The Color Trends 2020 Palette
White Heron. OC-57.
First Light. 2102-70.
Crystalline. AF-485.
Windmill Wings. 2067-60.
Buxton Blue. HC-149.
Golden Straw. 2152-50.
Thunder. AF-685.
Cushing Green. HC-125.

(09 Aug 2021, 1:04 pm)Drifter60 wrote Yes it’s a shame with the 61, Seaham and Murton’s mining heritage could have been linked in. I’ve just noticed the 61 PDF new timetable has an error, towards Sunderland Station Estate and Webb Avenue are the wrong way round.

I must also say that I’m not a fan of what they’re trying to do in Sunderland, I get it what it’s about but it’s almost as if they’re trying to do two things at once, have colour names but also names that sort of mean something.

(08 Aug 2021, 9:05 pm)ASX_Terranova wrote Why are there Biddick - Galleries 2A shorts on the Evenings in the New Timetable.

(06 Aug 2021, 4:20 pm)Adrian wrote I'm not surprised to see most of these changes. Some feel a bit premature, some I think were inevitable and others feel like a problem solved by cobbling everything together - the old square pegs in round holes approach.

I think the idea of producing a booklet for network changes is a good one, but I feel like I could have gotten around an 18 hole golf course in the time I've read through that intro. Headlines like 'Getting buses fit for the future', in a booklet of service cuts, and force-feeding readers with 11 pages of 'look how good we are', feels like the work of an excessively-paid consultant or spin-doctor. I somehow think that those losing their bus services in parts of West Durham and East Durham, will feel very little positivity from hearing about the 'luxury Xlines network' or how there's been a £17 million investment in modern, green buses. Can we just have spin-free in the future, please! 

The statement "The pandemic has, however, had a detrimental impact on the usage of all public transport and is changing the way people work, shop and more, in turn impacting travel patterns that we must work through adjusting to" feels somewhat premature. Although services are pretty much all reopened, the guidance to work from home if you can" has only been dropped on the 19th July, and in fact a lot of employers are yet to start the transition of those staff back into the workplace yet - including the Government and local authorities themselves. It's inevitable that office-based workers patterns of work will change, which is why flexible ticketing is going to be so important, but it feels premature going down this road so soon.

A few that stand out - 

• 21 - Good to see the Brandon extension still happen. It'll give people there a real choice, rather than the current offering they have from Arriva.
  
• 28/28A - I'm a bit surprised about this one, as I'm not sure how operationally practical it is to terminate at Ouston. Unless it moves to Riverside for driver changeovers at GHM? Feels somewhat of a ransom note to DCC for cash, as if its not supported between CLS-Ouston, it'll end up being another service left to die.
  
• 71 - See below
  
• 8 - Sensible to divert via Brady Square, as the 85 doesn't really do much. The new 84 will at least serve the Vic and towards the Village again. Also pleased to see evening and Sunday services introduced.
  
• 56 - I'm surprised at the move to drop this down to every 15 minutes. I probably use it more than I do the X1 now and find it to be quite busy no matter the time of day. I also find it odd telling people in Washington or Southwick that your bus is being cut so that Old Durham Road can have a bus every 7/8 minutes...
  
• X1 - Extensions to Peterlee and Dalton Park are nice, but it remains to be seen how they're promoted and how popular they are. I really cannot see many shopping trips from Washington to Dalton Park, nor can I see any real reason to go to Peterlee, other than for employment.
  

On the Washington Locals - I'm pleased to see the ridiculous system of splitting at the Galleries is being axed, and not surprised to see the Heworth extension also axed. 

For the new 82, I think its a mistake using Waterview Park as a terminus point. You're cutting a shopping links off to the main High Street and a retail park from Washington Village, and instead extending to an office complex that is earmarked for closure. The age demographic in Washington Village is above retirement age, so having a half hourly service to an office complex is pointless. There's already regular links from the Galleries for anyone who does work there. I wonder if the 82 changes are largely to 'make' Barmston Court fit, which is a bit of an anomaly due to its location.

The new 84 looks OK, but I wish we could avoid this ridiculous system of needing to serve both Barmston Bus link and Horsley Road. Even at the furthest distance, they are in walkable distance from each other. It would make more sense to omit the bus link and serve Horsley Road only. I also think it'd have made more sense to retain the 83 service number throughout, as customers are going to find it confusing with the current 84.

I'm not surprised to see the 85 curtailed at the Galleries. It doesn't do much between there and Brady Square, and there are already plenty of links to the main road, and now the 8 if required to the old terminus. 


I used the 71 lately for the entire route and I was surprised how busy it was from Seaton onwards into Seaham. There were about 3 of us into Houghton, but nobody boarded or alighted there. I had forgotten it even existed, before I went to use it, but the route reminds me a bit of a service that has been designed to die - a bit like the North Sunderland estates fiascos of a couple years ago. Whilst I don't think promoting connections to the rail network at Seaham are likely to make much impact, given the 21/X21/X1s links to Newcastle, the 21/X21 links to Durham, and the upcoming increase of services at Chester-le-Street, I do think they could have done more to promote the Houghton to Seaham section of the route.

I really hate the ransom demands to local authorities though, and that is exactly how the wording on the 71 changes come across - and after 18 months of the Treasury funding the business.

(09 Aug 2021, 5:20 pm)Washingtonian wrote The SD berries are going from two buses an hour to one on an evening, so I'd guess this is so Biddick still have a bus to Sunderland on an evening. I know it shows up on the timetable that it runs Biddick to the Galleries and back only, but I'm assuming anyone getting this may be able to stay on the bus when it changes to the 2. With the 8 running on an evening and Sundays from next month, almost all the other parts of the 2A are covered.

