For context, the car I drive is a German SUV with stuff such as USB charging, leather/fabric seating, reclining seats, cupholders, phone storage etc. So this is the standard to beat for me...
I'm awful at writing individual reviews for each journey, so apologies about how short they are!
I started my day by heading over to the bus stop joined by my friend, it looked like that Newcastle city council were doing a spot of maintenance to it, so I couldn't take cover from the elements.
X84 to Newcastle Eldon Square | Go North East 6355 (YX70 OKP) X-lines X84/X85 Enviro400MMC
My first GNE bus since May last year! It still had the new bus smell, too. I asked the driver for the under 25 day ticket, and the driver was friendly and politely explained the need for ID. Information regarding the route and COVID-19 was plentiful onboard, whilst the bus itself was clean and tidy.
X9 10:32 Newcastle Eldon Square to Middlesbrough Bus Station | Go North East 6044 (NK12 GCU) Volvo B9TL/Wright Gemini 2
Was disappointed when this turned up. Not the best journey in the world, some issues are listed below (not going to say which ones for obvious reasons). It struggled up hills and slip roads on the A19, but we eventually got to Middlesbrough, where we went off for burgers at McDonald's.
X9 12:45 Middlesbrough Bus Station to Peterlee Thorpe Road Roundabout | Go North East 7110 (FCU 190) "Armstrong Galley" Caetano Levante
It had an abundance of power and handled everything well. The seats were comfortable, but we couldn't charge our phones as it only had 3-pins. As we sat in Peterlee for a while, it was clear that something wasn't right. My mechanically clued-up friend translated what the driver was saying on the phone as brake issues...oh dear! We left Peterlee bus station eventually, but the driver understandably threw in the towel at the Thorpe Road roundabout. Was very pleased to watch the X10 turning right into Peterlee on Bus Times' map...thought we were going to be stuck for an hour!
X10 14:03 Peterlee Thorpe Road Roundabout to Gateshead Interchange | Go North East 7124 (BD65 JDZ) unbranded National Express Caetano Levante
Rescued at last!
Unfortunately for us, we managed to sit across from a rowdy group of adults and behind someone playing the radio for some reason! We missed our connection to Consett so we bailed out at Gateshead to take a Voltra around Saltwell Park.53 14:45 Gateshead Interchange to Newcastle Market Street | Go North East 8804 (ND70 AEV) Voltra Yutong E10
Didn't need to run for this as the Mobitec displays informed us we had three minutes! Loved how quiet and fast these Yutongs are. Stop bell and announcements were good, as well as the screens when they weren't frozen. I used the phone holders and USB chargers which worked fine too.
X45 15:35 Newcastle Eldon Square to Metrocentre Interchange | Go North East 6332 (NK67 GOA) X-lines X45/X46/X47 Wright StreetDeck
Hopped onboard this StreetDeck over to the Metrocentre, glad to see a more prominent (generic isn't the right word...) brand for major connections like this, instead of being purely branded for the Red Kite. Bus was clean, and we had a table to ourselves where we played GNE's version of Where's Wally...
49A 16:07 Metrocentre Interchange to Winlaton Bus Station | Go North East 5457 (NK66 EWF) Wright StreetLite
After redeeming my Costa coffee club points, we hopped on my friend's first ever StreetLite... his good reviews were quickly taken back when we headed up the Shibdon Bank.
It was a very short ride, but it was okay!12 16:40 Winlaton Bus Station to Newcastle Newgate Street | Go North East 5282 (NK07 KPT) Mercedes Citaro
After a cold and somewhat unpleasant wait in Winlaton, 5282 rocked up to take us into the toon. I've missed going on these purely for how fast they are! It was a short but sweet journey through Blaydon and along the Scotswood Road into Newcastle.
X84 17:50 from Newcastle Eldon Square | Go North East 6355 (YX70 OKP) X-lines X84/X85 Enviro400MMC
And the first bus of the day was also our last! Loved the red lighting around the tables. We were the only passengers on-board for our whole journey.
Pros
- Seats were comfortable and supported both bums and backs well. (X-lines X84/X85 and Caetano Levantes)
Probably the best seats I've ever sat on whilst travelling on buses. The cushioning and fabrics were just right.
- Printed bus information is of high quality and is informative, where available.
Only gripes I have is referencing to X84/X85 as "X84/85". Also, the X84/X85 leaflet refers to a bike bus guarantee and tells me to go online to find out more...where?!
- USB charging worked on all buses we went on.
Including Voltra buses, where we both utilised the phone holder which worked very well.
- Communication between drivers and control was good.
