(26 Mar 2014, 4:30 pm)Dan wrote B10BLE 5163 is the latest "Pulse" example to enter the paintshop.

Isn't that the last one from the Pulse brand?

Sorry i'm behind on re-paints etc

GNE haven't updated their fleet allocation this week to

(26 Mar 2014, 5:29 pm)Michael wrote Isn't that the last one from the Pulse brand?

Sorry i'm behind on re-paints etc

GNE haven't updated their fleet allocation this week to

5162 still needs to be done.

Moderation note: Passenger Focus moved here, as it wasn't GNE specific.

(26 Mar 2014, 5:30 pm)Dan wrote 5162 still needs to be done.

Cheer's GNE have it down as an Unbranded vehicle

Slip roads around the Galleries on the A182 Washington Highway are closed for roadworks, which means the x1 will be diverted off.
No idea if they are using the A1231 or A195 (or both).

Saw a 58 in Leam Lane est belching out black earlier on.
It was dark, so didn't see fleet number.

(26 Mar 2014, 5:33 pm)aureolin wrote Moderation note: Passenger Focus moved here, as it wasn't GNE specific.

Sure we could have made it GNE specific

(25 Mar 2014, 8:51 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Agree, the whole depot looked empty when I went past a few times earlier this evening and on Sunday afternoon too.

Noticed there was a space missing where 4931 had been living tonight, but not on Sunday.

In other news, it appears that the 887 on a morning, could share the same board as the 937 on an evening - the 'Eat, sleep, play and smell of foist' Trident has appeared on both today.

Saw two Versa's on the 34 running in pairs down Pelaw Bank tonight too.

Any of Chester's spare vehicles can go out on Miscellaneous work. If you want the details for the drivers board;

Morning 884 --- Evening 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 --- Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 886 --- Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 --- Evening 844
Morning 888 --- Evening 837
Morning 265 --- Evening 887
Morning 844 --- Evening 885
Morning 836 --- Evening 886
Morning 462 --- Evening 814
Morning 838 --- Evening 836
Morning 461 --- Evening 937

Not so sure about the rest but I do know Chester do an evening and morning run of each of the working numbers above.

(26 Mar 2014, 9:03 pm)Marcus wrote Any of Chester's spare vehicles can go out on Miscellaneous work. If you want the details for the drivers board;

Morning 884 --- Evening 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 --- Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 886 --- Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 --- Evening 844
Morning 888 --- Evening 837
Morning 265 --- Evening 887
Morning 844 --- Evening 885
Morning 836 --- Evening 886
Morning 462 --- Evening 814
Morning 838 --- Evening 836
Morning 461 --- Evening 937

Not so sure about the rest but I do know Chester do an evening and morning run of each of the working numbers above.

Actually the 884 only runs on a morning

(26 Mar 2014, 9:03 pm)Marcus wrote Any of Chester's spare vehicles can go out on Miscellaneous work. If you want the details for the drivers board;

Morning 884 --- Evening 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 --- Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 886 --- Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 --- Evening 844
Morning 888 --- Evening 837
Morning 265 --- Evening 887
Morning 844 --- Evening 885
Morning 836 --- Evening 886
Morning 462 --- Evening 814
Morning 838 --- Evening 836
Morning 461 --- Evening 937

Not so sure about the rest but I do know Chester do an evening and morning run of each of the working numbers above.

Had a feeling the 461 ran onto an 887 on the morning - see the comment re 887/937.

It seemed to be too much of a coincidence that the 887 appeared from the general direction of Biddick/St Roberts heading up towards Shiney Row.

461 - 887 - ? - 844 - ? - 937.

I'm heading to chester le st on monday what would be best for me from boldon to chester le st single r day ticket what zones would I get

(26 Mar 2014, 9:29 pm)speedwheels22 wrote I'm heading to chester le st on monday what would be best for me from boldon to chester le st single r day ticket what zones would I get

3 Zone+ Day Ticket - £7.60 I would say is your safest option unless your under the age of 16, in which it'll be Cheaper.

(26 Mar 2014, 9:29 pm)speedwheels22 wrote I'm heading to chester le st on monday what would be best for me from boldon to chester le st single r day ticket what zones would I get

A return should be cheaper. It's about £5.50 as oppose to £7.60 for the 3+ zones BuzzFare that you'd need.

I'll try with a return and thanks thanks

(26 Mar 2014, 9:36 pm)aureolin wrote A return should be cheaper. It's about £5.50 as oppose to £7.60 for the 3+ zones BuzzFare that you'd need.

I suppose the BuzzFare is aimed at people who travel from place to place stay there, get back on the bus and go somewhere else. A bit like us enthusiasts when finding different spots to take photos at (just an example).

