(21 Jan 2026, 7:55 pm)PH - BQA wrote https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/nor...zI4GHqbuJw

Apologies for the link being the Chronicle, but the absolute lies being spouted by the Arriva spokeswoman are on a different level.

"A number of immediate measures were implemented, including the allocation of additional spare vehicles at Ashington Depot and managerial changes within the engineering team. These actions remain in place and have contributed to improved reliability, as reflected in performance data, although we recognise that further improvement is still required. It was made clear that the additional vehicles were introduced to support day-to-day reliability and were never intended as a complete or permanent solution. The issues affecting Service 35 are more complex and require a more fundamental, longer-term response. We are therefore developing longer-term solutions, including a revised timetable and wider network changes. These cannot be introduced immediately due to statutory notice periods, and the revised timetable will be more substantial than minor adjustments. It is expected to be introduced as soon as possible. Looking ahead, Ashington Depot will receive 25 brand new double-deck buses from late May into early summer. This will allow older, less reliable vehicles to be withdrawn, improving reliability across the local network, including Service 35"

Firstly, no additional vehicles were ever allocated to the depot. 7578 is now there, but in the period referred to there was not a single additional vehicle allocated despite the high number of vehicles being used as repaint floats (for a grand total of 3 repaints to be completed).

The 35 was an absolute state when it was standalone, so I'm not sure how unlinking it from the X21 is expected to be a magic bullet either. It's not been reliable since it was every 15 minutes, and won't be until it's either that frequency again or has a very padded timetable (at which point it may as well be every 15 mins...). Assuming the same commercial genius that thought up the plan initially is involved in the new arrangements, how is it expected to be any better...

We know from posts on here that there will not be 25 new double deck vehicles for Ashington either, as posts have confirmed some of these as for Blyth. So that is another blatant lie. We also know that they are, in part, replacing the 17-plate MMCs rather than the 61-plate Pulsars which are beyond unreliable at this stage.