(26 Jun 2022, 9:21 pm)Adrian wrote Probably equal distance from Deptford or Washington, and it's just one bus all day, isn't it? So the light mileage is going to be minimal and certainly not much different to the early 4s starting at Houghton.

(26 Jun 2022, 9:50 pm)Drifter60 wrote Perhaps should of explained a bit more, I was thinking of driver changeovers and should a vehicle need changing during service. There’s quite a few routes that involved dead mileage for early trips, X6s starting in Peterlee, Bishop Auckland or West Auckland early morning X21s etc. But most are able to swap vehicles, change drivers in a central interchange or suitable location near a depot - 4s at the Galleries, Chester Front Street for X21s, X6 at Sunderland Park Lane. 

Can’t help but feel the closure of CLS depot means a lot more routes feel ‘isolated’ - 71, 34 in particular. And perhaps makes the already isolated routes, such as the 204 and the 40,41,42 Cathedral services in Durham, even more so. Having to do remote driver change overs that involve dead mileage on top of start/end of day light running, surely just then means these routes are struggling to cover costs before they even begin. I can’t help but feel the 65 reductions are at least in part down to the need for extra light running or the fact the 65 struggles a bit from being away from a depot and that ‘regulating’ the route is harder. 

Whilst I can understand GNE outgrowing a building or needing updated facilities, the lack of depot in the central Durham area (Chester-Le-Street or Durham) which is an area dominated by GNE, seems to be more about cost cutting than any sort of operational convenience.

(26 Jun 2022, 10:39 pm)Storx wrote Agreed to be fair, mind I've always thought Washington depot is just in the wrong place as it's not really close to anything. The Drum Ind. Estate super depot rumour would've been a much better location imo being pretty central to most routes bar the X1 but something will always be a loser but it's actually only 3 minutes longer from there than Washington (which is a surprise) than it is from the current depot and the 4 could easily be done down in the Fencehouse area.

I know it won't help the 65 though but that's just a bit out of place tbh. Mind if everything wasn't painted in fancy colours that could easily interwork with the 20 now it's been split.

(27 Jun 2022, 12:37 am)6049 wrote 65 interworking would be spot on for driving time and cutting out remote changeovers. Drop the East Durham Explorer brand and stick the Prince Bishops livery on the route (with a refresh). The 24 will surely be corporate anyway as it'll interwork with the 26 I'd imagine.

Grabbed some random times off the web to see how the current 65 and 20 timings would work and stuck a 7m layover in at each terminus:

00:00 - SUN
00:57 - DUR

01:05 - DUR
02:03 - SEA

02:10 - SEA
03:09 - DUR

03:16 - DUR
04:10 - SUN

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(27 Jun 2022, 6:36 am)Storx wrote It wouldn't work with a 7 minute layover on the 65 as you'll have two buses in Durham at the same time. 

10:00 - Sunderland to Durham
11:07 - Durham to Seaham
12:15 - Seaham to Durham
13:22 - Durham to Sunderland

12:15 - Sunderland to Durham
13:22 - Durham to Sunderland 

The 65 has to be hourly or 75 minutes so it comes back on the 37/07 minute boards.

(27 Jun 2022, 12:37 am)6049 wrote 65 interworking would be spot on for driving time and cutting out remote changeovers. Drop the East Durham Explorer brand and stick the Prince Bishops livery on the route (with a refresh). The 24 will surely be corporate anyway as it'll interwork with the 26 I'd imagine.

Grabbed some random times off the web to see how the current 65 and 20 timings would work and stuck a 7m layover in at each terminus:

00:00 - SUN
00:57 - DUR

01:05 - DUR
02:03 - SEA

02:10 - SEA
03:09 - DUR

03:16 - DUR
04:10 - SUN

Sent from my SM-G981B using Tapatalk

(27 Jun 2022, 8:19 am)6049 wrote You can tell I knocked it up in 5mins hahah

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(27 Jun 2022, 8:49 am)Storx wrote Ha yeah, could probably work it with the 7 minute layover and just run the 65 taking an hourly though tbf.

(27 Jun 2022, 9:48 am)Unber43 wrote 65's are regularly 15-25 mins late, so I dont think 7 would be enough

(27 Jun 2022, 10:28 am)Storx wrote tbh if that is a problem then it's probably better to move everything around and have it as:

20 - Sunderland to Durham every 15 minutes, extended to Langley Park every 30 mins.
X20 - Sunderland to Durham only every 30 minutes
65 - Interwork with the X20 using the extra running time with X20 being a shorter route takes around 48 minutes I believe (or a longer layover at Seaham) to help keep it on time.

It means Langley Park would have a bus service through every day of the week rather than the awkward short X20's on a Sunday and the 65 gets more running time so it's not always late and there's less driver changeovers in random places.

(04 Jul 2022, 12:06 pm)Unber43 wrote Looks like there may be a strike from the CLS Depot Drivers

- https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20252344.go-north-easts-chester-le-street-depot-closure-see-drivers-strike/?fbclid=IwAR17vs0M_Cnn-I67B6vZRADFyVk7YkyAoRZP5yvjo-WyyTIxNuzvBjN79J4 

I don't blame them how many of them get the X21/21/8/34/28/78/50 to the Depot daily to commute how are they going to get to work now.

