(25 Jun 2013, 4:31 pm)Michael wrote 4906 on 36 at wheatchef heading to park lane

(25 Jun 2013, 4:35 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:31 pm)Michael wrote 4906 on 36 at wheatchef heading to park lane

Wear Tees Xpress on the 36.... Jesus Christ, I suppose Deptford didnt fancy handing it straight back to Peterlee for the X7 then, which must mean there was an East Durham MPD on the X7 at somepoint today.

(25 Jun 2013, 4:43 pm)Daniel wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:35 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:31 pm)Michael wrote 4906 on 36 at wheatchef heading to park lane

Wear Tees Xpress on the 36.... Jesus Christ, I suppose Deptford didnt fancy handing it straight back to Peterlee for the X7 then, which must mean there was an East Durham MPD on the X7 at somepoint today.

Believe there is permanently one at Deptford in case of a break down at Sunderland..?
The one that breaks down is fixed at Deptford and kept for the next break down.

(24 Jun 2013, 6:38 pm)Daniel wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:29 pm)CatsFast101 wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:19 pm)Michael wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:13 pm)CatsFast101 wrote Do we know if these new Ciatro's/Streetlites will be fitted with wifi and next stopping announcements?

God i hope not for the announcements, they were annoying as out on the 36 when they had them on the Versa's.

I hope for the WIFI, think this will be popular but they always having problems with it on the TEN/Tyne Tees Xpress, that could be a downfall.

I can see them having both, just hope the announcements aren't as loud as the ones on the Angel..

Yeah I like the next stop announcements but they can get irrating if they are too loud. I hope they do get wifi but as you say they do have a problems with it. But they didn't have the next stop announcements on last week when I was on the X1.

I think the announcements on the X1 are somewhat belittling. Announced upon arrival at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital are instructions on how to alight the bus. While this information is good and true, just about every Tom, Dick and Harry know how to alight a bus - and if they decided to follow the instructions given to us by the cheesy radio people rather than their own knowledge, chances are the bus would take off before they managed to get to the bottom step if they were originally sat in the upper saloon.
The hundredth anniversary Versa still has all the kit to make the announcements regarding next stops etc, and indeed still manages to play odd little sounds every now and again. Had a ride of her on the 135 the other day, and I found the random noises rather irritating indeed.
I reckon these new buses will all be fitted with the kit to announce next stops etc - not sure about WiFi though.

(25 Jun 2013, 5:21 pm)tyresmoke wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:43 pm)Daniel wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:35 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 4:31 pm)Michael wrote 4906 on 36 at wheatchef heading to park lane

Wear Tees Xpress on the 36.... Jesus Christ, I suppose Deptford didnt fancy handing it straight back to Peterlee for the X7 then, which must mean there was an East Durham MPD on the X7 at somepoint today.

Believe there is permanently one at Deptford in case of a break down at Sunderland..?
The one that breaks down is fixed at Deptford and kept for the next break down.

No good if one breaks down elsewhere though, like 4909 did in Middlesbrough yesterday? Was there about 1.5 hours before Deptfords (?) fitters turned up.

(25 Jun 2013, 7:18 pm)gtomlinson wrote Do the East Lancs dual doors still have the 'Please remain seated and exit the bus via the middle doors' announcement? Used to drive me mad on the Angel.

The Angel announcements have been toned down quite a lot now from what they were like at launch. The use of the CCTV screens as next stop is quite engaging as opposed to playing 'stare at your fellow passenger' (I remember the East Lancs used to have adverts running on them but that soon stopped)

(25 Jun 2013, 7:28 pm)Michael wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 7:18 pm)gtomlinson wrote Do the East Lancs dual doors still have the 'Please remain seated and exit the bus via the middle doors' announcement? Used to drive me mad on the Angel.

The Angel announcements have been toned down quite a lot now from what they were like at launch. The use of the CCTV screens as next stop is quite engaging as opposed to playing 'stare at your fellow passenger' (I remember the East Lancs used to have adverts running on them but that soon stopped)

The ones at Deptford don't, ive only ever heard it once when they first arrvied but since then ive never used the middle door to exit,

it seems pointless having the middle, they could of blocked it out and made them to single door's but thier's no point now....

(25 Jun 2013, 7:28 pm)Michael wrote

(25 Jun 2013, 7:18 pm)gtomlinson wrote Do the East Lancs dual doors still have the 'Please remain seated and exit the bus via the middle doors' announcement? Used to drive me mad on the Angel.

