1611 Is the dart

www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/10893956.Updated__Driver_of_4x4_arrested_after_crash_in_Darlington_town_centre_leaves_passenger_dead/?ref=twtrec

The Northern Echo have updated the story and it seems the driver of the 4x4 has been arrested and the person who died was a passenger in that vehicle.
Another passenger is still receiving treatment.

Just seen 1474 offside branded for 6 " the captains tale", nearside NO Branding. Half hearted or is this because it interworks with the 46 on a sunday?

I don't know what will happen to the bus because I got told that any bus that is involved in a serious fatal collision is transferred to another depot. 1498 was transferred from Jesmond to Darlington when that was involved in the crash in Gosforth after repair. What could happen is the bus will probably be swapped after repair with another one around the country saying it is a very new bus that has a limited purpose. It would be no good for any other depot in the North East so it would be likely that they would do a swap with the runcorn depot.

(22 Dec 2013, 2:21 pm)Davey Bowyer wrote I don't know what will happen to the bus because I got told that any bus that is involved in a serious fatal collision is transferred to another depot. 1498 was transferred from Jesmond to Darlington when that was involved in the crash in Gosforth after repair. What could happen is the bus will probably be swapped after repair with another one around the country saying it is a very new bus that has a limited purpose. It would be no good for any other depot in the North East so it would be likely that they would do a swap with the runcorn depot.

Not necessarily, 1443 wasn't transferred away from Stockton when involved in a fatal accident earlier this year.

Didnt 1498 only go to Darlington because it had already been replaced at jesmond by 1499/1500 from Blyth while it was away for repair.

That and the rumour of it been a jinx vehicle after it had been involved with 3 incidents since new.

First it was flooded.
Then it was in a collision with a Pedestrian.
Then it had the head on crash.

I don't get Arriva's fleet policy whatsoever. They just hoy on what they want on any given route with no consistency, poor fleet buying decisions, several London cascades and cascaded high floor vehicles from Yorkshire. Arriva have dug themselves a grave thanks to their ridiculous fleet buying policy of buying on the cheap and not thinking about the long run. They don't see the implications of buying cheap buses that are wholly not suited to the purpose that Arriva would want. One example is the E400 purchases and the VDL DB300 Gemini 2 purchases. Both buses come with the same Cummins Engine that is only designed for use in Towns and Cities. Now Arriva could've shelled out a bit more with regards to the Wrightbus orders and purchased the Volvo B9TL chassis instead. If they had've done that instead if buying the VDL chassis with the Cummins Engine, they would now have a very strong fleet across the Blyth and Ashington depots that would give a good 7 to 10 years of reliability and peformance to Arriva. But did they think about that? No, they just buy the cheapest of the lot and run them into the ground. If GNE had've bought the VDL Gemini instead of the B9TL Gemini for the TEN, TTX and Red Arrows, they'd be constantly be VOR and after just a few years, they would require serious maintenance dueto them being used for the wrong purpose. What is Arriva going to do in years to come when the 9 litre Lowlanders have seen better days? The only option they'll have is to buy average Scania E400's that don't quite match up to the standards of the Volvo B9TL.

(22 Dec 2013, 11:57 pm)Davey Bowyer wrote I don't get Arriva's fleet policy whatsoever. They just hoy on what they want on any given route with no consistency, poor fleet buying decisions, several London cascades and cascaded high floor vehicles from Yorkshire. Arriva have dug themselves a grave thanks to their ridiculous fleet buying policy of buying on the cheap and not thinking about the long run. They don't see the implications of buying cheap buses that are wholly not suited to the purpose that Arriva would want. One example is the E400 purchases and the VDL DB300 Gemini 2 purchases. Both buses come with the same Cummins Engine that is only designed for use in Towns and Cities. Now Arriva could've shelled out a bit more with regards to the Wrightbus orders and purchased the Volvo B9TL chassis instead. If they had've done that instead if buying the VDL chassis with the Cummins Engine, they would now have a very strong fleet across the Blyth and Ashington depots that would give a good 7 to 10 years of reliability and peformance to Arriva. But did they think about that? No, they just buy the cheapest of the lot and run them into the ground. If GNE had've bought the VDL Gemini instead of the B9TL Gemini for the TEN, TTX and Red Arrows, they'd be constantly be VOR and after just a few years, they would require serious maintenance dueto them being used for the wrong purpose. What is Arriva going to do in years to come when the 9 litre Lowlanders have seen better days? The only option they'll have is to buy average Scania E400's that don't quite match up to the standards of the Volvo B9TL.

No, notice that the B9TLs on the X9/X10 have been proving unreliable in the last few months and they are only 16 months old! The DB300s have proved themselves more than capable on the fast express between Blyth and Newcastle as well as on the X1/X2. And actually, Cummins engines are actually quite decent engines, just depends how they are set up. Also you fail to realise as of Euro6, the Volvo decker is the B5TL, so no 9 litre engine anymore (and funny enough, it was the operators that requests the 5 litre engine, Volvo were originally going for the B8TL to go with the B8RLE and the B8R). As do Scania's deckers! you do realises they can be ordered with 3 different BHP ratings (Stagecoach have been ordering the lowest one, the 230, while there is also the 270 and the 310 options).

