Go North East: Service Suggestions v2
Go North East: Service Suggestions v2
(29 Apr 2020, 10:07 am)6049 If this service was reintroduced it would almost certainly stay as the X88 which currently runs between Concord and the Metrocentre via the Galleries
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(29 Apr 2020, 10:07 am)6049 If this service was reintroduced it would almost certainly stay as the X88 which currently runs between Concord and the Metrocentre via the Galleries
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(29 Apr 2020, 10:33 am)LeeCalder There's never been any demand for a MetroCentre bus from Sunderland, that's why the X88 has been carved up more times than a Christmas turkey.
(29 Apr 2020, 10:33 am)LeeCalder There's never been any demand for a MetroCentre bus from Sunderland, that's why the X88 has been carved up more times than a Christmas turkey.
(29 Apr 2020, 10:33 am)LeeCalder There's never been any demand for a MetroCentre bus from Sunderland, that's why the X88 has been carved up more times than a Christmas turkey.I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed - before continuingas normal to the Metrocentre. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
(29 Apr 2020, 10:33 am)LeeCalder There's never been any demand for a MetroCentre bus from Sunderland, that's why the X88 has been carved up more times than a Christmas turkey.I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed - before continuingas normal to the Metrocentre. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:17 pm)6049 I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
However, given the current climate I'm well aware this would definitely be pie in the sky for the foreseeable future.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:17 pm)6049 I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
However, given the current climate I'm well aware this would definitely be pie in the sky for the foreseeable future.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:17 pm)6049 I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed - before continuingas normal to the Metrocentre. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
However, given the current climate I'm well aware this would definitely be pie in the sky for the foreseeable future.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:17 pm)6049 I agree, however potentially opening an express link to the Galleries from Sunderland could possibly a handy link for some people if properly marketed - before continuingas normal to the Metrocentre. Bringing it under X-Lines and running it throughout the week - even with a limited service for a trial period would be interesting.
However, given the current climate I'm well aware this would definitely be pie in the sky for the foreseeable future.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:57 pm)Andreos1 I wonder if it would detract from the 2s and the 8?
Saying that, I wonder if there is enough demand point to point for an express between Sunderland and Washington?
Whichever route it took between the two, it would still mean the vast majority of its passengers would need to use the bus to get to the town/city centres to use it anyway).
There's been a few in the past (X2, X4, X6, X85 plus the Concord - Sunderland ones - X96?) which had a handful of calling points and they didn't last the test of time.
(29 Apr 2020, 12:57 pm)Andreos1 I wonder if it would detract from the 2s and the 8?
Saying that, I wonder if there is enough demand point to point for an express between Sunderland and Washington?
Whichever route it took between the two, it would still mean the vast majority of its passengers would need to use the bus to get to the town/city centres to use it anyway).
There's been a few in the past (X2, X4, X6, X85 plus the Concord - Sunderland ones - X96?) which had a handful of calling points and they didn't last the test of time.
(29 Apr 2020, 1:31 pm)cbma06 Service 8 used to be the X8, service 2 series used to be the X2, there’s no demand for an express service between Sunderland and Washington.
Yea the X95 used to go via Concord, X95 to Seaham Parkside and the X96 to Seaham Harbour but got extended to Peterlee when service 233 got withdrawn between Seaham and Peterlee, new every half hourly service X2 slowly killed off the X95 as GNE wanted all express services via Galleries
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(29 Apr 2020, 1:31 pm)cbma06 Service 8 used to be the X8, service 2 series used to be the X2, there’s no demand for an express service between Sunderland and Washington.
Yea the X95 used to go via Concord, X95 to Seaham Parkside and the X96 to Seaham Harbour but got extended to Peterlee when service 233 got withdrawn between Seaham and Peterlee, new every half hourly service X2 slowly killed off the X95 as GNE wanted all express services via Galleries
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(29 Apr 2020, 1:50 pm)Andreos1 Im not sure there's no demand for an express service between the two points, I just don't think it would work.
