I’d assume bus times is broken as it’s showing a whole host of cobalt B9s on the 21 today

(Yesterday, 5:53 am)Ambassador wrote I’d assume bus times is broken as it’s showing a whole host of cobalt B9s on the 21 today

I understand bus times is correct - 21 will be the most reliable it has been for years for the next couple of days haha.

L469 YVK - must have listened to your sound advice eh!

(Yesterday, 5:55 am)citaro5284 wrote I understand bus times is correct - 21 will be the most reliable it has been for years for the next couple of days haha.

L469 YVK - must have listened to your sound advice eh!

Well that’s turn up for the books! Less fun for 309 passengers who are inflected with increased streetlites!

(Yesterday, 5:55 am)citaro5284 wrote I understand bus times is correct - 21 will be the most reliable it has been for years for the next couple of days haha

I was surprised to hear from an engineer at Go North East that they were sending all the X-lines StreetDecks at Riverside down to Silverstone this weekend to operate shuttle buses (if they make it, that is - recent performance on X10 would suggest it could be a struggle…)

Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

I’m told Riverside and Percy Main are both losing mileage due to no driver at the moment, and now they will be losing mileage due to no bus too.

(Yesterday, 6:02 am)Dan wrote I was surprised to hear from an engineer at Go North East that they were sending all the X-lines StreetDecks at Riverside down to Silverstone this weekend to operate shuttle buses (if they make it, that is - recent performance on X10 would suggest it could be a struggle…)

Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

I’m told Riverside and Percy Main are both losing mileage due to no driver at the moment, and now they will be losing mileage due to no bus too.

It looks like there’s still a few hanging back up here but lord that’s an odd one

Piss off your own customers to support the grown up go karting

(Yesterday, 6:02 am)Dan wrote I was surprised to hear from an engineer at Go North East that they were sending all the X-lines StreetDecks at Riverside down to Silverstone this weekend to operate shuttle buses (if they make it, that is - recent performance on X10 would suggest it could be a struggle…)

Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

I’m told Riverside and Percy Main are both losing mileage due to no driver at the moment, and now they will be losing mileage due to no bus too.

I don’t see many issues at Percy Main. The services are rarely canceled due to no drivers. Most of the issues are due to the awful streetlites breaking down.

Riverside on the other hand has been consistently bad for a significant period of time now.

(Yesterday, 6:08 am)Ambassador wrote It looks like there’s still a few hanging back up here but lord that’s an odd one

Piss off your own customers to support the grown up go karting

Perhaps fancied a throwback to last year’s drag racing!

Looking at Bus Times it seems to be the Angel Street decks that are off to the races.

(Yesterday, 5:55 am)citaro5284 wrote I understand bus times is correct - 21 will be the most reliable it has been for years for the next couple of days haha.

L469 YVK - must have listened to your sound advice eh!

I notice this also means the open toppers are out on regular work, evidently because PM are struggling for vehicles otherwise. Fine today, when the weather is alright, but I wonder what the plan is for the rain tomorrow and Saturday.

(Yesterday, 6:02 am)Dan wrote I was surprised to hear from an engineer at Go North East that they were sending all the X-lines StreetDecks at Riverside down to Silverstone this weekend to operate shuttle buses (if they make it, that is - recent performance on X10 would suggest it could be a struggle…)

Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

I’m told Riverside and Percy Main are both losing mileage due to no driver at the moment, and now they will be losing mileage due to no bus too.

(Yesterday, 7:28 am)Rapidsnap wrote Looking at Bus Times it seems to be the Angel Street decks that are off to the races.

I'm on a Flixbus right now and just passed 5 or 6 Angel double deckers near Wetherby turn off. My driver is from Stanley Coaches and last year left working for National Express after 3 decades and started talking about how greedy GNE are for grasping at any work they can get eventhough they are a failure of a company and their buses don't work. 

He said there'll be some old biddy somewhere waiting for her only hourly (or less) bus to the shops and it doesn't turn up because they have prioritised Silverstone over their own customers. 