As for vehicle allocation, it's the same as everyone else - the newest vehicles are used on the most profitable routes, which are the ones that can justify them.

(23 Dec 2013, 12:59 am)Kuyoyo wrote No, notice that the B9TLs on the X9/X10 have been proving unreliable in the last few months and they are only 16 months old! The DB300s have proved themselves more than capable on the fast express between Blyth and Newcastle as well as on the X1/X2. And actually, Cummins engines are actually quite decent engines, just depends how they are set up. Also you fail to realise as of Euro6, the Volvo decker is the B5TL, so no 9 litre engine anymore (and funny enough, it was the operators that requests the 5 litre engine, Volvo were originally going for the B8TL to go with the B8RLE and the B8R). As do Scania's deckers! you do realises they can be ordered with 3 different BHP ratings (Stagecoach have been ordering the lowest one, the 230, while there is also the 270 and the 310 options).

As for vehicle allocation, it's the same as everyone else - the newest vehicles are used on the most profitable routes, which are the ones that can justify them.

The DB300s aren't as reliable as you'd ideally like but they do ok on express routes, they are limited at 50mph though which isn't ideal. Many have undergone expensive engine rebuilds at 2-3 years old! Having said that, the B9s on X9/X10 are starting to have issues too, the 0710 X10 from Middlesbrough hasn't run the morning because it broke down coming south. They're both decent vehicles but not designed for the purpose they're used on.

Stockton Omnicity 4659 has re-entered service this morning after a few months off having a new engine fitted. It's on X6s today.

(23 Dec 2013, 11:10 am)tyresmoke wrote Stockton Omnicity 4659 has re-entered service this morning after a few months off having a new engine fitted. It's on X6s today.

Still no repaint since new then?

The best ever engine to have been made was the Volvo D10-245 as used in the Palatine II's. Whenever I've been on one of them, as soon as I heard the engine kick in, I knew for certain that despite the age of the bus, it was being powered by a solid and well built engine with steady but progressive power. The Volvo Olympian Palatine II is my childhood bus and I have many fond memories of riddng aboard one on the 44, 306, 356 and I even remember Coastline using them for a short spell on the 308 when they were only a couple of years old. The Volvo Olympian Palatine II was an absolutely fantastic motor to ride on back in their golden days of being new. They're starting to age and die off with Euro and DDA requirements but with the exception of 7419's engine failure, the 35 D10 powred Volvo Olympians that have been in service across the North East since 97/98 have served Arriva and GNE very well and with the one exception of the above, they have kept going forever and whether they were being used for a run down the Coast Road to Tynemouth or a 80 mile round run to Middlesborough, they were nothing more than bloody good workhorses! They'll be a big miss to me when GNE start withdrawing them like what Arriva did. I had a ride on one on the 309 on Thursday Night and despite the fact it was 15 years old, it was still going strong. No other bus can beat a D10-245 powered Volvo Olympian Palatine II.

(23 Dec 2013, 11:28 am)Roland Pratt wrote Still no repaint since new then?

They won't bother as it'll get done next year in the refurb program.

Arriva fleetlist updated - everything should be up-to-date and correct as multiple sources have been used as ever.
PM me if you do spot an error I haven't amended or an update I haven't made though!

Ta.

Noticed 1476 also has only offside branding for the captains tale. Why has it not got nearside branding like 1474?, the X1 "the best one" is branded both sides as has the sapphire. I'm gonna look at the X10/X11 when i'm in newcastle next because it is completely baffling.

Anyone know when the live map will be updated to include Tyne and Wear and Northumberland?

Oops, even in promotional videos Arriva can't have the correct buses on the X10/X11..!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxNa67-sL...e=youtu.be

Stockton drivers are raising money for charity today with a Christmas dress up day

The second Pulsar to be de-branded at Stockton is 1452, meaning the end of the '29' branding and officially should see the end of Pulsars on the route

(24 Dec 2013, 8:34 pm)Kuyoyo wrote The second Pulsar to be de-branded at Stockton is 1452, meaning the end of the '29' branding and officially should see the end of Pulsars on the route

Won't be so fresh in the new year!

(23 Dec 2013, 10:13 pm)nk55 wrote Noticed 1476 also has only offside branding for the captains tale. Why has it not got nearside branding like 1474?, the X1 "the best one" is branded both sides as has the sapphire. I'm gonna look at the X10/X11 when i'm in newcastle next because it is completely baffling.

At the moment, some of the 1473-79 pulsars have nearside advert boards, some have been removed in preparation of vinyls being added but since the pulsars are out almost every day, it's taking some time by the looks of it.

Training coach 9993 is in Stockton yard today which should be 1212 V212DJR but as it's missing a few front panels I've not been able to check yet.

