(05 Jan 2016, 7:23 am)Michael wrote Go North East

Due to flooding V3 V4 V9 45 unable to operate via Snows Green, V3 V4 V9 operating via Benfieldside Rd, service 45 operating Blackhill Bank.

Service 10 and 10B unable to serve Prudhoe Stonyflat bank due to flooding. Operating via Station Rd and West Road.

Services through Dipton and Lanchester are also affected by flooding.

Shotley Bridge or thereabouts, too, according to earlier tweets.

As usual, GNE are giving more updates than ANE on Twitter. There's info about the Redcar & Cleveland diversions, but none about the ones in the Durham area.

On the 9 timetable, the 1827 and 1856 journeys from North Shields are mentioned twice:

6037 has just left Bishop Auckland on the X21 with the front, side and rear screens showing anything.

Bus updates for the weather:

Services 50 & 56 are omitting Nissan due to flooding; we are diverting via the A19, A1231 & Cherry Blossom Way both directions.

SERVICE DISRUPTION UPDATE 16:45
Services X7, X9 & X10 are delayed due to flooding around Peterlee & Wingate.

Flooding at the Honest Lawyer Pub at Croxdale is delaying service X21.

Killingworth Lake has burst its banks, services 17 & 353 diverting via West Bailey & Northumbrian Way.

Hazlerigg & Dudley are flooded; service 353 is delayed but running normal route.

Service X84 cannot serve Ovington due to the river level.

Service 74 is omitting Great Whittington.

All other services are operating normal route with minor delays.

Other news:

Regrettably the 17:47 X46 service will not run from Durham Bus Station due to a breakdown; we apologise for the delay to your journey.

(05 Jan 2016, 6:35 pm)Michael wrote Bus updates for the weather:

Services 50 & 56 are omitting Nissan due to flooding; we are diverting via the A19, A1231 & Cherry Blossom Way both directions.

SERVICE DISRUPTION UPDATE 16:45
Services X7, X9 & X10 are delayed due to flooding around Peterlee & Wingate.

Flooding at the Honest Lawyer Pub at Croxdale is delaying service X21.

Killingworth Lake has burst its banks, services 17 & 353 diverting via West Bailey & Northumbrian Way.

Hazlerigg & Dudley are flooded; service 353 is delayed but running normal route.

Service X84 cannot serve Ovington due to the river level.

Service 74 is omitting Great Whittington.

All other services are operating normal route with minor delays.

Other news:

Regrettably the 17:47 X46 service will not run from Durham Bus Station due to a breakdown; we apologise for the delay to your journey.

I always find it interesting that only some breakdowns are reported on social media, and then some aren't. I recall once seeing on the Twitter feed, when a customer asked why all breakdowns weren't reported for customer convenience, the response they received was that it simply isn't worth putting them all on Twitter or Facebook. Stagecoach can do this, so it begs the question why Go North East can't. 

Suppose the only reason the X46 has been given a mention is that it only runs a couple of times per day, while it might not be worth doing so for the likes of high-frequency services such as the 21.

(05 Jan 2016, 6:44 pm)R852 PRG wrote I always find it interesting that only some breakdowns are reported on social media, and then some aren't. I recall once seeing on the Twitter feed, when a customer asked why all breakdowns weren't reported for customer convenience, the response they received was that it simply isn't worth putting them all on Twitter or Facebook. Stagecoach can do this, so it begs the question why Go North East can't. 

Suppose the only reason the X46 has been given a mention is that it only runs a couple of times per day, while it might not be worth doing so for the likes of high-frequency services such as the 21.

I can understand not notifying for every bus that's a couple of minutes late, but there shouldn't be that many breakdowns that it becomes a problem to notify customers via social media? Whether it be a 10 minute frequency or an hourly frequency, there's still going to be people waiting for that bus.

(05 Jan 2016, 6:35 pm)Michael wrote Bus updates for the weather:

Services 50 & 56 are omitting Nissan due to flooding; we are diverting via the A19, A1231 & Cherry Blossom Way both directions.

