Arriva North East: Service Suggestions
Arriva North East: Service Suggestions
(15 Jul 2023, 8:52 pm)EastCoastMXZ1751 Or what they could do in Morpeth is:
X16 returns as its original route from Newcastle-Kirkhill
2 withdrawn via Kirkhill and retimed to operate every 20 minutes Between Morpeth & Blyth and could also have it interworking with the 35
Could also put the 1 every 20 minutes on the blyth-wansbeck hospital section too (obviously with the 1 trip an hour to Widdrington) so that the 1/2 are on their pre covid timetable
(15 Jul 2023, 8:52 pm)EastCoastMXZ1751 Or what they could do in Morpeth is:
X16 returns as its original route from Newcastle-Kirkhill
2 withdrawn via Kirkhill and retimed to operate every 20 minutes Between Morpeth & Blyth and could also have it interworking with the 35
Could also put the 1 every 20 minutes on the blyth-wansbeck hospital section too (obviously with the 1 trip an hour to Widdrington) so that the 1/2 are on their pre covid timetable
(15 Jul 2023, 9:13 pm)Storx I don't know what the answer is with the 57/57A but they badly need another bus added to the PVR, even if it meant giving them each 75 minutes to get from Ashington to Whitley Bay as an extension and the 57A omitting High Pitt and running direct from Annitsford. The reliability is an absolute shambles lately and it can't recover as it's too long.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:13 pm)Storx Can't comment much on the Morpeth expresses but either a Widdrington short, or taking over the 417 would be the best bet imo.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:13 pm)Storx I don't know what the answer is with the 57/57A but they badly need another bus added to the PVR, even if it meant giving them each 75 minutes to get from Ashington to Whitley Bay as an extension and the 57A omitting High Pitt and running direct from Annitsford. The reliability is an absolute shambles lately and it can't recover as it's too long.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:13 pm)Storx Can't comment much on the Morpeth expresses but either a Widdrington short, or taking over the 417 would be the best bet imo.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:29 pm)mb134 Capacity also needs looked at on the 57. I've heard multiple reports recently of Solos heading to Cramlington from Ashington/Bedlington with standing loads, and I don't even believe that's usually considered the strongest section of the route?
I'd look at extending the 57A fully to Ashington, if resource allowed, to provide a combined 30 minute frequency between Ashington and Cramlington. I believe, if you cut down the layover at Ashington to 4 minutes, it would be doable with just one extra bus, as follows:
57:
Ashington dep 09:02
Whitley arr 10:10
57A:
Whitley dep: 10:15
Ashington arr: 11:28
57A:
Ashington dep: 11:32
Whitley arr: 12:45
57:
Whitley dep: 12:50
Ashington arr: 13:58
(15 Jul 2023, 9:29 pm)mb134 Capacity also needs looked at on the 57. I've heard multiple reports recently of Solos heading to Cramlington from Ashington/Bedlington with standing loads, and I don't even believe that's usually considered the strongest section of the route?
I'd look at extending the 57A fully to Ashington, if resource allowed, to provide a combined 30 minute frequency between Ashington and Cramlington. I believe, if you cut down the layover at Ashington to 4 minutes, it would be doable with just one extra bus, as follows:
57:
Ashington dep 09:02
Whitley arr 10:10
57A:
Whitley dep: 10:15
Ashington arr: 11:28
57A:
Ashington dep: 11:32
Whitley arr: 12:45
57:
Whitley dep: 12:50
Ashington arr: 13:58
(15 Jul 2023, 9:39 pm)Storx Yeah believe it's the Monkseaton area which is generally the busiest, the only thing I'd do is reroute the the 57A, to try and get it to roughly an equal time to the 57. There's no real lost links bar the section on the West of Cramlington but they have the X8 anyway
Would give it a bit more layover, Seghill has the 19 to get to High Pit nowadays so no real lost links and would speed it up for Seghill passengers. The 19 runs roughly 2 minutes in front of the 57A now anyway and would give an Arriva service in Fern Drive since they've pulled out for people who rely on the 43/X8.
