Go North East

[northern506]

I haven't been following this closely but Go North East appear to be in a sorry state of affairs. Multiple articles criticising particularly Consett depot. From the outside it appears like Go North East are rapidly deteriorating.

Weather blamed for bus delays and cancellations

Widespread delays and cancellations to bus services have been caused by freezing weather, an operator has said.
Passengers in parts of County Durham faced severe problems on Monday and Tuesday, with some saying they waited hours for buses that did not arrive, making them late for school, college and work.
Go North East said recent sub-zero temperatures had affected vehicle systems, including batteries and engines.
It vowed to restore its timetabled services as soon as possible.
The 16 Durham Diamond service, which serves Consett, Stanley and Durham City, was particularly affected by cancellations, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Bus staff say poor maintenance causing breakdowns

Bus drivers and engineers have said services are being cancelled because a fleet is "dropping to bits" due to a "lack of maintenance".
Go North East (GNE) has blamed extreme cold weather for the removal of a number of buses which left passengers unable to commute or make hospital appoints and businesses paying for taxis.
But staff told the BBC that defective vehicles are rushed back into service while some newer buses were being sent to sister firm Go North West.
The company said it was "conducting an in-depth review" with the aim it "never again falls short of keeping a full fleet on the road at all times".
Earlier this month the firm, which has depots in Consett, Gateshead, Sunderland, Washington, Hexham and North Shields, said: "The extreme temperatures have had a knock-on effect on vehicle systems, particularly batteries, engines and air systems, which can struggle in sub-zero conditions."
But drivers said the situation was "exacerbated" by existing problems.

Bus company struggled to find engineers, say staff

A bus company hit by reliability issues has struggled to fill engineering roles which is contributing to delays and cancellations, according to staff.
Go North East (GNE) passengers have reported large gaps in services, with some unable to get to work or make hospital appointments, particularly in County Durham.
Engineers told the BBC the firm was unable to attract workers because of pay rates, but had brought in staff from other companies to carry out repairs on better terms.
The bus operator did not comment on pay, but said it was taking on more employed staff to "ensure no buses are off the road due to a lack of engineering capability".
GNE has blamed sub-zero temperatures for buses breaking down, but workers previously claimed vehicles are not being maintained.

Note: there is an existing Go North East thread but it seems to be locked. Feel free to merge with the existing thread if required.

 

[rg177]

They've certainly had quite a downfall since the GNE of my childhood in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Vehicle investment has largely fallen away, driver turnover is visibly quite high and they had rather protracted strike action not too long ago.

You're going to run into reliability problems if you just keep dumping a load of ex-London vehicles on passengers that are barely any newer than what they're supposed to be replacing.

 

[Gwr12345]

It's not like their competition in arriva is much better either! Buses in the NE in general are a sorry state of affairs.

 

[Tetchytyke]

I noticed it when I was back in the north east last summer, their buses were filthy. Even the newest buses had problems. The middle of June and the buses were caked in road muck and general grime.

Back in the early 2000s, when GNE also had no money, the fleet was old but the one thing you couldn't say was that the buses were dirty or uncared-for.

This is the long-term effect of strike action. You can come to an arrangement with your staff to give them just enough money to get them back to work. But fixing the underlying staff morale takes a lot more effort. I can't see any evidence that they've made any efforts to actually sort out the underlying issues- I see the smarmy Ben Maxfield is still there, for starters. And all that means your best staff leave and the staff who remain don't give a toss.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

As an exiled North Easterner, it is both tragic and apparent how Go North East has lost its direction since Kevin Carr stepped down. Whilst it's fashionable to give Nigel Featham a kicking, I remember having the discussion with a long standing friend who similarly has a NE background and works in the industry, we were negatively opining on Martijn Gilbert and many of his flights of fancy, and that was 2018/9. The seeds of this were sown a long time ago, and the closure of Chester le Street only exacerbated the operational problems.

I agree with @Gwr12345 that Arriva is scarcely any better. The Northumberland depots soldier on valiantly but as for those south of the Tyne...

Stagecoach North East might be the most conservative of bus operators but they're the best in the North East by some distance now.

