RE: Arriva North East: Rare & Odd Workings - February 2016
Coastliner streetlite on 46
Skip to main content
(14 Feb 2016, 3:43 pm)Kuyoyo wrote Also the fact it's a Sunday, reduced PVR requirements on the 306/308 means there's spare Streetlites, so why not use them on other work instead of keeping them in on Sundays (same way that Redcar depot now use their Sapphire Streetlites on 3/81 and 63/22/64a on Sundays as well as Pulsars on 63/22/64a).
(14 Feb 2016, 3:45 pm)DanPicken wrote Red Kite Streetlite's are 45/6 branded but do the X70 or used to.
(14 Feb 2016, 3:52 pm)Dan wrote Yes.
(14 Feb 2016, 3:44 pm)Dan wrote Because they are route branded for service 306.
(14 Feb 2016, 3:56 pm)R852 PRG wrote But Go North East try and cut costs by using low-fuel consumption vehicles as opposed to heavy drinkers, so why can't Arriva do it when said vehicles aren't required as part of the PVR on their branded routes?
(14 Feb 2016, 3:50 pm)Dan wrote Yes, and the Streetlites and Solos are allocated to just about every service at Stanley on evenings and Sundays.
Just because Go North East do it, does not justify Arriva doing it, and I have voiced my opinions on scheduled 'wrong brand' allocations in the past.
(14 Feb 2016, 4:04 pm)Michael wrote The whole allocation on a evening/weekend always brings the debate of branding up.
To me, whats ever branded, should be on the route, even if the route uses a Cadet etc.
Isn't that the whole point in branding?
(14 Feb 2016, 4:06 pm)DanPicken wrote You've just proved the point of Arriva doing it because they're more efficient.
(14 Feb 2016, 4:38 pm)mb134 wrote Don't you usually bang on about the costs of running a company? Is it a different story when Arriva is involved?
(14 Feb 2016, 4:02 pm)Dan wrote Go North East's changes to the Stanley network in October 2015 saw evening and Sunday allocations revised to that they primarily operated with fuel-efficient Optare Solos and Wright Streetlites, which also qualify for an enhanced rate of BSOG payment. I completely understand the logistics behind these allocations (so you needn't attempt to inform me), and, as I said before, I voiced my opinions on branding going out of the window by 6pm with regards to Go North East's examples of this happening at the time of the aforementioned service revisions.
(14 Feb 2016, 4:47 pm)Adrian wrote I think the point is being missed here. Branded vehicles off route cause confusion of customers, not to mention that it looks crap. That is irrespective of who is running it, what the reasons for doing it are, or what vehicle is being used.Got to agree here, in Darlington this afternoon I observed the following branded buses on wrong branded routes.
You brand something because you want a customer to look out for that striking brand. So it's a poor and confusing customer experience to then go and shove it on another route to save a bit of cash. Not to mention that it's got the number of the route and destination points on the side of it!
(14 Feb 2016, 4:54 pm)Jimmi wrote Got to agree here, in Darlington this afternoon I observed the following branded buses on wrong branded routes.On the subject of route branding Arriva have used it in the past on the 's' reg darts and prestiges and later on the Darlington Town Network e.g. Firthmoor Flyer and so should have known better when Sapphire and Max were introduced that there would be interworking and every chance of buses being on the incorrect services.I agree that there was scope to promote the up market benefits of the upgraded buses but surely promoting them as Sparkle or Quick Links would have been far enough to go and a better bus off service could be classed as a bonus and the buses being only generic they could be swopped as necessary.Destinations could be used as a route branding tool
Frequenta 2 EcoCitys: 1B, 5A and Morton Park 12's.
Frequenta 3/3A/3B: 4 (interworks with the 3) and 8.
Frequenta 9/10: Hurworth 12's and X75.
Sapphire 7 Pulsar: 19 (interworks with the 7).
Obviously I get why the above are done, but it looks sloppy and unprofessional.
(14 Feb 2016, 6:32 pm)upt50k wrote On the subject of route branding Arriva have used it in the past on the 's' reg darts and prestiges and later on the Darlington Town Network e.g. Firthmoor Flyer and so should have known better when Sapphire and Max were introduced that there would be interworking and every chance of buses being on the incorrect services.I agree that there was scope to promote the up market benefits of the upgraded buses but surely promoting them as Sparkle or Quick Links would have been far enough to go and a better bus off service could be classed as a bonus and the buses being only generic they could be swopped as necessary.Destinations could be used as a route branding toolThing with Sapphire and MAX interworking is when the 7 went Sapphire they stopped it interworking with the 5A on evenings and Sundays with the 7 becoming standalone on a night on a more tight but achievable timetable and on Sundays it just did driver shuttles to/from Faverdale depot, but as part of fairly recent service changes in order to save resources it seemed the 7 started interworking with the 19 and now we have Frequenta's appearing on non town work on Sundays making things look stupid as well. The timetable and allocations of the 19 has changed so much since Arriva started operating the 19 in 2012 I'm surprised that some of the passengers can keep up, dare bet it'll change again soon. Oh God the previous Darlington Town brand was a farce as well, every morning the 19 that ran to/from Aycliffe (before Scarlet Band took over the service) would be operated by a service 11 branded bus (or sometimes a service 2 bus) and everytime something broke down on a out of town route they would take a town bus off and put it on the non town route as a replacement, frequently saw Firth Moor Flyers on the 21 and X66. Now the same is happening with Frequenta, think instead of generic Frequenta's they should have left them in the standard livery, so at least they wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb on the likes of the Sunday 8's or as a breakdown replacement.