(11 Sep 2017, 5:16 pm)Citaro5326 wrote 6310 broken down on A19 sliproad , doors wont shut apparently ... great .. !

Would this be a bad time to point that i got on 6308 this afternoon and one of the metal strips that go between the interior lights was dumped on the back ledge, not a major problem but hardly attractive seeing bits falling off already!

Video of 6308: https://youtu.be/93BK103wSug

Also to give more of an idea where I was waiting for photos as to how I didn't see some buses heading to/from Middlesbrough:
Go North East: 6313 / NK67EBG by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

(11 Sep 2017, 5:40 pm)Jimmi wrote Video of 6308: https://youtu.be/93BK103wSug

Sounds like the Tees Barrage stop doesnt get announced until the bus is pulling away??

(11 Sep 2017, 6:06 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Sounds like the Tees Barrage stop doesnt get announced until the bus is pulling away??

Think Tees Barrage was announced as the bus was heading through the lights on Newport Road as it was heading to join the A66.

I thought that the next stop announcements could do with being turned up a bit, I could barely hear them sat at the back.

Yes - no real point announcing the next stop while people are still shuffling around and getting comfortable, so the next stop leaving Newcastle isn't announced until the lights on Percy Street, and the next stop leaving Middlesbrough isn't announced until the main junction before you head off onto the A66.

The announcements are set up completely differently for the X9/X10 to the usual style - some stops have no Next Stop Announcements until they pull away from the previous stopping point then announce a more train-like script (after all, it's a long distance service!) The announcements on the Castles Express X21 are likely to follow in this style - at least between Newcastle and Durham.

There are better "approaching" announcements than found on the X21 service - they are now plotted at a specific point rather than distance away from the next stop, and give passengers sufficient time to gather their belongings before alighting.

There are also announcements to advise customers of upcoming disruptions to the service - such as Testos Roundabout not being served on northbound journeys. There are also suggestions for what to alight at that stop for - such as the market on specific days of the week at Stockton (again, the announcements tell you what days these are).

All about making the most of the system's abilities. Go North East and Lothian Buses are working very closely with Hanover to develop new functionality in the system.

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(11 Sep 2017, 6:26 pm)Dan wrote Yes - no real point announcing the next stop while people are still shuffling around and getting comfortable, so the next stop leaving Newcastle isn't announced until the lights on Percy Street, and the next stop leaving Middlesbrough isn't announced until the main junction before you head off onto the A66.

The announcements are set up completely differently for the X9/X10 to the usual style - some stops have no Next Stop Announcements until they pull away from the previous stopping point then announce a more train-like script (after all, it's a long distance service!) The announcements on the Castles Express X21 are likely to follow in this style - at least between Newcastle and Durham.

There are better "approaching" announcements than found on the X21 service - they are now plotted at a specific point rather than distance away from the next stop, and give passengers sufficient time to gather their belongings before alighting.

There are also announcements to advise customers of upcoming disruptions to the service - such as Testos Roundabout not being served on northbound journeys. There are also suggestions for what to alight at that stop for - such as the market on specific days of the week at Stockton (again, the announcements tell you what days these are).

All about making the most of the system's abilities. Go North East and Lothian Buses are working very closely with Hanover to develop new functionality in the system.

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Well from Jimmi’s video, either the display or the audio is wrong.  From about 40 secs the display says Next Stop is Tees Barrage, at about 5min someone gets off, the display announces Tees Barrage, but the audio saying “This is Tees Barrage” doesn’t kick in until the bus is moving away from the stop, which seems a bit late.

(11 Sep 2017, 7:04 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Well from Jimmi’s video, either the display or the audio is wrong.  From about 40 secs the display says Next Stop is Tees Barrage, at about 5min someone gets off, the display announces Tees Barrage, but the audio saying “This is Tees Barrage” doesn’t kick in until the bus is moving away from the stop, which seems a bit late.