 

[northern506]

I haven't used their services for a while, but the last time I was in the area I was shocked at how bad their main route (Angel 21) was operating.

It appeared to be operating with ancient B7TLs or B9TLs with multiple services running together. I guess the closure of Chester-le-Street depot makes it harder to regulate these services.

 

[buslad1988]

What’s the reasoning behind Go North East’s apparent sudden change in attitude and standards?

It used to be the heartland of Go Ahead.

Things seem to have slowed right down and gone backwards since Martijn Gilbert left (despite some of his brands/ideas being questionable) perhaps he could foresee the future wasn’t looking good?

Is the local North East Mayor (if they have one) threatening to take back control of buses? Generally seems to be when that’s the case operators take their foot off the gas.

 

[Andyh82]

The previous MD spent too much money and the extra passengers never materialised

So the current MD came in and cut costs, closing a depot, drafting in second hand buses rather than buying new

The cost of living crisis resulted in staff wanting more money, hence the strike action and then the pay award which effects the company finances even further

 

[Megafuss]

I noticed it when I was back in the north east last summer, their buses were filthy. Even the newest buses had problems. The middle of June and the buses were caked in road muck and general grime.

Back in the early 2000s, when GNE also had no money, the fleet was old but the one thing you couldn't say was that the buses were dirty or uncared-for.

This is the long-term effect of strike action. You can come to an arrangement with your staff to give them just enough money to get them back to work. But fixing the underlying staff morale takes a lot more effort. I can't see any evidence that they've made any efforts to actually sort out the underlying issues- I see the smarmy Ben Maxfield is still there, for starters. And all that means your best staff leave and the staff who remain don't give a toss.

It's worth nothing the strike action was "resolved" by the slenderist of margins. There is clearly a lot of bad blood.

As an actual user of GNE under the new regime, I have three observations...

1 - The buses are absolutely filthy

2 - The maintenance of vehicles is cowboy level. I've been on the same fleet number three times in the last 2 months and it's broken down EVERY time I've been on it for the same reason. I've literally just got off an electric bus with a huge hole in the floor that you can stick your arm down. No exaggeration.

3 - The service delivery is abysmal. I've lost count the number of times my bus has been turned at Gateshead despite running no more than 5 minutes late. Every time it's "traffic congestion". I'm sure it's nothing to do with the vehicles being non-CAZ compliment and they don't want to pay the £50.....

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The previous MD spent too much money and the extra passengers never materialised

So the current MD came in and cut costs, closing a depot, drafting in second hand buses rather than buying new

The cost of living crisis resulted in staff wanting more money, hence the strike action and then the pay award which effects the company finances even further

The closure of Chester le Street was planned under Gilbert and then undertaken after he left.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Whilst it's fashionable to give Nigel Featham a kicking, I remember having the discussion with a long standing friend who similarly has a NE background and works in the industry, we were negatively opining on Martijn Gilbert and many of his flights of fancy, and that was 2018/9.

Gilbert went off on flights of fancy and spent too much money on stuff that wasn’t needed and, more importantly, didn’t convert into paying bums on seats. There was always going to be retrenchment afterwards and if you want retrenchment you want someone like Featham.

Featham’s main issue is that he’s pretty much guaranteed to upset the staff, just as he did at Arriva and then again at GNW. But retrenchment isn’t always/usually compatible with being nicey nicey with staff.

I actually think the issue at GNE is that Featham has been spread too thinly with GNW and franchising, and the day-to-day running of the business has been left to Maxfield.

I’m wary of it coming across as an ad-hominem but you look at the guy’s CV- Arriva Dewsbury, Selby, then a stint at Royal Mail- and it’s just a long list of running businesses into the ground. I’m genuinely not sure what he aimed to achieve with his grandstanding during the strike action. Whatever it was, it just seems to antagonise everyone that he needed to keep on-side, including NECA and the local media. He doesn’t seem to have the competence that will be required.

It’s easy to get staff back from a strike as the staff will always crack first as they’re not getting paid. So you offer just enough money that they don’t lose face. The hard bit is rebuilding trust afterwards and there’s no evidence that Maxfield even wants to do that.

