City Transport
City Transport
(07 Nov 2023, 8:55 pm)Adrian I'm really surprised at Stagecoach in particular. It'd only take a finite amount of resource to say put the 100 back on between Newcastle and Metrocentre, even on a much-reduced half hour frequency, but they and Arriva just don't seem bothered. Despite train currently being the only sensible option between the two. It's another example of why the deregulated market doesn't work.
(07 Nov 2023, 8:55 pm)Adrian I'm really surprised at Stagecoach in particular. It'd only take a finite amount of resource to say put the 100 back on between Newcastle and Metrocentre, even on a much-reduced half hour frequency, but they and Arriva just don't seem bothered. Despite train currently being the only sensible option between the two. It's another example of why the deregulated market doesn't work.
(07 Nov 2023, 9:30 pm)Storx Risky for Stagecoach to do anything as they need to be careful as there's no doubt going to be big questions why both GoNorthEast and Arriva are both being a paid an extra pound for doing the same job.
They've already had 2 strikes over pay, and I wouldn't be surprised it's the last. Those routes on West Road would be a nice little earner to compensate for the 20 GNE lost, for example.
Personally, I'd play it safe aswell, but then again I'm generally quite risk averse on stuff like that.
Now I am surprised that Arriva and Stagecoach haven't gone on a big viral advertising campaign and aren't poaching extremely unhappy GNE drivers with a decent bonus for signing up etc.
(07 Nov 2023, 9:30 pm)Storx Risky for Stagecoach to do anything as they need to be careful as there's no doubt going to be big questions why both GoNorthEast and Arriva are both being a paid an extra pound for doing the same job.
They've already had 2 strikes over pay, and I wouldn't be surprised it's the last. Those routes on West Road would be a nice little earner to compensate for the 20 GNE lost, for example.
Personally, I'd play it safe aswell, but then again I'm generally quite risk averse on stuff like that.
Now I am surprised that Arriva and Stagecoach haven't gone on a big viral advertising campaign and aren't poaching extremely unhappy GNE drivers with a decent bonus for signing up etc.
(07 Nov 2023, 9:35 pm)Adrian I don't understand your connection between driver pay and registering a bus route?
Stagecoach *have* gone on a recruitment campaign; they're offering a £1000 bonus to qualified drivers... https://stagecoach.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com...us-_JR6143
(07 Nov 2023, 9:35 pm)Adrian I don't understand your connection between driver pay and registering a bus route?
Stagecoach *have* gone on a recruitment campaign; they're offering a £1000 bonus to qualified drivers... https://stagecoach.wd3.myworkdayjobs.com...us-_JR6143
(07 Nov 2023, 9:30 pm)Storx Risky for Stagecoach to do anything as they need to be careful as there's no doubt going to be big questions why both GoNorthEast and Arriva are both being a paid an extra pound for doing the same job.
They've already had 2 strikes over pay, and I wouldn't be surprised it's the last. Those routes on West Road would be a nice little earner to compensate for the 20 GNE lost, for example.
Personally, I'd play it safe aswell, but then again I'm generally quite risk averse on stuff like that.
Now I am surprised that Arriva and Stagecoach haven't gone on a big viral advertising campaign and aren't poaching extremely unhappy GNE drivers with a decent bonus for signing up etc.
(07 Nov 2023, 9:30 pm)Storx Risky for Stagecoach to do anything as they need to be careful as there's no doubt going to be big questions why both GoNorthEast and Arriva are both being a paid an extra pound for doing the same job.
They've already had 2 strikes over pay, and I wouldn't be surprised it's the last. Those routes on West Road would be a nice little earner to compensate for the 20 GNE lost, for example.
Personally, I'd play it safe aswell, but then again I'm generally quite risk averse on stuff like that.
Now I am surprised that Arriva and Stagecoach haven't gone on a big viral advertising campaign and aren't poaching extremely unhappy GNE drivers with a decent bonus for signing up etc.