I know there is a special ticket between Metrocentre and Newcastle return which is actually the cheapest ticket you can buy from Metrocentre when heading to Newcastle with a return journey attatched to it.

(27 Mar 2014, 7:44 am)Robert wrote I know there is a special ticket between Metrocentre and Newcastle return which is actually the cheapest ticket you can buy from Metrocentre when heading to Newcastle with a return journey attatched to it.

IIRC, I think the return ticket is £3.40; and the single £2.60.

From GNE facebook page

Go North East
Police are currently conducting a traffic survey in the Nissan area. Delays can be expected on services #50 and #56.

update 15 mins ago was -
The traffic census at Nissan is continuing to cause considerable delays to services #50 and #56.

What a stupid idea!

(27 Mar 2014, 9:11 am)Michael wrote From GNE facebook page

Go North East
Police are currently conducting a traffic survey in the Nissan area. Delays can be expected on services #50 and #56.

update 15 mins ago was -
The traffic census at Nissan is continuing to cause considerable delays to services #50 and #56.

What a stupid idea!

According to a fb post the other day from a mate, they were doing them on the A1231 the other morning

(27 Mar 2014, 9:29 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote According to a fb post the other day from a mate, they were doing them on the A1231 the other morning

ye it took the 56 longer than normal to get from Park lane to Concord, 2 of my mates were on it, said the traffic was ridiculous.

Frustrating enough for the folks on the bus travelling through there, but doubly frustrating for folks elsewhere along the route who are inconvenienced by something which may be many miles remote.

Plenty of earbending for the 56 drivers today... Wonder if the councils could be more sympathetic to bus operations at times like this - coning out a bus lane perhaps?

(27 Mar 2014, 9:29 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote According to a fb post the other day from a mate, they were doing them on the A1231 the other morning

Something similar happened on the A19 on Tuesday morning too, apparently. It made one of my teachers an hour late and she was stressed as hell. She didn't get questioned or whatever, but there was a huge backlog of traffic as a result of those that did in front of her.

(27 Mar 2014, 8:52 am)AdamY wrote IIRC, I think the return ticket is £3.40; and the single £2.60.

Think this is a route saver, rather than just a straight return. Makes the price comparable with the Stagecoach day ticket on the 100.

Just noticed something when Captioning a few photos between the East Durham/Former Venture MPD's.

The Former Venture Examples have the following Tagline "Working Locally to Provide Better Bus Services" while the East Durham Examples have "Working Locally to Provide Quality Bus Services", So really these Taglines are pretty much the same hence why they haven't been removed from the Former Venture Examples, Perhaps a small Cost Saving Exercise from Go North East here, and to me it makes quite a lot of sense as all these Buses need is the East Durham Branding.

East Durham
[attachment=5341]

Former Venture
[attachment=5342]

(26 Mar 2014, 9:11 pm)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Had a feeling the 461 ran onto an 887 on the morning - see the comment re 887/937.

It seemed to be too much of a coincidence that the 887 appeared from the general direction of Biddick/St Roberts heading up towards Shiney Row.

461 - 887 - ? - 844 - ? - 937.

To be fair they must interwork services to save buses being sent out, but if those damn coaches were along at Riverside they would be able to become an empire once more.

(26 Mar 2014, 9:03 pm)Marcus wrote Any of Chester's spare vehicles can go out on Miscellaneous work. If you want the details for the drivers board;

Morning 884 --- Evening 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 --- Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 886 --- Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 --- Evening 844
Morning 888 --- Evening 837
Morning 265 --- Evening 887
Morning 844 --- Evening 885
Morning 836 --- Evening 886
Morning 462 --- Evening 814
Morning 838 --- Evening 836
Morning 461 --- Evening 937

Not so sure about the rest but I do know Chester do an evening and morning run of each of the working numbers above.

Asked a few questions to a few people, and the interworking patterns are given below (which exclude 'normal' services (such as service 265 or extra 8s, as well as workers such as service 91 and 937):

1. 887 (am) - 887 (pm)
2. 884 (am) - 871 (pm) - 888 (pm)
3. 885 (am) - 885 (pm)
4. 871 (am) - 873 (am) - 886 (pm) -
5. 886 (am) - 461 (pm)
6. 838 (am) - 847 (am) - 892 (am) - 462 (pm)
7. 844 (am) - 844 (pm)

