(19 Jul 2026, 4:31 pm)X919 WGR wrote So passengers normally get a Streetlite sized vehicle on the 96 but with Northstar doing some runs they've sent a Strata to run their run of the 96... Oh boy

Because on those runs it’s normally absolutely empty 

Hence go north east not commercially operating

(19 Jul 2026, 4:31 pm)X919 WGR wrote So passengers normally get a Streetlite sized vehicle on the 96 but with Northstar doing some runs they've sent a Strata to run their run of the 96... Oh boy

Which more than meets contract spec, by the way!

In my previous experience of driving the 96 when I was at Riverside, you could go an entire trip without picking up more than a 5 passengers.

I'd also note that a lot of passengers tend to make remarks along the lines of 'I don't know what they don't use one of these all the time!' on such routes.

Joe Public won't and don't give a toss, to put it bluntly.

I thought this was a Forum, not a complaints department

(Yesterday, 11:48 am)V514DFT wrote I thought this was a Forum, not a complaints department

Seems fine if its any other company. Seems if Northstar does something then it has to be complaining about

Lot of people probs aint happy Danny boy left gne it seems

Yes but its getting to the point where its constant popping at Northstar, okay so they put on a little bus on that run of the 96, but then if there was no bus put on that 96 run, you'd complain about it being a no show, if you don't like Northstar, then dont use them, there's no need for popping at them at every single turn

(Yesterday, 4:34 pm)V514DFT wrote Yes but its getting to the point where its constant popping at Northstar, okay so they put on a little bus on that run of the 96, but then if there was no bus put on that 96 run, you'd complain about it being a no show, if you don't like Northstar, then dont use them, there's no need for popping at them at every single turn

It is getting a bit pathetic seeing it everytime now. Im half expecting someone to say "see 426 is on the 18. Reminding people of a better company who ran it before"

Or some sh!t like that

(Yesterday, 10:25 am)LeeCalder wrote Joe Public won't and don't give a toss, to put it bluntly.

I know it's a bit of a side topic, but it'd be interesting to see if using bread vans does have an impact.

To an average punter, some people will likely just not use them at all as they're usually used for stuff like hospital transport or whatever and don't look like a real bus. 

Thinking Solo vs Strata type comparison here.

Does anybody know why the 515 got moved to Northstar ?

(Yesterday, 5:18 pm)EastGatesheadRider wrote Does anybody know why the 515 got moved to Northstar ?

Cause its a nexus tenders and whoever bids wins it. Northstar won it so they have it

(Yesterday, 10:25 am)LeeCalder wrote Which more than meets contract spec, by the way!

In my previous experience of driving the 96 when I was at Riverside, you could go an entire trip without picking up more than a 5 passengers.

I'd also note that a lot of passengers tend to make remarks along the lines of 'I don't know what they don't use one of these all the time!' on such routes.

Joe Public won't and don't give a toss, to put it bluntly.

Oh really. Wasn't aware but better to know.
Would be more suitable I guess having the smaller bus go around the Lobley Hill estates

(Yesterday, 5:18 pm)EastGatesheadRider wrote Does anybody know why the 515 got moved to Northstar ?

They won the tender.

(Yesterday, 4:37 pm)Nerd4321 wrote It is getting a bit pathetic seeing it everytime now. Im half expecting someone to say "see 426 is on the 18. Reminding people of a better company who ran it before"

Or some sh!t like that

I know it sounds like im coming across a bit harsh, but it is repetitive

(Yesterday, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote I know it's a bit of a side topic, but it'd be interesting to see if using bread vans does have an impact.

To an average punter, some people will likely just not use them at all as they're usually used for stuff like hospital transport or whatever and don't look like a real bus. 

Thinking Solo vs Strata type comparison here.

I imagine it would depend on how it's spec'd and how busy it gets, likely would have minimal impact with lower loadings and it's not too bouncy or rattles like hell, the little ones aren't as a rough ride as the longer ones are although can be rough going over speed humps. At least Northstar's look professional too which helps, some of these van conversion things just look like an access bus (often they are just that) usually just dealer stock white with the service number written on a piece of paper.

In some instances like above, some actually prefer the little buses, have heard customers questioning why such large buses are used on some routes, last time it was on the Harrogate Bus Company 21 service which is needed for school loadings.

