(14 Dec 2016, 6:36 pm)R838PRG wrote Was it a Saturday morning?

aye... 11.30 into N'cl

(16 Dec 2016, 6:52 am)C785 OCN wrote Anybody out there know where to get the Indigo East Durham paper timetables from? Tried Durham bus station & the Indigo buses themselves but no luck.

Email GNE and ask them to send a timetable out through the post.


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(16 Dec 2016, 3:42 pm)Michael wrote Might cause fares to go up in some area's that's the only problem.



Orange zone is just stupid.

I would merge: 

Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth and Seaton Sluice with the Blue zone

Maften, Newbrough, Hexham, Corbridge, Whitley chapel, Allendale town and Allenheads with the Cherry zone.

Obviously we have just seen a price increase for fares and for a business who needs (and presumably wants) to attract customers who are pushed for cash...

My regular fare to Durham has gone up well above inflation, by almost 2.5%.

Granted wages have gone up as part of the Living Wage initiative, but fuel costs have dropped massively.

Compared to 2015, fuel costs under the hedging scheme have dropped by over 20% from 2015 to 2018 (the final year of 100% fully hedged.

Fuel hedging prices
FY’15 FY’16 FY’17 FY’18 FY’19* FY’20* FY’21*
% hedged 100% 100% 100% 100% 60% 30% 10%
Price (pence per litre) 48.5 45.4 36.4 34.7 32.3 33.4 35.1

Washington 6142 has damage to external panel rIght hand side of lower rear window. Quite an indent on the shiny new blue paintwork.

(16 Dec 2016, 12:17 pm)Dan wrote Chester-le-Street has withdrawn the final Lolyne in the fleet (3872) and also the first Scania L94 in the fleet (4928).

With last Lolyne withdrawn, when are the remaining Olympians due to be withdrawn from Stanley? Obvs they have to be gone within 2 weeks

6143 on full duties (northerns) for all interested.
It's on an X71 finish, so:
6A: SBS 0655 -> 0751 NES
6: NES 0805 -> 0922 SBS
6: SBS 0930 -> 1049 NES
X70: NES 1055 -> 1149 CBS
X71: CBS 1225 -> 1325 NES
6: NES 1335 -> 1452 SBS
6: SBS 1530 -> 1649 NES
X71: NES 1700 -> 1751 CBS
I don't know the board numbers of Consett finishes, unlike Stanley's.




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(17 Dec 2016, 2:25 pm)JP6004 wrote With last Lolyne withdrawn, when are the remaining Olympians due to be withdrawn from Stanley? Obvs they have to be gone within 2 weeks

They could be withdrawn now Stanley's PVR has now technically decreased.

(17 Dec 2016, 2:39 pm)S813 FVK wrote They could be withdrawn now Stanley's PVR has now technically decreased.

Decreased? How?

(17 Dec 2016, 2:50 pm)JP6004 wrote Decreased? How?

Some schools have broke up for Christmas so they won't be needed.

(17 Dec 2016, 2:59 pm)Michael wrote Some schools have broke up for Christmas so they won't be needed.

Broke up already!!!! Least buses on a morning will be bang on time. I'm working right up to 23rd 

(17 Dec 2016, 2:25 pm)JP6004 wrote With last Lolyne withdrawn, when are the remaining Olympians due to be withdrawn from Stanley? Obvs they have to be gone within 2 weeks

3814 has now been withdrawn.

The withdrawal of 3822, 3830 and 3831 is outstanding, following recent cascades.
The withdrawal of 3832 will not take place until Stanley transfers 6132 to Percy Main in exchange for Trident 3888.

(17 Dec 2016, 3:13 pm)Dan wrote 3814 has now been withdrawn.

The withdrawal of 3822, 3830 and 3831 is outstanding, following recent cascades.
The withdrawal of 3832 will not take place until Stanley transfers 6132 to Percy Main in exchange for Trident 3888.

Muchas

(17 Dec 2016, 3:09 pm)JP6004 wrote Broke up already!!!! Least buses on a morning will be bang on time. I'm working right up to 23rd 

Yup, some break up next week Wednesday too.

School near me finished at 12pm yesterday, no point in going to school if u finish at thay time.


Alright for some, i'm at work between 27th and 30th December....

(17 Dec 2016, 2:59 pm)Michael wrote Some schools have broke up for Christmas so they won't be needed.

Indeed. We broke up yesterday so the boards the Olympians were allocated to won't operate again until Wednesday 4th January.

