(21 Apr 2015, 9:58 pm)idiot wrote I like how honest SC are on Twitter about service cancellations (regulated), compared to GNE!

I don't think it's down to honesty.

It's quite difficult to compare how each of the three big operators manage their Social Media pages. I haven't seen any 'real time information' updates from Arriva North East on their Social Media page(s), but AVL has been released at customer level, so there isn't such a great need to give these updates as customers can access this information themselves anyway. While Stagecoach is very good at giving real time information updates, I am not entirely sure of how long Stagecoach has had AVL implemented at staff level? Go North East have had AVL at staff level since around Christmas-time, so at the moment, the company is making sure everything works as it should while the customers' mobile phone application app is in development. The service delivery centre is also in a position to manage regulations by looking at one of three screens they have in front of them - drivers needn't radio in to ask if they should be regulated because the service delivery centre should be getting in contact with the driver as soon as he goes over x amount of minutes late. Obviously when all of this is sorted, Customer Services will be able to use the information on Social Media more than they can at the moment, as it'll be more reliable.

You also have to remember that Go North East has a centralised control room and that the Customer Services team are based in a completely separate building. I'm not sure what Stagecoach's set-up is like, but it appears it is separate based on the different time the individual depot 'ops' sign in to the Social Media pages.