1591 is on X1 currently heading into Darlington

1590 in service today on the X1
https://www.flickr.com/photos/127079988@...otostream/

Sorry the LED isn't clear but I took hundreds of shots but this was the best I managed.

As well as getting a photo of 1590 I also went for a ride on it between Darlington and Bishop Auckland.

I have the following to say:

The seats looked slightly different to the other MAX buses I have been on with the most noticeable thing being the headrests being a darker blue than on other MAX buses and the shape of the e-leather looked different to say the MAX Omnicity's I thought. Found the seats comfortable.

Going down the A68 past Burtree Gate I thought that it wasn't very fast, it wasn't slow but it didn't feel like we were thrashing down here though. It felt rather smooth going down this section of the route which was surprising as the road surface is horrendous. Can't really comment on how it did on hills as the only real bit of this journey where it went uphill we got stuck behind a lorry.

Was slightly surprised to find that it has charging points like Sapphire buses do. Not 100% if it actually has screens for next stop announcements as it should be below the stopping light but was difficult to tell as I was sat towards the back and all I could see was black. I tried the WiFI and got connected no problem at all which was good.

So I quite liked this one this afternoon although not 100% if they will handle this route perfectly, will have to ride them more and more of the route before making a decision on exactly what I think of them but I quite enjoyed my journey on 1590 this afternoon.

Was slightly surprised to find that it has charging points like Sapphire buses do.

Eh? 

Wasn't expecting that, surely all the new 2014 StreetLites should have got them, instead of the Sapphire ones. But the X1?  :s

The "MAX" brand can't decide on its features then...

Eh? 

Wasn't expecting that, surely all the new 2014 StreetLites should have got them, instead of the Sapphire ones. But the X1?  :s

The "MAX" brand can't decide on its features then...

The 2015 MAX E400's in Yorkshire also feature sockets, is it possible the MAX spec has changed?

The 2015 MAX E400's in Yorkshire also feature sockets, is it possible the MAX spec has changed?

It won't be long until the MAX spec changes again and features NSAs on all buses. Now does that ring a bell? 

I think that on the whole, you can't argue that Arriva have invested in a lot more newer buses over the last few years - that said, they went years in a lot of areas with no new vehicles at all, so the time had to come where new buses had to be bought.

My two main criticisms of them in my area would be a lack of evening services and no hardly any real express services.

We have the X5 from Loftus to Middlesbrough which has only a couple of journeys in each direction running to an unusual route which stops at every stop to Skelton, then misses Guisborough completely and goes none stop direct to Middlesbrough. Surely a limited stop service along the lines of the old X56 would've been better? And more express services during the day?

And except for the 5 they have nothing venturing into East Cleveland or Whitby on an evening....Whitby is cut off after 7.pm.

I can understand that subsidies have been cut and later journeys can be unprofitable if they look at it that way, BUT surely if people can get to/from somewhere late evening they may use buses at other times of the day too. If they know the service just isnt there when they need it, they'll avoid using the bus at all and make alternative arrangements for travel the rest of the time aswell.

I know Arriva are a business, but sometimes I think they should realise not every journey is going to be busy, but at least providing a service (say the X4) every hour and a half or two hours even on a night wouldn't break the bank, and would encourage use at other times.

Had 1426/1427 on the 5A today and the next stop announcements were practically on mute.

Getting ridiculous now

I noticed the NSA's on the X66 OmniCity's are very vague, at Stockton it simply said 'High Street' and for Middlesbrough simply said 'Bus Station'; surely if it was to allow people who are not familiar with the area to understand where they are its not very good!

I noticed the NSA's on the X66 OmniCity's are very vague, at Stockton it simply said 'High Street' and for Middlesbrough simply said 'Bus Station'; surely if it was to allow people who are not familiar with the area to understand where they are its not very good!

Same on the Sapphire 7 announcements, arriving in Durham from Crossgate Peth / Country Hall stops it just says 'Bus Station'

Must have just got round to doing them for the X66 as all the ones I have been on have not had any announcements just the screen showing 'Arriva, Go on, get on'

Do you not think it's time Arriva fitted two way radios onto their vehicles? I know that the signal would be a bit poor in some places but, it would help improve reliability massively. For instance, 2x 308s were chasing each other in Whitley Bay and if radios were fitted, one could be advised to ditch the passengers onto the following service with the late one running empty to make up lost time.

Do you not think it's time Arriva fitted two way radios onto their vehicles? I know that the signal would be a bit poor in some places but, it would help improve reliability massively. For instance, 2x 308s were chasing each other in Whitley Bay and if radios were fitted, one could be advised to ditch the passengers onto the following service with the late one running empty to make up lost time.

