(Yesterday, 9:39 am)Storx wrote I'd rather have Gateshead Taxis running the service over Arriva or GoNorthEast. 

Their buses are newer, the drivers are friendly and they actually run their services because the bus isn't sitting in a lay-by, if they have one at all.

Not sure about that! On the whole they do well on the 350/351 but are let down by only one or two drivers. A couple have refused to sell TNE day tickets and we’ve been told they don’t sell them. Another one was when we had visitors from Devon and the driver refused to accept their ENCTS passes as they didn’t accept them on their buses. I complained to NEXUS and to be fair they seem have approached GCT and far as TNE tickets are concerned things seem to have improved!

(Yesterday, 9:39 am)Storx wrote I'd rather have Gateshead Taxis running the service over Arriva or GoNorthEast. 

Their buses are newer, the drivers are friendly and they actually run their services because the bus isn't sitting in a lay-by, if they have one at all.

Friendly drivers on GCT. You must have got lucky. Times I've used GCT I've found them incredibly unprofessional and their driving standards close to dangerous.

(Yesterday, 12:04 pm)Shrek wrote Friendly drivers on GCT. You must have got lucky. Times I've used GCT I've found them incredibly unprofessional and their driving standards close to dangerous.

When GCT had 342 drivers always made an effort to get to know their regular passengers. Always very friendly. A complete contrast to GNE where I never see the same driver twice.

(Yesterday, 9:39 am)Storx wrote I'd rather have Gateshead Taxis running the service over Arriva or GoNorthEast. 

Their buses are newer, the drivers are friendly and they actually run their services because the bus isn't sitting in a lay-by, if they have one at all.

The Arriva hate trend is unreal and I don't understand why. An old bus is better than no bus at all. I lived in Cowpen for abit and excluding school rush hours, I rarely had an issue with buses not turning up or being late. Stagecoach and Gateshead Central are definetley worse for buses being late.

Also, all of Gateshead Central's buses are tiny and not suitable for rush hour, their destination screens aren't programmed properly and a great deal of them don't even display a route number. The 335's via point over laps the route number. The 653's destination screen is in a very small slim font where it's very difficult to read.

If you read posts above, they've been in trouble for running a literal van on their 71. 

Companies should put comfort and professionality before the age of buses.

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(Yesterday, 2:39 pm)Coastliner700 wrote When GCT had 342 drivers always made an effort to get to know their regular passengers. Always very friendly. A complete contrast to GNE where I never see the same driver twice.

GCT drivers are rarely nice. They still have an issue with the U22 tickets. I had one call the police on me because he tried telling me the £3 U22 tickets "didn't exist" and I obviously argued my case so I refused to get off until he sold me the ticket. Police then removed me and when I reported him to the company and threatened them with legal action, GCT then told me they would prosecute me for recording the incident on my phone. They're a cowboy company and always have been

(Yesterday, 9:39 am)Storx wrote I'd rather have Gateshead Taxis running the service over Arriva or GoNorthEast. 

Their buses are newer, the drivers are friendly and they actually run their services because the bus isn't sitting in a lay-by, if they have one at all.

They are by far the worst independent company I've ever used.

If you look at the likes of Northstar, Stanley, Weardale..they can be a little rough round the edges, but they clearly care about what they do and go the extra mile.

Central do not give an F and just appear to want to do the absolute minimum.

Just my experience personally. Never had issue with any GCT drivers. I don't know how they do rotas but maybe different routes have different drivers but the 19 lot are always friendly.

The 57/57A in comparison is a complete shambles - short Solos which aren't fit for purpose and that's if they bother to turn up at all, and the drivers are a complete mixed bag aswell.

There's a lot of people in Seghill who just go for the 19 now as it's more reliable and it's an either/or because it's opposite sites of the road.

Also not sure why GCT are getting bashed for buses not turning up GoNorthEast at multiple depots and Arriva at Stockton, Redcar and Ashington have been a shambles for ages now.

