April 18th 2020: Fleet Ramblings

Go North East
We have reproduced the following information from the Go North East website's Enthusiast section as a catch-up to recent developments.

12 April 2020
Further service changes have taken place due to the reduced demand for bus services as a result of the current Coronavirus
(COVID-19) crisis.
The following transfers have taken place:
Optare Solo 679, 683 from Deptford to Consett
Optare Solo 680, 681, 682 reinstated at Consett
Wright Streetlite 5409, 5411, 5412, 5413, 5414, 5415 from Consett to Deptford
The following vehicles have been taken out of service. They will be formally delicensed closer to the end of the month, in order to allow the company to claim a tax refund. They are:
Optare Solo 684 from Deptford
Wright Streetlite 5372, 5403 from Deptford
Optare Versa 5383, 5384, 5385 from Riverside
Wright Streetlite 5391, 5392, 8339, 8344, 8345, 8346 from Riverside
Wright Streetlite 5410 from Consett
 Volvo B9TL 6043, 6050, 6051, 6052, 6053, 6085 from Deptford
Volvo B9TL 6109, 6110, 6111, 6112, 6113, 6114 from Riverside
5 April 2020
Further service changes have taken place due to the reduced demand for bus services as a result of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.
As such, the following vehicles have been taken out of service. They will be formally delicensed closer to the end of the month, in order to allow the company to claim a tax refund. They are:
Optare Solo 628, 651, 724 from Riverside
Optare Solo 677, 721, 723 from Hexham
Optare Solo 680, 681, 682 from Deptford
Volvo B9TL 6043, 6044, 6054, 6055 from Deptford
Volvo B9TL 6115, 6116 from Riverside
Volvo B11RT 7145, 7146, 7147 from Deptford
29 March 2020
Repaints last week included Mercedes Citaro 0350N/Mercedes Citaro 5276 (NK07 KPJ) into the 2019 fleet livery. Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, planned repaints will be suspended until further notice.
Due to the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, there is falling customer demand and available resources. Therefore, to combat this during these unprecedented times, Go North East has reduced its service levels from Monday 23 March to run enhanced Sunday timetables rather than the full normal weekday output (Sunday service levels, plus some extra morning journeys for key workers, and a small number of contracted school/works services).
As such, due to the lower number of vehicles being required, the following transfers took place:
Optare Solo 673, 674, 675, 676, 677 from Deptford to Hexham
Optare Solo 715, 716 from Consett to Washington
Optare Solo 717 from Consett to Peterlee
Mercedes Sprinter 730 from Riverside to Consett
Volvo B7TLs 3941, 3942, 3963, 3963, 3965 from Chester-le-Street to Riverside
Scania OmniCitys 5249, 5250, 5251, 5252, 5264, 5266, 5267, 5268, 5270, 5271 from Chester-le-Street to Percy Main
Wright Streetlite 5420, 5440, 5441, 5451 from Consett to Deptford
Wright Streetlite 5442, 5443, 5444, 5445 from Consett to Riverside
Volvo B9TL 6001, 6002, 6003, 6004, 6005 from Washington to Riverside
Volvo B9TL 6043, 6044 from Chester-le-Street to Riverside
Volvo B9TL 6047, 6075, 6076 from Hexham to Riverside
Volvo B9TL 6084 from Deptford to Riverside
Scana OmniDekka 6132, 6133, 6134, 6135 from Percy Main to Riverside
Scania OmniDekka 6162, 6163, 6164, 6165, 6166 from Chester-le-Street to Riverside
Volvo B11RT from Chester-le-Street to Hexham

Saltmeadows Road was also temporarily ‘mothballed’ as an operational depot, with the scholars services operated out of Riverside Depot instead. As such, Volvo B7TLs 3967, 3970, 3971, 3973, 3975, 3977, 3983 and 6920 – 6934 all transferred from Saltmeadows Road to Riverside.

