(12 Mar 2026, 3:08 pm)GuyParkRoyal wrote The timetables are available on the Nexus website under timetable changes. Journeys run about half an hour later than the current timetable.

Cheers, I didn't think to check the NEXUS site.

Northstar Rising In The North


This morning, the stars quite literally came out at Four Lane Ends Interchange, as Northstar Bus & Coach operated their first-ever journey on the newly awarded Nexus‑contracted 18 service.


Here we see the inaugural departure, worked by 438, which has recently received its personalised plate E26 NST (formerly LX09 BXJ). This vehicle began life with Go‑Ahead London General as DOE40, and now looks resplendent in Northstar's two-tone blue livery.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rpbsp/55161967658/

Can't wait to ride one of them Optare deckers. I only got chance to ride one of the ones with GNE which was 6970, not the best one they had, but I am sure them Northstar ones will be proper quality.

(22 Mar 2026, 5:58 pm)Arriva7446 wrote Can't wait to ride one of them Optare deckers. I only got chance to ride one of the ones with GNE which was 6970, not the best one they had, but I am sure them Northstar ones will be proper quality.

Yes. Go North East got the cabbaged ones and Northstar got the ones worth having.

(22 Mar 2026, 6:01 pm)R852 PRG wrote Yes. Go North East got the cabbaged ones and Northstar got the ones worth having.

Cool! And I know Northstar look after their buses well, I have been on their Trident's and they are very tidy and run totally well, you would never know their age.

I have only been on their X22 service a couple of times, but with the 18 service a bit closer to me I might use their buses a bit more regular. I hope they continue to expand North of Tyne

Appears from FB posts that Northstar are taking some stick around issues affecting the 18 in Newcastle.  I'm not sure the level of engagement back from the company in the comments is the best approach from what appears to be a particularly vexatious complainant.  The length and defensiveness of replies from Northstar while understandable isn't a great look, and takes me back to heyday of GNE socials replies.  Hopefully things will improve and/or Nexus will look at the timetabling issues that the roadworks seem to be creating.  Pretty sure in the past in similar situations they have reouted away from affected areas and used local shuttle bus approach to avoid leaving communities stranded which could be an option here if the long term temp lights are causing the havoc quoted.

(08 Apr 2026, 4:28 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Appears from FB posts that Northstar are taking some stick around issues affecting the 18 in Newcastle.  I'm not sure the level of engagement back from the company in the comments is the best approach from what appears to be a particularly vexatious complainant.  The length and defensiveness of replies from Northstar while understandable isn't a great look, and takes me back to heyday of GNE socials replies.  Hopefully things will improve and/or Nexus will look at the timetabling issues that the roadworks seem to be creating.  Pretty sure in the past in similar situations they have reouted away from affected areas and used local shuttle bus approach to avoid leaving communities stranded which could be an option here if the long term temp lights are causing the havoc quoted.

Can't argue with that, tbf. 

One thing we don't want to see on the social media pages of Northstar are members of staff being over-defensive to the point of taking complaints personally. This encourages trolling and the last thing we need is the return of the 'characters'.

(08 Apr 2026, 5:29 pm)Clifton Hignett III wrote Can't argue with that, tbf. 

One thing we don't want to see on the social media pages of Northstar are members of staff being over-defensive to the point of taking complaints personally. This encourages trolling and the last thing we need is the return of the 'characters'.

Clifford and Hignett have nothing on the Northstar fan boys!
Just looked at the page and I reckon they would pounce on any characters like some sort of vicious WWE tag team. Or something.

(08 Apr 2026, 5:29 pm)Clifton Hignett III wrote Can't argue with that, tbf. 

One thing we don't want to see on the social media pages of Northstar are members of staff being over-defensive to the point of taking complaints personally. This encourages trolling and the last thing we need is the return of the 'characters'.