Obviously it hasn't decreased by that much as the journeys that are attached to the scholars boards (eg the 17:05 45 from Newcastle) still needs to operate.

(17 Dec 2016, 3:15 pm)Michael wrote Yup, some break up next week Wednesday too.

School near me finished at 12pm yesterday, no point in going to school if u finish at thay time.


Alright for some, i'm at work between 27th and 30th December....

Same here but I'm off 30th. Saturday service on 921. Not impressed to be waking up an hour earlier 

(17 Dec 2016, 3:18 pm)S813 FVK wrote Indeed. We broke up yesterday so the boards the Olympians were allocated to won't operate again until Wednesday 4th January.

Obviously it hasn't decreased by that much as the journeys that are attached to the scholars boards (eg the 17:05 45 from Newcastle) still needs to operate.

There are only a few scholar boards that even run into public service. The X30 board covers the 836, so this isn't an issue. These are the known scholars-public service interworkings;
> 828 - 6 - X70
> 826 - ?
> 82? - V8
> X78 - 45
Correct me if there are more.

I do believe that the 45 boards swap around one of the scholars, so which ever red kite bus is normally on scholars is likely to drop light to Newcastle.

The only reason the 828 runs onto a northerns board is because one of the northerns pvr is sent onto a scholars run elsewhere, so this eliminates this as an issue.

A mini does the 831 in the afternoon, so this eliminates the V8 issue.

The omnidekka just omits the scholars to bridgehill (826?) and just continues as normal.


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(17 Dec 2016, 3:15 pm)Michael wrote Yup, some break up next week Wednesday too.

School near me finished at 12pm yesterday, no point in going to school if u finish at thay time.


Alright for some, i'm at work between 27th and 30th December....

(17 Dec 2016, 4:51 pm)JP6004 wrote Same here but I'm off 30th. Saturday service on 921. Not impressed to be waking up an hour earlier 

You mean people are at work in that period? Its as if the operators are totally oblivious to the demands of the travelling public... .


The sooner revisions are made to these services during the Christmas period, the better. Saturday service may work for them, it doesnt for all of their paying customers.

(17 Dec 2016, 5:04 pm)Andreos1 wrote You mean people are at work in that period? Its as if the operators are totally oblivious to the demands of the travelling public... .


The sooner revisions are made to these services during the Christmas period, the better. Saturday service may work for them, it doesnt for all of their paying customers.

Can we drop the sarcasm please?

I'm totally aware of why a Saturday service is run and I wasn't complaining about it. It is my own choice to travel at that time as I'll be doing things on the evening.

(17 Dec 2016, 5:15 pm)JP6004 wrote Can we drop the sarcasm please?

I'm totally aware of why a Saturday service is run and I wasn't complaining about it. It is my own choice to travel at that time as I'll be doing things on the evening.

I wasnt being sarcastic towards you. It wasn't a post about you. It was the operators I was talking about and their commercial decisions.

(17 Dec 2016, 3:13 pm)Dan wrote 3814 has now been withdrawn.

The withdrawal of 3822, 3830 and 3831 is outstanding, following recent cascades.
The withdrawal of 3832 will not take place until Stanley transfers 6132 to Percy Main in exchange for Trident 3888.

Although it doesn't really matter now as most services will be extremely fluid, what will the allocations for the St Bede's scholars look like in January if you have them please?

(17 Dec 2016, 4:57 pm)Jamie M wrote There are only a few scholar boards that even run into public service. The X30 board covers the 836, so this isn't an issue. These are the known scholars-public service interworkings;
> 828 - 6 - X70
> 826 - ?
> 82? - V8
> X78 - 45
Correct me if there are more.

I do believe that the 45 boards swap around one of the scholars, so which ever red kite bus is normally on scholars is likely to drop light to Newcastle.

The only reason the 828 runs onto a northerns board is because one of the northerns pvr is sent onto a scholars run elsewhere, so this eliminates this as an issue.

A mini does the 831 in the afternoon, so this eliminates the V8 issue.

The omnidekka just omits the scholars to bridgehill (826?) and just continues as normal.


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I have created a document with what I think are the full boards of the buses that operate the scholars services for St Bedes only (836 etc not included). It is however, probably riddled with mistakes:

(17 Dec 2016, 3:13 pm)Dan wrote 3814 has now been withdrawn.

The withdrawal of 3822, 3830 and 3831 is outstanding, following recent cascades.
The withdrawal of 3832 will not take place until Stanley transfers 6132 to Percy Main in exchange for Trident 3888.

3830 and 3831 were still in use as " Taxis " today, None escaped into service while I was there unfortunately.

