(09 Sep 2013, 4:38 pm)gtomlinson wrote I don't want to go off topic but legally GNE are not doing anything wrong in terms of the law by not providing a wi-fi bus

Under the Conditions of Carriage you simply agree to pay a free for carriage on the bus. You are not guaranteed a seat nor a leather headrest, wifi, next stop announcements nor the right coloured bus. You are entitled to a vehicle that gets you from A to B and no more, no less.

I'd imagine the users of the early Sunday morning service already used the previous service to arrive into town and wouldn't expect wi-fi et al anyway, besides the point.

If every single bus was operated without wi-fi and that was a key selling point and in the terms and conditions of carriage then yes there's a point, otherwise its simple armchair law at the end of the day (no offence!)

If you had been promised a product, but on receiving that product, it was not the same that had been advertised - based on an operational decision, then is that not false advertising?
As advertising has the potential to persuade people into commercial transactions
that they might otherwise avoid - then is that not false, deceptive or misleading
advertising?

Yes, it can't be helped in some circumstances such as a breakdown or due to maintenance issues.
However, when GNE are advertising the fact this bus has wifi, but are deliberately not operating that service with wifi...

Just found this definition of False Advertising: "Any advertising or promotion that misrepresents the nature, characteristics, qualities or geographic origin of goods, services or commercial activities".

Now in this case, we aren't talking about the origin obviously.
We are talking about the leaflets, branding and literature relating to the nature, characteristics and qualities of that service.

(09 Sep 2013, 4:47 pm)Michael wrote Fleet News:

Two further vehicle transfers from last weekend are of Trident 3859: W859 PNL from Chester le Street to Percy Main and Volvo B10BLE 4905: W905 RBB from Chester le Street to Stanley.

MPD 560: NK53 TKZ has been transferred from Hexham to Consett and 561: NK53 TLF from Hexham to Deptford.

MPDs 506, 512 and 513 (X-WRG) are officially withdrawn but may remain in service temporarily.

Don't know where to put it.. since everything has changed...

506 was still in service today, on 39s as usual. :p
I guess it's a mad rush for us all to get photographs now! I luckily got photos of them all last week.

4905 I believe was on the 8/78 cycle today. Sure it passed me this morning :p

(09 Sep 2013, 4:18 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote Disgraceful and to think I probably sat in that seat he'd been sitting in today on the 2C, hope they catch him.

Looking at him and referring to previous discussions on the subject, I wonder if he can be traced using a pass? Presuming he has an OAP pass due to his apparent age.

(09 Sep 2013, 4:53 pm)Andreos1 wrote Looking at him and referring to previous discussions on the subject, I wonder if he can be traced using a pass? Presuming he has an OAP pass due to his apparent age.

If GNE have a timing for when he got on/off the Bus, I think it maybe possible, but would GNE not have to go through the Ticket History for a Certain Bus Driver who was driving at the time.

(09 Sep 2013, 4:57 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote If GNE have a timing for when he got on/off the Bus, I think it maybe possible, but would GNE not have to go through the Ticket History for a Certain Bus Driver who was driving at the time.

The article states he got on at the Galleries. Guessing CCTV confirmed this.

I wonder if he appeared on the monitor as he 'did it'?

(09 Sep 2013, 4:57 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote If GNE have a timing for when he got on/off the Bus, I think it maybe possible, but would GNE not have to go through the Ticket History for a Certain Bus Driver who was driving at the time.

Each card should have a unique SID (Security ID), which should be possible to translate to a holder, but without having a high level overview of the system, I can only assume that is exactly how it works.

Any Key smartcard holders will notice that their journey history is gradually uploaded throughout a day. So the driver's profile for that shift must contain a list of SIDs that have swiped the reader during that shift, along with the ticket machine data at that time (boarding point, time, set destination, etc). That then goes into the central database for the end user (i.e. yourself) to view in the key portal on the website. As both the key and ENCTS passes are ITSO compliant, the system design will be exactly the same.

(09 Sep 2013, 12:47 pm)AdamY wrote I agree. 99% of bus users probably do just want the bus to turn up (on time) and are happy when it does. But if this is the case, why go all gimmickry with branding featuring promises of WiFi enabled buses? Once you start advertising services promising some sort of competitive advantage over other similar services, then these promises should really be kept as some may choose these services based upon what's being offered. Unless there's a valid reason due to vehicles being off the road, GNE should strive to deliver their end of the bargain. If they don't, then it's tantamount to false advertising which become legally ambiguous.

Top priority must always be to ensure a bus turns up on time. Ideally it'll be the correct type, but however hard companies try, they'll never manage this all the time. Having been a Controller (Service Delivery Manager, Duty Manager or whatever the title may be) for both buses and trains it's rare for a day to go by without events, often outside anyone's control, conspiring to cause disruption. Priority is always to run something as near on time as possible - you don't care what as long as something runs and passengers aren't left waiting (and in the case of contracted services and on the railways you get financial penalties). I fully support Northern's branding but it's totally unreasonable to expect that only the branded buses will run on their routes. Ideally, however they should be able to ensure that only correctly branded vehicles should be used, with red Northern ones covering branded vehicles on maintenance or breakdowns.

