(02 Jan 2015, 5:19 pm)tyresmoke wrote Oh dear more #purplesolars !

why oh dear?

On the upside of 4945 being repainted may mean less #missingpurplesolars on the 20/20A over the next few weeks.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:25 pm)citaro5284 wrote why oh dear?

More to go missing!

(02 Jan 2015, 5:25 pm)citaro5284 wrote why oh dear?

You know what Andreos is like with his #purplesolars with wing mirror issues...

(02 Jan 2015, 5:29 pm)Jimmi wrote On the upside of 4945 being repainted may mean less #missingpurplesolars on the 20/20A over the next few weeks.

4945 wouldn't have had to step in today - a full "Prince Bishops" branded allocation on 20/20A and I am not aware of any replacements having taken place.

You're going to look at it being incredibly rare to ever have a full branded allocation on the road from January 25th though - covering a PVR of 20 with no branded spares...

(02 Jan 2015, 5:33 pm)Dan wrote 4945 wouldn't have had to step in today - a full "Prince Bishops" branded allocation on 20/20A and I am not aware of any replacements having taken place.

You're going to look at it being incredibly rare to ever have a full branded allocation on the road from January 25th though - covering a PVR of 20 with no branded spares...

Good to hear that there was a full PB allocation today.

Yeah it will probably see more red spares appearing but the long journey may make it less noticeable than it is now.

(02 Jan 2015, 2:18 pm)Malarkey wrote Took a left at Gateshead Police Station and now heading along Askew Road to The MetroCentre, quite an Interesting Bus Journey this.

Unfortunately my Phone died after the above post en-route to the MetroCentre, after going along Askew Road the Driver made the rather idiotic decision of going onto Motorway past the Dunston turn off and joining the A1 to The MetroCentre, I think had he took the X66 Route it would of saved him 10 Minutes as we got stuck in Traffic on A1 and again coming into The MetroCentre, so rather than Departing 6 Minutes Late as I had predicted he left almost 20 Minutes Late.

3943 had originally been on the X88 circa 1pm at Washington Galleries, come 2pm it was an Ex London President which is the one I got on to the MetroCentre, the President was then replaced by 3943 for the 15:18pm from The MetroCentre which was again Late due to Roadworks on the A1, The Driver took the Normal Route back to Washington until the Roundabout at the bottom of Eighton Banks, where he decided to go off to Left and along past the Mill House and onto the X1 Route into The Galleries, which I thought was rather odd as he should of continued around to the Right and down the Motorway between Oxlcose/Blackfell, again this would of saved him a few Minutes, by this point I dont think he really cared as either way he going to be Late.

Upon arrival into The Galleries Connections 4 Citaro "5359" did the 15:55pm X88 from Washington Galleries to Time Correct the Late Running 3943, Personally I dont think what I have experienced today on the X88 will change anytime soon and I would advise that GNE use the Alternative Route taken to MetroCentre as Detailed in Previous Posts both there and back rather than using the A1, Perhaps putting in a Vosa Registration to amend Route and Timetable would be a good idea as Reliability of the Service is Awful at the Moment. 

(02 Jan 2015, 5:30 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote More to go missing!

Careful Marcus.......I have not forgot what you called me!!

(02 Jan 2015, 5:40 pm)citaro5284 wrote Careful Marcus.......I have not forgot what you called me!!

(Cowers in corner)

(02 Jan 2015, 5:37 pm)Jimmi wrote Good to hear that there was a full PB allocation today.

Yeah it will probably see more red spares appearing but the long journey may make it less noticeable than it is now.

There often is a full branded allocation to the 20/20A - it just depends on when buses are due for their monthly/annual tests, with this being the most common reason for missing buses to all services...

If a bus has to be off the road for a day to undergo a 28-day test, there's only going to be 8 in every 28 where there's the opportunity for a full branded allocation to take place... Then you add the PSVs, general maintenance, and other reasons for buses to be VOR, and you're looking at there being very little chance of it happening! Of course, none of this actually suggests that the Scania L94s are too unreliable for the 20...

(02 Jan 2015, 5:37 pm)Malarkey wrote Unfortunately my Phone died after the above post en-route to the MetroCentre, after going along Askew Road the Driver made the rather idiotic decision of going onto Motorway past the Dunston turn off and joining the A1 to The MetroCentre, I think had he took the X66 Route it would of saved him 10 Minutes as we got stuck in Traffic on A1 and again coming into The MetroCentre, so rather than Departing 6 Minutes Late as I had predicted he left almost 20 Minutes Late.