Mind capacity wise I wouldn't be surprised if they just binned the sheds soon, they're more hassle than they're worth especially now since 2856 seems to be restricted to the 35 for whatever reason and 2855 has already been scrapped.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:39 pm)Storx Yeah believe it's the Monkseaton area which is generally the busiest, the only thing I'd do is reroute the the 57A, to try and get it to roughly an equal time to the 57. There's no real lost links bar the section on the West of Cramlington but they have the X8 anyway
Would give it a bit more layover, Seghill has the 19 to get to High Pit nowadays so no real lost links and would speed it up for Seghill passengers. The 19 runs roughly 2 minutes in front of the 57A now anyway and would give an Arriva service in Fern Drive since they've pulled out for people who rely on the 43/X8.
Mind capacity wise I wouldn't be surprised if they just binned the sheds soon, they're more hassle than they're worth especially now since 2856 seems to be restricted to the 35 for whatever reason and 2855 has already been scrapped.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:54 pm)mb134 If you're running the 57A through to Ashington then I don't think it's as essential to increase layover given increased opportunity for regulation. I think some of the current issues are due to loadings anyway, which would improve with an increased frequency.
I believe 2855 was engine failure, but yeah I don't see them going much longer, especially with full size single decks being freed up.
and the detour from Annitsford through Northumberland Business Park, to see Cramlington in the distance, to then double back on the A1171 when it's not needed anymore. The A1171 is a traffic blackspot at peaks aswell). Obviously I don't know the loadings but can't imagine there's many on the short section near the Black Horse heading towards the Whitley Bay.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:54 pm)mb134 If you're running the 57A through to Ashington then I don't think it's as essential to increase layover given increased opportunity for regulation. I think some of the current issues are due to loadings anyway, which would improve with an increased frequency.
I believe 2855 was engine failure, but yeah I don't see them going much longer, especially with full size single decks being freed up.
and the detour from Annitsford through Northumberland Business Park, to see Cramlington in the distance, to then double back on the A1171 when it's not needed anymore. The A1171 is a traffic blackspot at peaks aswell). Obviously I don't know the loadings but can't imagine there's many on the short section near the Black Horse heading towards the Whitley Bay.
(15 Jul 2023, 9:59 pm)Storx Yeah that's true, it was more about trying to get an even service heading South though tbf. It's quite a pain currently having the current 25/35 service.
(I'm the South end of the route
(15 Jul 2023, 9:59 pm)Storx Yeah that's true, it was more about trying to get an even service heading South though tbf. It's quite a pain currently having the current 25/35 service.
(I'm the South end of the route
(15 Jul 2023, 10:19 pm)mb134 That's fair enough, I do think it's one of those routes that can probably do quite well if given the resources.
Realistically, it:
- Hits several key employment sites (including NSECH, Nelson Industrial Estate, Jubilee Industrial Estate, industry around Dudley/Annitsford).
- Passes through 3 of the largest towns in SE Northumberland.
- Serves Manor Walks & associated restaurants and cinema.
- Is the best way to Whitley Bay from Cramlington (essentially takes the route you'd drive in the car).
- Serves several schools.
- Is the only meaningful route through Monkseaton.
(15 Jul 2023, 10:19 pm)mb134 That's fair enough, I do think it's one of those routes that can probably do quite well if given the resources.
Realistically, it:
- Hits several key employment sites (including NSECH, Nelson Industrial Estate, Jubilee Industrial Estate, industry around Dudley/Annitsford).
- Passes through 3 of the largest towns in SE Northumberland.
- Serves Manor Walks & associated restaurants and cinema.
- Is the best way to Whitley Bay from Cramlington (essentially takes the route you'd drive in the car).
- Serves several schools.
- Is the only meaningful route through Monkseaton.
(16 Jul 2023, 8:37 am)Storx Yeah totally agreed, especially now that it's the only real frequent service heading South from Cramlington which isn't Newcastle.
I know I'm probably going into the depth of too far but if they did up it upto every 30 minutes, wonder if there's ever scope of extending it South so you'd end up with something like:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Beach+...?entry=ttu
Means you terminate the 306 back at Tynemouth as 3 BPH between Whitley and Tynemouth on a horse shoe of a route is just overkill imo. Would open new connections from SE Northumberland down to Tynemouth and I think in the Summer months could be quite popular in particular.
Not sure how possible it would be with a PVR 6, should be doable though.
(16 Jul 2023, 8:37 am)Storx Yeah totally agreed, especially now that it's the only real frequent service heading South from Cramlington which isn't Newcastle.