Seems said comments and Northstar replies have been deleted now - probably a sensible move

(08 Apr 2026, 9:48 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Seems said comments and Northstar replies have been deleted now - probably a sensible move

Perhaps said complainant decided to be a bit more amicable and got in touch directly.

Anyway - yes - it is no secret that there have been a great deal of issues since handover of the contract from Stagecoach. That is evident from bustimes data. Optics are of course that the operator is to blame, and Northstar sadly faces a considerable amount of backlash and reputational damage caused by factors outside of its control.

Most customers have calmed down now, and staff are being subject to a lot less abuse despite punctuality still being far from where it needs to be.

Fascinating what a change of operator unearths. Many of Stagecoach’s drivers have been quick to respond on Northstar social media posts to say it has been an awful route for timekeeping for some time.

I am sure every effort will be being made to protect the fantastic reputation Northstar has…

(08 Apr 2026, 4:28 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Appears from FB posts that Northstar are taking some stick around issues affecting the 18 in Newcastle.  I'm not sure the level of engagement back from the company in the comments is the best approach from what appears to be a particularly vexatious complainant.  The length and defensiveness of replies from Northstar while understandable isn't a great look, and takes me back to heyday of GNE socials replies.  Hopefully things will improve and/or Nexus will look at the timetabling issues that the roadworks seem to be creating.  Pretty sure in the past in similar situations they have reouted away from affected areas and used local shuttle bus approach to avoid leaving communities stranded which could be an option here if the long term temp lights are causing the havoc quoted.

It would also help if they served BT Call Centre correctly too. I've seen a few just u-turn at the first roundabout rather than coming into the actual call centre and a few just not come up Salters Lane at all. There's also this one driver who refuses to wait at timing points. Both of which I've complained about and gotten no reply.

(12 Apr 2026, 3:39 pm)SN69 ZRC wrote It would also help if they served BT Call Centre correctly too. I've seen a few just u-turn at the first roundabout rather than coming into the actual call centre and a few just not come up Salters Lane at all. There's also this one driver who refuses to wait at timing points. Both of which I've complained about and gotten no reply.

I see the 13:59 service from Walker today completely missed out the BT Call Centre too.

I'm not sure why everyone was complaining about Northstar losing the 599, the service isn't exactly great (ignoring issues around roadworks) and not dissimilar to the way GCT behave - early running and incorrect routes taken. 

The red Olympus is also going around with a broken rear destination too.

(12 Apr 2026, 4:15 pm)NEtransport wrote I see the 13:59 service from Walker today completely missed out the BT Call Centre too.

I'm not sure why everyone was complaining about Northstar losing the 599, the service isn't exactly great (ignoring issues around roadworks) and not dissimilar to the way GCT behave - early running and incorrect routes taken. 

The red Olympus is also going around with a broken rear destination too.

My comment was deleted for quite correctly stating facts. When Stagecoach had it the drivers complained endlessly about the timings which, were impossible to keep to that is a nexus thing but simple things like starting journeys late to fit in with other work and missing out part of the route is unacceptable. Let’s hope they take note and improve.

(12 Apr 2026, 3:39 pm)SN69 ZRC wrote It would also help if they served BT Call Centre correctly too. I've seen a few just u-turn at the first roundabout rather than coming into the actual call centre and a few just not come up Salters Lane at all. There's also this one driver who refuses to wait at timing points. Both of which I've complained about and gotten no reply.

That might be the same driver who left Four Lane ends on friday on the 17.27 to walker.. i was at the stand for 17.25 and the bus was long gone ? . As for complaining i would just go to nexus and complain rather than northstar themselves

(13 Apr 2026, 3:30 pm)atlantean560 wrote That might be the same driver who left Four Lane ends on friday on the 17.27 to walker.. i was at the stand for 17.25 and the bus was long gone ? . As for complaining i would just go to nexus and complain rather than northstar themselves

I note from tracking data that this bus departed at 17:26:28 (32 seconds early).