(07 Nov 2023, 9:50 pm)OrangeArrow49 BIB - Can't see Arriva or Stagecoach drivers going on strike (or any others). What routes on West Road? Little earner for who, GNE or an independent? 20 what GNE lost, services?
(07 Nov 2023, 9:50 pm)OrangeArrow49 BIB - Can't see Arriva or Stagecoach drivers going on strike (or any others). What routes on West Road? Little earner for who, GNE or an independent? 20 what GNE lost, services?
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.Really they should take the GNE Union approach and negotiate as one, not separately. Theyre all due a pay rise soon, I defo know Sunderland is.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.Really they should take the GNE Union approach and negotiate as one, not separately. Theyre all due a pay rise soon, I defo know Sunderland is.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:03 pm)Unber43 Really they should take the GNE Union approach and negotiate as one, not separately. Theyre all due a pay rise soon, I defo know Sunderland is.
Isnt Darlington paid like £12.12
(07 Nov 2023, 10:07 pm)OrangeArrow49 I'm aware of the pay differences across the depots - and it's fair pay, because it's based on revenue. Newcastle is a successful network.
GNE would never be interested in taking on Stagecoach routes in South Tyneside or Newcastle.
Arriva Northumbria is more profitable than Arriva Durham County I believe. Plus with I-Squared Capital having bought Arriva, I expect there will be rebrands, new services and pay changes anyway.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:03 pm)Unber43 Really they should take the GNE Union approach and negotiate as one, not separately. Theyre all due a pay rise soon, I defo know Sunderland is.
Isnt Darlington paid like £12.12
(07 Nov 2023, 10:07 pm)OrangeArrow49 I'm aware of the pay differences across the depots - and it's fair pay, because it's based on revenue. Newcastle is a successful network.
GNE would never be interested in taking on Stagecoach routes in South Tyneside or Newcastle.
Arriva Northumbria is more profitable than Arriva Durham County I believe. Plus with I-Squared Capital having bought Arriva, I expect there will be rebrands, new services and pay changes anyway.
Good on City Transport for doing this in the short term, would've thought though Nexus would've at least came up with a plan to have Independent Operators from across the region step in to plug in gaps with an "Hourly Skeleton Service" like we seen down in Manchester not so long ago.
Even as temporary measure ask Arriva/Stagecoach to reduce frequencies on some services to free up resources to plug the gaps as to be honest some run virtually empty due how frequent services are, one idea off the back of someone mentioning MetroCentre-Newcastle you could have SNE extend the 6/7 to Central Station stopping at all stops in between.
I would also suggest due to severe overcrowding on the Metro as a result of the "GNE Strike" that Nexus set up a "Support Bus Service" between Heworth & Newcastle City Centre as I have personally witnessed extreme overcrowding on services particularly last Saturday after the Newcastle Match, I was lucky to even get off at Gateshead Metro as the train I was on cleared full platforms at both Monument & Central Station essentially resulting in two full Metrocar loads on just one train, I also seen as we departed Monument someone had been injured on the platform and was being attended to by paramedics probably as a result of the latter.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:32 pm)Malarkey I would also suggest due to severe overcrowding on the Metro as a result of the "GNE Strike" that Nexus set up a "Support Bus Service" between Heworth & Newcastle City Centre as I have personally witnessed extreme overcrowding on services particularly last Saturday after the Newcastle Match, I was lucky to even get off at Gateshead Metro as the train I was on cleared full platforms at both Monument & Central Station essentially resulting in two full Metrocar loads on just one train, I also seen as we departed Monument someone had been injured on the platform and was being attended to by paramedics probably as a result of the latter.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:32 pm)Malarkey I would also suggest due to severe overcrowding on the Metro as a result of the "GNE Strike" that Nexus set up a "Support Bus Service" between Heworth & Newcastle City Centre as I have personally witnessed extreme overcrowding on services particularly last Saturday after the Newcastle Match, I was lucky to even get off at Gateshead Metro as the train I was on cleared full platforms at both Monument & Central Station essentially resulting in two full Metrocar loads on just one train, I also seen as we departed Monument someone had been injured on the platform and was being attended to by paramedics probably as a result of the latter.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:12 pm)OrangeArrow49 Ridiculous nobody has put a Metrocentre service on
(07 Nov 2023, 10:12 pm)OrangeArrow49 Ridiculous nobody has put a Metrocentre service on
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 10:00 pm)Storx I don't know mind, Stagecoach South Shields is a dodgy depot which is paid less than everywhere else as Newcastle has always been paid more and Stockton and Sunderland have both striked to narrow the gap. Not 100% sure if it's changed, but I don't believe it has. Latest applications still have it 50p than the other depots pretty much though.
