(29 May 2021, 7:25 am)tyresmoke wrote Ah [emoji23] Ok yeah - I think it may appear on the 0845 or 0945 though


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It’s on the 0845 out of Middlesbrough this morning, will be on X94s all day barring any swaps


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(29 May 2021, 7:46 am)tyresmoke wrote It’s on the 0845 out of Middlesbrough this morning, will be on X94s all day barring any swaps


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Further north, Ashington have 7445/6 on the X20/14 respectively. 7484 also out on an X21 board. Prime day of B7 express work across the ANE network...

It's a contender for the worst ever livery. Looks like it was designed by someone on a day trip to Barnard Castle.

Isn't Sapphire livery either. Glad to see Arriva being consistent as ever.

(29 May 2021, 9:03 am)omnicity4659 wrote It's a contender for the worst ever livery. Looks like it was designed by someone on a day trip to Barnard Castle.

Terrible photo from my X4 going the other way... it certainly stands out I’ll give them that




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(29 May 2021, 9:03 am)omnicity4659 wrote Isn't Sapphire livery either. Glad to see Arriva being consistent as ever.

7424-6 are all being done like that I believe. In fairness, they're the peak extra buses so somewhat understandable not branding them as Sapphire. 

It's certainly striking.

Personally, I like buses to remind me of characters from Asterix

.

Seeing it from this angle:

Arriva North East: 7426 / LJ55BRX by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

I don't think it's as bad as the photo I'd saw this morning. Looking at the fonts they're clearly going for a retro theme, which fits in with the vehicles they're applying it to. Essentially for a summer peak vehicle, on a seasonal route, I think it's alright - it's a bit of fun, and avoids the awkwardness of branding some 55-plate B7TLs as "Sapphire" in 2021. Would be a very different story if they wrapped the B9s like that though...

(29 May 2021, 7:24 pm)mb134 wrote Seeing it from this angle:

Arriva North East: 7426 / LJ55BRX by Matthew Jimmison, on Flickr

I don't think it's as bad as the photo I'd saw this morning. Looking at the fonts they're clearly going for a retro theme, which fits in with the vehicles they're applying it to. Essentially for a summer peak vehicle, on a seasonal route, I think it's alright - it's a bit of fun, and avoids the awkwardness of branding some 55-plate B7TLs as "Sapphire" in 2021. Would be a very different story if they wrapped the B9s like that though...

I’m told the B9s are definitely not getting this branding [emoji28]


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(29 May 2021, 7:28 pm)tyresmoke wrote I’m told the B9s are definitely not getting this branding [emoji28]


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Aye I was told it was only 7424-6 getting wrapped (though I'd heard initially into Sapphire?), with the B9s getting properly branded up into Sapphire once they're all back from repaint - or something along those lines. Wonder if rock sales were up in Whitby today with all the folk craving it after a trip on 7426...

I thought this sort of branding and mis-matching of company livery was exactly the reason why Arriva, and Stagecoach too, brought in the standardised livery a while back? Surely making a point as big as getting rid of Sapphire is undermined by something like this?

Looks like a learner livery to me, suppose it's some sort of investment to make the buses more appealing.

I imagine this move is part of a wider strategy from Arriva whereby the X93/X94 will shortly be rescinded to either Go North East or Transdev and Arriva will initiate a service to Blackpool instead. Interesting that they decide to deploy 16-year-old B7s onto the Scarborough route during the one summer where they have a staycation market to capture. It's as if someone in the higher echelons of the company is just memeing. You'd think they'd just hold off for a few months and do the necessary repaints during the low season.

Certainly an interesting hill for them to choose to die on, if you'll excuse the pun.

(04 Jun 2021, 8:08 am)R852 PRG wrote I imagine this move is part of a wider strategy from Arriva whereby the X93/X94 will shortly be rescinded to either Go North East or Transdev and Arriva will initiate a service to Blackpool instead. Interesting that they decide to deploy 16-year-old B7s onto the Scarborough route during the one summer where they have a staycation market to capture. It's as if someone in the higher echelons of the company is just memeing. You'd think they'd just hold off for a few months and do the necessary repaints during the low season.

Certainly an interesting hill for them to choose to die on, if you'll excuse the pun.

I don't think Arriva would run a Blackpool service haha!

