(18 Nov 2025, 6:37 pm)L469 YVK wrote I wouldn't be surprised either.

Maybe you're right about the 308 too. 

Until 2019 when Martijn unleashed the reigns to try and shake the 'secondary image' off the 309 - GNE made money the following ways:

* Cobalt peak times - wouldn't be unusual to see fully loaded 309 & X39 deckers especially before Utilitywise collapsed

* High Farm on the 310

Everything else on both routes was a bonus. GNE weren't too bothered about making the 309 more attractive over the 308.

GNE did put a dent into the 308 in March 2019 - but wasn't sustainable long term as they couldn't maximise driving hours due to the remote reliefs. GNE eventually realised they could ditch the 57 and merge Hadrian Park (311) into the traditional Coast Road corridor.

This would've put Arriva at advantage with the 308 if covid didn't happen having the 15 minute service to Blyth & North Tyneside over GNE's 20 minute frequency.

Yeah it's a funny old corridor, arguably the only corridor which there's only been any form of competition in the last 10 year really aswell. 

Who knows, and we'll never find out but I can remember Dan chipping in years ago saying that it wasn't great around COVID time - but then again nothing was then tbh.

Ashington currently missing 7 of the 20 X21/X22 boards. At least one 1 hour gap in services which should run every 20 minutes.

X22 alone is missing 3 of the 7 buses, or in other words they’re dropping 43% of trips. The 0704/0729 (16 late starting, so pointless)/0809/0839/0939/1039/1059 trips have all been cancelled and it’s not even lunchtime.

This is all excluding the trips dropped due to late running because of the weather, too.

Two separate buses have also failed on the 777.

They’ve had months to rectify this and nothing is being done, a masterclass in incompetent management. I remember posts on here saying that engineering management have changed - clearly it’s made zero difference, as the standards have got no better.

The late running is not helped by the vehicle situation as normally if vehicles are available they would swap at Ashington and send out a fresh vehicle but there hasn't been the availability to do so so the 57A ran 30 minutes late.

Normally the mini solo's I have not been a fan of, but I hope 2601 and 2 stick around for a while as without them there would not be enough vehicles for the 57 and 57A, and some of the other vehicles have been so poor. 7506 absolutely freezing!!! At least 2601 and 2 have heating on them! So they are actu8ally quite comfy at the moment!

Was just looking at something else but anyone know what's going on here, as that ain't going under there...

(19 Nov 2025, 11:22 am)PH - BQA wrote Ashington currently missing 7 of the 20 X21/X22 boards. At least one 1 hour gap in services which should run every 20 minutes.

X22 alone is missing 3 of the 7 buses, or in other words they’re dropping 43% of trips. The 0704/0729 (16 late starting, so pointless)/0809/0839/0939/1039/1059 trips have all been cancelled and it’s not even lunchtime.

This is all excluding the trips dropped due to late running because of the weather, too.

Two separate buses have also failed on the 777.

They’ve had months to rectify this and nothing is being done, a masterclass in incompetent management. I remember posts on here saying that engineering management have changed - clearly it’s made zero difference, as the standards have got no better.

It’s getting worse. Currently only 3/7 X22 boards out on the road, and only 9/13 X21/35s. 

Multiple one hour gaps in the X22 in particular. 

The allocations also don’t help - 7528, 7533, and 7554 all on the X18 today while MMCs crawl around on the 57. 

Operational supervisors clearly massively out of their depth, even in good weather they’re questionable but they continued to send X15s up/down the A1 this morning despite the journeys an hour previous being stuck. 

They chose to drop the 0704 X22 this morning, as usual, then sent the 0729 away late and it didn’t even make it to the second timing point resulting in a 70 minute gap in the morning peak.

Edit: 7528 has failed for the second day in a row on the X18, replaced by 1576. Yet another X22 missing.

Arriva tend to prioritise all of the contracted services, which I guess is because they don't want to be fined for missed trips. In many cases it makes sense, like the 57A and 777 are just hourly anyway, but when it gets to that stage that they are missing so many other trips, it really has an impact.

They should hire in some buses like GNE did earlier this year if things are this bad. Then they can spend time fixing buses which have been off the road for ages like 1497 and 7564.