I know I'm probably going into the depth of too far but if they did up it upto every 30 minutes, wonder if there's ever scope of extending it South so you'd end up with something like:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Beach+...?entry=ttu
Means you terminate the 306 back at Tynemouth as 3 BPH between Whitley and Tynemouth on a horse shoe of a route is just overkill imo. Would open new connections from SE Northumberland down to Tynemouth and I think in the Summer months could be quite popular in particular.
Not sure how possible it would be with a PVR 6, should be doable though.
(16 Jul 2023, 4:05 pm)mb134 I think it's one of a few routes that, if managed properly, has a decent chunk of potential growth in it. There are also loads of potential different passenger flows, it isn't just about getting from starting point to terminus with nothing along the way, it's set up for some to do A to C, B to D, A to D etc.
It would just about be doable, but they'd both be standalone with PVRs of 3, as follows:
57:
Ashington 09:02
Whitley Bay: 10:10
Tynemouth: 10:24
Tynemouth: 10:31
Whitley Bay: 10:45
Ashington: 11:53
57A:
Ashington: 09:32
Whitley Bay: 10:45
Tynemouth: 10:59
Tynemouth: 11:01
Whitley Bay: 11:15
Ashington: 12:28
That's using current 306 timings between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. I'm not too sure how popular it would be on the Whitley Bay to Tynemouth section outside of peak summer time though, and it might get a tad confusing with the 57A terminating at North Shields on evenings/Sundays too?
Resources wise, it would also be less efficient as it would require a driver changeover on every round trip, whereas with the suggestion yesterday you could do a full 2 trip cycle (57 to Whitley Bay/57A to Ashington/57A to Whitley Bay/57 to Ashington) and still have 30 mins of driving time to play with. The Tynemouth extension would take 2 trips to near enough 6 hours.
(16 Jul 2023, 4:05 pm)mb134 I think it's one of a few routes that, if managed properly, has a decent chunk of potential growth in it. There are also loads of potential different passenger flows, it isn't just about getting from starting point to terminus with nothing along the way, it's set up for some to do A to C, B to D, A to D etc.
It would just about be doable, but they'd both be standalone with PVRs of 3, as follows:
57:
Ashington 09:02
Whitley Bay: 10:10
Tynemouth: 10:24
Tynemouth: 10:31
Whitley Bay: 10:45
Ashington: 11:53
57A:
Ashington: 09:32
Whitley Bay: 10:45
Tynemouth: 10:59
Tynemouth: 11:01
Whitley Bay: 11:15
Ashington: 12:28
That's using current 306 timings between Whitley Bay and Tynemouth. I'm not too sure how popular it would be on the Whitley Bay to Tynemouth section outside of peak summer time though, and it might get a tad confusing with the 57A terminating at North Shields on evenings/Sundays too?
Resources wise, it would also be less efficient as it would require a driver changeover on every round trip, whereas with the suggestion yesterday you could do a full 2 trip cycle (57 to Whitley Bay/57A to Ashington/57A to Whitley Bay/57 to Ashington) and still have 30 mins of driving time to play with. The Tynemouth extension would take 2 trips to near enough 6 hours.
With the GNE strike amd the recent sale of Arriva and talk of future expansion, now would be a good time to 'dip feet in water'
How about a service from Durham depot similar to GNE 50 but possibly a version of the old X50.
Durham to South Shields
Durham to Chester all stops
Chester to Washington non stop
Washington to Boldon Asda limited stop via Follingsby Park
Boldon Asda to South Shields limited Stop via Whiteleas Bridge, South Tyneside Hospital and Westoe
(12 Nov 2023, 7:50 am)ifm001 With the GNE strike amd the recent sale of Arriva and talk of future expansion, now would be a good time to 'dip feet in water'
How about a service from Durham depot similar to GNE 50 but possibly a version of the old X50.
Durham to South Shields
Durham to Chester all stops
Chester to Washington non stop
Washington to Boldon Asda limited stop via Follingsby Park
Boldon Asda to South Shields limited Stop via Whiteleas Bridge, South Tyneside Hospital and Westoe
(12 Nov 2023, 7:50 am)ifm001 With the GNE strike amd the recent sale of Arriva and talk of future expansion, now would be a good time to 'dip feet in water'
How about a service from Durham depot similar to GNE 50 but possibly a version of the old X50.
