07 Oct 2023, 9:58 pm
#1953
(05 Oct 2023, 5:10 pm)ReDemPTiion £2 fare cap was due to end 31st October and replaced by a £2.50 fare cap for a year until November 2024 but that has now been changed. The £2 fare will now be in place until December 2024. Excellent news for drivers and passengers, definitely noticed more people using the buses with the cheaper fares.
It would be great with Stagecoach could actually sort themselves out. Hartlepool is now a complete shambles. That’s both services 7s cancelled in the last hour leaving a 90 minute gap not helped by the folk festival all weekend.
It starting to be pot luck if and when the service will turn up most of the time now and when it does it can often be packed. They give Hartlepool a full size bus in 22409 only then to have it withdrawn after less than two weeks. Hartlepool desperately needs investment to make the services more reliable because it’s starting to become more and more obvious that Stagecoach don’t really give a crap about the town even the majority of drivers are getting fed up at the looks of it. It’s certainly not helped by them taking on the 59 either which means 3 less buses to do the main town services with.
Stockton don’t seem to be doing much better either. The 36/37/38 have gone from mainly been the enviro 200 MMCs to anything been chucked on them now due to the MMCs doing Houchen’s ego projects 1/2 and 6 however I don’t have much hope on either depot getting investment anytime soon but it’s a backwards step from the 36 going from 69 plate MMCs to second hand 58 Man 300s.