3943 had originally been on the X88 circa 1pm at Washington Galleries, come 2pm it was an Ex London President which is the one I got on to the MetroCentre, the President was then replaced by 3943 for the 15:18pm from The MetroCentre which was again Late due to Roadworks on the A1, The Driver took the Normal Route back to Washington until the Roundabout at the bottom of Eighton Banks, where he decided to go off to Left and along past the Mill House and onto the X1 Route into The Galleries, which I thought was rather odd as he should of continued around to the Right and down the Motorway between Oxlcose/Blackfell, again this would of saved him a few Minutes, by this point I dont think he really cared as either way he going to be Late.

Upon arrival into The Galleries Connections 4 Citaro "5359" did the 15:55pm X88 from Washington Galleries to Time Correct the Late Running 3943, Personally I dont think what I have experienced today on the X88 will change anytime soon and I would advise that GNE use the Alternative Route taken to MetroCentre as Detailed in Previous Posts both there and back rather than using the A1, Perhaps putting in a Vosa Registration to amend Route and Timetable would be a good idea as Reliability of the Service is Awful at the Moment. 

Unfortunately the X88 doesn't have large layover times on the timetable and I have witnessed late running even when there has been no problems on the A1.

Unfortunately there isn't alot that can not be done as going down the A1 can make it late but running different routes can also cause delays to the service all they could do is add extra running time to the service which would require extra buses to cover the service. It's not just the X88 that has this problem the X22 and X24 also have this problem and the worst thing about the X22 is it interworks with the 14 so it can be delayed too, the X24 doesn't have many problems if it arrives back in Durham late as it has a 34 minute layover before its next trip.

Sadly the roadworks are expected to last until March 2016 which sounds so depressing.

@Tyresmoke

Nah, I don't love those Solars at all .
The wing mirror issues was just one of the reasons given on here for a purple Solar being missing.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:55 pm)Andreos1 wrote @Tyresmoke

Nah, I don't love those Solars at all .
The wing mirror issues was just one of the reasons given on here for a purple Solar being missing.

And another. And another. And another.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:47 pm)Jimmi wrote Unfortunately the X88 doesn't have large layover times on the timetable and I have witnessed late running even when there has been no problems on the A1.

Unfortunately there isn't alot that can not be done as going down the A1 can make it late but running different routes can also cause delays to the service all they could do is add extra running time to the service which would require extra buses to cover the service. It's not just the X88 that has this problem the X22 and X24 also have this problem and the worst thing about the X22 is it interworks with the 14 so it can be delayed too, the X24 doesn't have many problems if it arrives back in Durham late as it has a 34 minute layover before its next trip.

Sadly the roadworks are expected to last until March 2016 which sounds so depressing.

I think if the X88 was to operate between Washington Galleries and The Metrocentre only, then that would allow for 17 Minutes to be Built into the Timetable to assist with the Reliability of the Service, therefore allowing it to use the Route it took today without any issues with Lateness, To be fair nobody uses the X88 between Concord and Washington Galleries anyway, Passengers always use the more frequent Service 4 and swap over at The Galleries and I think it will only be a matter of time before it gets cut again anyway.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:57 pm)Malarkey wrote I think if the X88 was to operate between Washington Galleries and The Metrocentre only, then that would allow for 17 Minutes to be Built into the Timetable to assist with the Reliability of the Service, therefore allowing it to use the Route it took today without any issues with Lateness, To be fair nobody uses the X88 between Concord and Washington Galleries anyway, Passengers always use the more frequent Service 4 and swap over at The Galleries and I think it will only be a matter of time before it gets cut again anyway.

I agree. Washington - MetroCentre would work a lot better and offer either a layover or a chance to catch up on timing.

I've never seen anyone on the Concord stretch, if so they were blind drunk and had hit the back seats for a nap.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:56 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote And another. And another. And another.

Now, now, Marcus... You're better than this!

'Wing mirror issues' has always just been an example of a reason for buses in general being replaced during the day, accounting for other buses being allocated. There are many other reasons, some of which have been discussed previously.

(02 Jan 2015, 6:00 pm)Dan wrote Now, now, Marcus... You're better than this!

Wing mirror issues has always just been an example of a reason for buses in general being replaced during the day, accounting for other buses being allocated. There are many other reasons, some of which have been discussed previously.

I know, I know.