All complaints sent directly to operators should be forwarded by the operator to Nexus - it is a contractual obligation, so that service performance can be monitored and managed by the bus contracts team.

Sending complaints directly to Nexus actually delays the process somewhat, as they have a 5 working day response time, and give operators 7 days to investigate a complaint and respond.

(13 Apr 2026, 4:35 pm)Dan wrote I note from tracking data that this bus departed at 17:26:28 (32 seconds early).

Which is within the TC definition of 'on time' - something you'd like to think certain people posting on here would know before making themselves look silly. 

Some people on this forum would be in for an awful shock if they ever attempted to use a Stagecoach service with any regularity, who Northstar replaced on the 18. As someone who used Stagecoach for a year to commute, they are guilty of all the points raised in previous points and far, far more - including the below:

• Regularly leaving timing points more than 1E - including leaving the first stop on a route over 2 minutes early on multiple occasions. On some of these occasions I was aware the driver changed on that trip, so it was clearly a deliberate effort. 
  
• Deliberately delaying services - waiting time at stops despite already late running for cigarette breaks (or equivalent). 
  
• Buses with no working destination, and no paper in window. 
  
• Heavily soiled seating on all fabric seat vehicles - the E300s and 58-plate E400s at Slatyford are particularly bad. Walkergate don't seem to be quite as horrific on this point. 
  
• Speeding through estates frequently, to the point that staff had to go with a speed gun to see how quickly their drivers were going along one particular piece of road. 
  
• Multiple drivers who should be nowhere near a customer facing role, and borderline shouldn't be on the road with the level of anger they had. One in particular who was aggressive to at least one passenger each time I boarded their bus - I've not seen him for a while though, so maybe Stagecoach management have finally seen sense. 
  
• Severe late running on routes which didn't have timetables set by Nexus, and no action to change the timetables. Included within this are/were insane PM peak interworking patterns which for a while ensured certain services either didn't operate or were always 10+ minutes late. 
  
• Customer services who frequently tried to gaslight passengers. For example, one day I arrived for an Eldon Square departure at (for example, because I can't remember exactly) 30 mins past the hour. I took a picture of the bus reversing off stand at 28 minutes past. They initially denied the service had left early, saying it had left at 31 mins past. Even when I sent them the picture with a timestamp they tried to deny it, before I asked them to look at the CCTV and they finally accepted they were in the wrong. 
  

Yet you'd be forgiven for thinking Stagecoach are operating in Newcastle without issue given the severe criticism of SMEs sometimes on here. All of the above is with a far larger resource allocation and budget than an SME, too.

(12 Apr 2026, 3:39 pm)SN69 ZRC wrote It would also help if they served BT Call Centre correctly too. I've seen a few just u-turn at the first roundabout rather than coming into the actual call centre and a few just not come up Salters Lane at all. There's also this one driver who refuses to wait at timing points. Both of which I've complained about and gotten no reply.

It's been a while since I've been up there in person, but looking at the imagery on Street View, I really can't see the issue with this if the bus is on time or late. You have so much visibility from that first roundabout of both the bus stops and the pavement cut through, and it'll allow you to recoup a small amount of time. It's not ideal to deviate from a route, but it sometimes feels like drivers/operators are damned if they do and damned if they don't think on their feet and show some initiative.

Obviously early running is another matter, but I'm sure this will be picked up by the operator, if there's any substance in it. 

(13 Apr 2026, 7:58 pm)PH - BQA wrote Which is within the TC definition of 'on time' - something you'd like to think certain people posting on here would know before making themselves look silly. 

Some people on this forum would be in for an awful shock if they ever attempted to use a Stagecoach service with any regularity, who Northstar replaced on the 18. As someone who used Stagecoach for a year to commute, they are guilty of all the points raised in previous points and far, far more - including the below:

• Regularly leaving timing points more than 1E - including leaving the first stop on a route over 2 minutes early on multiple occasions. On some of these occasions I was aware the driver changed on that trip, so it was clearly a deliberate effort. 
  