Durham to South Shields
Durham to Chester all stops
Chester to Washington non stop
Washington to Boldon Asda limited stop via Follingsby Park
Boldon Asda to South Shields limited Stop via Whiteleas Bridge, South Tyneside Hospital and Westoe
(12 Nov 2023, 7:50 am)ifm001 With the GNE strike amd the recent sale of Arriva and talk of future expansion, now would be a good time to 'dip feet in water'
How about a service from Durham depot similar to GNE 50 but possibly a version of the old X50.
Durham to South Shields
Durham to Chester all stops
Chester to Washington non stop
Washington to Boldon Asda limited stop via Follingsby Park
Boldon Asda to South Shields limited Stop via Whiteleas Bridge, South Tyneside Hospital and Westoe
(12 Nov 2023, 12:06 pm)Storx Personally I'd be looking at the Sunderland to Durham network if I was going to do something like that.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/54.77727...?entry=ttu - Maybe something like this now that GNE ditched the 55 and there's never been a link to Durham from large chunks of Hetton.
Can't say they're competing for the sake of it, they dropped out the area. Could do it as an extension as the 64 maybe, which would also open links towards Arnison and Dragonville from those areas aswell. 50 minutes+ from Hetton to Sunderland on the 35 is unacceptable.
(12 Nov 2023, 7:50 am)ifm001 With the GNE strike amd the recent sale of Arriva and talk of future expansion, now would be a good time to 'dip feet in water'
How about a service from Durham depot similar to GNE 50 but possibly a version of the old X50.
Durham to South Shields
Durham to Chester all stops
Chester to Washington non stop
Washington to Boldon Asda limited stop via Follingsby Park
Boldon Asda to South Shields limited Stop via Whiteleas Bridge, South Tyneside Hospital and Westoe
(12 Nov 2023, 12:06 pm)Storx Personally I'd be looking at the Sunderland to Durham network if I was going to do something like that.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/54.77727...?entry=ttu - Maybe something like this now that GNE ditched the 55 and there's never been a link to Durham from large chunks of Hetton.
Can't say they're competing for the sake of it, they dropped out the area. Could do it as an extension as the 64 maybe, which would also open links towards Arnison and Dragonville from those areas aswell. 50 minutes+ from Hetton to Sunderland on the 35 is unacceptable.
Working in partnership and if there's enough space to do it, changes to the 19/57/57A into:
56 (Hourly): East Hartford - Cramlington - Fern Drive - Seghill - Current route to Whitley Bay
57 (Hourly): Current 57A
58 (Hourly): Ashington - Stakeford - Bedlington - Guide Post - Cramlington - Cramlington Hospital - New Hartley - Seaton Delaval - Seghill - Backworth - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
58 Short (Hourly) (35 Minutes Trip): Backworth Loop - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
(19/Current 58: Withdrawn)
Current PVR
57/57A: 5
19: 3
58: 1
New PVR
56/57: 4
58: 5
Map:
It would open up quite a few new links, give more time for the 57/57A (56/57) which is having problems and remove the completely pointless 58 and use it for better resources imo.
(19 Nov 2023, 6:01 pm)Storx Working in partnership and if there's enough space to do it, changes to the 19/57/57A into:
56 (Hourly): East Hartford - Cramlington - Fern Drive - Seghill - Current route to Whitley Bay
57 (Hourly): Current 57A
58 (Hourly): Ashington - Stakeford - Bedlington - Guide Post - Cramlington - Cramlington Hospital - New Hartley - Seaton Delaval - Seghill - Backworth - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
58 Short (Hourly) (35 Minutes Trip): Backworth Loop - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
(19/Current 58: Withdrawn)
Current PVR
57/57A: 5
19: 3
58: 1
New PVR
56/57: 4
58: 5
Map:
It would open up quite a few new links, give more time for the 57/57A (56/57) which is having problems and remove the completely pointless 58 and use it for better resources imo.