The Angel announcements have been toned down quite a lot now from what they were like at launch. The use of the CCTV screens as next stop is quite engaging as opposed to playing 'stare at your fellow passenger' (I remember the East Lancs used to have adverts running on them but that soon stopped)

The ones at Deptford don't, ive only ever heard it once when they first arrvied but since then ive never used the middle door to exit,

it seems pointless having the middle, they could of blocked it out and made them to single door's but thier's no point now....

(25 Jun 2013, 7:37 pm)Daniel wrote [
Believe some Gateshead ones do. Actually heard it one time and refused to move from the centre doors because I heard the announcement play on the 24 one time. Stood there, waited, and the driver actually managed to press the button to open that door instead. Difficult task, it was. Despise how Deptford are completely unable to use these doors - don't get me started on the amount of e-mails I've sent about it.

(25 Jun 2013, 7:37 pm)Daniel wrote Believe some Gateshead ones do. Actually heard it one time and refused to move from the centre doors because I heard the announcement play on the 24 one time. Stood there, waited, and the driver actually managed to press the button to open that door instead. Difficult task, it was. Despise how Deptford are completely unable to use these doors - don't get me started on the amount of e-mails I've sent about it.

(25 Jun 2013, 6:35 pm)aureolin wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:38 pm)Daniel wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:29 pm)CatsFast101 wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:19 pm)Michael wrote

(24 Jun 2013, 6:13 pm)CatsFast101 wrote Do we know if these new Ciatro's/Streetlites will be fitted with wifi and next stopping announcements?

God i hope not for the announcements, they were annoying as out on the 36 when they had them on the Versa's.

I hope for the WIFI, think this will be popular but they always having problems with it on the TEN/Tyne Tees Xpress, that could be a downfall.

I can see them having both, just hope the announcements aren't as loud as the ones on the Angel..

Yeah I like the next stop announcements but they can get irrating if they are too loud. I hope they do get wifi but as you say they do have a problems with it. But they didn't have the next stop announcements on last week when I was on the X1.

I think the announcements on the X1 are somewhat belittling. Announced upon arrival at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital are instructions on how to alight the bus. While this information is good and true, just about every Tom, Dick and Harry know how to alight a bus - and if they decided to follow the instructions given to us by the cheesy radio people rather than their own knowledge, chances are the bus would take off before they managed to get to the bottom step if they were originally sat in the upper saloon.
The hundredth anniversary Versa still has all the kit to make the announcements regarding next stops etc, and indeed still manages to play odd little sounds every now and again. Had a ride of her on the 135 the other day, and I found the random noises rather irritating indeed.
I reckon these new buses will all be fitted with the kit to announce next stops etc - not sure about WiFi though.

Wi-Fi is a very popular feature I'd imagine, but really, the infrastructure in the North East simply can't cope. Data networks are already congested - where you can get it. It struggles quite a bit of the route on the 21 for sure, and I can imagine similar problems exist whilst on the A19 for the X9/X10. Hopefully if enough money is poured in to the 4G rollout, it'll improve the reliability of the onboard Wi-Fi.

As for the next stop screens. They're completely over the top in my opinion. Absolutely no need to have a screen dedicated to them. Something similar to what the Metro have, or the TFL buses have would be more than ideal. Plus the TFL announcements are direct and straight to the point. None of this faffing around about how to sit on a seat, and not to pick your nose, etc.

(25 Jun 2013, 8:18 pm)Daniel wrote One ex-Red Arrows Citaro which is now branded as "Silver Arrows" has one of those Metro screens (5327 rings a bell?). Not a clue why as it's useless - whether it was a trial or not, I do not know, but it's not programmed correctly so it's useless.
"2A SUNDERLAND" is displayed twice, with the text overlapping each other on the bottom/top of the text so it's almost illegible. When someone presses the bell, "BUS STOPPING" is displayed in large text.

(26 Jun 2013, 7:59 am)Andreos1 wrote Northern Renown on the 71 with 8289 missing again this morning. Saw it yesterday - sounded fine, but there seemed to be issues with the bodywork at the back end.

(26 Jun 2013, 11:30 am)Liam wrote 637 on the Q1
FestNE is on the 64/64A/95/96 board today. Somewhere on a 64 / 64A route now.
Marron red / plum (?) 4958 is back in service on the M1 today.