On March 23 2020, Boris Johnson placed the country on “lockdown”, enforcing rules on people only leaving the house to shop for necessities, to exercise once a day, for medical needs or to provide care, or to travel to and from work (if they can’t work from home). Shops, pubs, restaurants and theatres have all been closed, as well as mass gatherings being banned, schools being closed, and sporting events being cancelled. Therefore, further changes were made to bus timetables from Saturday 28 March, reflecting a mass reduction in customer demand for buses. As part of these timetable revisions; Chester-le-Street, Percy Main and Washington Depots were temporarily ‘mothballed’ with services operated out of key depots Consett, Deptford (including Peterlee outstation) and Riverside (including Riverside outstation) only. Therefore, the following transfers took place:
Optare Solo 625, 628, 631, 632, 633, 691, 692, 693, 694, 696 from Percy Main to Riverside
Optare Solo 679, 680, 681, 682, 683, 684, 685, 686, 687, 688, 689, 690, 715, 716 from Washington to Deptford
Mercedes Sprinter 730 from Consett to Hexham
Wright Streetlite 5440, 5441 from Deptford to Riverside
Volvo B9TL 6043, 6044 from Riverside to Deptford
Volvo B9TL 6084 from Riverside to Deptford
Volvo B9TL 6099, 6101, 6102, 6103, 6104, 6105, 6106, 6107, 6108, 6109, 6110, 6111, 6112, 6113, 6114, 6115, 6116 from Percy Main to Riverside
Wright StreetDeck 6301, 6302, 6303, 6304, 6305, 6306, 6307, 6315, 6316, 6317, 6318, 6319, 6320, 6321, 6322, 6323, 6324, 6325, 6326, 6327, 6328, 6330, 6331, 6332, 6333 from Chester-le-Street to Riverside
Volvo B11RT 7145, 7146, 7147 from Chester-le-Street to Deptford
After these transfers took place, the following vehicles were then delicensed:
Volvo B5LH 6056, 6057, 6058, 6059, 6060, 6061, 6062, 6063, 6064, 6065, 6066, 6067, 6068, 6069, 6070
Volvo B5TL 6313, 6314
Volvo B7TL 3967, 3970, 3971, 3973, 3975, 3977, 3983
Volvo B7TL 3997, 3998, 3999, 6920, 6921, 6922, 6923, 6924, 6925, 6926, 6927, 6928, 6929, 6930, 6931, 6932, 6933, 6934, 6936, 6938, 6939, 6940, 6941
Volvo B7TL 3941, 3942, 3943, 3962, 3963, 3964, 3965, 6901, 6902, 6903, 6904, 6905, 6906, 6907, 6908, 6909, 6910, 6911, 6912, 6913, 6914, 6915, 6916, 6917, 6918, 6919
Volvo B9TL 6001, 6002, 6003, 6004, 6005, 6006, 6007, 6045, 6046, 6047, 6048, 6071, 6072, 6073, 6074, 6075, 6076, 6077, 6078, 6079, 6080, 6081, 6082, 6083, 6095, 6096, 6117, 6118, 6119, 6120, 6121, 6149, 6150, 6151, 6152, 6153, 6154, 6155, 6156, 6157, 6158, 6159, 6160, 6161
Optare MetroDecker 9083
ADL Enviro400MMC 6336
Scania OmniDekka 3995, 3996, 6122, 6123, 6124, 6125, 6126, 6127, 6128, 6129, 6131, 6132, 6133, 6134, 6135, 6136, 6137, 6138, 6139, 6140, 6141, 6142, 6143, 6144, 6145, 6146, 6147, 6148, 6162, 6163, 6164, 6165, 6166, 6167, 6168, 6169, 6171, 6176
Wright StreetDeck 6329
Scania L94UB 4961, 4962, 4963, 4964, 4965, 4976, 5202, 5207, 5208, 5209, 5210, 5211, 5212, 5213, 5214
Scania OmniCity 5238, 5239, 5240, 5241, 5242, 5243, 5244, 5245, 5246, 5247, 5249, 5250, 5251, 5252, 5253, 5254, 5255, 5256, 5257, 5258, 5259, 5260, 5261, 5262, 5263, 5264, 5265, 5266, 5267, 5268, 5269, 5270, 5271, 5272, 5273, 5274