But where the NE operations stand as I've said many tomes before, I reckon:

Northumbria:
- Ashington & Jesmond > GNE 
- Blyth > Stagecoach

Durham & Tees:
- Belmont, Darlington, Redcar > Stagecoach
- Stockton > GNE
- Whitby > Transdev

**Route deals**
- 306 full Stagecoach Newcastle operation & operated from Walkergate
- 685 full Stagecoach Newcastle & North West operation
- X12 full GNE operation & operated from Stockton
- X93/X94 full Transdev operation

I know that there is not much competition in the north east but i just don't get why anyone would want arriva to be split between GNE and Stagecoach meaning going from 3 big operators to 2??? If arrvia was to be sold surely it would be better for customers if someone like first ( i know) transdev or even lothian bought the north east ops ???

(04 Jun 2021, 12:13 pm)Rob44 wrote I know that there is not much competition in the north east but i just don't get why anyone would want arriva to be split between GNE and Stagecoach meaning going from 3 big operators to 2???  If arrvia was to be sold surely it would be better for customers if someone like first ( i know) transdev or even lothian bought the north east ops ???

Don't think a Scottish state-owned company would be interested in an English company. 

(04 Jun 2021, 1:00 pm)omnicity4659 wrote Don't think a Scottish state-owned company would be interested in an English company. 

Yes i thought of that when i posted it but it looks like it run subsidiaries so why not in the north of England?  My points still stands... in my view splitting ANE between SCNE and GNE would be worse for the passenger.

Please stop all this fantasy. Unless something significant has changed, the monopolies & mergers lot (or whatever they're called this week) simply wouldn't allow ANE to be sold as a whole (or cherry picked depot by depot) to the likes of GNE or Stagecoach. It would need to be someone without a conflict of interest to buy it which probably explains why it hasn't already been sold.

I can well imagine that GNE and Stagecoach would love to buy certain parts of Arrivaland but it just won't happen! (Like I say, unless something significant has changed).

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(04 Jun 2021, 8:08 am)R852 PRG wrote I imagine this move is part of a wider strategy from Arriva whereby the X93/X94 will shortly be rescinded to either Go North East or Transdev and Arriva will initiate a service to Blackpool instead. Interesting that they decide to deploy 16-year-old B7s onto the Scarborough route during the one summer where they have a staycation market to capture. It's as if someone in the higher echelons of the company is just memeing. You'd think they'd just hold off for a few months and do the necessary repaints during the low season.

Certainly an interesting hill for them to choose to die on, if you'll excuse the pun.

It's not just Arriva in fairness, Transdev are doing much the same by ramping up the frequency on the 843 service to Scarborough to half hourly and by allocating three B7TLs with high back seats freed up from the Hotline 152 service which are the same age than what Arriva are churning out on Coastliner duties and that's panning out too well so far as have barely seen use so far due to breakdowns with trips either being covered by a Volvo B7RLE or nothing although the dropped trips could be the result of lack of staff which I found on Sunday when half of the day's trips on CityZap didn't operate with no notice given to passengers such as myself.

(04 Jun 2021, 1:38 pm)Mark P wrote Please stop all this fantasy. Unless something significant has changed, the monopolies & mergers lot (or whatever they're called this week) simply wouldn't allow ANE to be sold as a whole (or cherry picked depot by depot) to the likes of GNE or Stagecoach. It would need to be someone without a conflict of interest to buy it which probably explains why it hasn't already been sold.

I can well imagine that GNE and Stagecoach would love to buy certain parts of Arrivaland but it just won't happen! (Like I say, unless something significant has changed).

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We're a discussion forum, where we discuss things.

You'll be referring to the Competition and Markets Authority, and I agree with you that they're very unlikely to allow it to be sold as a whole. Depot by depot is the most likely outcome, unless DB have a change of heart, but I reckon that'd still be subject to review and approval (depending on who bids for what, and how much of a monopoly it would give said operator)

(04 Jun 2021, 2:47 pm)Adrian wrote We're a discussion forum, where we discuss things.

You'll be referring to the Competition and Markets Authority, and I agree with you that they're very unlikely to allow it to be sold as a whole. Depot by depot is the most likely outcome, unless DB have a change of heart, but I reckon that'd still be subject to review and approval (depending on who bids for what, and how much of a monopoly it would give said operator)

Wasn't there plans to float Arriva on the stock exchange instead. Imo that'll be a more likely scenario than them selling it off, obviously right now isn't the right time though.

I do think we will see more of them flogging off the undesirable parts though but that won't be the current North East and Yorkshire depots and will be down South where there's areas that have made a loss for years in particularly in the Midlands where Cannock has already gone.

Also to the suggestion for Stagecoach buying Darlington and GNE buying Ashington that isn't happening they both literally sold up in each of the areas in the last 15 years. SE Northumberland / Jesmond has to be owned by one operator or it just wouldn't work and would be a disaster for passengers and would be suicidal for anyone to even attempt to buy them.

