(27 Jan 2020, 6:36 pm)Stanleyone wrote Question with regards to the Eldon Square destination display. All streetlites change to “Eldon Square” at the Metro Centre but the B9 (6118-21 & 49-61) don’t unless manually changed. How come?

The change is driven by the Next Stop A/V system, and the Volvo B9s don't have Next Stop A/V!

(27 Jan 2020, 5:23 pm)MrBoyt wrote Drove the 'new' 49A today, nice change not having to pootle all around Hanover Estate, but a shame that the next stop announcements haven't changed. I'm told there was an 'incident' with some angry old folks today when it didn't go through the estate despite it being announced...

Also that error on the timetable map is pretty shocking, and I'm not sure why we have a generic couple with shopping bags on there. For me after a few years here it seems like business as usual - Attempts at professional design and image all falling slightly short due to lack of attention to detail.

Also issues on toher services with them being the wrong way round, adding to this list of mistakes with everything this weekend.

(27 Jan 2020, 6:44 pm)L469 YVK wrote So have load factors improved on the 309/310/311? Just seen a tweet that a passenger had to go upstairs to find a seat and was complaining that the 309 & 310 was busier than usual.

Of course they are going to be busier when there is one less 309/310 per hour due to the introduction of the 311.

I'm back in work tomorrow so will give an update on loadings on the 309 in the coming days given I work on the Cobalt.

(27 Jan 2020, 7:28 pm)Malarkey wrote Of course they are going to be busier when there is one less 309/310 per hour due to the introduction of the 311.

I'm back in work tomorrow so will give an update on loadings on the 309 in the coming days given I work on the Cobalt.

I seen the 311 heading to Newcastle along the Coast Rd this morning and the loads seemed decent.

I suspect Arriva will probably end up doing the following:
- 306 & 308 reduced to every 20 mins each
- 306 pulled from Battle Hill Drive creating a simple 10 min frequency between Billy Mill and Newcastle
- Evening services reduced to hourly on both services (with them interworking and 308 getting more running time during the evenings)
- Section of 306 withdrawn between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay with 51A extended to Marden Estate via West Allotment, New York and Rake Lane
- X6 withdrawn

(27 Jan 2020, 8:04 pm)L469 YVK wrote I seen the 311 heading to Newcastle along the Coast Rd this morning and the loads seemed decent.

I suspect Arriva will probably end up doing the following:
- 306 & 308 reduced to every 20 mins each
- 306 pulled from Battle Hill Drive creating a simple 10 min frequency between Billy Mill and Newcastle
- Evening services reduced to hourly on both services (with them interworking and 308 getting more running time during the evenings)
- Section of 306 withdrawn between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay with 51A extended to Marden Estate via West Allotment, New York and Rake Lane
- X6 withdrawn

How can you suspect any of that? None of it makes sense.

- Why would they drop the frequency they've both been every 15 minutes forever and the 308 is one of Arriva's flagship routes and slightly less frequent than GNE as it is (8 buses vs 9 along the coast road).
- Removing the 306 from Battle Hill will remove the link from there to the coast and Tynemouth.
- The 306 and 308 are both busy at evenings why would they do that. Interworking also makes no sense the 308's at night run to Blyth and go into the depot why would you have dead running back to Jesmond or an empty extra bus from Blyth to Newcastle. Also they'd be less frequent than GNE.
- So removing the link from Marden to Whitley, Morrisons, Tynemouth and North Shields with Arriva and having an extremly long winded and pointless route along Rake Lane to Marden. (The recently axed 59 with 1 person a journey).
- Don't know enough on the X6 to comment on that.

(27 Jan 2020, 9:12 pm)Storx wrote How can you suspect any of that? None of it makes sense.

- Why would they drop the frequency they've both been every 15 minutes forever and the 308 is one of Arriva's flagship routes and slightly less frequent than GNE as it is (8 buses vs 9 along the coast road).

* 306 & 308 currently run on a 5/10 split between Billy Mill and Willington Square with the 308 taking the bulk of passengers. A combined 10 minute frequency would spread the load more evenly between them. ANE would still have the monopoly between Billy Mill and Station Road including Malton and Selby Gardens.

- Removing the 306 from Battle Hill will remove the link from there to the coast and Tynemouth.

* Battle Hill is mainly GNE territory now. If passengers needed a bus to the Coast or Tynemouth, it's not too far in most instances to walk to the Coast road. Removing the 306 from Battle Hill Drive would also improve reliability.

