(09 Oct 2024, 7:42 pm)Dan wrote 45 minutes is exaggerated somewhat.

Any parents who have complained have been informed of the reason of the delay to the service (closer to 30 mins, not 45, and still at school before registration).

Let’s hope Gateshead Council are as proactive as Sunderland Council at dealing with potholes which cause costly damage to vehicles and delays to school bus services.

Just sharing info from parents. That's all.

The school have taken to updating their social media about it too. 

'Things happen', most people understand, but when it comes to their little darlings getting wet, sometimes logical thinking goes out of the window.

Mind, the window to get them there before registration must have been extremely close. 
It's due to arrive at the school at 8.20am and if it was somewhere between 30 and 45mins late, that's going to take them right up to the window.

Registration starts at 8.45 and it's scheduled to arrive at 8.20 (I guess it arrives early so kids can grab breakfast etc)

Looking at bustimes (I know!) it looks like it's normally well on schedule and this week has been a bit of a blip which I'm sure will be managed (though all good this morning)

(10 Oct 2024, 10:41 am)Andreos1 wrote Just sharing info from parents. That's all.

The school have taken to updating their social media about it too. 

'Things happen', most people understand, but when it comes to their little darlings getting wet, sometimes logical thinking goes out of the window.

Mind, the window to get them there before registration must have been extremely close. 
It's due to arrive at the school at 8.20am and if it was somewhere between 30 and 45mins late, that's going to take them right up to the window.

Yes, the school updated their social media feeds at our request and were directly informing parents who rang them (a lot of parents don’t know the operator of the bus).

(10 Oct 2024, 1:39 pm)Ambassador wrote Registration starts at 8.45 and it's scheduled to arrive at 8.20 (I guess it arrives early so kids can grab breakfast etc)

Looking at bustimes (I know!) it looks like it's normally well on schedule and this week has been a bit of a blip which I'm sure will be managed  (though all good this morning)

It'll be timed that way to allow up to 25 min delay and the kids can still get in on time.

i used to hate it when I was at school and the school bus would get me there like 5 mins before school started

Sir Roger French has been Northstar riding.

Can’t quite work out where the dual door reversed to from the tweet

Tho I do agree, until our infrastructure is entirely compliant, operators shouldn’t be using dual door because they’re available and relatively cheap (and that’s all operators)

(13 Oct 2024, 12:21 am)Ambassador wrote Sir Roger French has been Northstar riding.

Can’t quite work out where the dual door reversed to from the tweet

Tho I do agree, until our infrastructure is entirely compliant, operators shouldn’t be using dual door because they’re available and relatively cheap (and that’s all operators)

It looked like Park Lane to me - reversed back from Stand G to the drop-off area on the “ABC” side of the interchange to allow the wheelchair user to board.

I think we’d all agree with that sentiment. The downside is that our local authorities simply don’t provide enough notice between contract award and commencement to allow more appropriate vehicles to be sourced. Six weeks would be a challenge for most large operators, let alone a new start-up running their first ever contracts.

The upshot, of course, is that there are just five drivers who provide this service. This is something you won’t find at a large operator. They have built up a good rapport with the (relatively few in the grand scheme of things) wheelchair users that travel on the 599, and both the driver and customer know what they need to do in situations such as Park Lane.

Also reversing to the drop off stand is more than what GNE drivers did in my experience in a dual door bus

(13 Oct 2024, 9:01 pm)Unber43 wrote Also reversing to the drop off stand is more than what GNE drivers did in my experience in a dual door bus

Yes, GNE policy would have been to refuse travel and advise customer to travel on next bus (or offer a taxi if it’s an infrequent service - though finding wheelchair accessible taxis at short-notice can also be tricky!)

(13 Oct 2024, 12:21 am)Ambassador wrote Sir Roger French has been Northstar riding.

Can’t quite work out where the dual door reversed to from the tweet

Tho I do agree, until our infrastructure is entirely compliant, operators shouldn’t be using dual door because they’re available and relatively cheap (and that’s all operators)

The problem is, we keep building infrastructure that isn't!

Durham Bus Station is probably our most recent example (give or take a short period of time on North Shields), yet not a single stand could accommodate a dual door vehicle. Previously stand A could, but when they've rebuilt the station, the architects and their railings fetish strike again.

South Shields has one stand (P) that could be used for dual door vehicles, if again we didn't need pointless railings everywhere, and I've never been to North Shields, but looking at photos, there's no way you're getting a ramp out of rear doors there. 

I get that up here, single door vehicles are the norm, but when dual door vehicles are still very much compliant, it's a failing to not plan for their use when designing infrastructure, placing street furniture, raised/dropped kerbs and whatever else. Arguably in the same way that Eldon Square's re-build is too tight for the Plaxton coaches that were on the X9/X10.

(14 Oct 2024, 1:26 pm)Adrian wrote The problem is, we keep building infrastructure that isn't!