(19 Jul 2026, 4:31 pm)X919 WGR wrote So passengers normally get a Streetlite sized vehicle on the 96 but with Northstar doing some runs they've sent a Strata to run their run of the 96... Oh boy

(Yesterday, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote I know it's a bit of a side topic, but it'd be interesting to see if using bread vans does have an impact.

To an average punter, some people will likely just not use them at all as they're usually used for stuff like hospital transport or whatever and don't look like a real bus. 

Thinking Solo vs Strata type comparison here.

Go South Coast replaced a lot of Solos (which arent avaliable new( with Breadvans in Salisbury! Think they know what they are doing.

(Yesterday, 8:01 pm)Jimmi wrote I imagine it would depend on how it's spec'd and how busy it gets, likely would have minimal impact with lower loadings and it's not too bouncy or rattles like hell, the little ones aren't as a rough ride as the longer ones are although can be rough going over speed humps. At least Northstar's look professional too which helps, some of these van conversion things just look like an access bus (often they are just that) usually just dealer stock white with the service number written on a piece of paper.

In some instances like above, some actually prefer the little buses, have heard customers questioning why such large buses are used on some routes, last time it was on the Harrogate Bus Company 21 service which is needed for school loadings.

Aye you're probably right there, most of them are just awfully specced though really. Believe Northstar's are the ones Arriva used to have for Arriva Click aren't they without checking so assume they have a better spec than most?

Surprised some prefer them, guessing pensioners no doubt? Can't think of anything worse and that's coming from someone who can't stand Solo's.

Mind that said, has anyone ever bought them for a commercial service, I'm struggling to think of any tbh? The Salisbury ones mentioned after I believe are all subsidised routes aswell. The last buses I can really think of with a major operator is the Vario's Arriva got out of a field and they were bloody awful aswell.

(Yesterday, 9:24 pm)Storx wrote Aye you're probably right there, most of them are just awfully specced though really. Believe Northstar's are the ones Arriva used to have for Arriva Click aren't they without checking so assume they have a better spec than most?

Surprised some prefer them, guessing pensioners no doubt? Can't think of anything worse and that's coming from someone who can't stand Solo's.

Mind that said, has anyone ever bought them for a commercial service, I'm struggling to think of any tbh? The Salisbury ones mentioned after I believe are all subsidised routes aswell. The last buses I can really think of with a major operator is the Vario's Arriva got out of a field and they were bloody awful aswell.

Arriva bought some for operations in Macclesfield which were commercial. The Northstar ones aren’t former Arriva click though, Arriva Click used Sprinters. Other than that the only operator that comes to mind is Transdev Blazefield for Keighley and Rotala who had some for commercial work

(Yesterday, 9:24 pm)Storx wrote Aye you're probably right there, most of them are just awfully specced though really. Believe Northstar's are the ones Arriva used to have for Arriva Click aren't they without checking so assume they have a better spec than most?

Surprised some prefer them, guessing pensioners no doubt? Can't think of anything worse and that's coming from someone who can't stand Solo's.

Mind that said, has anyone ever bought them for a commercial service, I'm struggling to think of any tbh? The Salisbury ones mentioned after I believe are all subsidised routes aswell. The last buses I can really think of with a major operator is the Vario's Arriva got out of a field and they were bloody awful aswell.

New for services in the Macclesfield area, just standard Arriva spec for the time, Civic V2 seats and USB ports, Arriva Click had Sprinters.

No-one else is really coming to mind for buying Stratas brand new for commercial service work, it's nearly all on supported services.

(Yesterday, 9:36 pm)220631612 wrote Arriva bought some for operations in Macclesfield which were commercial. The Northstar ones aren’t former Arriva click though, Arriva Click used Sprinters. Other than that the only operator that comes to mind is Transdev Blazefield for Keighley and Rotala who had some for commercial work

Thanks for that, knew there weren't many around - honestly didn't think there was any but guess there's a very few. Always thought those Macclesfield ones were ex Arriva Click so learnt something new (it's the ones Northstar have).

(Yesterday, 5:16 pm)Storx wrote I know it's a bit of a side topic, but it'd be interesting to see if using bread vans does have an impact.

To an average punter, some people will likely just not use them at all as they're usually used for stuff like hospital transport or whatever and don't look like a real bus. 

