(30 Dec 2013, 11:07 am)Michael wrote Was just wondering, since changes haven't being posted i was just wondering if anyone knew anything about these.

It does seem logic that the 29 could replace the 38 and 238 could replace the 38A - or other way around.

I think both will need bigger buses,

238 - it could get a frequency increase, how ever it does seem likely, Not sure if it will go every 30 mins or 20 mins.

265 - How are the MPD's coping on their?, i haven't seen it since it last changed.

That's my guesses anyway - Changes need to posted soon because tbh it's got some big change in the area's, to me posting the changes on the 6th January is to late... They should post them today....

If this was the Angel and it had changes for the 26.1.14 - changes would of being posted last week...

Edit:

Iv'e ask them on their FB when changes will be out... i said, is it gonna be a few before changes happen or the week before the whole network changes?

I find the MPDs have a mixed performance on the 265, but I hate them, and the sooner there out of here, the better, I dont use them as often as I used to, but I find some of them are bad at climbing i.e up Claypath, Gilesgate and Moorsley, feels like they barely pick up speed at all and literally crawl up a hill, although some are not too bad, another thing I found on some MPDs is the suspension is shite, they rattle like a bag of spanners at times.

Personally I would like to see the 265 go back to it's 154/65 route and come round Cornwall Estate and miss out High Grange at Belmont. As for Vehicle type, interworking with the 202 a Cadet would probably work on it, but I would prefer to see a Scania on it, but I would say that, Scanias are my favourite vehicles

My deepest Sympathies to drivers trying to run on time anywhere near the Metrocentre or Team Valley

Western Bypass is currently a car park

Has anyone heard of an incident with a Drifter Streetlite recently, one of the lads I know mentioned it, but didn't get the full story as we were both in a hurry in seperate ways...

Also what is wrong with the LCD Display on 8306, saw it at the Toll Bar earlier flashing like a pervert in a trenchcoat...Seems to have had that problem for ages

Also another problem today, 8307 had problems opening the doors inside the drivers cab, I had to press the outside button to get on and had to use the button over the door to get off with the driver having to get out the cab at most stops...8307 was apparantly was replaced as the the bus it replaced had the same problem

(30 Dec 2013, 2:05 pm)fozzovmurton wrote Also what is wrong with the LCD Display on 8306, saw it at the Toll Bar earlier flashing like a pervert in a trenchcoat...Seems to have had that problem for ages

It's a problem which only occurs when the bus is in motion, and therefore has been difficult for Deptford to detect.

x1' s are currently running (or were 10mins ago in Houghton) in three's southbound.

(30 Dec 2013, 10:24 am)CatsFast101 wrote I've heard although don't take anything for gospel, that the X7 will be getting Solars later this year but not in January as we all hoped. Also, I was speaking to a employe of Deptford and they reckon management say the MPD's at Peterlee have 4 years service in them yet! Can't see some of those buses lasting that long!

I wouldn't be too sure about the X7 information. Following the arrival of the Fab Fifty Six B9TLs, all of Deptford's Solar will be reassigned to other roles, following service changes. All SPD vehicles are expected to be withdrawn from the fleet at this stage. The X7 is certainly a one to watch, an upgrade is certainly needed.

Canny one I forgot about on the 37 the other day (a GNE operated 37).

Not sure the driver was too sure about my Day Rover ticket.
The look of puzzlement, the few moments thinking with the tongue in the corner of his mouth and then the realisation that a Nexus ticket can be used on a Nexus service...

No idea whether he registered it into the machine or not, but we eventually went on our merry way.

Following the V8 to Stanley this evening (about 19:30 ish) and the rear led display flashed about every 30 seconds. Is it meant to?

Abit off topic, just wondering, what were the original reasons the Citaros were taken off the Citylink service, Was it because they thought the bendis would suit the route better, with a bigger capicity, despite the fact the route has downgraded on size.

Now being Versas, do these vehicles have a larger capicity than the Citaros that were originally on the route (are these the ones on the diamond now?)

Personally i prefered that livery, over the orange on the versas.