Durham Bus Station is probably our most recent example (give or take a short period of time on North Shields), yet not a single stand could accommodate a dual door vehicle. Previously stand A could, but when they've rebuilt the station, the architects and their railings fetish strike again.

South Shields has one stand (P) that could be used for dual door vehicles, if again we didn't need pointless railings everywhere, and I've never been to North Shields, but looking at photos, there's no way you're getting a ramp out of rear doors there. 

I get that up here, single door vehicles are the norm, but when dual door vehicles are still very much compliant, it's a failing to not plan for their use when designing infrastructure, placing street furniture, raised/dropped kerbs and whatever else. Arguably in the same way that Eldon Square's re-build is too tight for the Plaxton coaches that were on the X9/X10.

I kind of disagree here in a way. Personally I don't see the need for dual door buses anywhere in the North East - we really don't have the loads and never will have either and having a mixture of both is just confusing for passengers as seen when they were on the 21. 

If it costs more more to build them especially at interchanges I'd say keep the savings instead. 

The council shouldn't be spending more money because operators can't get buses which are fit for purpose in the North East due to lack of time to find some or just lack of interest at all. 

It's very much fixing a problem which shouldn't exist imo.

(14 Oct 2024, 1:26 pm)Adrian wrote The problem is, we keep building infrastructure that isn't!

Durham Bus Station is probably our most recent example (give or take a short period of time on North Shields), yet not a single stand could accommodate a dual door vehicle. Previously stand A could, but when they've rebuilt the station, the architects and their railings fetish strike again.

South Shields has one stand (P) that could be used for dual door vehicles, if again we didn't need pointless railings everywhere, and I've never been to North Shields, but looking at photos, there's no way you're getting a ramp out of rear doors there. 

I get that up here, single door vehicles are the norm, but when dual door vehicles are still very much compliant, it's a failing to not plan for their use when designing infrastructure, placing street furniture, raised/dropped kerbs and whatever else. Arguably in the same way that Eldon Square's re-build is too tight for the Plaxton coaches that were on the X9/X10.

Completely agree.
We’re always going to be lumbered with single door vehicles if revised or new build infrastructure cannot accommodate dual doors. 

Single door buses here feel so cramped and slow after coming back from cities with dual doors.
I’m sick of having to squeeze all the way to the front to get off crowded buses here.

(14 Oct 2024, 3:32 pm)ne14ne1 wrote Completely agree.
We’re always going to be lumbered with single door vehicles if revised or new build infrastructure cannot accommodate dual doors. 

Single door buses here feel so cramped and slow after coming back from cities with dual doors.
I’m sick of having to squeeze all the way to the front to get off crowded buses here.

If buses are crowded then dual door buses will make it worse as it's now got less seats. That's not a dual door problem, that's a frequency/capacity issue.

Dual doors buses terminating in a bus station have absolutely no benefits bar losing, at least 4 seats. The point of them is for services like the 39 and 40 so when they stop at somewhere like Blackett Street, people don't have to wait until everyone gets off, which results in faster boarding times and therefore a quicker service.

None of the cross city services serve bus stations though, so it's a pointless investment. Buses terminating in Newcastle don't have that issue since everyone is getting off heading into Newcastle or getting on leaving Newcastle, so you could put dual doors on something like the 10/10A/10B but other than 1 stop at the Metrocentre there's literally no benefits. Lots of negatives though; fare control and loss of seats being the main ones in particular.

The big difference between the European routes you've mentioned there is they don't have an obsession with bus stations in major cities and a fair chunk are cross city, London included in that.

Oh there is plenty of bus stations abroad, it's just that European Countries don't seemed as obsessed about Health and Safety compared to the UK.

For example at the Bus Station at Chur for Post Auto services, buses / coaches pull forward into a marked bay, then intending passengers walk over the roadway to the bus they want to get on. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1683408792

Disneyland Paris bus station has a busy bus station, but doesn't have any doors or railings blocking access to the roadway or anything prevent the use of exit doors on vehicles as shown here (and yes that is a high floor bus in 2022) https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2182512499

Leuven Bus Station in Belgium, there is no actual walkways and the bus station is basically a pedestrianized zone so people wander all over the place, enough to give a Nexus Bus Station Supervisor a nervous breakdown. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2788745521

Even the railways in Europe, especially along the lines that are lower speeds, there is no fencing to stop people going on the tracks. They basically use common sense over there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1703111778

(14 Oct 2024, 1:26 pm)Adrian wrote The problem is, we keep building infrastructure that isn't!

Durham Bus Station is probably our most recent example (give or take a short period of time on North Shields), yet not a single stand could accommodate a dual door vehicle. Previously stand A could, but when they've rebuilt the station, the architects and their railings fetish strike again.

South Shields has one stand (P) that could be used for dual door vehicles, if again we didn't need pointless railings everywhere, and I've never been to North Shields, but looking at photos, there's no way you're getting a ramp out of rear doors there. 