In other news, 5336 has now entered service at Deptford, Running with 5335 and 4945 on evening 9 boards tonight, 5333 dropped out of service at 1835.

(17 Dec 2016, 5:44 pm)Andreos1 wrote I wasnt being sarcastic towards you. It wasn't a post about you. It was the operators I was talking about and their commercial decisions.

It's not just commercial operators though. Nexus, Northumberland and Durham run a Saturday service on most routes. Nexus don't run any of their secured works journeys.

(16 Dec 2016, 1:30 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote But the 9 is an illogical and badly conceived timetable with only one through service per hour making it less useful than it was and will therefore put off passengers. Service changes like this over the last few years have put GNE into a spiral of decline which is shown by the poor corporate financial results.

How do you know it has put off passengers? And as for an illogical timetable, hasn't it been suggested that actually it's secured by Nexus across the Tyne? How do you know it wasn't Nexus' decision to have the timetable in such a way and nothing to do with Go North East?

(16 Dec 2016, 4:41 pm)Jamie M wrote This is true. I didn't however mention that the factors aforementioned were completely irrelevant - it just seems a bit blatant to throw out anything as being a cause for the financial situation, although extrememly easy given the media's representation and a logical reason behind doing so.
The fact that most of the older buses are rattling, slow, stinking metal sheds is a factor, but so is fuel prices going up. The prices of parts to fix and maintain the buses is probably going up, too. There are so many factors which have an effect, that I believe that it's a bit unfair to weigh out one as being the fundamental reason behind it.

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I think you're right in what you say. It may well be that service changes, fares, vehicle quality has had a negative impact on patronage. But all we know is that the company's overall performance is below expectations. The recent service changes in Derwentside might have increased patronage and its other areas which have gone down even more!

Keep in mind Stagecoach have reduced their PVR in Sunderland significantly, who we would probably all agree have low fares, modern vehicles and a stable network - does that suggest there are wider factors at play such as the performance of the North East economy - rather than GNE being an awful bus company?

(17 Dec 2016, 8:47 pm)Crusader wrote I think you're right in what you say. It may well be that service changes, fares, vehicle quality has had a negative impact on patronage. But all we know is that the company's overall performance is below expectations. The recent service changes in Derwentside might have increased patronage and its other areas which have gone down even more!

Keep in mind Stagecoach have reduced their PVR in Sunderland significantly, who we would probably all agree have low fares, modern vehicles and a stable network - does that suggest there are wider factors at play such as the performance of the North East economy - rather than GNE being an awful bus company?

I think the North east economy is a big factor, here. Bus fares are expensive, anyhow and most of the people taking the bus can't afford those fares on a whim, so will limit their trips. During the week, a good 80% of passengers on my local route enjoy some sort of concessionary fare, whether free OAP/Disabled fares or student fares. I'm sure that, apart from some of the core shopping routes (eg X21), that changes very little across the region.

One thing really stuck with me today, though. 20 years ago, you couldn't pay me to go anywhere near Newcastle city centre on a Saturday in December. Well we did, today, and it wasn't significantly busier than a Saturday at the beginning of November. In the 90s, even on a weekday, you've be carried around by your shoulders by the crowds. At 2:20, this afternoon, Eldon Square and Northumberland street weren't even approaching that busy. I had a moment where we got into a bit of a snake and I thought someone might be fiddling with my backpack, but I turned quickly and there was actually no one behind me!

We caught a 21 to CLS just after 2:30 and sat downstairs, which was barely more than half full.

So why didnt percy main just get 6146 then send 3888 to stanley instead of sending 6146 there then sending 6132 to percy main.

(18 Dec 2016, 12:37 am)dannygee wrote So why didnt percy main just get 6146 then send 3888 to stanley instead of sending 6146 there then sending 6132 to percy main.

It's 6143.
6143 is going to have an advert on it - apparently to do with Derwentside or Durham, and is such white.
I think the price of paint is somewhat superficial, but this is a business that likes to save every penny - like most businesses.


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(18 Dec 2016, 1:44 am)Jamie M wrote It's 6143.
6143 is going to have an advert on it - apparently to do with Derwentside or Durham, and is such white.
I think the price of paint is somewhat superficial, but this is a business that likes to save every penny - like most businesses.


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But surely they could have painted 6132 for the advert.

(18 Dec 2016, 10:03 am)dannygee wrote But surely they could have painted 6132 for the advert.

Which would have been less cost effective surely? At least this way, only 1 bus needs to be repainted instead of 2.