(30 Dec 2013, 11:08 pm)Ely1992 wrote Abit off topic, just wondering, what were the original reasons the Citaros were taken off the Citylink service, Was it because they thought the bendis would suit the route better, with a bigger capicity, despite the fact the route has downgraded on size.

Now being Versas, do these vehicles have a larger capicity than the Citaros that were originally on the route (are these the ones on the diamond now?)

Personally i prefered that livery, over the orange on the versas.

Yes, those Citaros are indeed the ones on the Diamond.
Personally, im not too sure but I think it had something to do with the capacity at peak times, they trialled a bendy and decided that it was the best option so they got some. I think those artics were worn down though off the London life, hence why they were so unreliable, if they had been purchased new, it would still use them now.
However, also going back a bit, why did they trial a Versa on the Diamond if Go North East say that the route wont get new veichles for a while yet.

(30 Dec 2013, 11:08 pm)Ely1992 wrote Abit off topic, just wondering, what were the original reasons the Citaros were taken off the Citylink service, Was it because they thought the bendis would suit the route better, with a bigger capicity, despite the fact the route has downgraded on size.

Now being Versas, do these vehicles have a larger capicity than the Citaros that were originally on the route (are these the ones on the diamond now?)

Personally i prefered that livery, over the orange on the versas.

The Versas do have a larger seating capacity (43) over the Citaros (40). But a far smaller standing (16 against 28).

(30 Dec 2013, 11:14 pm)northtynelinks2 wrote Yes, those Citaros are indeed the ones on the Diamond.
Personally, im not too sure but I think it had something to do with the capacity at peak times, they trialled a bendy and decided that it was the best option so they got some. I think those artics were worn down though off the London life, hence why they were so unreliable, if they had been purchased new, it would still use them now.
However, also going back a bit, why did they trial a Versa on the Diamond if Go North East say that the route wont get new veichles for a while yet.

The demonstrator was in service on the diamond and 58

(31 Dec 2013, 11:36 am)CatsFast101 wrote No ones 'pulled my leg' so to speak at all, I've heard this from a depot manager. And with regards to the fab 57, unlikely to receive citaros yes. But ToonLink with better vehicles than cityLink?

Hmm, about the X7?
We've discussed in the past how you can't always trust what you hear from employees based at depots, as they aren't necessarily told things first. Members of management, such as Rob, may know a little better...

How do you know that the "Toon Link" network (or at least some of the services held within that network) aren't more profitable than "Citylink" service 58?

(31 Dec 2013, 12:39 am)JP6004 wrote The demonstrator was in service on the diamond and 58

I know but there still wasn't any point in trialling it on Diamond since it isn't actually going to get an upgrade for a few years get (as Go North East say).

(31 Dec 2013, 11:44 am)northtynelinks2 wrote I know but there still wasn't any point in trialling it on Diamond since it isn't actually going to get an upgrade for a few years get (as Go North East say).

Do demonstrator vehicles being tested on specific services always guarantee an upgrade on those services?
Isn't it just to get an idea of how well they'd cope on different sorts of services, in comparison to the vehicles already offered on that service?

An Enviro 400 demonstrator was trialled on service X1 a good few months ago. This service had just received investment not long before that. The X1 is a very good service for demonstration vehicles because there are different things required of the vehicles which are allocated to that service - dual carriageways, tight bends, uphill, downhill...

(31 Dec 2013, 11:44 am)northtynelinks2 wrote I know but there still wasn't any point in trialling it on Diamond since it isn't actually going to get an upgrade for a few years get (as Go North East say).

Yes, there is a point. The 'Diamond' services are one of GNEs more challenging routes and it is a chance for them to test the vehicles to see how they perform.

(31 Dec 2013, 11:49 am)BJ10VUS wrote Yes, there is a point. The 'Diamond' services are one of GNEs more challenging routes and it is a chance for them to test the vehicles to see how they perform.

As another example...

"Citylink" service 58 could be perceived as a more challenging route than "Drifter" service 60, but to get an idea of how well the buses would cope with lots of uphills, downhills, and all the rest in between, a Streetlite Max was trialled on that service and look where those buses ended up at!