(04 Jul 2022, 12:06 pm)Unber43 wrote Looks like there may be a strike from the CLS Depot Drivers

- https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20252344.go-north-easts-chester-le-street-depot-closure-see-drivers-strike/?fbclid=IwAR17vs0M_Cnn-I67B6vZRADFyVk7YkyAoRZP5yvjo-WyyTIxNuzvBjN79J4 

I don't blame them how many of them get the X21/21/8/34/28/78/50 to the Depot daily to commute how are they going to get to work now.

(04 Jul 2022, 12:06 pm)Unber43 wrote Looks like there may be a strike from the CLS Depot Drivers

- https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20252344.go-north-easts-chester-le-street-depot-closure-see-drivers-strike/?fbclid=IwAR17vs0M_Cnn-I67B6vZRADFyVk7YkyAoRZP5yvjo-WyyTIxNuzvBjN79J4 

I don't blame them how many of them get the X21/21/8/34/28/78/50 to the Depot daily to commute how are they going to get to work now.

(04 Jul 2022, 12:06 pm)Unber43 wrote Looks like there may be a strike from the CLS Depot Drivers

- https://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/20252344.go-north-easts-chester-le-street-depot-closure-see-drivers-strike/?fbclid=IwAR17vs0M_Cnn-I67B6vZRADFyVk7YkyAoRZP5yvjo-WyyTIxNuzvBjN79J4 

I don't blame them how many of them get the X21/21/8/34/28/78/50 to the Depot daily to commute how are they going to get to work now.

(04 Jul 2022, 3:06 pm)Storx wrote Very few bus drivers won't drive to work as the buses won't be operating when they drive to work (just saying) unless they sleep in the depot before work and after work.

It's more to do with extremely bad management, morale is blatantly rock bottom at GNE and this has just topped it over the edge. The rumours coming out such as telling the drivers by throwing a document on a desk then running away won't help.

(04 Jul 2022, 3:09 pm)Unber43 wrote That the 21 runs all night and im pretty sure Drivers can have their schedules changes due to there ability to come to the Depot + 21 is all night. 

Morale in GNE is at rock bottom, atleast at CLS.

(04 Jul 2022, 3:09 pm)Unber43 wrote That the 21 runs all night and im pretty sure Drivers can have their schedules changes due to there ability to come to the Depot + 21 is all night. 

Morale in GNE is at rock bottom, atleast at CLS.

(04 Jul 2022, 8:58 pm)Storx wrote tbf. I'd say it's more about the commute time. They're wording it nicely saying that 'no staff will be laid off'. The bit that's omitted is where they're going. I can't imagine Washington needs all the drivers and some of the routes are going to Riverside.

Good luck trying to drive from the CLS area to Riverside at rush hour which is rather ironic given what job they do.

(04 Jul 2022, 9:10 pm)Dan wrote Don’t forget that some drivers actually live closer to other depots than they do Chester-le-Street.

This is a highly sensitive matter, but what isn’t being reported is the fact everyone will keep their job, everyone is guaranteed their “first choice” depot, everyone will keep their terms and conditions, everyone will be given a travel allowance, everyone will get a bonus… the list goes on. That might mean some routes don’t go to the depots you’d naturally expect them to go to.

There’s a reason why there has been five stories about the closure of Chester-le-Street Depot now, none with any more information than the last, and it’s because public transport stories sell very well for newspapers.


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(04 Jul 2022, 9:24 pm)Andreos1 wrote Which will work if money is a motivating factor.
If it's not or there are other factors or concerns which are more important to the drivers and are being ignored...

(04 Jul 2022, 9:32 pm)Ambassador wrote Whatever they are offering them with clearly isn’t working since CLS reliability has fallen off a cliff since the announcement. 

Coincidence I’m sure.

(04 Jul 2022, 9:32 pm)Ambassador wrote Whatever they are offering them with clearly isn’t working since CLS reliability has fallen off a cliff since the announcement. 

Coincidence I’m sure.

(04 Jul 2022, 9:10 pm)Dan wrote Don’t forget that some drivers actually live closer to other depots than they do Chester-le-Street.

This is a highly sensitive matter, but what isn’t being reported is the fact everyone will keep their job, everyone is guaranteed their “first choice” depot, everyone will keep their terms and conditions, everyone will be given a travel allowance, everyone will get a bonus… the list goes on. That might mean some routes don’t go to the depots you’d naturally expect them to go to.

There’s a reason why there has been five stories about the closure of Chester-le-Street Depot now, none with any more information than the last, and it’s because public transport stories sell very well for newspapers.


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(04 Jul 2022, 10:54 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Other than to keep drivers happy, are there any actual reasons to keep CLS open?

Obviously there's the extra distance to travel for the early starts such as West Auckland on the X21, and travel for driver changeovers, but the cost of those is probably nowhere near the amount it would cost to improve CLS depot.

To me, it seems like quite an easy decision to close it

(05 Jul 2022, 10:14 am)Unber43 wrote The only thing it will truly harm is local businesses on CLS, unless the break room at CLS for operations will stay there.

When Dan said about routes may not go to the expected Depots, I do wonder what it means, this could be the reason the 71 is operated by Washington.

(05 Jul 2022, 2:32 pm)Storx wrote I have a feeling it'll be services not going to Riverside, there'll be very few drivers who will want to travel there if they have a choice. It's a horrid commute at peak hours and I can't imagine there's many driver's North of Team Valley working at CLS