• Deliberately delaying services - waiting time at stops despite already late running for cigarette breaks (or equivalent). 
  
• Buses with no working destination, and no paper in window. 
  
• Heavily soiled seating on all fabric seat vehicles - the E300s and 58-plate E400s at Slatyford are particularly bad. Walkergate don't seem to be quite as horrific on this point. 
  
• Speeding through estates frequently, to the point that staff had to go with a speed gun to see how quickly their drivers were going along one particular piece of road. 
  
• Multiple drivers who should be nowhere near a customer facing role, and borderline shouldn't be on the road with the level of anger they had. One in particular who was aggressive to at least one passenger each time I boarded their bus - I've not seen him for a while though, so maybe Stagecoach management have finally seen sense. 
  
• Severe late running on routes which didn't have timetables set by Nexus, and no action to change the timetables. Included within this are/were insane PM peak interworking patterns which for a while ensured certain services either didn't operate or were always 10+ minutes late. 
  
• Customer services who frequently tried to gaslight passengers. For example, one day I arrived for an Eldon Square departure at (for example, because I can't remember exactly) 30 mins past the hour. I took a picture of the bus reversing off stand at 28 minutes past. They initially denied the service had left early, saying it had left at 31 mins past. Even when I sent them the picture with a timestamp they tried to deny it, before I asked them to look at the CCTV and they finally accepted they were in the wrong. 
  

Yet you'd be forgiven for thinking Stagecoach are operating in Newcastle without issue given the severe criticism of SMEs sometimes on here. All of the above is with a far larger resource allocation and budget than an SME, too.

You can tend to categorise most of this as the result of a bad management culture. 

I've not had much experience of Stagecoach, due to living off route, but I have had the misfortune of relying on Go Ahead and Arriva operations, both at the time under the control of one of this forum's favourite Managing Directors, and I recognise a lot of similarities. The lack of care, attention and detail, in particular is a bug bear of mine, and that's before you get on to woeful levels of customer service.

Some of the SME criticism often feels as the result of not agreeing with the Nexus contract award, but in the age of open data, it seems to drive people to constantly dig and look for issues. Heck, I've even done it myself if I've been irritated enough about something, but I don't think I'd feel strongly enough to trash the company online for it. It's a good job the Internet and open data wasn't really a household name in the 80s and 90s, some of the things that went on!

Of course, I'm not suggesting that all SMEs are perfect and that all big operators are bad. I've seen great and woeful examples of both, but I can confidently say that I've known Dan for long enough to know that his standards won't have slipped one bit, and he'll be working hard behind the scenes on even the slightest imperfections.

(13 Apr 2026, 8:28 pm)Adrian wrote It's been a while since I've been up there in person, but looking at the imagery on Street View, I really can't see the issue with this if the bus is on time or late. You have so much visibility from that first roundabout of both the bus stops and the pavement cut through, and it'll allow you to recoup a small amount of time. It's not ideal to deviate from a route, but it sometimes feels like drivers/operators are damned if they do and damned if they don't think on their feet and show some initiative.

Obviously early running is another matter, but I'm sure this will be picked up by the operator, if there's any substance in it. 

Yeah I thought the same re a clear enough line of sight to be able to tell if there's anyone about who may be waiting to board.  I am less sure how they would know noone wanted to alight though.  I'm pretty sure the set down point is the same as the pickup on the outbound side so someone way conceivably wait until the bus had turned into Gosforth Park Way before getting up/pressing the bell.  Presuming the majority will have passes of one sort or another and so not declaring their intended destination when boarding.  Of course if it's an empty bus or somehow the driver knows all passengers intended destination then it's definitely a non-issue.