(31 Dec 2013, 11:40 am)Dan wrote Hmm, about the X7?
We've discussed in the past how you can't always trust what you hear from employees based at depots, as they aren't necessarily told things first. Members of management, such as Rob, may know a little better...

How do you know that the "Toon Link" network (or at least some of the services held within that network) aren't more profitable than "Citylink" service 58?

And I'm just saying what I got told, everyone has got information wrong. A couple of months you suggested the 61 would become northern branded using cadets! It's now in SimpliCity branding using Versas! Haha! It's worth mentioning that information hasn't just come from a driver (no offence intended to the drivers) but from a senior staff member.

Well maybe they may but the vehicles used in the past show the 58 has some of the best as you said earlier the Citaro is the best vehicle within the fleet. Where as ToonLink has had Arriva cast offs.

(31 Dec 2013, 11:53 am)CatsFast101 wrote And I'm just saying what I got told, everyone has got information wrong. A couple of months you suggested the 61 would become northern branded using cadets! It's now in SimpliCity branding using Versas! Haha! It's worth mentioning that information hasn't just come from a driver (no offence intended to the drivers) but from a senior staff member.

Everyone has got information wrong? Or plans have changed? Completely different things, my friend.
This quote is why I'm so reluctant to give direct information out as opposed to hints (which you and a few others requested a few weeks ago), because people like you are dickish about it if things change, and you're clearly incapable of understanding and/or appreciating how things often have to change to maximise profits whilst also lowering costs where appropriate also.
Last minute decisions aren't always the best ones. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration, including cost, and these factors are often demonstrated in the last minute plans. This is obvious with all companies, not just Go North East or indeed companies in this industry.

On a related note - those of a higher position at Crook depot are still of the opinion that "Pronto" service X21 is still in line to receive Citaro vehicles, when Rob has suggested otherwise...
Who am I gonna go with (if I want to stand a chance of being right)? Management... or depot employees?

(31 Dec 2013, 11:53 am)CatsFast101 wrote Well maybe they may but the vehicles used in the past show the 58 has some of the best as you said earlier the Citaro is the best vehicle within the fleet. Where as ToonLink has had Arriva cast offs.

There's a correct time for everything to be upgraded and/or invested in, and maybe in the past the "Toon Link" network has not been able to justify brand new vehicles as it now possibly can.
It's quite likely a few changes could be lined up - what if only two of the four "Toon Link" services remained within this brand and the other two were ditched?
You also have to consider the suitability of Versas as opposed to a more heavy weight vehicle which they are currently allocated.
I guess we'll never know, and I best not reveal much more... If things change, someone like you will come along and be dickish about it.... Learn to appreciate the information NEB's GNE representatives (members of management) give... You'll be able to learn a lot more, that way. If you can read into the hints, that is!

(31 Dec 2013, 11:58 am)Dan wrote Everyone has got information wrong? Or plans have changed? Completely different things, my friend.
This quote is why I'm so reluctant to give direct information out as opposed to hints (which you and a few others requested a few weeks ago), because people like you are dickish about it if things change, and you're clearly incapable of understanding and/or appreciating how things often have to change to maximise profits whilst also lowering costs where appropriate also.
Last minute decisions aren't always the best ones. A lot of factors have to be taken into consideration, including cost, and these factors are often demonstrated in the last minute plans. This is obvious with all companies, not just Go North East or indeed companies in this industry.

On a related note - those of a higher position at Crook depot are still of the opinion that "Pronto" service X21 is still in line to receive Citaro vehicles, when Rob has suggested otherwise...
Who am I gonna go with (if I want to stand a chance of being right)? Management... or depot employees?


There's a correct time for everything to be upgraded and/or invested in, and maybe in the past the "Toon Link" network has not been able to justify brand new vehicles as it now possibly can.
It's quite likely a few changes could be lined up - what if only two of the four "Toon Link" services remained within this brand and the other two were ditched?
You also have to consider the suitability of Versas as opposed to a more heavy weight vehicle which they are currently allocated.
I guess we'll never know, and I best not reveal much more... If things change, someone like you will come along and be dickish about it.... Learn to appreciate the information NEB's GNE representatives (members of management) give... You'll be able to learn a lot more, that way. If you can read into the hints, that is!