- The 306 and 308 are both busy at evenings why would they do that.

* GNE now operate a 20 minute service. Both the 310 & 311 departures at xx:05 and xx:25 will take passengers from Arriva between Newcastle and Station Road. Even if Arriva moved the 306 & 308 to xx:00,15,30,45 they'd still have 2x journeys at xx:30 (5 minutes after the 311) and xx:45 not guaranteed to pick up on shared corridor. If the 306 & 308 were reduced to hourly, the 308 would most likely run at xx:15 with the 306 running at xx:45.

- Interworking also makes no sense the 308's at night run to Blyth and go into the depot why would you have dead running back to Jesmond or an empty extra bus from Blyth to Newcastle. Also they'd be less frequent than GNE.

* From a timetable I've devised (which I will upload to the Arriva suggestions in due course), the only cross depot dead mileage would be as follows:
@ 1x Jesmond board running light back from Blyth between 1800-1900 (after doing a most likely profitable 17:10 308 journey to Blyth).
@ 1x Jesmond board running light to Whitley Bay to commence a short 308 to Newcastle on a Saturday morning.

- So removing the link from Marden to Whitley, Morrisons, Tynemouth and North Shields with Arriva and having an extremly long winded and pointless route along Rake Lane to Marden. (The recently axed 59 with 1 person a journey).

* 51A would be roughly be the same if not slightly quicker than the 306. 51A would provide links to Morrisons. GNE's 1/1A provide links to Whitley Bay, Tynemouth and North Shields from Marden.

- Don't know enough on the X6 to comment on that.

(27 Jan 2020, 8:04 pm)L469 YVK wrote I seen the 311 heading to Newcastle along the Coast Rd this morning and the loads seemed decent.

I suspect Arriva will probably end up doing the following:
- 306 & 308 reduced to every 20 mins each
- 306 pulled from Battle Hill Drive creating a simple 10 min frequency between Billy Mill and Newcastle
- Evening services reduced to hourly on both services (with them interworking and 308 getting more running time during the evenings)
- Section of 306 withdrawn between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay with 51A extended to Marden Estate via West Allotment, New York and Rake Lane
- X6 withdrawn

What is it with your obsession with changing the 306/308........you say almost every other week how you think Arriva will change it or they'll be replaced with an X38 etc and yet here they are still running more or less the same as they have for years and years previous. And now your suggestions are ending up in the GNE thread when they aren't even GNE services!

(27 Jan 2020, 11:10 pm)peter wrote What is it with your obsession with changing the 306/308........you say almost every other week how you think Arriva will change it or they'll be replaced with an X38 etc and yet here they are still running more or less the same as they have for years and years previous. And now your suggestions are ending up in the GNE thread when they aren't even GNE services!

Not a suggestion, more of a prediction if anything in response to the market. As quoted by another user in previous posts when the changes were released, he rightly quoted it would be sensible for Arriva to follow suit and drop their equivalent services to every 20 minutes.

And my example timetable (which I'll post in the Arriva thread) will demonstrate that it would be possible for the 306 & 308 to be shared between Blyth and Jesmond.

If Arriva could have the opportunity to reduce their PVR from 21x (306/308/51/51A) to 17x whilst only losing a fraction of their current revenue, I'm sure they would.

Will corporate streetdeck 6301 eventually get advert frames applied?

(28 Jan 2020, 8:40 am)ne14ne1 wrote Will corporate streetdeck 6301 eventually get advert frames applied?

Yes.

6103's next stop screen needs looking at , looks like it's moved slightly to the left & also has Sandyford road portland terrace really quiet .

L469 YVK wrote- Why would they drop the frequency they've both been every 15 minutes forever and the 308 is one of Arriva's flagship routes and slightly less frequent than GNE as it is (8 buses vs 9 along the coast road).

* 306 & 308 currently run on a 5/10 split between Billy Mill and Willington Square with the 308 taking the bulk of passengers. A combined 10 minute frequency would spread the load more evenly between them. ANE would still have the monopoly between Billy Mill and Station Road including Malton and Selby Gardens.