Interesting take, and I must add they had lots of traffic stuck behind them as all of them were incredibly slow, with destinations not working and bits hanging off with paint scraped etc .. you'd think they were off to the scrapyard not representing a company at a national event and having to do the whole journey there and back!

(Yesterday, 10:30 am)PH - BQA wrote I notice this also means the open toppers are out on regular work, evidently because PM are struggling for vehicles otherwise. Fine today, when the weather is alright, but I wonder what the plan is for the rain tomorrow and Saturday.

I'd imagine they have no choice but to use them today and tomorrow.

With 8 Volvo B9s from Percy Main's fleet on loan to Riverside, the four open-tops will need to be used on regular work alongside two of the three DFDS branded Volvo B9s (it must be a quiet week with just one bus of the three required, resulting in a temporary 'inflation' of Percy Main's spare buses).

The remaining two are presumably just coming from Percy Main's own fleet allocation.

Come Saturday, there'll be plenty of spare school buses to fall back on.

What's annoying too, this is the first I've heard of it. If they are running shuttles, drivers up here haven't been offered the chance to run any of the shuttles at the track.

(Yesterday, 6:02 am)Dan wrote Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

Don't think it's something to get excited about as no doubt Percy Main will end up with luuuvvvely "fuel efficient" StreetDecks when the EV's eventually arrive

I wonder if any Arriva drivers lucky enough to get allocated an E400 classic on the 306/308 would be audacious enough to try and overtake one between Station Road & Benfield Road......IIRC, a Versa on the 58 overtook a slow DB300/B5LH (can't remember which) on the 308 a good while back.

(Yesterday, 4:21 pm)deanmachine wrote What's annoying too, this is the first I've heard of it. If they are running shuttles, drivers up here haven't been offered the chance to run any of the shuttles at the track.

By some of the replies on Busesnortheast facebook page, you are not the only one.

I just dont get how they thought they could keep it a secret.  

I have seen comments about buses leaving Riverside with Silverstone 2025 on the destinations, running in convey on the A1 and thats all before they even get to Silverstone and every year there are plenty of photos of what buses have attended - really goes to show how out of touch they really are!

(Yesterday, 4:01 pm)Dan wrote I'd imagine they have no choice but to use them today and tomorrow.

With 8 Volvo B9s from Percy Main's fleet on loan to Riverside, the four open-tops will need to be used on regular work alongside two of the three DFDS branded Volvo B9s (it must be a quiet week with just one bus of the three required, resulting in a temporary 'inflation' of Percy Main's spare buses).

The remaining two are presumably just coming from Percy Main's own fleet allocation.

Come Saturday, there'll be plenty of spare school buses to fall back on.

Weather forecast has it raining in the evening peak tomorrow, so that should be interesting. 

Of course with the Streetdecks limping their way down to Silverstone, the usual X10 replacements aren't around, so I wonder if we're in for a Saturday of those school buses attempting a trip down the A19...

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(Yesterday, 6:26 pm)citaro5284 wrote By some of the replies on Busesnortheast facebook page, you are not the only one.

I just dont get how they thought they could keep it a secret.  

I have seen comments about buses leaving Riverside with Silverstone 2025 on the destinations, running in convey on the A1 and thats all before they even get to Silverstone and every year there are plenty of photos of what buses have attended - really goes to show how out of touch they really are!

Duties not being covered across multiple depots, several vehicles still on hire because of engineering issues, near daily vehicle issues on a flagship route - and they think a wise move is sending some crippled Streetdecks down to an F1 race. 

I do hope those in charge of awarding GNE rather lucrative BSIP funding/contract work are taking note of where their priorities lie.

(Yesterday, 6:02 am)Dan wrote I was surprised to hear from an engineer at Go North East that they were sending all the X-lines StreetDecks at Riverside down to Silverstone this weekend to operate shuttle buses (if they make it, that is - recent performance on X10 would suggest it could be a struggle…)

Understand that is the reason for the Cobalt B9s transferring to Riverside from Percy Main (don’t get excited DaveyBowyer!)

I’m told Riverside and Percy Main are both losing mileage due to no driver at the moment, and now they will be losing mileage due to no bus too.

