(21 Dec 2016, 10:01 pm)idiot wrote Disgrace that GNE are not adding extra dates on the tickets for when they provide no service on Xmas day and nyd.

(21 Dec 2016, 10:15 pm)Malarkey wrote Travel Office at the galleries done me out of 2 Days on my Network One pass the week, said they added them on but didn't and I thought nothing of it as I have never had any issues in the past, until I came to use it last saturday and found it was out of date when I got on the bus.

(21 Dec 2016, 10:58 pm)Ambassador wrote Your pass should have been a reduced rate if it makes you feel better.

GNEs policy is just greedy and unnecessary. The responses on Facebook have been appalling, usual rank awful customer service. I'd genuinely like to know if the MD can look at those responses and be happy and proud of his staff and the direction they work under. I've worked at many FTSE companies, way bigger than Go Ahead and seen Customer Service Directors hauled over coals and arse kicked for better service than GNE give.


Still, monopoly, they can do what they want. If only we had a regulator with some teeth on ticketing issues.

(22 Dec 2016, 12:06 am)Ambassador wrote You make good points, but that's why we have NECA (which is dropping the ball) to pull all this together. It's a tangled web of regional xenophobia and red tape..

The simple answer if for GNE to act like a business that cares about customers and offer extensions/discounts which Arriva, Stagecoach and Network One are all doing. But they don't. So one can only assume they don't.

(21 Dec 2016, 11:58 pm)Jamie M wrote What makes this particularly hard is the amount of counsils involved in the regulation.
You have DCC, Newcasle County Counsil, Gateshead Counsil, North Tyneside Counsil, South Tyneside Counsil, Unitary Authorities (Hartlepool/M'bro) and Northumberland County Counsil.
To come up with some sensible restrictions, you need counsil monitoring - which is impossible given the number of different counsils which will all have their own take on what should be done. After all, companies like GNE satisfy the counsils by providing all of the contracts which have their own restrictions. There is certainly price ammendments made by these contracts - just there is no way to bridge the different counsil's regulations into one central monitoring system.  Here's a made up example..

Say DDC, Gateshead Counsil and Newcastle City Counsil (the latter under nexus) agree to join together to make route X70 more affordable.
£1 to the boundery from Consett -> Crookgate, £1 to Newcastle from there. Nexus and Go North East then look at the figures and realise that not nearly enough people are getting on the Bus in or through T&W to make ends meet. Nexus then decide that the prices can be put up allow the leg of the journey to be economically plausable for both operator and nexus itself. So the price then shifts up to £1.50 to go from Crookgate to Gateshead. Are DCC going to then reduce the price of their share of the route? No, because that's going to mess with their figures and contracts. The price - one end to the other is going to be £2.50.

I may be talking utter.. uhm... nonsense with my example, and indeed all of this, but this is how I picture it with contracts involved.

Sent from my SM-G920F using Tapatalk

(22 Dec 2016, 5:16 pm)Michael wrote Any of those Streetlites arrived yet

(22 Dec 2016, 5:19 pm)S813 FVK wrote I wonder how many people Dan caught out with those photos of the X66 streetlites from last year that he uploaded to flickr last night

(22 Dec 2016, 5:19 pm)S813 FVK wrote I wonder how many people Dan caught out with those photos of the X66 streetlites from last year that he uploaded to flickr last night

(22 Dec 2016, 6:55 pm)Andreos1 wrote Surreal moment of the night was seeing a broken down Cats Fast Solar on Hetton Road being overtaken by Santa on a sleigh  (being pulled by a van).

The next X5 was a Castle Eden run, so hopefully those wanting to do the bit beyond Peterlee were catered for.
I am guessing the broken down Solar had been there a while, as I saw the Castle Eden X5 coming down Houghton Cut moments after seeing the expired vehicle.

(22 Dec 2016, 8:39 pm)Adrian wrote How come Santa's sleigh was being pulled by a van? Did he have a 'Claus' in his contract? 