It's 2 bus stops... You might stablilise the frequency of the Coast Road but at the same time you'll decrease the frequency of areas where they only serve: Blyth Ridley Park, Lynn Road, Tynemouth -> Billy Mill. The point of the 306/308 is for customers after the Middle Engine Lane not the rest of the Coast Road, it just runs along there as it's the quickest way. You've also at the same time decreased the frequency of the Coast Road from 7.5 minutes to 10 minutes which isn't competitive at all to a 6/7 minute bus service. The bigger problem with GNE is the fact Stagecoach pushed the 1 and 28 into Cobalt which is taking the numbers from the 309/310 and the 309/310 aren't very competitive from anywhere East of Cobalt as they're slower and used to be (not sure now) more expensive aswell.

L469 YVK wrote- Removing the 306 from Battle Hill will remove the link from there to the coast and Tynemouth.

* Battle Hill is mainly GNE territory now. If passengers needed a bus to the Coast or Tynemouth, it's not too far in most instances to walk to the Coast road. Removing the 306 from Battle Hill Drive would also improve reliability.

It's not close at all to walk to the other side of the Coast Road at all especially under the subways which are grim. It's strange one day people want competition on here the next minute we want monopolies.

L469 YVK wrote- The 306 and 308 are both busy at evenings why would they do that.

* GNE now operate a 20 minute service. Both the 310 & 311 departures at xx:05 and xx:25 will take passengers from Arriva between Newcastle and Station Road. Even if Arriva moved the 306 & 308 to xx:00,15,30,45 they'd still have 2x journeys at xx:30 (5 minutes after the 311) and xx:45 not guaranteed to pick up on shared corridor. If the 306 & 308 were reduced to hourly, the 308 would most likely run at xx:15 with the 306 running at xx:45.

They might take passengers between Newcastle and Station Road but your missing the rest of the route where people are more likely to go. You do realise it's like £1.90 for a single between Newcastle and there or it used to be, there's not much money in carrying those passengers. It's more about people travelling to Lynn Road, The Gunner, Rake Lane, Seaton Sluice etc and you've got twice as many buses than GNE are running to them. I know if I was travelling from Seaton Sluice or Rake Lane and needed to get a later bus back there's only one choice I'd make.

L469 YVK wrote- Interworking also makes no sense the 308's at night run to Blyth and go into the depot why would you have dead running back to Jesmond or an empty extra bus from Blyth to Newcastle. Also they'd be less frequent than GNE.

* From a timetable I've devised (which I will upload to the Arriva suggestions in due course), the only cross depot dead mileage would be as follows:
@ 1x Jesmond board running light back from Blyth between 1800-1900 (after doing a most likely profitable 17:10 308 journey to Blyth).
@ 1x Jesmond board running light to Whitley Bay to commence a short 308 to Newcastle on a Saturday morning.

Can't really comment on that.

L469 YVK wrote- So removing the link from Marden to Whitley, Morrisons, Tynemouth and North Shields with Arriva and having an extremly long winded and pointless route along Rake Lane to Marden. (The recently axed 59 with 1 person a journey).

* 51A would be roughly be the same if not slightly quicker than the 306. 51A would provide links to Morrisons. GNE's 1/1A provide links to Whitley Bay, Tynemouth and North Shields from Marden.

The same again here people using the 306 between Whitley and Tynemouth most likely wont be going to Newcastle, we've had numerous bus routes doing stuff between them and they've all gone. You're also decreasing the frequency from half hourly to hourly and hourly bus routes aren't helpful for anyone.

Personally if I was Arriva I'd be doing a massive advertising campaign for the 308 as they have the potential to really kill off the 309 East of Cobalt as currently it stands as:
308: Quicker, more frequent, later night buses and cheaper.
309: Nicer buses, serves Cobalt.

Anyone travelling between Newcastle and anywhere East of Cobalt (other that streetdeckfan), the 308 is the much more appealing option now.

Apart from minor timing changes, here is how much the 308 has changed over the last few decades...
Rerouted around Whitley Bay Town Centre around 2010
Became fully Arriva in 2007
Moved from Eldon Square Bus Station to Haymarket Bus Station in 1995.

I didn't get a chance to ride the X21 yesterday, but my first experience of the new route today isn't very good. The driver thought he had to go straight back up Proudfoot Drive, missing out Walker Drive, and when a passenger complained saying he missed her stop, he didn't know he went the wrong way!

On the upside, NSA!

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(28 Jan 2020, 3:53 pm)streetdeckfan wrote On the upside, NSA!

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Least I'm not in the firing line for abuse, like the folk who have commissioned the timetables have been!

