(16 Sep 2022, 9:38 am)Ambassador wrote Think I'll leave now for the match tomorrow....

It's the getting back that I normally have the problem with.......at work ar 7am on the sunday too so cant have to much ale if buses are canceled

5331 on 60, just seen it.

6155 is todays daily insult to Best Impressions on the Angel

6377 on X10. 

Took a wrong turn at Peterlee too

(17 Sep 2022, 1:25 pm)Unber43 wrote 6377 on X10. 

Took a wrong turn at Peterlee too

Buses were diverted in Peterlee earlier this afternoon owing to a collision near to the entrance to the Bus Station

(17 Sep 2022, 1:25 pm)Unber43 wrote 6377 on X10. 

Took a wrong turn at Peterlee too

How is this rare/odd?

6377 is based at Riverside to be a spare bus for the X10/X21.


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(17 Sep 2022, 4:02 pm)Dan wrote How is this rare/odd?

6377 is based at Riverside to be a spare bus for the X10/X21.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I didn't realise it moved to Riverside.

Wouldn't say rare but 6314 is on the X10

(17 Sep 2022, 10:01 am)Ambassador wrote 6155 is todays daily insult to Best Impressions on the Angel

While 6322 was on the Loops.

Elsewhere 5332 was on the 5/9/24 & 26's.

(17 Sep 2022, 7:50 pm)Malarkey wrote While 6322 was on the Loops.

Elsewhere 5332 was on the 5/9/24 & 26's.

5328 & 5331 also out today

(17 Sep 2022, 7:53 pm)54APhotography wrote 5328 & 5331 also out today

Weren't mothballed for long then!!

(18 Sep 2022, 4:18 pm)busmanT wrote Weren't mothballed for long then!!

Perhaps indicates what's going to happen at the end of October?

(18 Sep 2022, 4:29 pm)Dan wrote Perhaps indicates what's going to happen at the end of October?

Hopefully all service will return to the Pre-Sept Changes Frequency when they were just temp reduced.

A few from the past week.

6322 on the 93 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
6155 on the 21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
5385 on the 57 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
5492 on the 27 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
5495 on the 21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
6359 on the 21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/
6331 on the 58 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ateposted/

6326 (Angel) - X10
6313 (Xlines X21) - 21
684 (Little Pinks) - 8
6330 (Angel) - 57
6317 (Angel) - 27
6359 (Xlines X45) - X10 (It broke down at Billingham, it was there for 2 hours)

(20 Sep 2022, 6:39 pm)Unber43 wrote 6326 (Angel) - X10
6313 (Xlines X21) - 21
684 (Little Pinks) - 8
6330 (Angel) - 57
6317 (Angel) - 27
6359 (Xlines X45) - X10 (It broke down at Billingham, it was there for 2 hours)

There was a 27 branded decker on the 21. Suppose they needed to cover some of the ones allocated elsewhere...

Is branding just entirely dead?

Is there a total lack of care so whatever we’ve got goes on whatever we need?

Or is it simply, not enough shunters or staff and you get what you’re given to get passengers moving?

There's also been a lot of Connection 4's & Country Ranger 8's on the 25/28/29.
Not to mention how just the east Gateshead services are an absolute mess when it comes to allocations.

(20 Sep 2022, 10:39 pm)Ambassador wrote Is branding just entirely dead?

Is there a total lack of care so whatever we’ve got goes on whatever we need?

Or is it simply, not enough shunters or staff and you get what you’re given to get passengers moving?

I mean I know GNE gets a lot of flack for painting buses, I am pretty sure one of 6331-3 have been repainted/partially pre-painted about 4-6 times, 

If they're going to "waste" thousands on paint jobs they could atleast get allocated to the right route, and if the right bus isn't there, in a RARE circumstance they'll be allocated another branded bus. 

Tho it seemed like for the better part of 5 weeks Connection4 were the regular allocation for the 28/29 atleast partly.

(21 Sep 2022, 5:53 am)Unber43 wrote I mean I know GNE gets a lot of flack for painting buses, I am pretty sure one of 6331-3 have been repainted/partially pre-painted about 4-6 times, 

If they're going to "waste" thousands on paint jobs they could atleast get allocated to the right route, and if the right bus isn't there, in a RARE circumstance they'll be allocated another branded bus. 

Tho it seemed like for the better part of 5 weeks Connection4 were the regular allocation for the 28/29 atleast partly.

Weren't they only fully repainted once, then partially repainted again?

6331 was new in The Angel, 6332 was Hop Tap Go, 6333 was The Night Angel.

They were then repainted into Xlines blue for the X21, then had the back half repainted green 8 months later

6331 and 6333 were then repainted into promo liveries recently, so they have had 2 full and one partial

Must admit I use an Arriva service and get Corporate, X7/X8/X9, X10/X11, Daft Brush and 308 buses all allocated and if I had to be honest I really couldn't give a toss.

I'd much rather have a service that runs the full route and on time than the 'right' bus which I have to get off 10 stops early as it got curtailed early if it bother's to turn up at all.

Glad people don't have an interest in Arriva on here, it's all you'd ever hear at Blyth, Jesmond, Durham and Darlington.

Graphite solo on 700/702 (I thought these were mothballed)

5327 stretching it's legs on the 56

Deptford had an E400 on school work this morning but that has been taken somewhere

There is no such thing as a rare or odd working with GNE any longer!!