Makes me wonder if the PB Scanias are cursed or something? - they seem to be wheely bad (that is the worst pun I have ever made!) for #VORs and #PVRshortages.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:59 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote I agree. Washington - MetroCentre would work a lot better and offer either a layover or a chance to catch up on timing.

I've never seen anyone on the Concord stretch, if so they were blind drunk and had hit the back seats for a nap.

You do get a lot of people use the X88 between Galleries and Concord on a weekend but more often than not, they only go 1 stop or 2 into Albany, thereby killing the "X" part of the route.

(02 Jan 2015, 6:04 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote I know, I know.

Makes me wonder if the PB Scanias are cursed or something? - they seem to be wheely bad (that is the worst pun I have ever made!) for #VORs and #PVRshortages.

Yes, that pun was 'wheely bad' too! 

Honestly, it's just a misconception. It happens across the region but other examples aren't as heavily discussed. As another Go North East example, the PVR of the "Diamond" services is 14. The "Diamond" services have a PVR of 14 (two more than the present "Prince Bishops" 20/20A services), with no branded spare vehicles. Robert will gladly inform you of how many times 5337 and 5338 appear on the "Diamond" services...

On this forum, we tend to do subjects to death until we've all repeated the same points and explained the reasoning for our thoughts about 100 times. There are some strong personalities on this forum, and it's easy for others to make judgements in a debate based on that factor alone. I honestly don't think that some of the debates on this forum would escalate so much if this wasn't the case.

Members of this forum have different levels of experience of what life is like "behind the scenes" for bus companies, and I like to think that my work experience with Go North East in August really opened my eyes and makes me see the whole picture. The truth of the matter is that corporate liveried vehicles filling in on a branded service which does not have any branded spares does not suggest anything about the reliability (or lack thereof) of the vehicles allocated. Deep down, I think we all know this.

(02 Jan 2015, 6:15 pm)Dan wrote Yes, that pun was 'wheely bad' too!   

Honestly, it's just a misconception. It happens across the region but other examples aren't as heavily discussed. As another Go North East example, the PVR of the "Diamond" services is 14. The "Diamond" services have a PVR of 14 (two more than the present "Prince Bishops" 20/20A services), with no branded spare vehicles. Robert will gladly inform you of how many times 5337 and 5338 appear on the "Diamond" services...

On this forum, we tend to do subjects to death until we've all repeated the same points and explained the reasoning for our thoughts about 100 times. There are some strong personalities on this forum, and it's easy for others to make judgements in a debate based on that factor alone. I honestly don't think that some of the debates on this forum would escalate so much if this wasn't the case.

Members of this forum have different levels of experience of what life is like "behind the scenes" for bus companies, and I like to think that my work experience with Go North East in August really opened my eyes and makes me see the whole picture. The truth of the matter is that corporate liveried vehicles filling in on a branded service which does not have any branded spares does not suggest anything about the reliability (or lack thereof) of the vehicles allocated. Deep down, I think we all know this.

Hmm...yes, I take your point.

Maybe if Andreos didn't mention the Prince Bishops Scanias being absent so much....we wouldn't have that 'stereotype'!

(02 Jan 2015, 6:22 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Hmm...yes, I take your point.

Maybe if Andreos didn't mention the Prince Bishops Scanias being absent so much....we wouldn't have that 'stereotype'!

I don't think there's an obvious correlation between the amount of times something is mentioned and a debate getting to the stage we're at now with the 20/20A. Robert has mentioned 5337/38 being on the "Diamond" services just as much as corporate liveried vehicles have been noted on the 20/20A, but we've not debated the reliability of the Mercedes Citaros endlessly.

I first brought up buses encountering issues with their wing mirrors with the intention of showing that even the smallest of things that we wouldn't immediately think of can cause a bus to be removed from service and accounting for a corporate liveried spare being allocated. It does seem a little silly, but it is a genuine reason, and there have been examples noted on this forum of it happening with the buses on Arriva's 21/X21 service too (showing that it's not just a problem unique to Go North East's buses!) Because it seems a little silly, we've ended up getting hooked on that statement and linking it to "Prince Bishops" branded Scania L94UB/Wright Solars being missing from service. I'm not deluded enough to believe that this is the only reason for these buses being missing from service, nor am I suggesting that these vehicles never encounter mechanical issues, but I am aware that the main reason for these buses being missing from service is the same reason for all the other buses in the fleet: so that buses can undergo their monthly/annual tests. This obviously isn't a mechanical issue, so I stand by what I have always said about the "Prince Bishops" branded vehicles.

