25 Jun 2017, 7:40 pm
#327
(25 Jun 2017, 7:01 pm)Michael It's worked out well having "Cross City Services" in Sunderland, the merging of the 2/2A and the 42 has worked out really well, so much they've bought new Streetlites for the route... Although that merge happened ages ago.
Merging the 36 and 71 is also another example which has worked.
Swapping the 20/20A and 35 between Sunderland and Shields is also working.
The merging of services you mention may work from a 'financial' sense for a number of reasons.
Depending on what the changes are to the services that are combined, it may not work from a passenger perspective.
The original 71 was a combination and variation of the 21a, 160/163 and two minibus services. The vehicles allocated to the minibus services were disposed of if I remember correctly and the other vehicles re-allocated (I can't remember where the Caetano Darts ended up, but the vehicles from the 21A were dedicated to the 21).
The merger of services didn't work as envisaged and the PVR was reduced further, when the 71 was curtailed to run Chester - Houghton only.
The merger of the 36 and the 71 hasn't been without changes either. With vehicle downgrades, PVR reductions and route changes in North Sunderland.
'Illegitimis non carborundum'