I'm assuming this will be the one I saw being towed past Thorpe Thewles on Christmas Eve

I find arriva day and weekly tickets a mish mash of some quoting zones i.e. triple zone or local areas i.e. Durham Darlington Surely a zone system of letters or numbers would be more appropriate and be easier for drivers to check and could be in large enough print to make this an easy read. Ticket variants are introduced and amended e g Bishop Area ticket extended to Durham and Crook and Durham District well extended beyond what could be considered as LOCAL.At the last price rise the All Zones went up to £7.30 which customers expected and accepted but this was closely followed by the Durham County ticket which apparently should have been available at the price rise but was late.These two tickets are confusing and unnecessary as you can travel in and out of Teesside and Darlington with a County ticket The X1 ticket is exceptional value and is available also on the No1 covering areas where X1 does not even go eg parts of Shildon and Heighington Also the X1 now goes to Tow Law leading to overriding as the X1 ticket was introduced to be used from Crook Market Place It seems tickets are introduced by marketing or amended without consideration as to they will work in practice

(27 Dec 2013, 10:44 am)tyresmoke wrote Training coach 9993 is in Stockton yard today which should be 1212 V212DJR but as it's missing a few front panels I've not been able to check yet.

A quick look in the cab confirmed it as 1212...
Photo attached

Whitby service changes from 26th January 2014
Service 91 will no longer operate
Service 94 will run to a revised timetable with basic frequency cut from every 20 mins to every 30 mins
Service 95 will be revised to run as a service 95/96 in a loop every 30 mins to Sleights. 95 will run to Sleights via Ruswarp, returning direct via Guisborough Road, while 96 will run in the opposite direction each once an hour.
This means the PVR of town services drops from 3 to 2.

From Easter, the new Whitby Park & Ride will start running from the new build site at Crossbutts on the A171 road out to Guisborough. Buses will run every 15 minutes operating via a loop in the town centre, including the bus station giving links with other services. This will be operated by Arriva with 2 vehicles, which is likely to be Solos. The service will run until the end of October between 0800-1900 every day.

Also starting around the same time is the new "Esk Valley Hopper" which will be a new tourist service running from Whitby to Danby via Ruswarp, Sleights, Grosmont, Egton Bridge and Lealholm every hour between 0900-1600. This will run at weekends and every day during the peak summer holiday season (kids holidays basically) between Easter and October. It will be operated by Coastal & Country.

(30 Dec 2013, 9:34 am)tyresmoke wrote Whitby service changes from 26th January 2014
Service 91 will no longer operate
Service 94 will run to a revised timetable with basic frequency cut from every 20 mins to every 30 mins
Service 95 will be revised to run as a service 95/96 in a loop every 30 mins to Sleights. 95 will run to Sleights via Ruswarp, returning direct via Guisborough Road, while 96 will run in the opposite direction each once an hour.
This means the PVR of town services drops from 3 to 2.

From Easter, the new Whitby Park & Ride will start running from the new build site at Crossbutts on the A171 road out to Guisborough. Buses will run every 15 minutes operating via a loop in the town centre, including the bus station giving links with other services. This will be operated by Arriva with 2 vehicles, which is likely to be Solos. The service will run until the end of October between 0800-1900 every day.

Also starting around the same time is the new "Esk Valley Hopper" which will be a new tourist service running from Whitby to Danby via Ruswarp, Sleights, Grosmont, Egton Bridge and Lealholm every hour between 0900-1600. This will run at weekends and every day during the peak summer holiday season (kids holidays basically) between Easter and October. It will be operated by Coastal & Country.

Are these changes good or bad, not sure of the services in Whitby

Their doing a better job than GNE with announcing changes.. lol

(30 Dec 2013, 1:28 pm)Michael wrote Are these changes good or bad, not sure of the services in Whitby

Their doing a better job than GNE with announcing changes.. lol

It means Castle Park loses its service, and Ruswarp drops to an hourly service (currently half hourly).

Seeing as its been posted elsewhere, I can now confirm that Arriva NE will be receiving 47 new vehicles next year across the region, with the potential for more if we do well
They will be a mix of midi, single and double deck vehicles, benefiting passengers from Northumbria to North Yorkshire...

Arriva logo set to vanish as bus transition begins:


Arriva’s logo will be making a vanishing act come Thursday, when the British transport operator will officially end its ill-fated two-and-a-half-year journey in Malta. A spokeswoman for the Transport Ministry confirmed that Arriva Malta’s brand name would start to be phased out from January 2.

“The short timeframes do not allow for all bus liveries to be changed overnight but an effort will be made to remove the Arriva logo from tickets and other instances where it appears,” she said.

The start of the transition should be a normal day for commuters as Transport Malta will “prioritise customer service over branding”.

In a move which averted the company filing for liquidation – a messy prospect for both Arriva and the government – Transport Malta has taken over the company and a portion of its substantial debts. However, the government will not remain the owner and will eventually issue a call for expressions of interest for another private operator.

source:
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/vie...sMo3a-YZMs