I saw drivers reporting issues to control twice via both mobile and radio, resulting in vehicle changeovers or diversions to rescue stranded passengers.
- Cleanliness on most buses was good.
I found the majority of buses to have high levels of hygiene and didn't visibly seem dirty.
- Buses were mostly within 5 minutes of schedule.
- Pricing of fares for under 25s is excellent, especially with the addition of routes X9 and X10.
- Online information was informative, however, a more obvious link to timetables needs to be visible on the website especially when rushing to find out times.
I also experienced issues with downloading timetables, with only being able to download one PDF in a given time onto my phone. Perhaps have PDFs accessible to view directly through the website?
- Driving standards were generally good.
On the majority of journeys, no illegal, dangerous or uncomfortable manoeuvres were made.
- Lighting really made the journey comfortable. (X-lines X84/X85)
At night, having only one side illuminated with the white lights above was amazing. Just having the red table lights is a good touch. I couldn't imagine that colours such as green or orange would have been as good though.
- Being asked for ID when boarding every other bus does get irritating, especially when in some cases the driver just accepts me pulling out my driving licence without looking at it.
Perhaps asking for ID at the point of sale only would be easier for both customers and drivers? Maybe work with Ticketer to implement a first-time ID check for those using mobile tickets?
- Cupholders were too shallow, the tables were too flimsy and USB ports are difficult to access when tables are extended. (X-lines X84/X85)
My table took a good bit of power to pull out, whilst my friend's table was twisting. I'm not too sure as to why shallow cupholders and flush wireless charging pads are fitted to a moving vehicle? I also found that the gap at the back of the extending table is wide enough to let my phone slip through.
- Announcements about COVID-19 cleaning measures and the app were very irritating, especially when it impaired my ability to have a conversation.
I found that these announcements always played on the approach to stops too and missed out the vital "this is XXX" announcement, completely obliterating the point of having announcements fitted. Keep these messages to posters and online in the future. Everyone can see the bus is clean.
- Driving standards were very poor at times.
I spotted alarming rates of tailgating vehicles in front (even at speed), misuse of the horn, as well as driving on or over the rumble strips on dual carriageways, as well as crossing lane, slip road and layby markings (at times almost hitting the kerb - if I was following behind I'd be submitting dashcam footage to both GNE and the police!). Harsh braking for no reason, clipping kerbs and speeding was also experienced on other buses.
- Communication between driver/company and passengers was poor.
The driver only told the front passengers about what was happening and what was being done about it. No reassurance or news was provided to the rest of the bus, simply just having to rely on hearing their conversation.
- Cleanliness was an issue. (Caetano Levantes)
There was a lot of sticky substances and dirt residue which had clearly been there a long time. Both toilets were locked, despite it being mentioned that these were in use?
- Hand sanitisers installed facing into the aisle causes issues. (Voltra Yutongs)
An elderly man accidentally knocked the device off causing a spillage.
- Limited or too much of a view from certain windows. (Voltra Yutongs)
A pair of nearside seats have a very obscured view whilst the rearmost seats are placed above the window line causing privacy issues.
- Merger of buggy and wheelchair bays. (Voltra Yutongs)
Another niggle of mine is when this happens... much better when they're separated. Also, two standard size buggies didn't fit comfortably into the space so this kind of misses the point of having a long bay.
- Door and next stop announcement faults. (Voltra Yutongs)
The driver had to regularly get out and open the doors manually, whilst there were gaps in the next stop announcements.
- Lack of physical bus information, by both Nexus and operators.
Nexus had hijacked all matrix screens with information about face coverings, whilst there wasn't a single printed timetable in sight other than on-board buses. Could GNE work with Nexus to install their own timetable rack at bus stations? Also, Nexus should keep matrix screens for bus departures only!
- Legacy features such as 3-pin charging still in place.
A passenger sat opposite us on 6044 tried using their socket but it didn't work.
- Information regarding exemptions from face coverings is very poor.
A common issue when communicating this... On-board signs only mentioned young children and those with respiratory disabilities as being exempt. This is incorrect, please just stick to the "unless exempt" wording instead of trying to poorly list exempt conditions. The government has made guidance clear about this, stating that people are exempt if they cannot physically/mentally wear a mask because of a condition, not if they have a condition. Also, an issue I spotted a while ago on Twitter was GNE encouraging customers to carry an exemption card if they were exempt. This is also wrong as shown in the last section of this page on GOV.UK. The signs are still better than what I spotted at Metrocentre though, where those who didn't have a face covering were threatened with being denied entry or being asked to leave.