Thinking Solo vs Strata type comparison here.

I don't think the majority of people care what the vehicle is. If it's got the number on the front clearly enough, they'll know it's their bus and stop it.

I was in Riga a couple of years ago and there were even smaller buses running services and people just hopped on them and went home. I know I get frustrated when Arriva send a Streetlite instead of an E400 because I prefer the E400, but I always bet I'm the only person on the bus thinking that. The rest are just happy it turned up.

(Yesterday, 9:46 pm)Shrek wrote I don't think the majority of people care what the vehicle is. If it's got the number on the front clearly enough, they'll know it's their bus and stop it.

I was in Riga a couple of years ago and there were even smaller buses running services and people just hopped on them and went home. I know I get frustrated when Arriva send a Streetlite instead of an E400 because I prefer the E400, but I always bet I'm the only person on the bus thinking that. The rest are just happy it turned up.

Aye you're probably right. It's probably more the route that's the issue than the bus really as let's be honest most of them are useless for most people as they're mostly lifeline services so never really going to have much demand. Mind their reliability, or lack of, might affect numbers but that's another debate really. 

It's a shame there's no competition to the ADL vehicles these days, especially Optare/Switch or whatever they're going with these days since their product line-up, to be blunt, is just crap across the board.

Optare / Switch have effectively bit the dust regarding the UK and their owners are focusing elsewhere under the Switch name.

(Yesterday, 5:30 pm)X919 WGR wrote Oh really. Wasn't aware but better to know.
Would be more suitable I guess having the smaller bus go around the Lobley Hill estates

Yes, indeed - the contract specification for the 96 is the same as the specification for the 515, 558 and 568 (i.e. a minibus is fine).

Monday to Friday, the bus used on the 96 on a morning runs onto the 515. The bus on a night time runs off the 558/568. Two efficient bus workings which yield good driver duties which are also efficient.

I’m told Go North East’s drivers have told Northstar drivers over the last couple of days that they “wish Go North East had similar sized buses for night time runs like this”.

Ultimately, they use a lot less fuel than a conventional Optare Solo, Streetlite or otherwise, and Nexus benefits from this cost saving with a cheaper tender price.

(Yesterday, 8:01 pm)Jimmi wrote I imagine it would depend on how it's spec'd and how busy it gets, likely would have minimal impact with lower loadings and it's not too bouncy or rattles like hell, the little ones aren't as a rough ride as the longer ones are although can be rough going over speed humps. At least Northstar's look professional too which helps, some of these van conversion things just look like an access bus (often they are just that) usually just dealer stock white with the service number written on a piece of paper.

In some instances like above, some actually prefer the little buses, have heard customers questioning why such large buses are used on some routes, last time it was on the Harrogate Bus Company 21 service which is needed for school loadings.

I think you’re right. The fact that these are spec’d similarly to an ordinary service bus (the seats - let’s face it - are the exact same seats as Go North East have in Versas used on the 96 previously) means they probably feel quite similar to a bus, despite being small in size.

Generally speaking, as a passenger, I’m not a huge fan of small buses like these, as you feel every bump along the road. The 96 is slow-going, however, and unlikely to be going much more than 20mph at any point, so this isn’t as great an issue as a result.

(Today, 4:28 am)Dan wrote I’m told Go North East’s drivers have told Northstar drivers over the last couple of days that they “wish Go North East had similar sized buses for night time runs like this”.

As this is a contracted services, did the former drivers of the 96 (and the 515/558 for that matter) not turn up at the gates of Northstar expecting to be TUPE'd  to the company upon the advice of ill-informed managers?

(Yesterday, 9:46 pm)Shrek wrote I don't think the majority of people care what the vehicle is. If it's got the number on the front clearly enough, they'll know it's their bus and stop it.

I was in Riga a couple of years ago and there were even smaller buses running services and people just hopped on them and went home. I know I get frustrated when Arriva send a Streetlite instead of an E400 because I prefer the E400, but I always bet I'm the only person on the bus thinking that. The rest are just happy it turned up.

You'd be astonished how many people don't actually look at even the route number!

A friend bought a minibus that was similar to the ones used in our town.  Just before Christmas, we decorated it with tinsel, baubles, Christmas trees, spray snow, the works.  We also set the destination blind to read "Straight to Cuba".  Driving around town, it was astonishing the number of people who tried to hail us, even on sections where there were multiple routes and you'd think the punters would at least want to try and get the right bus back home!