Under the same token I was given the information a few weeks back but shared it last week, plans may have changed since then, it's been rumoured that the remaining fab 56 Solars may be branded for X30/X31 or even the 29, hence why I shared some information. Plans may have changed I for one want newer vehicles for the X7 sooner rather than later.

I just sometimes feel that you're quick to shut down anyone else information in favour of you're own when no one really knows information is of more regard (apart from GNE management on this forum).

(31 Dec 2013, 12:09 pm)CatsFast101 wrote Under the same token I was given the information a few weeks back but shared it last week, plans may have changed since then, it's been rumoured that the remaining fab 56 Solars may be branded for X30/X31 or even the 29, hence why I shared some information. Plans may have changed I for one want newer vehicles for the X7 sooner rather than later.

Rob has told us that service 29 will be corporate liveried. I'll go with that being right.

If you have a spare 10-15 minutes on your hands, can I suggest that you read through the posts in the main GNE thread from this month (starts here). Each and every single post; take note if they are by each of our main GNE representatives, and a few by myself if they appear to be informative.

Liam and I took the decision to split our main GNE thread by month last week, and we were reading through some of the posts as we split them and gave each other links to the interesting ones... It's amazing how much information is provided, yet is ignored completely. Reading through all of the posts at once, rather than piecing things together bit by bit as/when information is given, can help a lot too.

(31 Dec 2013, 12:09 pm)CatsFast101 wrote I just sometimes feel that you're quick to shut down anyone else information in favour of you're own when no one really knows information is of more regard (apart from GNE management on this forum).

My Uncle John could be a director of the company, for all you know. The contacts people have within the company for information is irrelevant, though. The information I hint at is very rarely wrong, and if it is, it has been a change of plan - Rob and I seem to be on the same page quite a lot, and if he is a member of management (which I believe he is), I'll go with it being right at the time of posting.

I never aim to patronise any individual when supplying information and/or disagreeing with an individual, and if it comes across that way, I do apologise... What is infuriating from my perspective is that the information from Rob and busmanT is so often ignored, and that information is the key to working out what is going to happen in the future. Although I may have received hints from elsewhere in regards to a plan, I can still work out things which are going to happen (in accordance with the current plans) by their posts, and a lot of others seemingly can't manage that, and ignore it. Far too many people fight against the information which comes from members of management, and although they want to know what's going to happen before it's happened, they would prefer to listen to others who aren't always necessarily going to be right or they would prefer to come up with a plan of their own which they deem to be more suitable.

The X30/X31 upgrade to black Solars was what I thought would happen - not what I had been told by anyone else - and let's see the outcome of that... I'm probably wrong. That was probably never destined to happen in the first place (hint, hint). I'd certainly say, if you read into it properly, Rob's post yesterday disagreed with me. Words are very powerful things; if you think about it, even the shortest of words can change the meaning of something completely. I feel it's always best to analyse words, but this comes from someone who loves (most parts of) English.

To conclude, here's said post from Rob which was seemingly ignored again yesterday. If all of his (and others') previous posts were not good enough - take a gander at this one:

(30 Dec 2013, 8:58 pm)Rob wrote I wouldn't be too sure about the X7 information. Following the arrival of the Fab Fifty Six B9TLs, all of Deptford's Solar will be reassigned to other roles, following service changes. All SPD vehicles are expected to be withdrawn from the fleet at this stage. The X7 is certainly a one to watch, an upgrade is certainly needed.

A reply on Facebook about the Sunderland Changes...

Michael - we made a conscious decision not to add this to the website. Bus briefings will be on buses soon and the website will be updated at the end of this week.

Wooo =D

I posted this on the latest thread to:

Michael - we made a conscious decision not to add this to the website. Bus briefings will be on buses soon and the website will be updated at the end of this week.