SERVICE DISRUPTION UPDATE 16:45
Services X7, X9 & X10 are delayed due to flooding around Peterlee & Wingate.

Flooding at the Honest Lawyer Pub at Croxdale is delaying service X21.

Killingworth Lake has burst its banks, services 17 & 353 diverting via West Bailey & Northumbrian Way.

Hazlerigg & Dudley are flooded; service 353 is delayed but running normal route.

Service X84 cannot serve Ovington due to the river level.

Service 74 is omitting Great Whittington.

All other services are operating normal route with minor delays.

Other news:

Regrettably the 17:47 X46 service will not run from Durham Bus Station due to a breakdown; we apologise for the delay to your journey.

So basically it's f00ked.

What bus broke down (hope it's 9119)?

(05 Jan 2016, 7:27 pm)DanPicken wrote So basically it's f00ked.

What bus broke down (hope it's 9119)?

seriously? ffs

(05 Jan 2016, 7:27 pm)DanPicken wrote So basically it's f00ked.

What bus broke down (hope it's 9119)?

Why?

I believe it was 9119 on the 18, which broke down.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:30 pm)Dan wrote Why?

Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken wrote Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

It would be lovely to have a constructive post from you.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken wrote Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

There is better buses, but I would rather have 9119 on the X21 than an old President.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken wrote Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

Well what else isn't cheap and plastic these days?

(05 Jan 2016, 7:37 pm)Jimmi wrote There is better buses, but I would rather have 9119 on the X21 than an old President.

I wouldn't purely because Presidents are a nicer ride if maintained well.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken wrote Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:37 pm)GX03 SVC wrote It would be lovely to have a constructive post from you.

I second that. I'm all for people saying they don't like something, but simply saying something is crap does not move a conversation forward.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:39 pm)Adrian wrote I second that. I'm all for people saying they don't like something, but simply saying something is crap does not move a conversation forward.

Some reasoning or a further explanation for that opinion as well.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:40 pm)R852 PRG wrote Some reasoning or a further explanation for that opinion as well.

They're made on the cheap compared to older double deckers which were more sturdy and don't crumble  like a Pacer.

(05 Jan 2016, 6:59 pm)Adrian wrote I can understand not notifying for every bus that's a couple of minutes late, but there shouldn't be that many breakdowns that it becomes a problem to notify customers via social media? Whether it be a 10 minute frequency or an hourly frequency, there's still going to be people waiting for that bus.

Last time I caught a 21 that broke down (wouldn't start at the station) we just hopped onto another service, going the same way and didn't really lose out for it. The 21 is so often delayed that most people wouldn't even notice if one was missing on most of the route.

OTOH, if I was relying on the X46 to get me to or from work, I'd miss it if it didn't run.

Mod note: I've removed a couple of posts before it escalates, and I'll pick up the issues individually.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:30 pm)LeeCalder wrote I believe it was 9119 on the 18, which broke down.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:33 pm)DanPicken wrote Because it's horrible and cheap so it wouldn't surprise me, plastic crap.

I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)

It did not break down - what a shame, eh?

(05 Jan 2016, 7:48 pm)Dan wrote I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)

It did not break down - what a shame, eh?

Was it 6037 as that failed a week or 2 ago?

Yes 9119 is plastic and cheap, nowhere as good as an Enviro 400 MMC, but it is better than a knackered, ancient President and Streetdecks on X21 will be an improvement on the current hotch potch of vehicles. If 6037 is out on X21 with no destination tomorrow then someone give the driver a sheet of A4 paper ... A3 even better ... and a black felt tip and tell him to write NEWCASTLE on one side and BISHOP AUCKLAND on the other and put it in the windscreen. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing and perfectly legal, even if the DDA secret police are about.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:51 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Yes 9119 is plastic and cheap, nowhere as good as an Enviro 400 MMC, but it is better than a knackered, ancient President and Streetdecks on X21 will be an improvement on the current hotch potch of vehicles. If 6037 is out on X21 with no destination tomorrow then someone give the driver a sheet of A4 paper ... A3 even better ... and a black felt tip and tell him to write NEWCASTLE on one side and BISHOP AUCKLAND on the other and put it in the windscreen. Not ideal, but it's better than nothing and perfectly legal, even if the DDA secret police are about.