(Yesterday, 9:50 pm)Storx wrote Just my experience personally. Never had issue with any GCT drivers. I don't know how they do rotas but maybe different routes have different drivers but the 19 lot are always friendly.

The 57/57A in comparison is a complete shambles - short Solos which aren't fit for purpose and that's if they bother to turn up at all, and the drivers are a complete mixed bag aswell.

There's a lot of people in Seghill who just go for the 19 now as it's more reliable and it's an either/or because it's opposite sites of the road.

Also not sure why GCT are getting bashed for buses not turning up GoNorthEast at multiple depots and Arriva at Stockton, Redcar and Ashington have been a shambles for ages now.

The 19 is the service I've experienced the worst drivers on not accepting or refusing to sell the TNE ticket, including the one who called the police on me.

(Yesterday, 11:38 pm)lewisparker1509 wrote The 19 is the service I've experienced the worst drivers on not accepting or refusing to sell the TNE ticket, including the one who called the police on me.

The drivers who drive that and 335 used to dk 342 and couldn’t ask for a nice bunch of people! Maybe filming them was what did it?

(Today, 1:49 am)Coastliner700 wrote The drivers who drive that and 335 used to dk 342 and couldn’t ask for a nice bunch of people! Maybe filming them was what did it?

Nah I started filming because he was shouting and being very aggresive from the get-go and the fact he raised his fist at me. According to a few bus drivers I know personally, he's not a nice person in general and got fired from Stagecoach for fighting. What made him really angry, is when he turned his ticket machine towards me and said "you find the U21 ticket then" and I replied "well how am I supposed to know I'm not a bus driver?".

(Yesterday, 11:38 pm)lewisparker1509 wrote The 19 is the service I've experienced the worst drivers on not accepting or refusing to sell the TNE ticket, including the one who called the police on me.

God knows, must say they've always been fine whenever I've got them tbf.

The 19 under GNE used to have one absolute arsehole, older bloke with glasses - don't care calling him out either. Cheeky prick, even had the audacity to moan because the ticket was wet, the ticket being wet because he was 20 minutes late and it was pissing down with rain, absolute arsehole, no apology about the delay though... Used to moan on like a baby when you used a Network One ticket to get a single from the boundary aswell.

I'm sure people using GNE around that time know exactly who I'm talking about aswell, no doubt still stinking the place out aswell.

Btw I had a similar incident to you with tickets like that but with an Arriva driver on the 308 must've been 15 year ago, even made his own little jingo up in his head to try and proove a point, even known he was wrong. 

There's a chunk of bus drivers who should be no-where near a public role and it's across all of them tbh. Some depots are/were just noticeably worse. The ex GNE Stanley depot, in particular, who had some absolute pricks. The only depot I've ever called a bus driver a prick to their face aswell and I'd do it again - be an arse to me but never be arse to an older family member who couldn't find the scanner as it was in a different place to Arriva buses.

Don't even get me started on the Metro Gestapo's either who are in a league of their own but being physically grabbed at Central Station because I was rushing through the barriers as I was in a rush and then being told, 'that wasn't hard was it', lets say ended up in some kind words. Absolute cretin.

(Today, 1:49 am)Coastliner700 wrote The drivers who drive that and 335 used to dk 342 and couldn’t ask for a nice bunch of people! Maybe filming them was what did it?

It was the 342 I used to use, and nice isn't the way I'd describe them. Highly unprofessional, driving standards awful and often rude to passengers who I thought had been polite to the driver. There was one driver leaning out the window swearing at somebody while driving out of a bus stop. They never worked out what the zebra crossing in Hazlerigg was for either.

I didn't do any video of them either, that's just my experiences of the 342 drivers while I was sat reading my book and trying to get from A to B.

The GCT drivers around where I live seem to be well liked.