From GNE on Facebook so by end of this week we should changes =)

(31 Dec 2013, 11:48 am)Dan wrote Do demonstrator vehicles being tested on specific services always guarantee an upgrade on those services?
Isn't it just to get an idea of how well they'd cope on different sorts of services, in comparison to the vehicles already offered on that service?

An Enviro 400 demonstrator was trialled on service X1 a good few months ago. This service had just received investment not long before that. The X1 is a very good service for demonstration vehicles because there are different things required of the vehicles which are allocated to that service - dual carriageways, tight bends, uphill, downhill...

Was the E400 trialled? News spread that it was only loaned to help out while one of the B9s were sent back to Wrights because it had a problem. As i said, that was just news i heard.

(31 Dec 2013, 1:07 pm)northtynelinks2 wrote Was the E400 trialled? News spread that it was only loaned to help out while one of the B9s were sent back to Wrights because it had a problem. As i said, that was just news i heard.

I'm not sure (I personally had never heard that rumour), but surely Wrights would have replaced the vehicle temporarily, if this was the case - rather than another manufacturer?
That would only ever be done at a last resort too. A vehicle could have been quite easily drafted over to Washington depot from another.
They had an Enviro 200 demo, so why not an Enviro 400 demo?

That's besides the point anyway, as we were discussing why demonstration vehicles are trialled and I gave other examples to back that up too.

(31 Dec 2013, 12:51 pm)Michael wrote A reply on Facebook about the Sunderland Changes...

Michael - we made a conscious decision not to add this to the website. Bus briefings will be on buses soon and the website will be updated at the end of this week.

Wooo =D

I think they possibly haven't put changes up to not confuse people with Christmas services but changes should of been put back a week if clashing with Christmas was an issue.

(31 Dec 2013, 1:36 pm)CatsFast101 wrote I think they possibly haven't put changes up to not confuse people with Christmas services but changes should of been put back a week if clashing with Christmas was an issue.

ye, glad they will be on the website this week =D

Might find out which services are getting what etc

I see our own Greg having a bash at GNE over the service changes.

(31 Dec 2013, 11:48 am)Dan wrote Do demonstrator vehicles being tested on specific services always guarantee an upgrade on those services?
Isn't it just to get an idea of how well they'd cope on different sorts of services, in comparison to the vehicles already offered on that service?

An Enviro 400 demonstrator was trialled on service X1 a good few months ago. This service had just received investment not long before that. The X1 is a very good service for demonstration vehicles because there are different things required of the vehicles which are allocated to that service - dual carriageways, tight bends, uphill, downhill...

As far as I recall, the E400 was a loan to cover for a gemini or two that had to go back and have work done on them.

(31 Dec 2013, 2:24 pm)palatine3833 wrote As far as I recall, the E400 was a loan to cover for a gemini or two that had to go back and have work done on them.

Yawn... I must love repeating myself...
Here's another example instead. My point still stands, because of that example - as I've just said in Post 1877, in response to northtynelinks2.

Point being - a demonstration vehicle does not guarantee a service will receive that vehicle or even investment at all. You ideally trial demonstration vehicles on your most challenging services whilst bearing in mind the service in which that vehicle could serve if it was ever to be purchased by the company. You ideally do that over a longer period of time too (let me remind everyone of just how long the Versa and Streetlite were here for), rather than Arriva's week-long trial of the Versa a few weeks ago... It would have been on familiarisation for longer than it was actually used in service!


For the record, may I step in with my admin hat on and suggest we don't discuss the matter of a fault having developed on the Gemini vehicles resulting in the Enviro 400 vehicle loan? We've had one or two complaints in the past when discussing problems with manufacturers, and I'd like to avoid having that conversation with our GNE reps again!
As far as we enthusiasts should have been concerned, the vehicle was a demonstration vehicle (as per quote from GNE's official "Archive" document below). I remember members of this forum asked employees on the "Open Line" facility, and that's what they were told then - nothing about a fault being developed on buses and them needing to be sent back, so I suggest it stays that way.

"There have been no changes to the vehicle allocation during the week, however, an ADL Enviro 400 demonstrator, registration mark SN61 DFK, is on loan at Washington depot and is being used on service X1. It has been allocated fleet number 9136."