(20 Sep 2022, 10:39 pm)Ambassador wrote Is branding just entirely dead?

Is there a total lack of care so whatever we’ve got goes on whatever we need?

Or is it simply, not enough shunters or staff and you get what you’re given to get passengers moving?

I wondered if it was a big two fingers at previous decision makers who obsessed over it, spent money on vehicles rather than on depots/staff and got his mates to re-design them.

(21 Sep 2022, 7:29 am)Storx wrote Must admit I use an Arriva service and get Corporate, X7/X8/X9, X10/X11, Daft Brush and 308 buses all allocated and if I had to be honest I really couldn't give a toss.

I'd much rather have a service that runs the full route and on time than the 'right' bus which I have to get off 10 stops early as it got curtailed early if it bother's to turn up at all.

Glad people don't have an interest in Arriva on here, it's all you'd ever hear at Blyth, Jesmond, Durham and Darlington.

I think it's to do with the money, promo and standards we keep seeing linked to GNE.
They do things before everyone else. They predict things before everyone else. They're better than everyone else. 
They're part of the back patting club. The 'people talk about the branding, so it must work' type of logic.


Except deep down, we see (or some of us do anyway) delusions of grandeur and behind that fur coat of theirs - no knickers.

I'm like you. I want a bus that gets me from A-B.
To be honest, the gricer in me quite enjoys getting on a vehicle incorrectly allocated.

But the lack of effort, ownership, responsibility or whatever else to get the allocations sorted - smacks of apathy. It demonstrates they're no better than any of the others. No matter what some may say or think.
It is going to take a lot of effort to turn this around.

Nail on head there Andreos - it's not such a big deal to Arriva as they've never really taken the brand thing seriously - same way as Stagecoach.

But GNE have had it as their USP - you get tables, you get wifi - you get an experience. When an ex-First Manchester turns up you get a bus (which in the current climate is great!) but it's not what GNE have been selling.

There's a case to get shot of all branding aside X-Lines (but lose all the colours) and keep it simple on the side of a bus a la Stagecoach - it's not growing services so why bother and makes life much easier for teams and passengers

Washington allocations today are absolutely dreadful, it's so bad.

There’s wrong allocations and there’s just things that shouldn’t happen/should be swapped whenever possible.
Country Ranger StreetLite on X1 whilst a XLINES decker is on 34s. (34 doesn’t need a decker)
X1 missing two deckers overall as a Connections 4 is also on the X1 whilst another Country Ranger moonlights on the 4.
Whilst two other XLINES deckers are seemingly off route operating the 58 and 50 respectively.

Information all taken from GNE site or Bus Times, so apologies if anything isn’t accurate. I suppose my point is when you’ve got a route like the X1 which justifies a double decker allocation plus the fact it is already reduced to every 15 minutes, from previous higher frequencies - the fact there’s two single deckers further reducing capacity is not good.

(21 Sep 2022, 11:01 am)Andreos1 wrote I think it's to do with the money, promo and standards we keep seeing linked to GNE.
They do things before everyone else. They predict things before everyone else. They're better than everyone else. 
They're part of the back patting club. The 'people talk about the branding, so it must work' type of logic.


Except deep down, we see (or some of us do anyway) delusions of grandeur and behind that fur coat of theirs - no knickers.

I'm like you. I want a bus that gets me from A-B.
To be honest, the gricer in me quite enjoys getting on a vehicle incorrectly allocated.

But the lack of effort, ownership, responsibility or whatever else to get the allocations sorted - smacks of apathy. It demonstrates they're no better than any of the others. No matter what some may say or think.
It is going to take a lot of effort to turn this around.

Aye that's fair like, tbh they're no better than the rest though imo. 

X Lines was just a copy of Sapphire which was in turn a copy of Stagecoach Gold anyway. Least the former 2 bothered to actually refurbish the buses though instead of what we have now with numerous different specs some absolutely no different to normal buses with X Lines and some arguably worse (Mercs).

Its all been mismanaged from the start. People aren't stupid, there's literally nothing different between the Angel and the 'premium' X21.

Ironically Stagecoach and Arriva have both now ditched it so it pretty much sums up how well it's working. It's 10 year too late imo.

(21 Sep 2022, 11:28 am)Ambassador wrote Nail on head there Andreos - it's not such a big deal to Arriva as they've never really taken the brand thing seriously - same way as Stagecoach.

But GNE have had it as their USP - you get tables, you get wifi - you get an experience. When an ex-First Manchester turns up you get a bus (which in the current climate is great!) but it's not what GNE have been selling.

There's a case to get shot of all branding aside X-Lines (but lose all the colours) and keep it simple on the side of a bus a la Stagecoach - it's not growing services so why bother and makes life much easier for teams and passengers

X-Lines is the worst brand out the lot it has no purpose imo.

Personally I'd have

X1 - Red Arrows Express
10 - Ten
X10 - Tyne Tees Express
20 - Prince Bishops
X20 - Prince Bishops Express
21 - Angel
X21 - Angel Express
309/310/311 - Cobalt and Coast
53/54/Q3 - Voltra / Quaylink Voltra

Scrap the rest, they're not needed with the 'Express' brand being the new 'X Lines'. While were at it renumber the X45 -> 46, X30 -> 30, X31 -> 31, X71 -> 71, X72 - 72. There's nothing express about them.