Assuming you live in North Sunderland. It is still going to be quicker and easier to get a 56 and then a 4. Than it would be to go to Park Lane and come back on yourself.
Someone, living in Fatfield but working in Sunderland City centre would probably find it quicker getting a 2 or an 8 all the way; than a bus to the Galleries and then wait for an express.
To make it quick, would mean limiting the number of places it stops. Which would then limit how many fares it would take on short hops, which could supplement the longer fares and boost viability.
As attractive as it may be for some, I think any failure would be a legacy of the current network model.
(29 Apr 2020, 1:50 pm)Andreos1 Im not sure there's no demand for an express service between the two points, I just don't think it would work.
Assuming you live in North Sunderland. It is still going to be quicker and easier to get a 56 and then a 4. Than it would be to go to Park Lane and come back on yourself.
Someone, living in Fatfield but working in Sunderland City centre would probably find it quicker getting a 2 or an 8 all the way; than a bus to the Galleries and then wait for an express.
To make it quick, would mean limiting the number of places it stops. Which would then limit how many fares it would take on short hops, which could supplement the longer fares and boost viability.
As attractive as it may be for some, I think any failure would be a legacy of the current network model.
(29 Apr 2020, 1:50 pm)Andreos1 Im not sure there's no demand for an express service between the two points, I just don't think it would work.
Assuming you live in North Sunderland. It is still going to be quicker and easier to get a 56 and then a 4. Than it would be to go to Park Lane and come back on yourself.
Someone, living in Fatfield but working in Sunderland City centre would probably find it quicker getting a 2 or an 8 all the way; than a bus to the Galleries and then wait for an express.
To make it quick, would mean limiting the number of places it stops. Which would then limit how many fares it would take on short hops, which could supplement the longer fares and boost viability.
As attractive as it may be for some, I think any failure would be a legacy of the current network model.
(29 Apr 2020, 1:50 pm)Andreos1 Im not sure there's no demand for an express service between the two points, I just don't think it would work.
Assuming you live in North Sunderland. It is still going to be quicker and easier to get a 56 and then a 4. Than it would be to go to Park Lane and come back on yourself.
Someone, living in Fatfield but working in Sunderland City centre would probably find it quicker getting a 2 or an 8 all the way; than a bus to the Galleries and then wait for an express.
To make it quick, would mean limiting the number of places it stops. Which would then limit how many fares it would take on short hops, which could supplement the longer fares and boost viability.
As attractive as it may be for some, I think any failure would be a legacy of the current network model.
(29 Apr 2020, 7:12 pm)Washingtonian I think the old Newcastle/Washington - Sunderland services started to suffer when the metro extension to Sunderland opened in 2002. They were very popular before then. Even still the X2 always seemed to have decent loadings, even until it was axed. If I remember rightly the Washington to Sunderlandpart of the X2 became was merged with the 773/4 and became the Silver Arrows 2A/C and was initially given a 10 minute frequency. I think there must be some demand for a Newcastle to Sunderland express service as Stagecoach's X24 has been going for a while now, so I think Go North East should never have scrapped the X2.
(29 Apr 2020, 7:12 pm)Washingtonian I think the old Newcastle/Washington - Sunderland services started to suffer when the metro extension to Sunderland opened in 2002. They were very popular before then. Even still the X2 always seemed to have decent loadings, even until it was axed. If I remember rightly the Washington to Sunderlandpart of the X2 became was merged with the 773/4 and became the Silver Arrows 2A/C and was initially given a 10 minute frequency. I think there must be some demand for a Newcastle to Sunderland express service as Stagecoach's X24 has been going for a while now, so I think Go North East should never have scrapped the X2.
(29 Apr 2020, 7:12 pm)Washingtonian I think the old Newcastle/Washington - Sunderland services started to suffer when the metro extension to Sunderland opened in 2002. They were very popular before then. Even still the X2 always seemed to have decent loadings, even until it was axed. If I remember rightly the Washington to Sunderlandpart of the X2 became was merged with the 773/4 and became the Silver Arrows 2A/C and was initially given a 10 minute frequency. I think there must be some demand for a Newcastle to Sunderland express service as Stagecoach's X24 has been going for a while now, so I think Go North East should never have scrapped the X2.