(28 Jan 2020, 4:55 pm)Dan wrote Least I'm not in the firing line for abuse, like the folk who have commissioned the timetables have been!

I mean, if you want to fit in, I could mention that I could think of a few things I don't like...
Very few people get on at Coundon, so why welcome them with 30 seconds of non-stop crap about charging and WiFi but nothing after Spennymoor?

I could also mention that I forgot how irritating NSAs are on a route with as many stops as the X21 are! I've only just got "This is the Castles Express X21 Service to Bishops Auckland" out of my head. If I need therapy after this, I know who will be getting the bill!

Also, is there a reason it says Newcastle - Eldon Square rather than Eldon Square Bus Station?

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(28 Jan 2020, 5:04 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I mean, if you want to fit in, I could mention that I could think of a few things I don't like...
Very few people get on at Coundon, so why welcome them with 30 seconds of non-stop crap about charging and WiFi but nothing after Spennymoor?

I could also mention that I forgot how irritating NSAs are on a route with as many stops as the X21 are! I've only just got "This is the Castles Express X21 Service to Bishops Auckland" out of my head. If I need therapy after this, I know who will be getting the bill!

Also, is there a reason it says Newcastle - Eldon Square rather than Eldon Square Bus Station?

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Maybe as Eldon Square is in Newcastle

(28 Jan 2020, 6:56 pm)citaro5284 wrote Maybe as Eldon Square is in Newcastle

Is it? I never noticed!

I'm sure it never used to say that though! Then again, it's been the best part of a year without it, and my memory ain't what it used to be!

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Had a proper look at the fleet allocation PDF on the GNE site, noticed that on


Hexham it has: -1 pending re-allocation - which bus is leaving?

---

The ADL Plaxton Panther has returned to GNE, how long is it here for?

(28 Jan 2020, 7:40 pm)Michael wrote Had a proper look at the fleet allocation PDF on the GNE site, noticed that on


Hexham it has: -1 pending re-allocation - which bus is leaving?

---

The ADL Plaxton Panther has returned to GNE, how long is it here for?

Go North East 9069 (YX19MMF) by Bus Enthusiast, on Flickr

Entered service today


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(28 Jan 2020, 10:10 pm)TEN 6083 wrote Go North East 9069 (YX19MMF) by Bus Enthusiast, on Flickr

Entered service today


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Shame they're not putting it out on other routes, I'd like to have a go but I don't have a 'special ticket'

(28 Jan 2020, 10:33 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Shame they're not putting it out on other routes, I'd like to have a go but I don't have a 'special ticket'

There’s no other commercial route that GNE would ever surely want to buy that type of vehicle for, so makes sense to go on the X9/10 again.

There isn’t much else it’s suitable for, either.


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(28 Jan 2020, 10:49 pm)Dan wrote There’s no other commercial route that GNE would ever surely want to buy that type of vehicle for, so makes sense to go on the X9/10 again.

There isn’t much else it’s suitable for, either.


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I mean, now most of Woodhouse isn't on the X21 it could have a little trip down that way!

(28 Jan 2020, 10:57 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I mean, now most of Woodhouse isn't on the X21 it could have a little trip down that way!

Durham Bus Station would be fun

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(28 Jan 2020, 11:00 pm)JP6004 wrote Durham Bus Station would be fun

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Would it be any worse than the National Express coaches that already serve Durham?

(28 Jan 2020, 10:57 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I mean, now most of Woodhouse isn't on the X21 it could have a little trip down that way!

Then be full to bursting by the time it reaches Chester. Not enough capacity.

(28 Jan 2020, 10:10 pm)TEN 6083 wrote Go North East 9069 (YX19MMF) by Bus Enthusiast, on Flickr

Entered service today


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How long is 9069 back for?

(28 Jan 2020, 11:03 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Would it be any worse than the National Express coaches that already serve Durham?

Likely be too long to fit on the stands the X21 uses, stand A is the only one big enough to really facilitate coaches.

(28 Jan 2020, 11:03 pm)streetdeckfan wrote Would it be any worse than the National Express coaches that already serve Durham?

They get stand  A with a shitload of reversing room.

(28 Jan 2020, 10:49 pm)Dan wrote There’s no other commercial route that GNE would ever surely want to buy that type of vehicle for, so makes sense to go on the X9/10 again.

There isn’t much else it’s suitable for, either.


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X66 I reckon would be a good shout although would struggle around Metrocentre Car Park/Ikea, would probably have to bring back the S1.