(08 Oct 2015, 3:40 pm)S813 FVK wrote Exactly...it is going to become like any other route operating between the Metrocentre and Gateshead (minus the 97 which does a tour of Whickham and Lobley Hill first) if they keep adding stops in here and there. The Riverside stop, yes - it saves money for drivers but other than that, I am personally strongly against adding any more stops to a service that has been non-stop for years.

(08 Oct 2015, 4:46 pm)Michael wrote Timetables have appeared on the Stanley changes to - http://www.simplygo.com/news/changes-to-your-stanley-network-from-25-october-2015/


Timetables have appeared for the changes to services in Winlaton, Ryton and Rowlands Gill from 25 October 2015-  http://www.simplygo.com/news/changes-to-services-in-winlaton-ryton-and-rowlands-gill-from-25-october-2015/


Timetables have appeared for the changes to services in Whickham and Dunston from 25 October 2015 - http://www.simplygo.com/news/changes-to-services-in-whickham-and-dunston-from-25-october-2015/
 

All only available from the link - not on the service list yet on the GNE site.


Edit: Like how it shows what zones the buses go through, much easier to find out now!

(08 Oct 2015, 5:26 pm)markydh wrote I too fail to see the logic in the X30/31/32 having the same brand as the new 12/12A. There is zero common ground between them and could actually end up confusing people at the Newcastle end. Especially as X31 has a very similar route number to the current Toonlink 31.

(08 Oct 2015, 5:33 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote No, the linear diagrams don't work, they tell you the main stops but are useless if you are on a bus (without next stop announcements) and don't know the area; with a reasonable map you can follow the route. Or if you want to get a bus in a unfamiliar place you can work out where it runs from a decent map. The vast majority of bus timetables now have proper maps as the other big companies realise they are the most useful way of showing the route.

(08 Oct 2015, 5:33 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote No, the linear diagrams don't work, they tell you the main stops but are useless if you are on a bus (without next stop announcements) and don't know the area; with a reasonable map you can follow the route. Or if you want to get a bus in a unfamiliar place you can work out where it runs from a decent map. The vast majority of bus timetables now have proper maps as the other big companies realise they are the most useful way of showing the route.

(08 Oct 2015, 3:23 pm)Dan wrote Come on, Lee... I'm sure the person(s) responsible for coming up with brand names have an awful lot of marketing expertise, and just because you dislike the brand names, does not mean that "someone needs to have a word with them".

We discussed brand names needing to have a meaning to be successful and marketable from this post onwards, with regards to Stagecoach's "Connecting the Dots" brand. To follow on from the recent posts in the "What's annoying you today?" thread regarding debate and brash statements; the aforementioned debate regarding branding is, in my opinion, one of the better 'debates' we've had more recently, and (with hindsight) I'm shocked I didn't contribute a little bit more to it.

If you go back to the aforementioned debate, you'll see that, initially, I was of the opinion that brand names should have a meaning. Because I thought that brand names ought to have a meaning, I attempted to draw inferences based on the well-known idiom "connecting the dots", and suggested Stagecoach's use of this idiom didn't really work (in my opinion) as a brand name. However, Adrian hit the nail on the head by discussing Go North East's "Fab Fifty Six" brand. What made service 56 "fab" all of those years ago? Nothing - it was just a catchy name with a bit of alliteration. Almost ten years later, and I'd argue that it's one of Go North East's more recognised brand names, and it's one of those names that seems to roll off the tongue. "Fab Fifty Seven" seems to piggy-back on the brand name of service 56, and in my opinion, isn't half as successful. I'd have suggested it was down to the dated vehicle allocation if service 56 wasn't allocated fairly elderly Scania L94s until 2014... How do you know that "indiGo" isn't the next "Fab Fifty Six"..?

In my opinion; Go North East's branding went downhill a few years ago, but recent designs are a significant improvement on what we've had in the past. The "Green Arrow" is a prime example of this - it's a far superior design to "The Highwayman", and I think it's instantly more recognisable.

(08 Oct 2015, 6:51 pm)S813 FVK wrote Just a shame the Blaydon Racers doesn't go along Scotswood Road like it used to when it was first introduced, eh? Would be perfect for the 12/12A.

(08 Oct 2015, 7:01 pm)Sidthebusbabe wrote Didn't the 31/32 used to be Blaydon Racers?

(08 Oct 2015, 4:54 pm)S813 FVK wrote The lack of maps does annoy me slightly. I much prefer the line ones as opposed to the one found on the X30/X31/X32 timetable.

(08 Oct 2015, 6:50 pm)Sidthebusbabe wrote I have always preferred brands with regional and area associations, such as 'The Red Kite' and 'Blaydon Racers' although improved designs on recent branding has compensated for perhaps more bland brand names. Overall, I'm a bit undecided on the latest round of branding.

(08 Oct 2015, 10:12 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote That's right, the 11 and 96 don't need to interwork, but the fact that the 11 starts from Eldon Square, but finishes at Market St. and the 96 commences from Market St. but ends up at Eldon Square shows that, as predicted on here, they will interwork. Otherwise this timetabling is ridiculous.

(08 Oct 2015, 10:12 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote That's right, the 11 and 96 don't need to interwork, but the fact that the 11 starts from Eldon Square, but finishes at Market St. and the 96 commences from Market St. but ends up at Eldon Square shows that, as predicted on here, they will interwork. Otherwise this timetabling is ridiculous.

(08 Oct 2015, 10:12 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote That's right, the 11 and 96 don't need to interwork, but the fact that the 11 starts from Eldon Square, but finishes at Market St. and the 96 commences from Market St. but ends up at Eldon Square shows that, as predicted on here, they will interwork. Otherwise this timetabling is ridiculous.

(09 Oct 2015, 6:00 am)DanPicken wrote And you all said I was wrong...

(19 Sep 2015, 7:23 am)Dan wrote Summary of the VOSA registrations, cancellations and amendments as at 19/09/2015 (effective 25th October 2015)

Service 96 is revised to operate a through journey to Newcastle - interestingly, two terminal points are shown on the registration (Eldon Square and Market Street)... I wonder if this could be associated with interworking patterns?

(10 Oct 2015, 12:16 pm)S813 FVK wrote Only 2 days to go until the Hexham changes and the new Tynedalexpress timetable still hasnt been uploaded on to the website.

(11 Oct 2015, 10:42 am)Michael wrote Wonder if Hexham will loose anymore buses due to service changes?

(11 Oct 2015, 10:52 am)Dan wrote There was a PVR reduction owing to the loss of Nexus Miscellaneous Works contracts at Percy Main from 31st August, and it was suggested that Dennis Trident/East Lancs Lolyne 3859 (W859 PNL) would have been withdrawn as a result. This vehicle has been retained in the fleet at Percy Main ahead of the upcoming increase in PVR (for the new 434/448 services in Bedlington/Ashington).

There was a PVR reduction at Hexham, owing to the withdrawal of this season's AD122 service, from 27th September. The two AD122 branded MPDs are in line to be de-branded, but the branding company have been busy with the "Toon Link" branded OmniCitys at Riverside for the past week or two. One of these yellow MPDs released 560 to Deptford, and the other was retained for the increase in PVR for the new services from tomorrow. You certainly won't see any buses leaving Hexham when the PVR is going up... haha.