That's a good idea, it's rather unprofessional for drivers and supervisors to be seen on their mobile phones all the time, and the downside of mobiles is, that everything has to be done at either a bus station or when a bus breaks down. 

I was thinking about this the other day, is it possible to get some mobile phone cradles, and set up a kind of depot group chat on Facebook or something similar, that way, the bus driver can easily get the messages when at bus stops etc

Also, it will be of no additional cost to Arriva (or any other operator for that matter), and most people these days have, or can get, Facebook? 

I was thinking about this the other day, is it possible to get some mobile phone cradles, and set up a kind of depot group chat on Facebook or something similar, that way, the bus driver can easily get the messages when at bus stops etc

Also, it will be of no additional cost to Arriva (or any other operator for that matter), and most people these days have, or can get, Facebook? 

I know that Ashington Taxis have some sort of device that transmits messages to the vehicles asking if anyone was free to do an extra shift and all that etc, I think having something that has Facebook in the cab of a bus is rather distracting 

I know that Ashington Taxis have some sort of device that transmits messages to the vehicles asking if anyone was free to do an extra shift and all that etc, I think having something that has Facebook in the cab of a bus is rather distracting 

They wouldn't be able to take advantage though, most buses now have seats opposite the drivers cab, and as long as the driver puts the group chat on the screen, passengers will be able to see that that's the only thing they are doing. 

I'd argue a radio going off all the time would be more distracting, or is that not how bus radios would work?

They wouldn't be able to take advantage though, most buses now have seats opposite the drivers cab, and as long as the driver puts the group chat on the screen, passengers will be able to see that that's the only thing they are doing. 

I'd argue a radio going off all the time would be more distracting, or is that not how bus radios would work?

That's how they're supposed to work.

That's how they're supposed to work.

So constantly distracting? 

All service that use the Seaton Burn roundabout are disrupted of up to 40 minutes. This is due to a serious RTA on Fisher Lane.

1745 Update: Accident on Fisher Lane has been cleared and services are being regulated on arrival at their terminus.

As I understand it, Arriva are to roll out a text message system using the Wayfarers by which the driver can contact the depot's on-duty inspector or leading driver in the event of late running etc. Easier than having to fit every depot with a radio control room or reopen Jesmond control room.

Back to pagers?

Back to pagers?

Was a plan but apparently not followed up on

1590 on the X1 today

1591 came into service as the 10am from Darlington to Tow Law on 7th April I was lucky to be its driver and have used it again today

All the withdrawn and redundant vehicles are being cleared from depots at present. 4001, 4007, 4038 and 4039 have been removed from Stockton by Alpha's in the last two days (4038/9 yesterday, 4001/7 today)... 4042 and various others have left Redcar also.
This leaves only one Prestige in the ANE fleet now, 4051 still in use on advanced driver training in Northumbria I gather.

This leaves only one Prestige in the ANE fleet now, 4051 still in use on advanced driver training in Northumbria I gather.

It's still parked in the depot at the moment. 

Also quick little bit of news from Redcar is the arrival of 1301 (from Ashington) to replace failed 4504 which is now withdrawn following engine failure.

Also quick little bit of news from Redcar is the arrival of 1301 (from Ashington) to replace failed 4504 which is now withdrawn following engine failure.

Ahh, always liked 4504! 

It picked me up once from a broken and smoky 7507 on Fisher Lane approaching Seaton Burn, was quite pacey from what I remember... 

Also quick little bit of news from Redcar is the arrival of 1301 (from Ashington)

Following on from that, I'm pleased to say 1581 is back in service after it was withdrawn for type training. 

Do you not think it's time Arriva fitted two way radios onto their vehicles? I know that the signal would be a bit poor in some places but, it would help improve reliability massively. For instance, 2x 308s were chasing each other in Whitley Bay and if radios were fitted, one could be advised to ditch the passengers onto the following service with the late one running empty to make up lost time.

Couldn't agree more, however, finding a system which works across such a wide area won't be cheap. Pity though, you'd think digital technology would have helped things along by now

How much longer do the ALX300 bodied B10's at Jesmond have left? 

Was just wondering as all of them were refurbished and I'm sure that they're all DDA compliant, with it being the Wright bodied one's that aren't 

How many Plaxton Centro's do Stockton have? Noticed at least one on the 17.

How many Plaxton Centro's do Stockton have? Noticed at least one on the 17.

They've got the only two in the fleet, 1923/4, which were both originally at Ashington for the 35.