It’s interesting to see just how pointed the BBC reporting has been this time. The BBC report his smarmy puffery and then explain in detail what the insiders say about engineering standards. The BBC are not calling him a liar but it’s not far short, and the BBC seem to have receipts. The fact they’re getting access to such insider information shows that all is really not well in GNE world.

I first moved to the north east in the early 2000s when GNE also didn’t really have money. They were using 25-year-old Leyland Nationals and Metrobuses, and their age showed, but the buses were always turned out impeccably. Not now.

It's worth nothing the strike action was "resolved" by the slenderist of margins. There is clearly a lot of bad blood.

Definitely. The level of detail in the BBC reports is the most striking thing for me. Feeding that level of detail to the local press simply doesn’t happen where there is a functioning relationship between management and staff.

 

[Megafuss]

Definitely. The level of detail in the BBC reports is the most striking thing for me. Feeding that level of detail to the local press simply doesn’t happen where there is a functioning relationship between management and staff.

Exactly this. The BBC reporter isn't daft either. He's clearly getting the "management will say this, but what they really mean is that" from those on the ground at GNE leaking the info. He also saw through the excuse of "poor weather". Wonder if GNE management know nobody believes them?

 

[Tramfan]

They've certainly had quite a downfall since the GNE of my childhood in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Vehicle investment has largely fallen away, driver turnover is visibly quite high and they had rather protracted strike action not too long ago.

You're going to run into reliability problems if you just keep dumping a load of ex-London vehicles on passengers that are barely any newer than what they're supposed to be replacing.

I think I'd always assumed those old ex-London buses were brought on loan to cover the Metro Flow blockade back in 2022, but they never left, and kept on coming!

I haven't used their services for a while, but the last time I was in the area I was shocked at how bad their main route (Angel 21) was operating.

It appeared to be operating with ancient B7TLs or B9TLs with multiple services running together. I guess the closure of Chester-le-Street depot makes it harder to regulate these services.

Does often feel like the 21 has a procession of ancient vehicles turning up, keep seeing the 05 and 06 plate ones on it - can usually hear them well before you can see them!

Also not unusual to see things like the rear destination boards on things like the Streetlites being non-functioning for months at a time.

 

[Teapot42]

I first moved to the north east in the early 2000s when GNE also didn’t really have money. They were using 25-year-old Leyland Nationals and Metrobuses, and their age showed, but the buses were always turned out impeccably. Not now.

I moved away from the North East in 1994 for Uni, then permanently in 1997. We lived in United territory, but had a few Northern services. Back then, United were pretty good, but Northern were a step above. I always preferred the Northern 230 and it was a treat to have a trip out towards Chester le Street or Newcastle to get to travel on more of their buses.

How things have changed...

There were also some good independents such as TMS and OK (bought, I believe, by United and Northern respectively?) and the buses were well looked after, frequent and punctual.

While I haven't used a bus up there in nearly 30 years, my mother still regularly travels by bus and is always complaining about cancellations, skipping our village to make up time, poor timetabling meaning connections are missed by 2 minutes with a wait of nearly an hour and so on. It's such a shame that the origins of two of the larger operating groups in the UK have fallen so badly.

 

[DanNCL]

I’ve lived in the North East my entire life and it’s the worst I’ve ever known it. The only consistency is that they’re consistently bad.

I haven't been following this closely but Go North East appear to be in a sorry state of affairs. Multiple articles criticising particularly Consett depot. From the outside it appears like Go North East are rapidly deteriorating.

Weather blamed for bus delays and cancellations


Bus staff say poor maintenance causing breakdowns


Bus company struggled to find engineers, say staff

Note: there is an existing Go North East thread but it seems to be locked. Feel free to merge with the existing thread if required.

Consett is only getting the focus because one of the local MPs has intervened on the 16/16A. There was a day recently where the 16/16A, which is supposed to run every 15 mins, had no arrivals in Durham at all between 0730 and 0900 despite there being no road or weather issues that day.

Riverside and Washington are just as bad. Rarely encounter Deptford or Percy Main routes so can’t comment on those.