The majority of passengers are pensioners, and they are very familiar with the drivers, so, presumably, they're always allocated to those routes.

Whenever I've used them, which admittedly is not that often, I've never had any problems with reliability, and the friendliness of the drivers with regular passengers seems true enough from I've observed.

Obviously, within all companies, there are going to be some bag eggs, but I do think GCT are harshly judged - predominantly from bus enthusiasts in the region. Perhaps, despite having the youngest fleet in the region, it's the battleship grey livery or the bread-vans which triggers their emotional state. Perhaps it's because they're just jealous that GCT have managed to outbid whomever their favourite operator happens to be on contracts in their local areas. But, I think, for most people, a bus is a bus, and as we've seen less and less of them over the last 30 years, people are just happy that one shows up at all.

(Today, 8:47 am)Storx wrote God knows, must say they've always been fine whenever I've got them tbf.

The 19 under GNE used to have one absolute arsehole, older bloke with glasses - don't care calling him out either. Cheeky prick, even had the audacity to moan because the ticket was wet, the ticket being wet because he was 20 minutes late and it was pissing down with rain, absolute arsehole, no apology about the delay though... Used to moan on like a baby when you used a Network One ticket to get a single from the boundary aswell.

I'm sure people using GNE around that time know exactly who I'm talking about aswell, no doubt still stinking the place out aswell.

Btw I had a similar incident to you with tickets like that but with an Arriva driver on the 308 must've been 15 year ago, even made his own little jingo up in his head to try and proove a point, even known he was wrong. 

There's a chunk of bus drivers who should be no-where near a public role and it's across all of them tbh. Some depots are/were just noticeably worse. The ex GNE Stanley depot, in particular, who had some absolute pricks. The only depot I've ever called a bus driver a prick to their face aswell and I'd do it again - be an arse to me but never be arse to an older family member who couldn't find the scanner as it was in a different place to Arriva buses.

Don't even get me started on the Metro Gestapo's either who are in a league of their own but being physically grabbed at Central Station because I was rushing through the barriers as I was in a rush and then being told, 'that wasn't hard was it', lets say ended up in some kind words. Absolute cretin.

Yes - I think I know the one you mean. Believe he ended up being sacked, was not well liked by other drivers either.

(9 hours ago)NEtransport wrote Yes - I think I know the one you mean. Believe he ended up being sacked, was not well liked by other drivers either.

If we're thinking of the same person, can't say I'd be surprised either. Came across as the sort of person who enjoyed making people miserable for enjoyment which being a bus driver probably isn't the best role. Sure I mentioned ut at the time, and someone had similar problems on the 1 aswell.

(8 hours ago)lewisparker1509 wrote I can't even lie, this perfectly describes the GCT driver I had issues with. I wonder if I'm either remembering wrong that he was at Stagecoach and he was at GNE instead or if he was at both companies. I'm attacting a screenshot below of his face from the video that NEB won't let me attach.

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Some of the Metro staff are awful. Back when me and my ex were still in highschool (yes we've known eachother that long), she got pulled aside for not having ID for her child ticket. The Metro checkie then accused her of giving a fake last name, which didn't end up welll for the checkie either 'cause my exes parents managed to get the checkie done for racial profiling. "Why?" you may ask; 'cause my exes dad is from South Africa, so she has an African surname

Nah wasn't him, he was a bigger bloke and had hair. Don't think I've seen him before though. 

Not surprised one bit with the Metro staff, they're a bunch of cowards who only target vulnerable people while letting the real ticket evaders get away with it. Come across as the sort of people who failed a police course and now get power hungry because they can give out fines.

Some horrid reports over the years of them targeting the elderly who have made simple genuine mistakes with no remorse etc.

Complete opposite to the North East Northern conductors who are mostly genuinely nice, especially on the Ashington line.

We're not having names and/or photos of individuals on this thread, especially when they're not here to give their side of the story.

If you've got genuine complaints, then direct them to Nexus.