I think a lot of what I'd say, has already been said. 

Walking away prior to these changes coming in seems a strange one to me. He will have his own reasons, but to not see it through beyond the pandemic is going to leave his legacy open to question.
As it stands, all I see is a legacy of short term measures, sprinkled with some titivations and paint jobs, that are then sandwiched between a pandemic and consolidation.
Is the network in a better place? Are passengers happier with the network?

Fleatham is possibly a safe pair of hands as far as the money men are concerned. Not sure the drivers or unions will be too happy!
But it's jobs for the boys isn't it? Certain faces fit and although I'd argue he's not a key player in the 'clique', he's definitely part of it. Almost like some of the managers in the Premier League. The Pardews, Allardyces and other stalwarts working through the ever revolving cycle of open doors.
Trying to work out the logic behind EY reporting directly to GAG, with an area director looking after GNE, but reporting to NF at GNW.
It must be a temporary decision. GNE haven't fallen that far down the pecking order have they?

And... Ultimately, you've still got the same staff working in the commercial team. They'll make the same old decisions and will ultimately influence the decision makers at the top. 
No fresh blood. No fresh ideas. Just falling passenger numbers and the focus on cutting costs.

Let's see how Lumo and Hull Trains get on over the next few years. They've already got the tables and WiFi. Suppose its now a choice between vertical or horizontal stripes of some sort and some cheesy patter from the RS livery generator.
He must be rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of more work!

Not a big MG fan the Andreos?

(07 Jun 2022, 8:12 pm)WHEATSHEAF1 wrote Not a big MG fan the Andreos?

4 or 5 paragraphs and only one about MG... 

Got nowt against the fella, but ultimately the state of the network, upcoming cuts and all that money wasted on titivations means the buck stops with him.

Maybe I expected too much and hoped his youthful influence would inject some fresh blood and inspiration in to GNE.

(07 Jun 2022, 8:18 pm)Andreos1 wrote 4 or 5 paragraphs and only one about MG... 

Got nowt against the fella, but ultimately the state of the network, upcoming cuts and all that money wasted on titivations means the buck stops with him.

Maybe I expected too much and hoped his youthful influence would inject some fresh blood and inspiration in to GNE.

Let's face it, GAG have recently replaced their most creative asset - the accounting team at Southeastern.

Wonder if Go ahead wanted NF to move to the north east to oversee go north east but he wanted to stay over there so they went for option 2 of have an area director reporting directly to him, seems a bit strange how 2 of the newest members of go ahead are more directly linked with reporting directly to go ahead and the oldest and dont forget founder member of go ahead is now arms length reporting to NF at Go north west, think there is more to this behind the scenes and this is happening to not only cut costs but to satisfy the stakeholders that a change is underway and they are demanding change, time to paint all the buses all the same colour, scrap branding and put all efforts into building a network that wont need changed or re painted in 6 months, passengers just want a comfortable bus that turns up when it is supposed to

(07 Jun 2022, 8:44 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Let's face it, GAG have recently replaced their most creative asset - the accounting team at Southeastern.

Theres not enough likes I can give this. Private Eye levels of burn there. Love it

(07 Jun 2022, 8:44 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Let's face it, GAG have recently replaced their most creative asset - the accounting team at Southeastern.

(07 Jun 2022, 10:05 pm)Ambassador wrote Theres not enough likes I can give this. Private Eye levels of burn there. Love it

Have to admit, a badumtish noise went off in my head when I read that. And to quote a line from elsewhere.... "mmmmm that's good satire".

(07 Jun 2022, 10:48 pm)Rapidsnap wrote Have to admit, a badumtish noise went off in my head when I read that. And to quote a line from elsewhere.... "mmmmm that's good satire".

I wonder what might have been if they did not succumb to the devil and move their HQ to London back in the day . Very low hanging fruit though

(07 Jun 2022, 4:51 pm)DeltaMan wrote Not sure what to make of EYMS being separated and reporting directly to the Group while GNE becomes a defacto bolt on to GNW with no MD of its own.

Taken together with service cuts and depot reductions, making GNE a more attractive target for a buyer?

(07 Jun 2022, 7:53 pm)Andreos1 wrote I think a lot of what I'd say, has already been said. 

Walking away prior to these changes coming in seems a strange one to me. He will have his own reasons, but to not see it through beyond the pandemic is going to leave his legacy open to question.
As it stands, all I see is a legacy of short term measures, sprinkled with some titivations and paint jobs, that are then sandwiched between a pandemic and consolidation.
Is the network in a better place? Are passengers happier with the network?