I don't think it is wrong and is probably a case of 1 person getting off the bus takes less time than it does for that particular announcement to play. It certainly isn't specific to the X9/X10.

Just realised that "Tyne Tees Express" has been dropped from the brand which is now simply "X9/X10", a disappointing and illogical change. Brands with just numbers are rather meaningless, like "the 49" and it was a great improvement  changing the boring "Ten" to "Tyne Valley Ten". The "Tyne Tees Express" was relevant and well known.

(11 Sep 2017, 7:48 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Just realised that "Tyne Tees Express" has been dropped from the brand which is now simply "X9/X10", a disappointing and illogical change. Brands with just numbers are rather meaningless, like "the 49" and it was a great improvement  changing the boring "Ten" to "Tyne Valley Ten". The "Tyne Tees Express" was relevant and well known.

Agreed.

(11 Sep 2017, 7:48 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Just realised that "Tyne Tees Express" has been dropped from the brand which is now simply "X9/X10", a disappointing and illogical change. Brands with just numbers are rather meaningless, like "the 49" and it was a great improvement  changing the boring "Ten" to "Tyne Valley Ten". The "Tyne Tees Express" was relevant and well known.

Tyne Tees Xpress was a good brand, yes. Never understood the reasoning for the 'NE' being a different colour from the 'TY' though. All I can think of is to highlight that the service operates in the North East but that seems like a pointless piece of information to tell customers.

The X9|X10 brand name, if it can be called that, gets straight to the point to me. I instantly know which services the buses operate on without having to look up at the destination display which, not now in my case but certainly soon, would involve taking my eyes off the road if I was driving.

Branding is a failure if they have to cover with spares/wrong because people pay far too much attention to the colour, rather than the display.

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(11 Sep 2017, 7:48 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Just realised that "Tyne Tees Express" has been dropped from the brand which is now simply "X9/X10", a disappointing and illogical change. Brands with just numbers are rather meaningless, like "the 49" and it was a great improvement  changing the boring "Ten" to "Tyne Valley Ten". The "Tyne Tees Express" was relevant and well known.

Do explain.

(10 Sep 2017, 6:47 pm)Malarkey wrote 6313 (NK67 EBG) departing South Shields Promenade on Private Hire for the Great North Run - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

7102 (FJ08 KNW) also on Private Hire for the GNR Yesterday - https://www.flickr.com/photos/adammalark...ed-public/

I also think Go North East should repaint these Levantes into Corporate Livery.

(11 Sep 2017, 4:47 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote I think we’ll just have to agree to disagree if you really think this shambles represents a well executed relaunch of the service.  Relaunched 3rd Sept, new buses supposed to arrive a week later (ludicrous in itself) and even with that extension, only three of a PVR of seven were covered by the new buses, and reports of missed journeys on some of the other boards.

Yet if they registered the service to start at the end of September, for argument sake, then people would be complaining that brand new buses are sitting round doing nowt, when the current ones are breaking down left right and centre! It is not ideal, but needs must sometimes. 

Didn't Stagecoach drip feed their E400MMCs into service in Newcastle? I didn't see you calling that a shambles... maybe I missed your post?

I think its a shambles but might be out of hand. The company should understand that passengers aren't going to reason from a business side of things - if they are on a brand new bus that has panels lying on seats or breakdowns. I think the company should take responsibility and accept it looks bad, rather than treating it like it's a normal event - this just pushes the people further away from the concept of public transport (in my opinion) if new buses are broken. It's a hands-tied situation, but better PR is in order.

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(11 Sep 2017, 8:42 pm)Adrian wrote Yet if they registered the service to start at the end of September, for argument sake, then people would be complaining that brand new buses are sitting round doing nowt, when the current ones are breaking down left right and centre! It is not ideal, but needs must sometimes. 

Didn't Stagecoach drip feed their E400MMCs into service in Newcastle? I didn't see you calling that a shambles... maybe I missed your post?