(13 Apr 2026, 10:25 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Yeah I thought the same re a clear enough line of sight to be able to tell if there's anyone about who may be waiting to board.  I am less sure how they would know noone wanted to alight though.  I'm pretty sure the set down point is the same as the pickup on the outbound side so someone way conceivably wait until the bus had turned into Gosforth Park Way before getting up/pressing the bell.  Presuming the majority will have passes of one sort or another and so not declaring their intended destination when boarding.  Of course if it's an empty bus or somehow the driver knows all passengers intended destination then it's definitely a non-issue.

I used to drive the 18 at Stagecoach. On an evening nobody tends to want to board/alight at the call centre, so just checking from the roundabout is okay. On the timetable, you only get an extra 2 mins to serve BT on an evening, so it pretty much is the only way to stay on time.

Was always a passenger who'd ask for BT, so I'd serve it... just for him to want the southbound stop on Salters Lane... 

(14 Apr 2026, 3:42 am)cr51xln wrote I used to drive the 18 at Stagecoach. On an evening nobody tends to want to board/alight at the call centre, so just checking from the roundabout is okay. On the timetable, you only get an extra 2 mins to serve BT on an evening, so it pretty much is the only way to stay on time.

Was always a passenger who'd ask for BT, so I'd serve it... just for him to want the southbound stop on Salters Lane... 

I think this sums up my feelings.

There’s clearly a lot of “bustimes detectives” looking for fault with Northstar’s service delivery on service 18, and I’m not sure why when the company has had a near-perfect reputation for the last two years.

The team - some of whom came from Stagecoach (directly or indirectly) and previously ran service 18 - are aware of the “shortcuts” which were made by Stagecoach, and are employing the same tactics themselves to improve or maintain reliability.

This forum has never held Stagecoach to account for attempting to save 30 seconds to do something which should take a minute more than is scheduled.

I would assume Northstar, like Stagecoach, has a very small number of regular drivers on the late 18s, who get to know exactly where customers are travelling and where they can expect regulars to board and alight.

That said, I note a conscious effort seems to have been made for buses to serve the bus stop for BT Call Centre since Sunday.

Journeys missing/late again on the 18 this morning - and as these are the first run of the day for the service don’t think the roadworks can be blamed!

06:25 to Walker/07:02 from Walker canceled, and the 07:22 from from Four Lane Ends to walker 15 minutes late again.

(14 Apr 2026, 8:35 am)NEtransport wrote Journeys missing/late again on the 18 this morning - and as these are the first run of the day for the service don’t think the roadworks can be blamed!

06:25 to Walker/07:02 from Walker canceled, and the 07:22 from from Four Lane Ends to walker 15 minutes late again.

Avid bustimes watchers will note 437 had an issue this morning during its dead run to Four Lane Ends, and the 07:02 service from Walker was reinstated at Freeman Hospital by bus 412.

This is the first time a bus has been “missing” from start of service.

What avid bustimes watchers won’t be aware of is that all customers who got in touch at 6:30am received responses with an update from the company, including full apology and an offer to compensate customers for taxis to ensure workers at Freeman Hospital weren’t late for work. The kind of customer service not given by a large operator outside of customer service hours.

Of course, that doesn’t fit the narrative that some members of this forum wish to portray of Northstar.

(13 Apr 2026, 10:25 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Yeah I thought the same re a clear enough line of sight to be able to tell if there's anyone about who may be waiting to board.  I am less sure how they would know noone wanted to alight though.  I'm pretty sure the set down point is the same as the pickup on the outbound side so someone way conceivably wait until the bus had turned into Gosforth Park Way before getting up/pressing the bell.  Presuming the majority will have passes of one sort or another and so not declaring their intended destination when boarding.  Of course if it's an empty bus or somehow the driver knows all passengers intended destination then it's definitely a non-issue.

Something similar happened to me on a GCT 37 at Biddick Woods. 

Mentioned it on here at the time. 
The driver told me he had a clear line of sight as he approached the roundabout, so missed out Biddick Woods entirely (not realising I was wanting to alight and hadn't pressed the bell). 