(04 Jun 2021, 1:38 pm)Mark P wrote Please stop all this fantasy. Unless something significant has changed, the monopolies & mergers lot (or whatever they're called this week) simply wouldn't allow ANE to be sold as a whole (or cherry picked depot by depot) to the likes of GNE or Stagecoach. It would need to be someone without a conflict of interest to buy it which probably explains why it hasn't already been sold.

I can well imagine that GNE and Stagecoach would love to buy certain parts of Arrivaland but it just won't happen! (Like I say, unless something significant has changed).

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There was an (major) operator in the south-west somewhere who attempted to sell operations to the big rival in the area.  Monopolies & Mergers got involved and refused the sale, so operator A just started cancelling routes while operator B added some routes very similar to those cancelled.  The transfer from one to the other was finished in less than a year.

(05 Jun 2021, 7:36 pm)Ianthegoon wrote There was an (major) operator in the south-west somewhere who attempted to sell operations to the big rival in the area.  Monopolies & Mergers got involved and refused the sale, so operator A just started cancelling routes while operator B added some routes very similar to those cancelled.  The transfer from one to the other was finished in less than a year.

I think you mean when First were about to sell their remaining Barnstaple operation to Stagecoach, before closing the network and enabling Stagecoach to expand there anyway.

(05 Jun 2021, 7:54 pm)Metroline1511 wrote I think you mean when First were about to sell their remaining Barnstaple operation to Stagecoach, before closing the network and enabling Stagecoach to expand there anyway.

That sounds familiar, yes.

The point being that there are ways round the M&M Commission blocking a sale.  Not that that's necessarily what will happen in the North-east, but the Arriva situation is certainly an intriguing one to be watching from outside the organisation.

Turns out that the X93/X94 isn't getting branded as Sapphire after all.

Quite a tacky looking livery on the B9TLs in my opinion.

(23 Jun 2021, 5:24 pm)omnicity4659 wrote Turns out that the X93/X94 isn't getting branded as Sapphire after all.

Quite a tacky looking livery on the B9TLs in my opinion.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/193021185@...265831912/
Agreed but it’s branding Whitby and advertising the service which says more than Sapphire does although it’s still in Sapphire clothes. I wonder if there will be a split of vehicles with Middlesborough and Scarborough on in addition to the Whitby vehicle. (Photo credit arriva northeast)

Edit Just seen the other side has Scarborough on it

7401/7406 are both branded/being branded. Also good to see the last Max vinyl off them.

Overall I think it's smart, clean, and not OTT, which may not be to the taste of some people who prefer their liveries a bit more out there. Folk can see at a glance where it goes, and how often it goes there, and it almost entices them on with the "discover... onboard". 

That said, I'm surprised they didn't at least advertise the USB charging, WiFi, and NSAs under the "every 30 minutes", looks a tad bare in that area. 

For what is essentially sub route branding slapped onto a corporate livery, which is the way most of the big groups are going (looking at you Stagecoach), I think they've done a good job. Now to find out where Vorkshire is...

Looks smart, hopefully we can see some more brands like that in the future. (Maybe the coastliner branding for the 308/306 like on the E400s & ALXs)

(23 Jun 2021, 9:51 pm)NewcastleOne wrote https://www.flickr.com/photos/193021185@...265831912/
Agreed but it’s branding Whitby and advertising the service which says more than Sapphire does although it’s still in Sapphire clothes. I wonder if there will be a split of vehicles with Middlesborough and Scarborough on in addition to the Whitby vehicle. (Photo credit arriva northeast)

Edit Just seen the other side has Scarborough on it

7401/7406 are both branded/being branded. Also good to see the last Max vinyl off them.

Christ, that looks bloody horrendous!

It looks like someone has been let loose with WordArt!

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(24 Jun 2021, 7:45 am)streetdeckfan wrote Christ, that looks bloody horrendous!

It looks like someone has been let loose with WordArt!

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If anyone can find something worse, please post it somewhere.

(23 Jun 2021, 9:51 pm)NewcastleOne wrote https://www.flickr.com/photos/193021185@...265831912/
Agreed but it’s branding Whitby and advertising the service which says more than Sapphire does although it’s still in Sapphire clothes. I wonder if there will be a split of vehicles with Middlesborough and Scarborough on in addition to the Whitby vehicle. (Photo credit arriva northeast)

Edit Just seen the other side has Scarborough on it

7401/7406 are both branded/being branded. Also good to see the last Max vinyl off them.

Bigun has just sent me a pic of this that he found on Flickr, pointing out that the tagline appears to say "discover the vorkshire coast"