What have DDA / PSVAR regulations got to do with anything?

6037 is a double-deck vehicle, so does not have to comply with these regulations until 1 January 2017.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:38 pm)DanPicken wrote I wouldn't purely because Presidents are a nicer ride if maintained well.

They're ancient, though. No amount of maintenance can keep a V reg bus reliable enough to make several 3 hour round trips a day, no matter how good a bus it used to be. I'm a big fan of the Presidents as they can offer a nice ride but they're past their best, they're largely beginning to fail permanently and some of them even leak when it rains.

I doubt if the streetdecks will ever see their 16th birthdays in active service and I do think they are somewhat underpowered for rural routes, but they meet with current efficiency and emissions standards without costing as much as some other buses do. I can understand why GNE have bought them. I'll just not sit at the back downstairs, so I don't get to cringe at the engine on the A167.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:48 pm)Dan wrote I'm sorry to disappoint, but 9119 operated the following:
- 14:34 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Newcastle)
- 16:05 #X21 (Newcastle - Bishop Auckland)
- 17:45 #X21 (Bishop Auckland - Durham)
- 18:35 #X46 (Durham - Beechburn Industrial Estate)

It did not break down - what a shame, eh?

Ah right, I was told by a former Crook driver (Now at Scarlet Band) that it had broken down on the 18.

(05 Jan 2016, 7:53 pm)BusLoverMum wrote They're ancient, though. No amount of maintenance can keep a V reg bus reliable enough to make several 3 hour round trips a day, no matter how good a bus it used to be. I'm a big fan of the Presidents as they can offer a nice ride but they're past their best, they're largely beginning to fail permanently and some of them even leak when it rains.

I doubt if the streetdecks will ever see their 16th birthdays in active service and I do think they are somewhat underpowered for rural routes, but they meet with current efficiency and emissions standards without costing as much as some other buses do. I can understand why GNE have bought them. I'll just not sit at the back downstairs, so I don't get to cringe at the engine on the A167.

Agree with this statement but I can't see the Streetdecks lasting in the long term as you've said. I think that Go Ahead do have a good relationship with Wrightbus though and this perhaps heavily influenced their decision to buy the Streetdeck. Bar the SPDs, MPDs and Lolynes / Presidents, GNE have never had such a working relationship with ADL and GNE haven't purchased any Scania products since 2006 / 2007.

I do think that if the demand is there in the near future, Wrightbus could end up offering a double deck heavyweight chassis / body combination again (either integral with Cummins 6.7 Engine as used in ADL E400 / E400MMC or in conjunction with Volvo offering the 7.7 litre unit) but bar ADL offering a Scania heavyweight chassis in combinated with the E400 / E400MMC bodywork , I think the market forces at Wrightbus are geared towards lightweight units. I don't think that the B8RLE on a Wright body will last long at all TBH.

And although on paper the Cummins 6.7 unit is a fairly decent engine, some of Arriva's examples of DB300s have become sluggish and tired already but whether that could just be down to the use of Voith Gearboxes rather than ZF or poor setup by Wrightbus, who knows?

Merc Engines are pretty good in terms of reliability as proven by the Citaros and I don't think that the OM934 will have any problems reliability wise despite it being a bit slow in a double decker. The Streetdeck might even manage to last 16 years despite it's characteristics for all we know yet.

Exactly my point. Deckers don't need to be DDA. And I doubt that in the real world anyone is going to be worried about even a single decker going round with no destination for a day or two until it can be fixed. Anything is better than a bus being cancelled. Yes it's reasonable to expect wheelchair access, but many of the DDA regulations are obsessive pedantry and are unfair expense to small operators trying to run buses where everything favours the big guys.

I forgot to mention, one of the Redarrow B9's blind wasn't working. It wasn't showing the service number, but did show the destination and via points.