The "fixed" change dates agreement with local councils means that if they didn't do the changes on the 3rd September, they would have to wait until the 29th October.

Surely the company will take the issue of late vehicle delivery up with Wrightbus.

(11 Sep 2017, 5:40 pm)Jimmi wrote Would this be a bad time to point that i got on 6308 this afternoon and one of the metal strips that go between the interior lights was dumped on the back ledge, not a major problem but hardly attractive seeing bits falling off already!

Video of 6308: https://youtu.be/93BK103wSug

Also to give more of an idea where I was waiting for photos as to how I didn't see some buses heading to/from Middlesbrough:
Go North East: 6313 / NK67EBG by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

It's bad enough that some of those strips have fallen off the streetdecks. That design detail needs a rethink!

(11 Sep 2017, 9:12 pm)busmanT wrote The "fixed" change dates agreement with local councils means that if they didn't do the changes on the 3rd September, they would have to wait until the 29th October.

Surely the company will take the issue of late vehicle delivery up with Wrightbus.

From looking on Flickr on Donrobni's Page it does appear that Wrightbus have extremely busy in recent months, probably more so than usual compared to previous years.

Seems to be large vehicle orders for London from Arriva, Metroline and Go-Ahead London for Volvo B5LH Gemini 3's/Wright Streetlites and of course Borismasters. Bus Eireann & Dublin Bus also have ongoing orders for Volvo B5TL Gemini 3's, Lothian Buses also have ongoing orders for Volvo B5TL & B5LH Gemini 3's and Wright StreetAirs, you have then foreign market with companies from China and Mexico placing large orders for Volvo Geminis...not sure if they are still B9's or not.

Some photos from the Wrightbus Factory, photos by Donrobni.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81709772@N...ateposted/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/81709772@N...ateposted/

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(11 Sep 2017, 9:26 pm)BusLoverMum wrote It's bad enough that some of those strips have fallen off the streetdecks. That design detail needs a rethink!

Looks can be deceiving. 

I thought the bits where you can see white on the graphics had peeled away when looking at the vehicle from a distance, I can assure you that this is not the case and is actually part of the graphic design and poor one at that, I agree with other comments that the TTX brand should of remained.

The X9 / X10 new buses, much hype, much drama, much chaos, much frothing. So what if it didn't go to plan, there are worst things that happen at sea. Things are likely to go wrong and will go wrong. So what if you waited ages for a new bus to turn up. Surely you should know by now bus launches never go to plan and things don't usually settle down for a few weeks.

And before anyone moans that there is no need for me to be like this, well I don't give a flying feather, I'm not here for popularity and I don't need it, I've been stabbed enough in the back by a number of spotters around the North East that I trust very few people in this hobby around here now.

(11 Sep 2017, 9:51 pm)Rapidsnap wrote The X9 / X10 new buses, much hype, much drama, much chaos, much frothing. So what if it didn't go to plan, there are worst things that happen at sea. Things are likely to go wrong and will go wrong. So what if you waited ages for a new bus to turn up. Surely you should know by now bus launches never go to plan and things don't usually settle down for a few weeks.

And before anyone moans that there is no need for me to be like this, well I don't give a flying feather, I'm not here for popularity and I don't need it, I've been stabbed enough in the back by a number of spotters around the North East that I trust very few people in this hobby around here now.

Agree, no one ever moans about any other company in the NE when something goes wrong, such as a launch, problems with new buses etc.


"And before anyone moans that there is no need for me to be like this, well I don't give a flying feather", i think the exact same.

(11 Sep 2017, 8:18 pm)S813 FVK wrote The X9|X10 brand name, if it can be called that, gets straight to the point to me. I instantly know which services the buses operate on without having to look up at the destination display which, not now in my case but certainly soon, would involve taking my eyes off the road if I was driving.