It was just hypothetical, someone suggested taking on the GNE 20, so if the boot flew the opposite way and for whatever reason Stagecoach ended on strike, then I'm sure someone wouldn't mind doing the opposite as they done it to be sort of spat.
There's also the big problem that Arriva Northumbria is paid substantially more than Arriva Durham for doing the exact same job aswell.
(07 Nov 2023, 11:27 pm)stagecoachbusdepot I think the difference being if SNE or ANE did go on strike, it would likely be professionally handled by grown ups and resolved in a reasonable amount of time. Have either of those operators or their predecessors caused an indefinite strike like the clowns at GNE are presiding over and arguably perpetuating with their inflammatory messaging? I know there have been strikes of course but I can't recall anything on this scale with any of the operators, since probably the Northern strikes in the late 80s and even then don't think they dragged on like this.
GNE are leaving their network wide open for anyone to have a pretty low risk swipe at currently (and customer loyalty likely gained faster than would otherwise ever likely be feasible, helped of course by the current toxicity of the GNE "brand"). The fact no one is stepping in to 'compete' when the monopoliser is down shows the extent to which deregulation has utterly failed.
(07 Nov 2023, 11:27 pm)stagecoachbusdepot I think the difference being if SNE or ANE did go on strike, it would likely be professionally handled by grown ups and resolved in a reasonable amount of time. Have either of those operators or their predecessors caused an indefinite strike like the clowns at GNE are presiding over and arguably perpetuating with their inflammatory messaging? I know there have been strikes of course but I can't recall anything on this scale with any of the operators, since probably the Northern strikes in the late 80s and even then don't think they dragged on like this.
GNE are leaving their network wide open for anyone to have a pretty low risk swipe at currently (and customer loyalty likely gained faster than would otherwise ever likely be feasible, helped of course by the current toxicity of the GNE "brand"). The fact no one is stepping in to 'compete' when the monopoliser is down shows the extent to which deregulation has utterly failed.
(07 Nov 2023, 11:55 pm)Storx Aye fair points mind, but Arriva Yorkshire, who are technically the same management, had an indefinite strike last year which lasted 4 weeks and was a bit of a shambles.
https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-event...-pay-offer - That's the end one for it.
Didn't the Stagecoach Teesside strike last a couple weeks aswell, sure it did.
(07 Nov 2023, 11:55 pm)Storx Aye fair points mind, but Arriva Yorkshire, who are technically the same management, had an indefinite strike last year which lasted 4 weeks and was a bit of a shambles.
https://www.unitetheunion.org/news-event...-pay-offer - That's the end one for it.
Didn't the Stagecoach Teesside strike last a couple weeks aswell, sure it did.
Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise
(08 Nov 2023, 11:02 pm)DaveFromUpNorth Interesting thought that if talks have been unsuccessful is for Unite and GNE to compromise.
The compromisation would be is that members aka drivers will return to work and drive and operate buses but will be unable to accept cash or card payments or use the ticket machines button functions except to register a new service journey/duty route to enable real data for feeds etc for the benefit of customers and management to monitor timekeeping performance.
In brief....
No driver to accept any cash
No driver to accept card payments
If they arrive at the end destination 4 min late the bus leaves 4 min late on its next journey
Union members are allowed to place a sign over the ticket machine to state sorry this ticket machine is on strike today and your journey today on this service is free of charge
That is a compromise