949 has now been repaired following its engine bay fire and is currently undergoing repaint (into corporate livery, so far as I know). It should emerge from the paintshop by the middle of next week.

When it enters service will a B10 be withdrawn?

(23 Aug 2014, 8:32 am)Michael wrote When it enters service will a B10 be withdrawn?

No, as 4949 was a spare vehicle. Technically, Riverside are one short at the moment because they didn't get a replacement for 4949 when it was temporarily withdrawn.

On another note, Riverside will be operating a shuttle service from the Metrocentre to The Lancastrian Suite in Gateshead today.

(23 Aug 2014, 8:37 am)Dan wrote No, as 4949 was a spare vehicle. Technically, Riverside are one short at the moment because they didn't get a replacement for 4949 when it was temporarily withdrawn.

On another note, Riverside will be operating a shuttle service from the Metrocentre to The Lancastrian Suite in Gateshead today.

Ah right

(22 Aug 2014, 9:17 pm)Dan wrote It goes without saying that Go North East do increase the PVR of services (either by increasing the frequency of a service or by adding another bus in to improve reliability), but only where it can be justified, recent examples including the TEN and Cobalt Clipper.

The issues that have been reported with the timekeeping of services M2/M3 do not happen with every single run, because whenever I happen to use the services (not very regularly), they're in on time and have plenty of waiting time. I can't hit lucky every time, so a fair proportion of the journeys must be running on time.

If increasing the PVR of the service cannot be justified (either down to the lack of buses available or the lack of profit already currently being generated), all Go North East can do is take a minute from one section of the route and add it to another section - which is what Stagecoach are said to have done quite a lot in the past - but this is not ideal.

Adam - please do send that e-mail to Customer Services if you already haven't. I know from past experience that those complaints do assist management when they are considering route/timetable alterations to assist reliability. Customer feedback is key - negative or positive.

Haven't done it yet, but I will do This Afternoon, and thats great about 4949, itll be good to see it back in Service at last.

(23 Aug 2014, 11:50 am)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Haven't done it yet, but I will do This Afternoon, and thats great about 4949, itll be good to see it back in Service at last.

Email has been sent.

(23 Aug 2014, 2:22 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote Email has been sent.

Did you get a worthwhile response, or just the usual sorry for any inconvenience this has caused

What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.

(24 Aug 2014, 9:48 am)Wellsey18 wrote Did you get a worthwhile response, or just the usual sorry for any inconvenience this has caused

I may be wrong, but I think like most of the employees who work at Bensham, the majority of Customer Services staff will be at home. Most office-based employees only work between Monday and Friday. There will be a few members of staff present (enough to man the Social Media pages, answer phones, etc), but I suspect not enough to get through all of the e-mails the company receives.

I'd be very surprised, with it being Bank Holiday weekend, if Adam gets a reply before Tuesday.

He is likely to receive a bog-standard response, with the reason being related to the roadworks previously mentioned, but that does not mean to say that he has just been palmed off. Prior to this, the member of staff dealing with Adam's complaint will forward the e-mail to a member of staff at Washington and Chester-le-Street depot who will then review the CCTV footage for the bus scheduled to operate that service as well as the tracking data which shows where the vehicle was at what time. If they identify that the bus was late (which they should), this will be logged. After multiple complaints build up, the Service Delivery Manager (or another personal responsible) will pass his/her comments up to higher management who can then review the timetable and see if there's anything that can be done to improve reliability.

Again, unless it can be justified, the PVR will not increase - it's more likely that a few minutes will be taken from one section of the timetable where it's thought to be slacker and added to a section of the route where there's less leniency.

Sending e-mails to the company really isn't pointless, and it can really help shape the bus network in your area. The customer may feel like they've been palmed off if they've received a generic e-mail back, but a lot more happens behind the scenes than you'd think.

The process takes a fair bit of time at the moment and relies on members of staff being entirely honest, but this will reduce when new systems (previously discussed) are brought in...

(24 Aug 2014, 10:23 am)Robert wrote What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.

You wouldn't believe how many people are totally incapable of understanding a timetable.

One Saturday evening, I saw two 30-something men at the bus-stop trying to read the timetable. As I approached they asked me for help - could I tell them when the next bus was expected . . .
To be fair they had spent the day in Corbridge visiting every pub (as they confirmed as I listed all the pubs) however when I mentioned the Dyvels (not in the centre of the village) they enquired if there was time to walk to it, have a swift half and still catch the bus - so maybe their ability to read the timetable was affected by their befuddled state?

(24 Aug 2014, 10:23 am)Robert wrote What does annoy me about the fb page is the way they use it. They make the people on the other end answering their queries look like slaves. For example: What time is (bus number) due at (place). What is wrong with the timetable? Its not that hard to read......just pure laziness.

I agree. In that instance people should simply be referred to the view all timetables URL.