Problem is, StreetDecks are about the closest to suitable they can send down there and that's a worry considering how problematic they can be on just the X10 & X21, native B9TLs supposedly are a no go on X10 now as they have a tendency to overheat and the ex London ones are slower than a StreetDeck. E400MMCs are likely more suitable although that creates more issues with other deckers being too tall to work some Consett routes.

(Yesterday, 4:21 pm)deanmachine wrote What's annoying too, this is the first I've heard of it. If they are running shuttles, drivers up here haven't been offered the chance to run any of the shuttles at the track.

Usual case of all the company favourites (usually office staff) get asked first so no-one else gets a chance to even know about it, never mind ask!

(Yesterday, 6:26 pm)citaro5284 wrote By some of the replies on Busesnortheast facebook page, you are not the only one.

I just dont get how they thought they could keep it a secret.  

I have seen comments about buses leaving Riverside with Silverstone 2025 on the destinations, running in convey on the A1 and thats all before they even get to Silverstone and every year there are plenty of photos of what buses have attended - really goes to show how out of touch they really are!

Likely didn't even give that a second thought and just went ahead and did it all with whoever they want that'd do it and not waste time asking the vast majority of driving staff. Whilst likely easier for them doubt it will do anything to improve thoughts among their driving staff to know they're being shunned for things like this.

If they really thought no-one would notice, they're sadly mistaken, even some of the less enthusiast types will likely notice at very least they've had another depots buses parachuted into service at Riverside, some enthusiasts on the other hand are usually quick to notice, if a load of buses disappear or go on loan to another depot, it usually either means Metro Replacement or an event is going on elsewhere, easier still to pick out Silverstone as Stagecoach have a load of buses and drivers down there too.

(02 Jul 2025, 10:28 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Just worth noting, Go-Ahead Group company Thames Travel is currently in the process of receiving 10 Volvo B8L Tri-Axle double deckers with MCV EvoSeti bodies for the River Rapids X40 service between Oxford and Reading. Perhaps something that GNE should look at unless the pursestrings have snapped when they were tighting them.

As a semi-regular user of that in the past, I'm surprised at the need for something so big.
Patronage must have grown quite a bit! 

Tended to be E400's and Citaro's back then.
Can remember being on a strange variant of a Citaro once.

Some of the workings from Thursday....

6993 on the 340 in Battle Hill heading to Hadrian Park - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6994 on the 309 heads through Battle Hill 5 minutes after 6993 heading to Blyth - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6996 on 356 seen in Murton Village before being delayed a further 15 minutes due to ticket machine issues. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6101 still looking tidy in its Tynemouth Livery - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6108 heading out of Chester Le Street for Durham and Brandon on the 21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6113 passing the Angel on an Toon bound X21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

(Today, 12:03 am)Rapidsnap wrote Some of the workings from Thursday....

6993 on the 340 in Battle Hill heading to Hadrian Park - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6994 on the 309 heads through Battle Hill 5 minutes after 6993  heading to Blyth - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6996 on 356 seen in Murton Village before being delayed a further 15 minutes due to ticket machine issues. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6101 still looking tidy in its Tynemouth Livery - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6108 heading out of Chester Le Street for Durham and Brandon on the 21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

6113 passing the Angel on an Toon bound X21 - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...ateposted/

It'll be interesting to see whether there is a reliability increase on the 21/X21 owing to the Cobalt & Coast B9TLs. Even though they are 4 years older than the Angels and now 12 years old

(8 hours ago)logidoodah wrote It'll be interesting to see whether there is a reliability increase on the 21/X21 owing to the Cobalt & Coast B9TLs. Even though they are 4 years older than the Angels and now 12 years old

And not forgetting they've had charmed lives pottering around the doors compared to other native examples!

I can see these as a stop-gap for the X21 if the current Angel StreetDecks end up at Percy Main when the EV's arrive.

two open tops out on 307 309 and single deck however 341 has a double deck running???

3964 is on the Q3 meanwhile..

The timekeeping of the Cobalt B9TL allocated runs on the X21 actually looks quite good so far!