(08 Jul 2017, 3:20 pm)Tom wrote So having eventually had the chance to try out PCL myself I must say I was very happy with the service provided and was surprised to have the 2 darts but are in a far better condition than previously and were quite decent buses for a dart.
First was on the 15 from Alnwick which was spot on time, though was a dart instead of the usual Solo - the loadings were quite low but I noticed a few people boarding in Rothbury heading to Thropton. Then I am on an unplanned trip on the M1 as I read the X14 times wrong so had a hour wait in Rothbury and this one has a good loading with several fare paying passengers, and again this dart is in a surprisingly good conditon. Far better than the vans they put on the service. Also excellent value at only £2 from Rothbury to Morpeth! (18 or so miles) Both drivers were also very friendly.
So overall I think they have 100% improved and I would say to anybody who has been put off by the incidents in the past to give them a go!
I did a trip on PCL a few Saturdays back where I got the S1 from Morpeth to Stannington and back, M1 to Rothbury then 15 to Alnwick and I didn't have any issues although I did see one of the T1 services miss out Morpeth Rail Station. They have certainly improved recently but I still have slight fears of stuff going wrong.
I noticed that the 06 reg Solo was operating the afternoon trip on service 808 last Saturday.
Fancy some haulage on their Darts again but other stuff tends to turn up when I've used them, would quite to sample the ex Hunter Bros MPD but haven't seen it in a little while.