(09 Sep 2013, 5:31 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Top priority must always be to ensure a bus turns up on time. Ideally it'll be the correct type, but however hard companies try, they'll never manage this all the time. Having been a Controller (Service Delivery Manager, Duty Manager or whatever the title may be) for both buses and trains it's rare for a day to go by without events, often outside anyone's control, conspiring to cause disruption. Priority is always to run something as near on time as possible - you don't care what as long as something runs and passengers aren't left waiting (and in the case of contracted services and on the railways you get financial penalties). I fully support Northern's branding but it's totally unreasonable to expect that only the branded buses will run on their routes. Ideally, however they should be able to ensure that only correctly branded vehicles should be used, with red Northern ones covering branded vehicles on maintenance or breakdowns.

We seem to be going over and over the same ground here. As people have previously stated, it is an operational decision to run with MPDs on a Sunday (i.e. a decision completely in GNE's control).

(09 Sep 2013, 4:42 pm)Daniel wrote The percentage of passengers that don't care about additional features such as Wi-Fi and power sockets for mobile phones/laptops is not relevant in my opinion - it is the percentage that do care.

Without sounding boring, I completely agree with this point too. The percentage that do care about additional features do matter. Some may have eschewed the train or the 685 in order to take advantage and that's why I've said GNE should deliver upon the promises made to passengers in the run up to the launch irrespective of projected daily loadings or operational functionality.

The consultation results Aureolin provided a link to proves that customers do care about having these additional features. A total of 260 completed questionnaires were returned to Go North East. 54% of those customers were in favour of the new "Tyne Tees Xpress" vehicles to have free Wi-Fi, which is 140 people - but apparently only 1% care about having these features? A further 32% were in favour of adding power sockets to the new buses. Again, a massive difference between the official number and the earlier number given (although it was likely to be under-exaggerated anyway, providing that is a word?)

For me, and I may be old fashioned here, the purpose of public transport is to get from A to B in a cost effective, comfortable and timely manner. Anything else on top of cost, comfort and time is a gimmick (or a draw) to attract people to use your service instead of your competitors.

When presented with the choice of adding things like WiFi or power-sockets then of course that's going to strike a positive chord with some people, but I bet the consultation results would show other things to be important to the customer if they were presented in lieu of the things currently offered. For example: If the Tyne-Tees express were to offer tea and toast to all passengers travelling before 10 am, then I'd expect the result of 'those in favour' would be higher than 32%. But does that mean that passengers care about being offered tea and toast? Before hand, probably not. But now that option has been introduced a false positive has been created stating that passengers do care about this facility whereas they didn't before.

(08 Sep 2013, 8:55 pm)Daniel wrote The headcount was at St James - on the 11:25am X84 service from Hexham to Newcastle.
10 people stayed on until Eldon Sq, and 2 alighted at St James' Park.

12:25 you mean? There wasn't an 11:25 I'm sure. Now we have a problem as to how five people magically appear. Unless you couldn't see the two children on the other side to what I was sitting on but that only accounts for two. I counted everyone including myself as we got off at Eldon Sq. I'm quite sure it was you who papped me at St. James'.

(09 Sep 2013, 8:18 pm)the pilot wrote 12:25 you mean? There wasn't an 11:25 I'm sure. Now we have a problem as to how five people magically appear. Unless you couldn't see the two children on the other side to what I was sitting on but that only accounts for two. I counted everyone including myself as we got off at Eldon Sq. I'm quite sure it was you who papped me at St. James'.

The service departs Hexham at 1125, hence the time given followed by the words 'from Hexham'.
I'd love to comment further, but it was Liam who counted the passengers as I took a photo, so I really can't - unless my photo backs up Liam's number.

Wasn't sure if it would still be the case, but some pupils at St Roberts get to travel in relative luxury.
The 453 is worked by a Red Arrows decker from Rainton on a morning.
This particular service obviously runs off an NPower service, unlike the others - (which as far as I'm aware) run onto an X1.

Anyone aware of what it might do on hitting Washington? Does it go back to the depot or pick up a run somewhere else?

Both of these were seen in service at Consett yesterday
Raymond

Going back to the discussion about the X84/85; Ken Kennedy has been on fb and asked GNE if there were problems with the wifi on Sunday for his journey between Throckley and Newcastle.

Fyacebuk asked if passengers on a Sunday would receive yellow goodies such as bananas, lemons and yellow pop.
It seems GNE have removed the comment...

(10 Sep 2013, 9:03 am)Andreos1 wrote Going back to the discussion about the X84/85; Ken Kennedy has been on fb and asked GNE if there were problems with the wifi on Sunday for his journey between Throckley and Newcastle.

Fyacebuk asked if passengers on a Sunday would receive yellow goodies such as bananas, lemons and yellow pop.
It seems GNE have removed the comment...