I get that up here, single door vehicles are the norm, but when dual door vehicles are still very much compliant, it's a failing to not plan for their use when designing infrastructure, placing street furniture, raised/dropped kerbs and whatever else. Arguably in the same way that Eldon Square's re-build is too tight for the Plaxton coaches that were on the X9/X10.

Never mind duel door, many nowadays can't even accommodate anything with the engine at the front like Stratas, even Optare Solos were a struggle at Durham Bus Station pre works (unsure if they still are as currently nobody has this type) imagine those vans on steroids GCT use on the 40 being an issue.

An example, 21 Transport using a Strata at Harrogate Bus Station - much of the doorway being behind the railings

(14 Oct 2024, 11:13 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Oh there is plenty of bus stations abroad, it's just that European Countries don't seemed as obsessed about Health and Safety compared to the UK.

For example at the Bus Station at Chur for Post Auto services, buses / coaches pull forward into a marked bay, then intending passengers walk over the roadway to the bus they want to get on. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1683408792

Disneyland Paris bus station has a busy bus station, but doesn't have any doors or railings blocking access to the roadway or anything prevent the use of exit doors on vehicles as shown here (and yes that is a high floor bus in 2022) https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2182512499

Leuven Bus Station in Belgium, there is no actual walkways and the bus station is basically a pedestrianized zone so people wander all over the place, enough to give a Nexus Bus Station Supervisor a nervous breakdown. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2788745521

Even the railways in Europe, especially along the lines that are lower speeds, there is no fencing to stop people going on the tracks. They basically use common sense over there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1703111778

It's how interchanges should be imo, note that most of them are near a railway station aswell so it makes sense there. Other than coach services, there's not many which are just dotted in the middle of no-where in terms of interchanging as it just doesn't make sense most the time.

I hate pull in / pull out bus stations aswell, excluding coaches again. Mostly just an inconvenience and slow things down.

Btw the differences are because of the different legal systems. Europe use a civil law where it's rules based whereas we use common law which is based on past cases. So in Europe there is no doubt a law where, you are not allowed on the railway and that's final. Whereas in the UK there'll be no doubt some case in the past where someone has accidently walked onto a railway as they were doing something or blind and there was no fence so now they have a duty to place fences.

It's why you get claims for some outrageous stuff, I know someone tried to sue the Union Rooms in Newcastle for sliding down the banister as it was too low so was attractive. It got thrown out as they were drunk, but it's why there's spikes on it now but it sums up how stupid it can be.

(15 Oct 2024, 9:23 am)Jimmi wrote Never mind duel door, many nowadays can't even accommodate anything with the engine at the front like Stratas, even Optare Solos were a struggle at Durham Bus Station pre works (unsure if they still are as currently nobody has this type) imagine those vans on steroids GCT use on the 40 being an issue.

An example, 21 Transport using a Strata at Harrogate Bus Station - much of the doorway being behind the railings

It's the forwards wheels isn't it rather than the engine? I know Carlisle has problems like that and it's because they have to overhang over the curb to align the doors, obviously can't do that when there's wheels there.

Harrogate seems badly designed though mind.

(14 Oct 2024, 11:13 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Oh there is plenty of bus stations abroad, it's just that European Countries don't seemed as obsessed about Health and Safety compared to the UK.

For example at the Bus Station at Chur for Post Auto services, buses / coaches pull forward into a marked bay, then intending passengers walk over the roadway to the bus they want to get on. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1683408792

Disneyland Paris bus station has a busy bus station, but doesn't have any doors or railings blocking access to the roadway or anything prevent the use of exit doors on vehicles as shown here (and yes that is a high floor bus in 2022) https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2182512499

Leuven Bus Station in Belgium, there is no actual walkways and the bus station is basically a pedestrianized zone so people wander all over the place, enough to give a Nexus Bus Station Supervisor a nervous breakdown. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...2788745521

Even the railways in Europe, especially along the lines that are lower speeds, there is no fencing to stop people going on the tracks. They basically use common sense over there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...1703111778

Europe is a lot less worried about health and safety. On a cross border train from Belgium to France there was a footpath without any fencing alongside it, in Prague and other places I've been to several train stations where you have to cross the lines to reach the other platforms, there's no bridge or subway.

The funniest one I've seen was in Riga, not transported related but there were roadworks, a big hole in the road and a man being dangled into it being held by his boots by two colleagues. I always loved how the Brexiteers told us it was EU law that added all these H&S issues, it never looks that way when I'm in the EU!

(14 Oct 2024, 6:59 am)Dan wrote Yes, GNE policy would have been to refuse travel and advise customer to travel on next bus (or offer a taxi if it’s an infrequent service - though finding wheelchair accessible taxis at short-notice can also be tricky!)

What would u class as Infrequent (for me it would be every 30 mins or more in this circumstance)