Fleatham is possibly a safe pair of hands as far as the money men are concerned. Not sure the drivers or unions will be too happy!
But it's jobs for the boys isn't it? Certain faces fit and although I'd argue he's not a key player in the 'clique', he's definitely part of it. Almost like some of the managers in the Premier League. The Pardews, Allardyces and other stalwarts working through the ever revolving cycle of open doors.
Trying to work out the logic behind EY reporting directly to GAG, with an area director looking after GNE, but reporting to NF at GNW.
It must be a temporary decision. GNE haven't fallen that far down the pecking order have they?

And... Ultimately, you've still got the same staff working in the commercial team. They'll make the same old decisions and will ultimately influence the decision makers at the top. 
No fresh blood. No fresh ideas. Just falling passenger numbers and the focus on cutting costs.

Let's see how Lumo and Hull Trains get on over the next few years. They've already got the tables and WiFi. Suppose its now a choice between vertical or horizontal stripes of some sort and some cheesy patter from the RS livery generator.
He must be rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of more work!

My initial thoughts were the same; but then on reflection he's done the dirty work for the new man coming in.  The resentment or bad feeling that the upcoming service changes, closing Chester, downgrading Hexham et all generate can all be directed towards the previous MD, giving the incoming MD a fresh page.

But let's not forget the 'new' man coming in is the same hatchet man at GNW that wanted fire and rehire contracts brought in - who says he won't try it again? Lets hope they make some sort of concession to those that are near retirement so that they can retire early and get out of this shitshow.

(08 Jun 2022, 12:35 am)Bazza wrote Taken together with service cuts and depot reductions, making GNE a more attractive target for a buyer?

I think the two issues are seperate but with a similar theme.

Most the changes are cuts to evening and Sunday services, which lead me to believe they aren't making enough money during the day Monday to Saturday to cover the costs of evening/Sunday services.

Separately, they are closing Chester, I assume because they need to move the 21 to Gateshead for electricity and the remaing routes do not cover the cost of keeping the depot open.

I don't think a sale is likely, but I wouldn't be surprised if staff at depot level are wondering what the future holds at Percy Main and  Washington. I'd also say the same for Stagecoach at Slatyford actually. All old facilities with new technologies incoming in the near future.

(08 Jun 2022, 8:01 am)Chris 1 wrote My initial thoughts were the same; but then on reflection he's done the dirty work for the new man coming in.  The resentment or bad feeling that the upcoming service changes, closing Chester, downgrading Hexham et all generate can all be directed towards the previous MD, giving the incoming MD a fresh page.

Probably more jumping a sinking ship. We don't know what the story is but I can't imagine it's in his best interests to be cutting everything so quickly. I can imagine it's someone further above demanding change. You have to remember GNE is GoAhead's dead wood and has been for years.

GoNorthEast is in trouble imo; service cuts removing half the network, new MD who has a record of being disliked up here and a fire and rehire in Manchester, depot closures, EYMS being spun off by itself and running solo, GNE being attached to GNW (another dead wood area, miles away). There's not much positive there. It's very similar to Arriva Southern Counties which is an absolutely dire operation and is getting more desperate by the day which has had some of it's decent routes spun off to Arriva London a few year ago and has been in decline for years.

NF has already had some experience overseeing a rebuild after cuts, okay not to this extent but when Arriva scaled back the 2010 "big change" in 2012 then slowly rebuilt over the years after.

The local services are going to be hard to rebuild.

(08 Jun 2022, 12:58 pm)L469 YVK wrote NF has already had some experience overseeing a rebuild after cuts, okay not to this extent but when Arriva scaled back the 2010 "big change" in 2012 then slowly rebuilt over the years after.

The local services are going to be hard to rebuild.

Surely it's the longer distance services, like the X45/X46, that are going to be harder to rebuild - these relied on commuters and shoppers to Newcastle/Metrocentre.
The X45/X46 will have been cut from combined 15 to 20 to 30 minute frequency in a matter of 12 months, clearly showing that the long distance services are the worst hit.
Ditto the X30/X31 and X70/71/72. 
By comparison local services such as the 33, 34, 51/52 are very busy.

(08 Jun 2022, 5:50 pm)busmanT wrote Surely it's the longer distance services, like the X45/X46, that are going to be harder to rebuild - these relied on commuters and shoppers to Newcastle/Metrocentre.
The X45/X46 will have been cut from combined 15 to 20 to 30 minute frequency in a matter of 12 months, clearly showing that the long distance services are the worst hit.
Ditto the X30/X31 and X70/71/72. 
By comparison local services such as the 33, 34, 51/52 are very busy.

Well the 51/52 aren't that busy, i really think the East Gateshead services need maybe a re-imagine of the routing. Especially the 58, that doesn't need deckers really tbh. 

The 33 on this forum seems an easy target, but it actually gets really busy, especially in morning and evening. Well maybe the Sunderland Services need re-doing especially in the Silksworth/Grangetown/Ryhope, they all just need changing. 