(Today, 5:37 am)MurdnunoC wrote As this is a contracted services, did the former drivers of the 96 (and the 515/558 for that matter) not turn up at the gates of Northstar expecting to be TUPE'd  to the company upon the advice of ill-informed managers?

When a service provider changes such as a replacement contract situation, TUPE can apply. 

However, the employees must be part of an 'organised grouping of employees'. 

So if there is a specific rota of people employed on the service that is changing provider, then TUPE definitely applies. The outgoing provider can say to the new provider that when the work transfers, all responsibility for the employees passes to them, including any redundancy payments. (But not pay in arrears owed for work done for the outgoing provider!)

But other situations become much less clear, and if the work concerned is only a small part of a general rota, it probably would be be out of scope.
See the ACAS basic summary at https://www.acas.org.uk/tupe/advice-for-...-employees . And, for more discussion of how it is applied https://www.davidsonmorris.com/when-does-tupe-apply/ 

Of course, in many situations in the bus industry, the work involved in the lost contract is only a small part of the outgoing operator's activity and they wish to hang on to the staff in any case. Even then, a driver who is part of an "organised group" and who wishes to transfer with the service would still be entitled to claim TUPE.

(10 hours ago)Busadvocate wrote When a service provider changes such as a replacement contract situation, TUPE can apply. 

However, the employees must be part of an 'organised grouping of employees'. 

So if there is a specific rota of people employed on the service that is changing provider, then TUPE definitely applies. The outgoing provider can say to the new provider that when the work transfers, all responsibility for the employees passes to them, including any redundancy payments. (But not pay in arrears owed for work done for the outgoing provider!)

But other situations become much less clear, and if the work concerned is only a small part of a general rota, it probably would be be out of scope.
See the ACAS basic summary at https://www.acas.org.uk/tupe/advice-for-...-employees . And, for more discussion of how it is applied https://www.davidsonmorris.com/when-does-tupe-apply/ 

Of course, in many situations in the bus industry, the work involved in the lost contract is only a small part of the outgoing operator's activity and they wish to hang on to the staff in any case. Even then, a driver who is part of an "organised group" and who wishes to transfer with the service would still be entitled to claim TUPE.

I think Murdnonc was making a tongue in cheek comment re the Type and being at depot gates, relating to a previous company un-named..  I don't think he was actually serious in asking about TUPE rules and regs.

(Today, 4:35 am)Dan wrote Generally speaking, as a passenger, I’m not a huge fan of small buses like these, as you feel every bump along the road. The 96 is slow-going, however, and unlikely to be going much more than 20mph at any point, so this isn’t as great an issue as a result.

However with your company although you don't like them as a passenger, these Minibuses are a "necessary evil" to enable you to win certain niche contracts, and also handy vehicles on rail replacement contracts that go to stations that are difficult to reach with a normal vehicle. Especially if you want the vehicle to go into the car park of more rural stations.

Whilst on the subject, I got 3 of the Stratas out in service on the 515/558/568. Once the 4th one is available, no doubt the 520 will revert back to using one too. Though I think the 515 could get away with a bigger vehicle, I do recall Veolia and later GNE using Solo / Solo SR on past variations of the 515, think it was the 68. It went up Nursery Lane like the 515 currently does. (Veolia Solo on Nursery Lane - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photogenic/5813776498)

Anyway here is the Northstar Strata fleet in action....

11 at Boldon Colliery - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...5408118780

13 on Nursery Lane, Felling - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...5408119075

14 at Boldon Colliery - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...5407733196


Here is number 13 when it was with Arriva North West in Macclesfield when less than a year old - https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...6806883817 - Turns out it did a stint with Arriva Southern Countries before Northstar acquired it.

I think, as rapid, says they're a very functional choice and quite sensible and one hopes some sense continues in franchising decisions.

Where the beenetwork has been a success I look at some routes that barely required a Solo (Ashton's 336/7 circular services) which since franchising are now operated by Volvo BZL deckers which cart around fresh air for 90% of their runs.

I suspect the same will happen here as the operator will be getting paid to whack a shiny new electric on there

Can't disagree there perfect for what they are used for - and they look like a bus to!