Anyway, I was encouraged to contact Nexus (I'd already done that) and got a nice response from them.

These two complaints were put to the operator (Central Taxis Gateshead) who have formally spoken with the driver involved. Additionally, all drivers of the service have been reminded of the need to serve the estate on all trips. 

(14 Apr 2026, 8:35 am)NEtransport wrote Journeys missing/late again on the 18 this morning - and as these are the first run of the day for the service don’t think the roadworks can be blamed!

06:25 to Walker/07:02 from Walker canceled, and the 07:22 from from Four Lane Ends to walker 15 minutes late again.

That 0722 journey is the one I noticed last week it works the 792 which arrives at HMRC 0727. Not sure how the 0723 could leave on time?

It's just as well none of these shenanigans are taking place in Pyongyang.

If the driver of the 81 decided to miss out Daedong River Battery Factory because they happened to take a peak down the street and couldn't see anyone waiting at the bus stop; the only line of sight the driver may become aware of is the one of the firing squad that may be assembled to punish the driver for interrupting the grand plan of the Dear Leaders.

Missing out scheduled stops is totally unacceptable, and even the local cowboy bus operator here in Pyongyang (The Great Centralised Taxis of Pyongyang) don't dare to do it!

(14 Apr 2026, 1:34 pm)Clifton Hignett III wrote It's just as well none of these shenanigans are taking place in Pyongyang.

If the driver of the 81 decided to miss out Daedong River Battery Factory because they happened to take a peak down the street and couldn't see anyone waiting at the bus stop; the only line of sight the driver may become aware of is the one of the firing squad that may be assembled to punish the driver for interrupting the grand plan of the Dear Leaders.

Missing out scheduled stops is totally unacceptable, and even the local cowboy bus operator here in Pyongyang (The Great Centralised Taxis of Pyongyang) don't dare to do it!

They’re been paid with public money to provide a service at the specified timetable. Breakdowns happen I agree but cutting corners to save a bus and therefore starting off the duty late. If this was GCT or City Transport they’d already be locked up in the concentration camps. Whatever people opinions are rules apply to all

(14 Apr 2026, 9:13 am)Dan wrote Avid bustimes watchers will note 437 had an issue this morning during its dead run to Four Lane Ends, and the 07:02 service from Walker was reinstated at Freeman Hospital by bus 412.

This is the first time a bus has been “missing” from start of service.

What avid bustimes watchers won’t be aware of is that all customers who got in touch at 6:30am received responses with an update from the company, including full apology and an offer to compensate customers for taxis to ensure workers at Freeman Hospital weren’t late for work. The kind of customer service not given by a large operator outside of customer service hours.

Of course, that doesn’t fit the narrative that some members of this forum wish to portray of Northstar.

That is excellent customer service. If only all compaines provided this level...

Is it correct that when SCNE ran this if the service was suffering delays they often" dropped in an extra Bus" to reduce/remove the delays??

(14 Apr 2026, 3:49 pm)Rob44 wrote Is it correct that when SCNE ran this if the service was suffering delays they often" dropped in an extra Bus" to reduce/remove the delays??

A spare bus/driver, if there was one, will have potentially been sent out to cover a trip or 2 to get the booked  vehicle back on time, or alternatively if there was a relief occurring the new driver took a fresh bus to start his portion with.

(14 Apr 2026, 3:49 pm)Rob44 wrote Is it correct that when SCNE ran this if the service was suffering delays they often" dropped in an extra Bus" to reduce/remove the delays??

Yes - avid bustimes watchers might have noticed a fourth bus regularly in use by Stagecoach.

The aforementioned public money which funds service 18 is used to supply three buses, not four. As noble and admirable as Stagecoach’s intentions were, the better thing to do would have been to make Nexus aware of the timetable issues so that this could have been resolved for the contract start date.