You're going to run into reliability problems if you just keep dumping a load of ex-London vehicles on passengers that are barely any newer than what they're supposed to be replacing.

Actually older in some cases. The ex-London deckers that are supposed to be running the 16/16A are 61 plated, those routes were previously mostly in the hands of 17 plate Streetlites.

Stagecoach North East might be the most conservative of bus operators but they're the best in the North East by some distance now.

Stagecoach have invested a lot into the North East lately. More new E400s than I count plus a top up order of Yutongs paid for out of their own pocket to complement those funded by ZEBRA.

I haven't used their services for a while, but the last time I was in the area I was shocked at how bad their main route (Angel 21) was operating.

It appeared to be operating with ancient B7TLs or B9TLs with multiple services running together. I guess the closure of Chester-le-Street depot makes it harder to regulate these services.

The branded Streetdecks still work and still have the branding. They seem to spend more time on the X21, 93/94 than they do on the 21 these days. The X21 I can get as you don’t want the ex-London buses on it (not that it stops them!), but the 93/94 definitely shouldn’t be prioritised over the 21 for them.

What’s the reasoning behind Go North East’s apparent sudden change in attitude and standards?

It used to be the heartland of Go Ahead.

Things seem to have slowed right down and gone backwards since Martijn Gilbert left (despite some of his brands/ideas being questionable) perhaps he could foresee the future wasn’t looking good?

Is the local North East Mayor (if they have one) threatening to take back control of buses? Generally seems to be when that’s the case operators take their foot off the gas.

She is threatening public control but the issues started before then. The previous MD wasted money left right and centre. Remember the Interdeck coaches that were refurbished for the X10, only to be replaced by almost new E400s a few months later that despite their very young age were repainted? Or how about the Eclipses that were brought in second hand and refurbished only to disappear a few months later?
The current management is equally dire just in a different way.

3 - The service delivery is abysmal. I've lost count the number of times my bus has been turned at Gateshead despite running no more than 5 minutes late. Every time it's "traffic congestion". I'm sure it's nothing to do with the vehicles being non-CAZ compliment and they don't want to pay the £50.....

Almost all of their vehicles, even the ex-London junk, is compliant. I think it’s just the small fleet of Citaros at Washington that aren’t and they’re usually kept away from the CAZ on the 4, 8, 34 and 50.

Also not unusual to see things like the rear destination boards on things like the Streetlites being non-functioning for months at a time.

Oh they work! But you can’t actually see them as they’re covered in months worth of muck that should have been washed off but hasn’t been.

 

[rg177]

Riverside and Washington are just as bad. Rarely encounter Deptford or Percy Main routes so can’t comment on those.

Percy Main is largely fine on the Coast Road routes, rush hour traffic aside. The 63 reg B9s we have seem to be the most reliable of the bunch, as they've stuck to the 307/309 (and variants) their entire working lives. Certainly better than what Arriva shove on the 306 and 308.

Main issue up here is that the drivers just seem fed up, not that I blame them, and it's a constant churn of new faces. They seem to be doing their best but admittedly I (and my mum, who commutes on the same routes) have had some increasingly downright nasty interactions with a handful of them - all drivers we'd never seen before.

 

[Megafuss]

I’ve lived in the North East my entire life and it’s the worst I’ve ever known it. The only consistency is that they’re consistently bad.


Consett is only getting the focus because one of the local MPs has intervened on the 16/16A. There was a day recently where the 16/16A, which is supposed to run every 15 mins, had no arrivals in Durham at all between 0730 and 0900 despite there being no road or weather issues that day.

Riverside and Washington are just as bad. Rarely encounter Deptford or Percy Main routes so can’t comment on those.


Actually older in some cases. The ex-London deckers that are supposed to be running the 16/16A are 61 plated, those routes were previously mostly in the hands of 17 plate Streetlites.


Stagecoach have invested a lot into the North East lately. More new E400s than I count plus a top up order of Yutongs paid for out of their own pocket to complement those funded by ZEBRA.