Mercedes Citaro 5275, 5276, 5277, 5278, 5279, 5280, 5281, 5282, 5283, 5284, 5285, 5286, 5287, 5288, 5289, 5290, 5291, 5292, 5293, 5294, 5295, 5296, 5297, 5298, 5299, 5300, 5301, 5302, 5303, 5304, 5305, 5306, 5307, 5308, 5309, 5310, 5311, 5312, 5313, 5314, 5315, 5316, 5317, 5318, 5320, 5321, 5322, 5323, 5324, 5325, 5326, 5327, 5328, 5329, 5330, 5331, 5332, 5333, 5334, 5335, 5336, 5337, 5338, 5358, 5359, 5360, 5361, 5362, 5363, 5364, 5365, 5366, 5367, 5368, 5481, 5482, 5483, 5484, 5485, 5486, 5487
Wright Streetlite 5369, 6370, 5371, 5375, 5393, 5394, 5416, 5417, 5418, 5432, 5433, 5434, 5435, 5436, 5437, 5459, 5462, 5465
Optare Versa 5382, 5386, 5387, 5388, 8294, 8295, 8296, 8297, 8298, 8299, 8300, 8301, 8302, 8304, 8305, 8306, 8307, 8308, 8309, 8310, 8311, 8312, 8313, 8314, 8315, 8316, 8317, 8318, 8319, 8320, 8321, 8322, 8323, 8324, 8325, 8326, 8327, 8328, 8329, 8330, 8331, 8332, 8333, 8334, 8335, 8336, 8337, 8338
Optare Solo 626, 627, 634, 635, 636, 637, 638, 639, 646, 647, 648, 649, 650, 672, 678, 695, 697, 698, 699, 700, 701, 702, 703, 704, 706, 707, 708, 722, 725
Volvo B9R 7104, 7105, 7106, 7107, 7108, 7109, 7110, 7111, 7112
Volvo B11RT 7120, 7121, 7122, 7123, 7124, 7125, 7126, 7127, 7128, 7129, 7130, 7131, 7132, 7133, 7134, 7135, 7136, 7137, 7138, 7139, 7140, 7141, 7142, 7143, 7144, 7148, 7149
Scania K340EB 7098, 7100, 7101, 7102
22 March 2020
Repaints last week included Optare Solo M890/Optare 695 (YJ13 HOA) into “Little Coasters” livery, and Mercedes Citaro0350N/Mercedes Citaro 5280 (NK07 KPP) and 5281 (NK07 KPR) into the 2019 fleet livery.
Due to contract loss and service changes, the following Optare Solo have transferred out of Percy Main:
650 (NL63 XZX) to Deptford, for use on service 38.
651 (NL63 XZY) to Riverside, for use as an additional spare minibus.
652 (NL63 XZZ) to Riverside, for use on service M6/M7/M8.
724 (YJ13 HMY) to Riverside, for use on services 67/69.
​725 (YA13 AAE) to Riverside, for use on services 67/69.
The inward transfer of the above Optare Solos to Riverside has led to several vehicles being put into a float/reserve capacity. To be used initially as repaint float vehicles, they will then transfer to Percy Main to assist with the operation of additional seasonal work. These are Optare Solo M880/Optare 697 (YJ59 NNH) and Scania CN230UB/Scania Omnicity 5240 (NK56 KHH), 5241 (NK56 KHJ) and 5242 (NK56 KHL). As such, float Mercedes Citaro 0350N/Mercedes Citaro 5486 (HW07 CXX) and 5487 (HW07 CXY) are now on the main fleet allocation at Riverside, allowing Scania L94UB/Wright Solar 5219 (NK54 NVP) and 5223 (NK54 NVW) to be withdrawn from service at Riverside.
The transfer of 650 (NL63 XZX) into Deptford has resulted in the cascade of Mercedes Citaro 0350N/Mercedes Citaro 5485 (HW07 CXV) to Deptford, and in turn the transfer of Scania CN230UB/Scania Omnicity 5239 (NK56 KHG) to Percy Main, allowing Optare Solo M880/Optare 705 (YJ10 MFN) to be withdrawn.
Also due to contract loss, Optare Solo M710SE/Optare 709 (WK58 EAJ) has been withdrawn from service at Percy Main.
Scania K340EB/Caetano Levante 7098 (JCN 822) has transferred from Riverside Depot’s Driver Training fleet to Hexham, for use as a spare vehicle on the scholars contracts in operation at Hexham, following the earlier sale of sister 7099.
Withdrawn Scania L94UB/Wright Solar 5224 (NK54 NVX) has been sold to Davis Motors, Ruthin.