It looks like customer services don't know about the allocations, judging by the response that they'll look into it. Surely if they knew it was an MPD allocated on a Sunday, they'd just respond stating the vehicle doesn't have Wi-Fi.

(10 Sep 2013, 9:06 am)aureolin wrote It looks like customer services don't know about the allocations, judging by the response that they'll look into it. Surely if they knew it was an MPD allocated on a Sunday, they'd just respond stating the vehicle doesn't have Wi-Fi.

Or, they do know and don't want to admit it on the forum.

I wonder what srivva think of it?

(10 Sep 2013, 9:12 am)Andreos1 wrote Or, they do know and don't want to admit it on the forum.'

I wonder what srivva think of it?

I think srivva need to be more concerned about their Polish services rather than worrying about WiFi on the Tynedale Express.

I was driving the car this morning with the radio on, and there mentioned about the Tynedale Express and there said this Friday 13th September if you wear something yellow then you be able to board the X84/X85 for free.

I only heard it once but I was mostly watching out on the road than listening to the radio when it came on, and only half heard it once.

(10 Sep 2013, 2:03 pm)cbma06 wrote I was driving the car this morning with the radio on, and there mentioned about the Tynedale Express and there said this Friday 13th September if you wear something yellow then you be able to board the X84/X85 for free.

I only heard it once but I was mostly watching out on the road than listening to the radio when it came on, and only half heard it once.

Orange, surely?

(10 Sep 2013, 3:42 pm)eezypeazy wrote Orange, surely?

Friday the 13th is unlucky for some... Maybe the X84/X85 is to be allocated MPDs on Friday? To make up for it, if you wear a matching colour t-shirt, you can have free travel.

Just seen this when on Facebook..

Has anyone seen or can anyone confirm if the destination blind settings have been changed re the brightness or clarity on some of the vehicles?

I passed 8289 about 15mins ago and the blind was unbelievable orange and bright.

(10 Sep 2013, 7:22 pm)citaro5284 wrote They have not been changed, they are suppose to change based on ambient light conditions as they have an in built sensor. There maybe an issue with the sensor on the vehicle and you can also take out a dimmer switch on the circuit board to make them brighter, but normally we do not remove this switch.

Whatever was up with it, everything was clear, sharp and bright.
Looked great!

(10 Sep 2013, 7:27 pm)Andreos1 wrote Whatever was up with it, everything was clear, sharp and bright.
Looked great!

I've always quite liked 8289's destination blind at night. Appears a lot better than others, esp. in photographs (see here).

Another favourite of mine is 8226. So bright!
Guyparkroyal captures it quite nicely on this photo.

(10 Sep 2013, 7:40 pm)Daniel wrote I've always quite liked 8289's destination blind at night. Appears a lot better than others, esp. in photographs (see here).

Another favourite of mine is 8226. So bright!
Guyparkroyal captures it quite nicely on this photo.

Hmmm, maybe it has always been like that.
It certainly seems bright on that photo (just like it was tonight).
Maybe with the dark nights setting in after a few months of late evenings, I just aint used to seeing it so bright.

I came round the corner in the car as it was approaching a set of lights and couldn't believe how clear it was.

(10 Sep 2013, 9:12 am)Andreos1 wrote Or, they do know and don't want to admit it on the forum.

I wonder what srivva think of it?

GNE certainly don't seem too interested in answering - even though the fleet nos were given, so would take approx 2 secs for their staff member responsible for "monitoring wifi" (?!) to provide the answer. Even though whoever it is asking the questions on fb almost certainly already know the answer, its (yet again) an example of disinterested "customer service" from GNE, not to mention bordering on dishonesty by apparently looking into the reason for an issue GNE almost certainly deliberately caused by allocating 2xMPDs.

It doesn't look good, whichever way you look at it.
* Either the fb bod isn't aware of the vehicles the company operates (a basic knowledge must be required just to show some level of competence),

* They are humouring the 'character' (I can't remember which one it was now)

* Is lying (which is obviously a serious accusation to make in an open forum ).

The only person who can tell us, is the fb bod. We can't go around (and are clearly not) making accusations - that isn't fair or correct.
However, I can't think of any other explanations as to why they gave the answer they did.

Worth a try, everyone!
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1...7294910710&set=a.217741780709.285520.215880875709&type=1


Also:
http://www.facebook.com/simplyGNE/posts/...9875525710

Mackem Danny Ftm Sunderland
The first bus from Stanley to druham broken down in Craghead
Like · · 55 minutes ago via Mobile

Re:
Daniel Wrote: I've always quite liked 8289's destination blind at night. Appears a lot better than others, esp. in photographs (see here).

Another favourite of mine is 8226. So bright!

The reason 8226 is so bright is that the vehicle was in a front end accident a few weeks ago and has had a replacement front end put on including new destination.

(11 Sep 2013, 7:34 pm)BFK wrote The reason 8226 is so bright is that the vehicle was in a front end accident a few weeks ago and has had a replacement front end put on including new destination.

I first noted the incredibly bright destination blind mid-July (17/07) when she was at Saltmeadows.
Was it not then when she received a replacement front end?