The branded Streetdecks still work and still have the branding. They seem to spend more time on the X21, 93/94 than they do on the 21 these days. The X21 I can get as you don’t want the ex-London buses on it (not that it stops them!), but the 93/94 definitely shouldn’t be prioritised over the 21 for them.


She is threatening public control but the issues started before then. The previous MD wasted money left right and centre. Remember the Interdeck coaches that were refurbished for the X10, only to be replaced by almost new E400s a few months later that despite their very young age were repainted? Or how about the Eclipses that were brought in second hand and refurbished only to disappear a few months later?
The current management is equally dire just in a different way.


Almost all of their vehicles, even the ex-London junk, is compliant. I think it’s just the small fleet of Citaros at Washington that aren’t and they’re usually kept away from the CAZ on the 4, 8, 34 and 50.


Oh they work! But you can’t actually see them as they’re covered in months worth of muck that should have been washed off but hasn’t been.

The Mercs have 100% been on the 28/29 and they've been terminating them at Gateshead under the guise of a "breakdown" on the website or "I've been told traffic congestion" if you ask the driver.

On Sunday the allocated Merc mysteriously broke down every time it got to Gateshead Interchange.

 

[Teapot42]

Remember the Interdeck coaches that were refurbished for the X10, only to be replaced by almost new E400s a few months later that despite their very young age were repainted?

These were a farce. A route popular with pensioners and mums with pushchairs where you had to climb stairs to get to the seats.

The route could do with something more comfortable, but it needs to be accessible for the main customer base.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

The Interdecks were replaced, I think, by the e400mmcs that were originally allocated to the X84/X85. Someone did try to explain why those routes had been given new deckers but again, it seemed a very strange move to put new deckers on a route that would never justify it.

The fact is that the fleet has been neglected both in terms of replacement plans (even before Covid) and there was a huge amount of money wasted. I could understand that Chester le Street depot needed replacement but outright closure and running vehicles from Riverside was always destined to be operationally fraught. And yes, I agree with @Tetchytyke that whilst Nigel Featham might be the titular head, he's clearly been spending most of his time at Go North West.

We lived in United territory, but had a few Northern services. Back then, United were pretty good, but Northern were a step above. I always preferred the Northern 230 and it was a treat to have a trip out towards Chester le Street or Newcastle to get to travel on more of their buses.

I think the years may have impacted your recollections. United in the 1990s were the poor relation in many respects and especially in East Durham. Of course, Arriva has now been largely ousted from that part of the north east by Go North East.

 

[northern506]

The Mercs have 100% been on the 28/29 and they've been terminating them at Gateshead under the guise of a "breakdown" on the website or "I've been told traffic congestion" if you ask the driver.

On Sunday the allocated Merc mysteriously broke down every time it got to Gateshead Interchange.

Are the 28 and 29 subsidised too? I'm sure Go North East tried to withdraw them but they were tendered out.

Surely if they are they'd just accept the fine and operate the complete service. Wouldn't they be fined for non-operation of part of the service by the organisation subsidising the service?

 

[Teapot42]

I think the years may have impacted your recollections. United in the 1990s were the poor relation in many respects and especially in East Durham. Of course, Arriva has now been largely ousted from that part of the north east by Go North East.

To be fair, I'm thinking mainly the 80s and in to the early 90s. Things did seem to go downhill a bit when Northumbria and Tees were split off. I travelled daily to 6th Form in Durham on the X40 and aside from the odd day when they put a minibus on it was pretty decent. Always better with a VR of course!

 

[DanNCL]

The Mercs have 100% been on the 28/29 and they've been terminating them at Gateshead under the guise of a "breakdown" on the website or "I've been told traffic congestion" if you ask the driver.

On Sunday the allocated Merc mysteriously broke down every time it got to Gateshead Interchange.

A Citaro has been allocated to the 28/28B/29 just two days in the last month. They did terminate at Gateshead Interchange both days and it is fishy but it’s not a regular occurrence.

They will take a branded Streetlite off the 8 to put on the 28/29 and then use the Citaro on the 8 before they’d put a Citaro on the 28/29. The 8/28/29 can’t use deckers because of the low bridge in Pelton which limits the allocations to Streetlites, Versas and Citaros.