(19 Nov 2023, 6:01 pm)Storx Working in partnership and if there's enough space to do it, changes to the 19/57/57A into:
56 (Hourly): East Hartford - Cramlington - Fern Drive - Seghill - Current route to Whitley Bay
57 (Hourly): Current 57A
58 (Hourly): Ashington - Stakeford - Bedlington - Guide Post - Cramlington - Cramlington Hospital - New Hartley - Seaton Delaval - Seghill - Backworth - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
58 Short (Hourly) (35 Minutes Trip): Backworth Loop - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
(19/Current 58: Withdrawn)
Current PVR
57/57A: 5
19: 3
58: 1
New PVR
56/57: 4
58: 5
Map:
It would open up quite a few new links, give more time for the 57/57A (56/57) which is having problems and remove the completely pointless 58 and use it for better resources imo.
(19 Nov 2023, 8:15 pm)Thomas12 This seems sensible to me, I’ve always thought there 58 could be merged into the 19 or 57 in some way.
(19 Nov 2023, 8:15 pm)Thomas12 This seems sensible to me, I’ve always thought there 58 could be merged into the 19 or 57 in some way.
They 57a has turned into a mess, especially as the timetable liners (that I have seen in Seghill) are now inaccurate to boot.
X7/X8/X9 changes as it's simply not working right now.
Arriva and NCC work in partnership for some small extensions to the X7 and X8, namely the X7 serving Tillmouth Avenue in Holywell and the X8 serving Amersham Road in Blyth
New typical board:
X7: 11:14 (BLY) -> 12:22 (NCL)
X8: 12:30 (NCL) -> 13:38 (BLY)
X7: 13:44 (BLY) -> 14:52 (NCL)
... repeat ...
or
X8: 11:29 (BLY) -> 12:37 (NCL)
X7: 12:45 (NCL) -> 13:53 (BLY)
X8: 13:59 (BLY) -> 14:07 (NCL)
... repeat ...
X9: Current times, work standalone.
X7/X8: PVR 10 (+1)
X9: PVR 5 (No Change)
I know it's an extra PVR but at least it's being used to serve some areas which have both lost their serve in recent'ish times and create some links and get the X7 and X8/X9 away from Gosforth High Street and/or South Gosforth so when ones goes tits up the other service isn't seriously impacted. Something needs done anyway as it's pretty much consistently late in recent times. There's also extra padding in the route to help them out a bit (it doesn't take 5 minutes to serve Tillmouth or Amersham).
X19: Wooler, Haugh End, Powburn, Longframlington, Longhorsley, Morpeth, Stannngton, Regent Centre, Newcastle.
Could operate alongside the X14, X15, X16 & X18 between Morpeth & Newcastle. If the X14 is still only every 2 hours to thropton, run the X19 in the other hour
Hi guys, I don't usually post on this part of the forum but today was the tip of the iceberg for me. I was waiting ages for the 7 today and Thursday and I was tracking on bustimes as well as Arriva's app, as you do. They cancelled so many buses before a bus actually came and it always seems to be around 1/2 ish they get really bad. The security guard in the bus station got a driver to ring control or something to check and they said a bus would be 10 minutes but that bus got took out of service. Ended up getting a train - ironically it was a replacement bus. Does anyone know why the 7 is particularly horrendous and why Arriva is so bad at communication?
(02 Mar 2024, 7:28 pm)itsadam Hi guys, I don't usually post on this part of the forum but today was the tip of the iceberg for me. I was waiting ages for the 7 today and Thursday and I was tracking on bustimes as well as Arriva's app, as you do. They cancelled so many buses before a bus actually came and it always seems to be around 1/2 ish they get really bad. The security guard in the bus station got a driver to ring control or something to check and they said a bus would be 10 minutes but that bus got took out of service. Ended up getting a train - ironically it was a replacement bus. Does anyone know why the 7 is particularly horrendous and why Arriva is so bad at communication?
(02 Mar 2024, 7:28 pm)itsadam Hi guys, I don't usually post on this part of the forum but today was the tip of the iceberg for me. I was waiting ages for the 7 today and Thursday and I was tracking on bustimes as well as Arriva's app, as you do. They cancelled so many buses before a bus actually came and it always seems to be around 1/2 ish they get really bad. The security guard in the bus station got a driver to ring control or something to check and they said a bus would be 10 minutes but that bus got took out of service. Ended up getting a train - ironically it was a replacement bus. Does anyone know why the 7 is particularly horrendous and why Arriva is so bad at communication?
