In all honestly if the 33/33A were pointless and no one used them, GNE would of changed them after the normal 6 month review... same as the 39 changes..
Its coming up to a year since the 33/33A was introduced and the 39 changes and nothing has changed so they must be doing well.
Every service has a time of the day when few passengers are on the route and will have times when they carry fresh air.
That goes for all bus routes, not just for GNE services.