Are the 28 and 29 subsidised too? I'm sure Go North East tried to withdraw them but they were tendered out.

Surely if they are they'd just accept the fine and operate the complete service. Wouldn't they be fined for non-operation of part of the service by the organisation subsidising the service?

Yes they are subsidised, by both Nexus and Durham County Council. But neither properly enforce the contracts and the operators all know it. GNE got away with barely a slap on the wrist for the non delivery of services during the Autumn 2023 strike.

 

[Tetchytyke]

Remember the Interdeck coaches that were refurbished for the X10

In fairness, I never got the impression that Gilbert wanted the Interdecks. They were going spare at Oxford after Oxford Bus Company had pulled out of the London route and I rather got the impression they were forced on him by the parent company.

Their reliability was so poor that someone more cynical than I would think they were deliberately trying to banjax them.

I still also wonder if that’s why the E400s were really ordered…

The X21 I can get as you don’t want the ex-London buses on it (not that it stops them!)

When the X21 was first launched they used ex-London Presidents. I can only assume the PRONTO branding at the time was someone’s idea of a joke, you could measure the speed of the things on the A1M with a theodolite.

Nice to see nothing changes!

 

[jkkne]

From the outside, it looks like they’re just clinging on in the vain hope of franchising arriving and saving them.

Believe the Angel is due new electric deckers this year, that particular service has gone downhill since it was inexplicably awarded some BSIP funding to restore its pre pandemic frequency last year. Quite why they’re using public cash to fund a flagship route is baffling.

 

[Jimmi]

The delivery of services across the North East have dropped into a dire state of affairs particularly within about the last 5 years although there was issues forming prior, Arriva and Go North East in particular have dropped off a cliff (alongside with some issues with local authority decisions and some independents).

The MG era was an unusual time, it felt to many enthusiasts and staff at the time that it was something of a club between those associated with MG and those around him - me and others were somewhat sceptical of the "balls to the wall" approach especially when much of this occurred during covid when there was many uncertainties - when we heard of Interdecks being introduced to the X9/X10, we suspected it was going to be a disaster, in particular with the elderly and disabled passengers which, although they were PSVAR, they weren't ideal for accessibility for these passengers, we suspected as much as when Arriva introduced (or to a degree, reintroduced) coaches to the X66 service between Darlington and Middlesbrough in 2008-2009, there was many complaints about accessibility, including legal action being taken against ANE. The X84/X85 seemed to carry on pretty nicely for a while with single deckers, but then Northumberland County Council didn't want the X85 to continue beyond Hexham to Newborough for some reason, so with that dropped from the X85, a bus had to be saved, this saw the X85 was sped up in journey times, meaning villages lost this service and it was going further up against the train which had a frequency increase around the same, an evening and Sunday service was also introduced but was lightly used. Pretty much everything introduced/implemented during this period has gone: Interdecks, Xlines X84/X85, X11 to Scarborough, Northern Coaching including Voyager which only survives in form of the livery on the ex Lothian B9TLs and Solo SR 723.

Now, it seems to be a case of cut things to the bone, the culture of favouritism still exists in some form, only now it's for Nigel and who he wants, both have essentially led to frustrations with the driving staff and engineers with many staff including some long serving members leaving the company, many got sick but seemed like they wanted some of these old hands gone.

The main areas suffering the current issues with vehicles are Consett and Washington depots with both being short on multiple sized buses, last I looked in depth, Consett was mainly short on double deckers which included deckers having to be pulled from the likes of the 16/16A to do their school contracts at peak times, especially a problem for the large amount of school/college students needing to travel to/from Durham - Washington primarily seemed to be short on Daimler StreetLite's making allocating a nightmare especially with low bridges and Newcastle's CAZ to worry about. Riverside ain't too great either, the Angel StreetDeck's in particular are troublesome with some having to be kept local for fears of breakdowns whilst others have to plug the gaps on the X21 and X10 (not ideal having those on X10 with them being limited to around 48mph).