(09 Aug 2021, 5:54 pm)Adrian wrote I hadn't noticed it before, but potentially replaces the missing journeys through Biddick on an evening? Currently there are three - 1x 83, 1x 85 and 1x 86. This would mean there'd be 1x 84 and 1x 2A.

Although we're unsure how the Nexus timetable will look with the new contract, it wouldn't provide much of an option... you'd have two buses leaving within 15 minutes and nothing for the next 45. If they run xx.20 Biddick to the Galleries after 7pm, then at least that'll retain a half hourly service.

I'm more curious at how the buses are going to be turned at Biddick. There's a 3 minute gap between the outbound trip arriving at Biddick and then the inbound trip departing, which would probably be enough time to go down to the A195 roundabout between the schools and back. There's not really another place to practically turn the bus, other than to loop Parkway (which would actually be a more sensible option, but you couldn't serve the Biddick stops in both directions)

(09 Aug 2021, 6:16 pm)Washingtonian wrote Yeah you raise some interesting points there. I was also trying to work out how the 2A will turn around at Biddick. Maybe it will just serve the bus link in one direction only and go round the other side of the village on the return journey?

I'm also interested too see what's going to serve Washington Village on an evening after the 82 stops around 8/8.30pm? It's still to be announced what the late evening journeys are going to be. Assuming the 84 remains half hourly late evenings, I wonder if it will continue to serve Washington Village once an hour as it does now and Biddick once an hour as it does now, or whether it will serve Biddick half hourly.

(09 Aug 2021, 6:10 pm)Drifter60 wrote Not sure where to put this but it seems like the 60 & 9 will interwork on evenings. But isn’t the 9 already interworking with the 5 out of Jarrow? That’s going to be a long evening cycle.

(09 Aug 2021, 6:18 pm)Adrian wrote I had thought that, but it's timetabled twice within 3 minutes of each other. Unless that is an arrival/departure at the same stop, which would be fine, as long as it looped the ring-road on the outbound journey from the Galleries, meaning it can serve the NW bound stop inbound to the Galleries, thus avoiding confusion from the daytime service.

(09 Aug 2021, 6:10 pm)Drifter60 wrote Not sure where to put this but it seems like the 60 & 9 will interwork on evenings. But isn’t the 9 already interworking with the 5 out of Jarrow? That’s going to be a long evening cycle.

(09 Aug 2021, 8:08 pm)N1cholas wrote The 5 will probably be independent on evenings and sundays as it currently is with driver changeovers at fellgate and only interwork with the 9 monday to friday daytimes

(09 Aug 2021, 8:59 pm)Rapidsnap wrote According to Google Maps, it looks like the 2a is going to Brady Square.

(09 Aug 2021, 9:13 pm)Washingtonian wrote 2A currently serves Brady Square on evenings and Sundays but is being replaced by the 8 from next month.

(10 Aug 2021, 10:51 am)Keeiajs wrote Will Seaham become a driver change over point with the 62 or 60

(10 Aug 2021, 11:10 am)Thomas12 wrote why would it?

(09 Aug 2021, 8:08 pm)N1cholas wrote The 5 will probably be independent on evenings and sundays as it currently is with driver changeovers at fellgate and only interwork with the 9 monday to friday daytimes

(10 Aug 2021, 11:16 am)6049 wrote Not sure why Deptford would send a driver up to Fellgate for a changeover. Adding extra dead mileage and running costs in for no real reason imo. All changeovers I'd assume will happen at Park Lane. If it does interwork with the 60, then I'd guess you might have a driver doing 60, 60, 9 and then last 5 to Shields? If the 9 is half hourly on a night where the 5 is hourly, you might get the "short" 9s just doing Jarrow and back which interwork with the 60.

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(09 Aug 2021, 12:40 pm)BusLoverMum wrote It was constant chaos having the X1 and the 4 (plus the 8, in one direction) all running from the same stand.

(10 Aug 2021, 11:17 am)Keeiajs wrote Just interwork @ South Shields with the 20 & get the 9 & 60 to interwork.

(10 Aug 2021, 11:19 am)6049 wrote The 8 seems to be getting changed to run off Stand B along with the 2/2A.

Agreed that stand A can get a bit busy with the 4, 8 and X1; but at least it's designed to operate two buses at once. Stand C is going to stack buses and block the bus station if there's issues on either the 4 and X1.

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Doubt they'll do that either tbh, the official line so far as mentioned by someone way back is that it will interwork with the 9. Corporate branded on both 9 and 5. Are the Prince Bishop Streetlites Euro 6?

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(10 Aug 2021, 11:22 am)Keeiajs wrote I believe the Prince Bishop Streetlites are Euro 6.

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It seems the 65 will be operated by Peterlee as the first 62 service from Peterlee with finish @ Seaham at 07:20 and will change to the 65 from Seaham.

(10 Aug 2021, 11:42 am)Michael wrote The Prince Bishop Streetlites are Euro 5.

(10 Aug 2021, 11:52 am)Keeiajs wrote Sorry I was under the impression that all streetlites bar Drifter and Old Saltwell parks one were Euro 5 Sorry.

(10 Aug 2021, 11:52 am)Keeiajs wrote Sorry I was under the impression that all streetlites bar Drifter and Old Saltwell parks one were Euro 5 Sorry.

(10 Aug 2021, 12:23 pm)GNE6312 wrote I believe the Cummins ones (Drifter ones, 5391-5441 & 8339-8346) are all euro 5 and the damiler ones (all 66/17 reg examples & 9062) are all euro 6

(10 Aug 2021, 12:36 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I believe 5420-5441 are Daimler engined but still Euro 5