Bit of a random thread, but as 2018 draws to a close, I thought it'd be worth reflecting - what are your positives and negatives from this year, as far as the bus world (or other forms of public  transport!) goes?

There isn't really a suitable place for this, and it is probably something that merits it's own discussion thread.

Here's why bus passenger numbers are falling in the North East
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...g-15536961

North East travellers are turning their backs on buses and the Metro, transport bosses have warned.

Millions of journeys are still made each year, but the numbers are falling.

And local transport experts think congestion caused by the number of cars on the road may be partly to blame.

Marshall Poulton, assistant director for transport at Newcastle City Council, said “congestion in and around the city centre” was slowing down bus journeys into Newcastle city centre, and services running between the East and West in the region.

A fall in the number of Metro users may be connected to poor reliability, he said.

He was speaking at a seminar for transport leaders in the North of England, held in Manchester.

Mr Poulton, speaking in a personal capacity, said one answer to cutting congestion could be to increase parking charges in Newcastle city centre. This is not currently city council policy.

He said there were around 164 million bus passenger journeys each year in the area covered by the North East Combined Authority, which includes Newcastle, Gateshead, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, County Durham and Northumberland.

But the number had fallen by 22 million in recent years.


And there are 36 million trips annually on the Metro system - but this is 1.3 million journeys fewer than a year ago.

Mr Poulton said: “Our general feeling is that from a bus perspective, the congestion in and around the city centre is preventing buses penetrating East-West and into Newcastle.

“It’s not as bad on the North-South route, but East-West is definitely held up.

“That is then maybe making the car more attractive to travel into the city centre.”

Car travel may also appear to offer better value than bus transport, he said.

He added: “I personally feel we’ve got to look at parking policies as well.

“The supply of car parking and the pricing policy. It’s very affordable in Newcastle compared to other cities.”

The Metro was “very successful” and offered good value for money, he said.

But he added: “One challenge we’ve got there is the resilience of the network.

“Sometimes it’s unreliable a bit further out from Newcastle, not so much in Newcastle itself.”

Bus passenger numbers have fallen across the country.

Earlier this year, the bus company that owns Go North East urged local councils to consider road-charging schemes to cut congestion on the roads.

Go-Ahead Group, which provides 175,000 bus journeys every day under the Go North East brand name, said authorities should be more willing to introduce road charges, or to impose charges on workplace car parks used by employees.

In a written submission to House of Commons Transport Committee, Go-Ahead Group said councils should use the powers they already have in order to get cars off the roads and cut congestion.

It said: “Powers are available for local authorities to tackle congestion through the Traffic Management Act 2004 but are not effectively used and enforced.

"Through the Transport Act 2000, measures such as workplace charging/road user charging should be more readily deployed, as a means of achieving target journey times.”

A congestion charge was introduced in London in 2003 and other parts of the country are now beginning to follow suit. Birmingham is introducing a “clean air zone”, which involves imposing charges on many private vehicles coming into the city centre, while Manchester City Council is considering a similar scheme.

Stagecoach North East: Rare & Odd Workings - December 2018

Stagecoach North East: Latest News & Discussion - December 2018

1593 in Jesmond minus an engine.

I'm currently looking to create a suggestion timetable. On top of driving the bus and any other vehicles associated with the duty if required, how long does a driver get to do the following:

- First use in the morning including collecting float and doing walkaround of bus before leaving depot.

- Signing on for duty during the day (not first use) including collecting float etc before leaving depot.

- Arriving back to depot to sign off including cashing float back in.

(30 Nov 2018, 10:06 pm)Andreos1 wrote It's a pittance. Really is. 
No wonder operators traditionally struggle to recruit and retain staff.

South division pay starts at £8.25 for new starters...

Hey guys...

Been a while since I posted...

Today I am asking for your generosity.

6 months ago my missus was diagnosed with Stage 2 Cervical Cancer, and recently it's progressed to Stage 3, through Radiotherapy and Chemotherapy, she ended up having clumps of hair coming out and a couple of weeks ago she had her her shaved, this has absolutely shot her confidence and has been hard Psychologically, so in 3 weeks time in a show of solidarity I have signed up to MacMillans Brave The Shave, I am shaving my hair off in a show of solidarity with my Missus.

If anyone could dig in there pockets and sponsor me, I would be grateful, no matter how small, every donation counts towards the work of what is a Truly Wonderful Charity

https://bravetheshave.macmillan.org.uk/s...id-forster


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Just curious to know how many times a bus is cleaned? I.e. Windows Washed, Interior Cleaned as most times I'm on a bus it doesn't feel fresh, an example of this was my Arriva Sapphire 24 experience, rubbish all over the floor, marks on seats, filthy windows, some leather pulled off 1 or 2 seats and it looked like it needed a good clean.