Right now it feels like a real "don't care" attitude to the region, some of the excuses are laughable, going from cold temperatures to salt/grit affecting the fleet which is playing out as if its an entirely new phenomenon for winter 2024/25 - they seem incredibly against the idea of sending any non CAZ buses into Newcastle, instead preferring to terminate buses at Gateshead whilst claiming this to be a "breakdown" apparently they absolutely spat their dummies out when they found out the ex Oxford open top B9TLs weren't Euro 6 as they thought they were, leading to the two Scania E400s having to be allocated to the Toon Tour with closed top deckers appearing when these weren't avaliable.

I fear things will only get worse as it looks as if further strike action could be on the horizon.

 

[HC1998]

As an exiled North Easterner, it is both tragic and apparent how Go North East has lost its direction since Kevin Carr stepped down. Whilst it's fashionable to give Nigel Featham a kicking, I remember having the discussion with a long standing friend who similarly has a NE background and works in the industry, we were negatively opining on Martijn Gilbert and many of his flights of fancy, and that was 2018/9. The seeds of this were sown a long time ago, and the closure of Chester le Street only exacerbated the operational problems.

I agree with @Gwr12345 that Arriva is scarcely any better. The Northumberland depots soldier on valiantly but as for those south of the Tyne...

Stagecoach North East might be the most conservative of bus operators but they're the best in the North East by some distance now.

Martijn Gilbert was a character mind you. I think this is when all the shenanigans started and a lot of the ground work for this mess was laid.

Remember those brand spanking new streetlites they bought in 2017 for the 2/2A service in Sunderland and then inexplicably got rid of to be replaced with those stinking filthy 11 plate versas?

 

[jkkne]

Martijn Gilbert was a character mind you. I think this is when all the shenanigans started and a lot of the ground work for this mess was laid.

Remember those brand spanking new streetlites they bought in 2017 for the 2/2A service in Sunderland and then inexplicably got rid of to be replaced with those stinking filthy 11 plate versas?

And a classic routemaster running on the 21...bizarre

 

[Snex]

In fairness, I never got the impression that Gilbert wanted the Interdecks. They were going spare at Oxford after Oxford Bus Company had pulled out of the London route and I rather got the impression they were forced on him by the parent company.

Their reliability was so poor that someone more cynical than I would think they were deliberately trying to banjax them.

I still also wonder if that’s why the E400s were really ordered…

If I remember right the E400MMC's were ordered for the X1

Someone might be able to correct me here but the new buses were meant to be:

X5/X15: Streetdecks (can't remember whether they were due the 16 Plates or new)
X21/X45/X46/X47/X70/X71: New Streetdecks
X30/X31: Existing E400's
X1: New E400's
X9/X10: B5TL

There was a last minute swap which seen Oxford gain 9 of the Streetdecks (901-9) though in return for the coaches then everything changed after that including, if I remember right, interworking changes at Consett which meant they needed more low height deckers.

Here's a render and announcement of the E400's for Washington - https://x.com/jeffh2067/status/1223614837684609024?mx=2

 

[Megafuss]

And a classic routemaster running on the 21...bizarre

That, I can almost understand (I'd argue the 21 is actually a classic coaches service though )

It was stuff like the "farewell" day for the X85 - a service with virtually no historical significance. Granted stuff like that doesn't break a company. But it certainly points to the where priorities are.

 

[Snex]

That, I can almost understand (I'd argue the 21 is actually a classic coaches service though )

It was stuff like the "farewell" day for the X85 - a service with virtually no historical significance. Granted stuff like that doesn't break a company. But it certainly points to the where priorities are.

In fairness, I don't see any issues with that, it's just engaging with the community.

The problems imo was rebranding a fair chunk of the network for no apparant reason with some names changed which had actually had some recognition; Red Kite, Red Arrows, Cobalt Clipper, Ten, Fab 56, Citylink and Quaylink - in particular.

The whole X-Lines nonsense was a waste of money aswell, if you ask me, since they were about 10 years too late and rightfully Arriva and Stagecoach at the same time were in the process of ditching it. Not to mention in a company with 20 brands, it was just another rebrand and the message never got across anyway.