I'd like to note that, whilst I do think that Andreos is a dominant member of the forum with a strong personality, my previous statement about people with strong personalities was intended as a broad statement rather than one to be directed at a single member of the forum. In this situation, I do think that his posts, with the associated hashtags, has probably caused us to discuss these vehicles more than we ordinarily would have, though.

Same old points indeed.... Pfft

Bring back DAFs I say, sitting on this late non hybrid smelly B7 Angel

Nuuuuurse

Saying that we discuss Sunderland a lot for such a not that important provincial secondary city

(runs away)

(02 Jan 2015, 6:47 pm)gtom wrote Saying that we discuss Sunderland a lot for such a not that important provincial secondary city

(runs away)

(02 Jan 2015, 6:44 pm)gtom wrote Same old points indeed.... Pfft

Bring back DAFs I say, sitting on this late non hybrid smelly B7 Angel

Nuuuuurse

I completely agree.

(02 Jan 2015, 5:37 pm)Malarkey wrote Unfortunately my Phone died after the above post en-route to the MetroCentre, after going along Askew Road the Driver made the rather idiotic decision of going onto Motorway past the Dunston turn off and joining the A1 to The MetroCentre, I think had he took the X66 Route it would of saved him 10 Minutes as we got stuck in Traffic on A1 and again coming into The MetroCentre, so rather than Departing 6 Minutes Late as I had predicted he left almost 20 Minutes Late.

3943 had originally been on the X88 circa 1pm at Washington Galleries, come 2pm it was an Ex London President which is the one I got on to the MetroCentre, the President was then replaced by 3943 for the 15:18pm from The MetroCentre which was again Late due to Roadworks on the A1, The Driver took the Normal Route back to Washington until the Roundabout at the bottom of Eighton Banks, where he decided to go off to Left and along past the Mill House and onto the X1 Route into The Galleries, which I thought was rather odd as he should of continued around to the Right and down the Motorway between Oxlcose/Blackfell, again this would of saved him a few Minutes, by this point I dont think he really cared as either way he going to be Late.

Upon arrival into The Galleries Connections 4 Citaro "5359" did the 15:55pm X88 from Washington Galleries to Time Correct the Late Running 3943, Personally I dont think what I have experienced today on the X88 will change anytime soon and I would advise that GNE use the Alternative Route taken to MetroCentre as Detailed in Previous Posts both there and back rather than using the A1, Perhaps putting in a Vosa Registration to amend Route and Timetable would be a good idea as Reliability of the Service is Awful at the Moment. 

Doesn't the X88 have a 'free route' between the Metrocentre and Galleries, with the A1 -> A1231 -> Washington Highway to the Galleries, being the preferred route? Similar to the X21? For as many years as I can remember, the X88 has went on a scenic route, if they've been aware of issues on the A1.

(02 Jan 2015, 6:44 pm)gtom wrote Same old points indeed.... Pfft

Bring back DAFs  I say,  sitting on this late non hybrid smelly B7 Angel

Nuuuuurse

Arriva's R and S reg DAFs were still going strong in Middlesbrough today. I was almost tempted to have a ride for old times sake.  :s

(02 Jan 2015, 10:18 pm)aureolin wrote Arriva's R and S reg DAFs were still going strong in Middlesbrough today. I was almost tempted to have a ride for old times sake.  :s

Aww! Wish I'd known....would have even ditched Tom for one! (sorry mate!)

(02 Jan 2015, 10:19 pm)MarcTheA4 wrote Aww! Wish I'd known....would have even ditched Tom for one! (sorry mate!)

Have yourselves a trip down to Middlesbrough. They should be on the 28 (I assume it's regular?), but both of you take photos.

(02 Jan 2015, 10:17 pm)aureolin wrote Doesn't the X88 have a 'free route' between the Metrocentre and Galleries, with the A1 -> A1231 -> Washington Highway to the Galleries, being the preferred route? Similar to the X21? For as many years as I can remember, the X88 has went on a scenic route, if they've been aware of issues on the A1.

Whenever I have used the X88 which is Very Rare it has used the above Route on all occasions, but Today the Driver went on one massive Detour to avoid the A1, but eventually joined the A1 off the A184 Slip Road at Dunston, as I said in my Previous post the Driver should of followed the X66 Route to the MetroCentre when on Askew Road, even when he was at Wrekenton he could of went down through Allerdene and joined the A1 at Team Valley which again would of reduced Lateness.