(21 Dec 2016, 4:38 pm)Dan wrote Percy Main started to upload the announcements to the indiGo buses yesterday.

There is a fault with the system that helps piece together the announcements for the Quaylink, Citylink and TEN which is being looked into by Hanover.

(21 Dec 2016, 4:47 pm)Tom wrote Great thank you

(23 Dec 2016, 7:40 am)Dan wrote Should have been uploaded to all of the indiGos now.

(23 Dec 2016, 7:40 am)Dan wrote Should have been uploaded to all of the indiGos now.

(23 Dec 2016, 10:30 am)V514DFT wrote Not quite dan,the 40 i was on last night had none

(23 Dec 2016, 2:19 am)GMitchelhill wrote Saw said Sleigh last Friday around Easington, was an interesting sight.

(22 Dec 2016, 5:19 pm)S813 FVK wrote I wonder how many people Dan caught out with those photos of the X66 streetlites from last year that he uploaded to flickr last night

(22 Dec 2016, 5:21 pm)Michael wrote I bet a few, i haven't been on Flickr today so i haven't seen them haha

I bet he did it on purpose!

(23 Dec 2016, 10:37 am)Dan wrote "Now" means today, not yesterday!

The last few were uploaded during the early hours of this morning.

(24 Dec 2016, 10:38 am)Michael wrote Whats the allocations for this years boxing day services?

(24 Dec 2016, 11:24 am)S813 FVK wrote Last year's allocations can be found via the following link:
http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=1664&pid=142907#pid142907

I can't imagine anything dramatically changing other than the 97 being allocated B9TLs and the Red Kite B9TLs making their way onto service 47 along with any red deckers if necessary - i would imagine they want to put as many double deckers on the road as possible. I would say that the X31 is likely to be Omnidekkas too like the X30.

(24 Dec 2016, 11:45 am)S813 FVK wrote I don't understand why Stanley would want to allocate as few double deckers as possible when the amount of passengers is going to be much higher than normal.

The 47 was allocated Omnidekkas and B7s last year at a PVR of 5, it would be wise to do this again using the 4 B9s to give customers free WiFi as they would get on a normal day and one of the Omnidekkas. Of course, they could just allocate the Omnidekkas like last year like you wre suggesting to provide a consistent service across the whole PVR.

The X30/X31 interworking with the 6 makes sense as this is something that happened last year, albeit the X30 only as the X31 didn't run, and is something that happens every Sunday during the year anyway.

The 16A and V7 are the only services that are likely to be allocated single deckers (Durham diamond Citaros again). Not many people will be heading to Durham and the V7 capacity is increased although by not much admittedly and the 6 is always there for people heading to the Metrocentre

(24 Dec 2016, 11:24 am)S813 FVK wrote Last year's allocations can be found via the following link:
http://northeastbuses.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?tid=1664&pid=142907#pid142907

I can't imagine anything dramatically changing other than the 97 being allocated B9TLs and the Red Kite B9TLs making their way onto service 47 along with any red deckers if necessary - i would imagine they want to put as many double deckers on the road as possible. I would say that the X31 is likely to be Omnidekkas too like the X30.

(24 Dec 2016, 12:38 pm)Michael wrote I think it was Dan said that the 20 in Sunderland were going to be allocated FAB 56 B9's.

Wonder what the X5 will be allocated?

(24 Dec 2016, 1:28 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote If the 20/20A is being allocated FAB56 B9s, Then its a possibility the Prince Bishops Streetlite's will be allocated to the X5? , Could also see them appearing on the 61, See it Do it's etc.

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In other news, The new Streetlite's currently on delivery look to have new window alingments, Which heavily benefit people sat the back.

Seen here : https://www.flickr.com/photos/nsf323alistair/31705659541/in/photostream/


Looks like no one will suffer in the summer from now on