Washington - Sunderland needs to be seperate (with every 10 mins, 3 different routes, aswell as them going through estates on , and they can also replace the 39 doing that aswell while extending the 39 into downhill A183 or extend it in to a loop.

I know I have suggested it and many people say its SC territory, which it is, however wouldn't it work much better if GNE incorporated some SC areas for maybe like Downhill or Thorney so not only do you have more connectiosn you can also go to places like Washington etc. The thing is with GNE if you don't live on a main road around the A690/A183 you get stagecoach and their is no other option

(08 Jun 2022, 8:01 am)Chris 1 wrote My initial thoughts were the same; but then on reflection he's done the dirty work for the new man coming in.  The resentment or bad feeling that the upcoming service changes, closing Chester, downgrading Hexham et all generate can all be directed towards the previous MD, giving the incoming MD a fresh page.

I'm sure the incoming MD will love that his reputation has been destroyed and he's coming in with a fresh page!
Mind, judging by the comments made by ex ANE drivers on here, I'm not sure it has been!

(08 Jun 2022, 12:58 pm)L469 YVK wrote NF has already had some experience overseeing a rebuild after cuts, okay not to this extent but when Arriva scaled back the 2010 "big change" in 2012 then slowly rebuilt over the years after.

The local services are going to be hard to rebuild.

Rebuilding suggests that he was successful in growing the business, but passenger journeys in all local authority areas that Arriva North East operate have declined massively since 2012 - before Covid. 

What is Nigel Featham offering that Martijn Gilbert doesn't? Are we expecting some kind of magic wand here?

If anything, things will be worse!

(07 Jun 2022, 4:47 pm)MurdnunoC wrote By all accounts, he did a total of two driving shifts during his tenure at Go North East. 

And one of those driving shifts was a photo opportunity to show off one of GNEs 70-plate ADL E400 (at 0001 on 1st September 2020, IIRC) - just so he could get the Twitter jump on Alex Hornby.

While he may have been prepared to do the odd driving shift, let's not kid ourselves that he was out there doing them all the time.

https://twitter.com/MartijnGNE/status/15...EcLHc-BTOA&s=19

3 now!

(09 Jun 2022, 7:51 pm)Andreos1 wrote https://twitter.com/MartijnGNE/status/15...EcLHc-BTOA&s=19

3 now!

Only when the press is around though. Will do anything to present himself in a positive light. Moves on when he has to present bad news or has to implement anything that could be described as negative. The Chris Traeger of the bus industry.

Basically hes done the damage,now he's f***ing off

Maybe MG done more driving shifts than hes posted tho I doubt it reached double figures, I wonder if he knows any routes. I know Dan knows atleast most if not all of Deptford & X1.

The man also has his own job to do, though pitching in at the coal face every now is definitely good practice.

As an established enthusiast I’m sure there’s many times MG has been stuck in the 5th meeting of the day and would rather be out on the road - but people within an organisation have different roles.

Not defending the guy for the false steps in recent years but he can’t be in two places at once.

(09 Jun 2022, 9:15 pm)Unber43 wrote Maybe MG done more driving shifts than hes posted tho I doubt it reached double figures, I wonder if he knows any routes. I know Dan knows atleast most if not all of Deptford & X1.

There aren’t many routes I’ve not driven - I just don’t tend to post about it.


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(09 Jun 2022, 10:04 pm)Dan wrote There aren’t many routes I’ve not driven - I just don’t tend to post about it.


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Can you share what routes you haven't drove?

(09 Jun 2022, 10:06 pm)Unber43 wrote Can you share what routes you haven't drove?

I don’t keep a list of what I have and haven’t driven, but the main ones that come to mind are the local Peterlee services. As I say, even if it’s just once, I’ve driven most routes.

However, as James101 said above, and I’m commenting as I know several drivers of all operators are on this forum and some have voiced opinions on this in the past… you can’t be in two places at once, and ultimately anyone (not just Martijn) employed in a non-driving position in the business is not there to drive buses, they’re there to do another job. And, much like drivers, they don’t always want to work overtime, as their days are long enough as it is.


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(09 Jun 2022, 10:18 pm)Dan wrote I don’t keep a list of what I have and haven’t driven, but the main ones that come to mind are the local Peterlee services. As I say, even if it’s just once, I’ve driven most routes.

However, as James101 said above, and I’m commenting as I know several drivers of all operators are on this forum and some have voiced opinions on this in the past… you can’t be in two places at once, and ultimately anyone (not just Martijn) employed in a non-driving position in the business is not there to drive buses, they’re there to do another job. And, much like drivers, they don’t always want to work overtime, as their days are long enough as it is.


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I agree, some just want to go home.

What do people think will happen with fare structures post MG?

I suspect there will be some imminent increases “due to the rising cost of fuel”.