I'm sorry, but in what world is X9/X10 more explanatory than Tyne Tees Xpress? Both main destinations nicely laid out, and the fact it's an express is clearly highlighted. 

(11 Sep 2017, 10:08 pm)Michael wrote Agree, no one ever moans about any other company in the NE when something goes wrong, such as a launch, problems with new buses etc.

All three main companies get slated whenever they do something wrong, and in certain cases when they do something well! To say that only GNE get slated is simply untrue, and in some cases on here they get off lighter than Arriva and Stagecoach ever would.

(11 Sep 2017, 8:42 pm)Adrian wrote Didn't Stagecoach drip feed their E400MMCs into service in Newcastle? I didn't see you calling that a shambles... maybe I missed your post?

Stagecoach did indeed place the E400MMCs into service over several weeks (with 10646 delayed beyond the rest of the batch).  You wouldn’t have seen a post from me criticising Stagecoach for this, as Stagecoach hadn’t publicised a ‘launch’ date for a revamped service, hadn’t missed their own launch date by a week and hadn’t then failed to have even half of the PVR covered on the delayed launch.

Also, I don’t recall the Enviro400MMCs breaking down or having internal panelling falling off.

Stagecoach do plenty worthy of slating, however personally I don’t think the E400MMC introduction was badly handled.

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(11 Sep 2017, 7:18 pm)S813 FVK wrote I don't think it is wrong and is probably a case of 1 person getting off the bus takes less time than it does for that particular announcement to play. It certainly isn't specific to the X9/X10.

Is the point of the audio announcement not to tell people which stop is approaching, not which stop they've just missed though?

The difference is Stagecoach don't really do brands. Indeed, only the 100 is now a branded service in Newcastle. So it really doesn't matter if they drip feed new vehicles. GNE, on the other hand, do branding on a large scale and made a big song and dance about the X9/10 changes and new buses. So when they aren't even in service on time, it is rightly noted.

(11 Sep 2017, 9:51 pm)Rapidsnap wrote The X9 / X10 new buses, much hype, much drama, much chaos, much frothing. So what if it didn't go to plan, there are worst things that happen at sea. Things are likely to go wrong and will go wrong. So what if you waited ages for a new bus to turn up. Surely you should know by now bus launches never go to plan and things don't usually settle down for a few weeks.

And before anyone moans that there is no need for me to be like this, well I don't give a flying feather, I'm not here for popularity and I don't need it, I've been stabbed enough in the back by a number of spotters around the North East that I trust very few people in this hobby around here now.

I'd have believed that you were above drama if it wasn't for the end of your post 

(11 Sep 2017, 10:32 pm)mb134 wrote I'm sorry, but in what world is X9/X10 more explanatory than Tyne Tees Xpress? Both main destinations nicely laid out, and the fact it's an express is clearly highlighted. 

I never said that it was more explanatory, just that it was simple and straight to the point which, when travelling 50/60mph down the A19, is something you need.

Where the bus can be doing 50/60 mph down the A19, most people won't be paying attention anyway. Be nothing but a blur.. unless its 6310 [emoji1]

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6036 on 11-transfer or loan to Percy Main

Deptford have a Orange solo on loan from optare yj64 dwd to replace 640 which is away for repair - my mates just messaged me

(12 Sep 2017, 7:12 am)Tom wrote 6036 on 11-transfer or loan to Percy Main

They got it yesterday which went on a scholars. Possibly a loan due to shortages?

Anyone know which B5TL’s are out today?


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(12 Sep 2017, 6:45 am)S813 FVK wrote I never said that it was more explanatory, just that it was simple and straight to the point which, when travelling 50/60mph down the A19, is something you need.

So "Tyne Tees Xpress" isn't simple or straight to the point? 

For example, if you're travelling down the A19 behind an X9/X10, which of these gives you more information as to where the bus serves?

https://flic.kr/p/cJUC2G
https://flic.kr/p/X5JCtg