Well, one of my worries before the Cobalt Clipper double deck upgrade was increased passenger numbers in turn increasing the journey times. That has proven not to happen and infact, with a full lower deck and a half full upper deck, the journey times haven't actually changed. I was on the 1633 Haymarket to Blyth tonght with the load mentioned above and it got to Rake Lane by 17:15. On the other hand, Arriva's 1628 308 from Haymarket to Blyth got there 2 minutes before the 309 at 1713 despite the bus leaving 5 minutes before the 309. Therefore, the 309 took 42 minutes to Jackson's Farm whereas despite the 308 using a supposedly faster route and having a similar load to the 309, it took 45 minutes to Jackson's Farm. GNE are in a perfect position with the 309. I remember it starting out 7 year ago and thinking about where it is now, it's done very well. Not many operators could launch a new route from scratch and particularly a route shadowing a competing service and many years later, end up having it running with a regular service and, with brand new fully equipped double deck vehicles. Hopefully but not quite on the scale of double decks but definitely new or nearly new Mercs or new B8's, the Tynedale Express will end up the same way in years to come.

(27 Mar 2014, 5:35 pm)Dan wrote Asked a few questions to a few people, and the interworking patterns are given below (which exclude 'normal' services (such as service 265 or extra 8s, as well as workers such as service 91 and 937):

1. 887 (am) - 887 (pm)
2. 884 (am) - 871 (pm) - 888 (pm)
3. 885 (am) - 885 (pm)
4. 871 (am) - 873 (am) - 886 (pm) -
5. 886 (am) - 461 (pm)
6. 838 (am) - 847 (am) - 892 (am) - 462 (pm)
7. 844 (am) - 844 (pm)

Nexus set the miscellaneous boards, not GNE. GNE just do what Nexus tell them to do. Over 40 of these are up for tender this summer.

(27 Mar 2014, 6:09 pm)tyresmoke wrote Nexus set the miscellaneous boards, not GNE. GNE just do what Nexus tell them to do. Over 40 of these are up for tender this summer.

I was just giving the details of the boards for those interested. There are boards which interwork with normal services, so clearly Go North East have decided what to do there to avoid extra drivers, buses etc...

(27 Mar 2014, 6:09 pm)tyresmoke wrote Nexus set the miscellaneous boards, not GNE. GNE just do what Nexus tell them to do. Over 40 of these are up for tender this summer.

Nexus set the boards, but as long as we keep the pieces of work together (ie Morning portion and separately the afternoon portion), they can go where they like, and of course Commerical work can be added either at the beginning or end to make the duties longer.

(27 Mar 2014, 6:15 pm)citaro5284 wrote Nexus set the boards, but as long as we keep the pieces of work together (ie Morning portion and separately the afternoon portion), they can go where they like, and of course Commerical work can be added either at the beginning or end to make the duties longer.

Cheers I wondered how it worked with adding commercial work to them. I suppose there's always that element of Nexus wanting to change something though?

(27 Mar 2014, 5:35 pm)Dan wrote Asked a few questions to a few people, and the interworking patterns are given below (which exclude 'normal' services (such as service 265 or extra 8s, as well as workers such as service 91 and 937):

1. 887 (am) - 887 (pm)
2. 884 (am) - 871 (pm) - 888 (pm)
3. 885 (am) - 885 (pm)
4. 871 (am) - 873 (am) - 886 (pm) -
5. 886 (am) - 461 (pm)
6. 838 (am) - 847 (am) - 892 (am) - 462 (pm)
7. 844 (am) - 844 (pm)

You see Dan, last year the patterns were very similar to this and were kept as so, but this year the drivers get tossed around every school term and the board changes as a result. The 885 last year was driven by the current Manager for National Express at Chester, and he did it morning and night and became a favourite with the students. Here are some of the current boards for my school and the previous ones;

Last year:
Morning 884 - Evening 871 --- 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 - Evening 885
Morning 886 - Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 - Evening 844
Morning 888 - Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 871 - Evening 886 (North Lodge)

Currently at my school:
Morning 884 - Evening 871 --- 888 (North Lodge)
Morning 885 - Evening 888 (Church Chare)
Morning 886 - Evening 886 (Church Chare)
Morning 887 - Evening 844 (I think)
Morning 888 - Evening 836 (I think)
Morning 844 - Evening 885
Morning 265 - Evening 887
Morning 836 - Evening 886 (North Lodge)

They get changed so much I keep on losing track and having to ask them what they do on a morning . The extra 8s on an evening is just incorporated into Unit 2 and I believe the duty number is 213 and they start on the 28's out the depot then onto a 50 in the middle of the day before going to the depot and driving a decker out to do the short 8s.

Quite strange about some of the rear display blind today, that Angel B7 3962 showed "0021" instead of "21". And similar case was seen on 3974 showed "0047" instead of "47" at the rear.