(29 Apr 2020, 7:12 pm)Washingtonian I think the old Newcastle/Washington - Sunderland services started to suffer when the metro extension to Sunderland opened in 2002. They were very popular before then. Even still the X2 always seemed to have decent loadings, even until it was axed. If I remember rightly the Washington to Sunderlandpart of the X2 became was merged with the 773/4 and became the Silver Arrows 2A/C and was initially given a 10 minute frequency. I think there must be some demand for a Newcastle to Sunderland express service as Stagecoach's X24 has been going for a while now, so I think Go North East should never have scrapped the X2.
(30 Apr 2020, 9:21 am)Andreos1 Aye, there was the circular 773/774 which was an amalgamation of the 638 and 777 south of the river and the likes of the 184/185 on the north.
They then curtailed them to run south of the river only as the 73/74 and then not long after came up with the 2 series.
Even they were changed and butchered up before we see what we have now.
I can't remember when the X2 was axed (maybe it coincided with the arrival of the first lot of B9's on the X1).
(30 Apr 2020, 9:21 am)Andreos1 Aye, there was the circular 773/774 which was an amalgamation of the 638 and 777 south of the river and the likes of the 184/185 on the north.
They then curtailed them to run south of the river only as the 73/74 and then not long after came up with the 2 series.
Even they were changed and butchered up before we see what we have now.
I can't remember when the X2 was axed (maybe it coincided with the arrival of the first lot of B9's on the X1).
I think there may have been a bit of overlap with the 2A/2C and X2. The attached suggests there was.
I've double checked timetables to confirm and the X2 and X8 ran the same route between the Galleries and Sunderland (current 8A route via Royal Hospital)
(30 Apr 2020, 12:01 pm)S813 FVK I think there may have been a bit of overlap with the 2A/2C and X2. The attached suggests there was.
I've double checked timetables to confirm and the X2 and X8 ran the same route between the Galleries and Sunderland (current 8A route via Royal Hospital)
(30 Apr 2020, 12:01 pm)S813 FVK I think there may have been a bit of overlap with the 2A/2C and X2. The attached suggests there was.
I've double checked timetables to confirm and the X2 and X8 ran the same route between the Galleries and Sunderland (current 8A route via Royal Hospital)
(30 Apr 2020, 8:11 pm)Andreos1 The X2 was barely any quicker than the others between Sunderland and Washington according to the timetable. Must admit it seemed faster.
(30 Apr 2020, 8:11 pm)Andreos1 The X2 was barely any quicker than the others between Sunderland and Washington according to the timetable. Must admit it seemed faster.
I'm not local to the area, so don't know if there'd be demand, but could a Consett - Tow Law - Crook - Bishop service work? The southern part would compete with Arriva which isn't ideal, but much of the route is quite an obvious gap in the bus network. The timings on current services along the corridor would indicate a journey time of about 58 minutes is possible - if you can shave a few minutes off you might be able to get away with a PVR of 2 for an hourly service. I would probably have it as part of the Venture network, numbered V7 or V8, because while it isn't a Consett town service, the V9 goes up to Chopwell but still forms part of the brand.
At present service 764 from Weardale is the nearest equivalent to this proposed route. However, this terminates in Wolsingham, a much less significant destination than Crook or Bishy, has a fairly sparse timetable, and doesn't have very much marketing. Would a more regular service to busier destinations be able to sustain itself?
(08 May 2020, 1:11 am)BoroLad I'm not local to the area, so don't know if there'd be demand, but could a Consett - Tow Law - Crook - Bishop service work? The southern part would compete with Arriva which isn't ideal, but much of the route is quite an obvious gap in the bus network. The timings on current services along the corridor would indicate a journey time of about 58 minutes is possible - if you can shave a few minutes off you might be able to get away with a PVR of 2 for an hourly service. I would probably have it as part of the Venture network, numbered V7 or V8, because while it isn't a Consett town service, the V9 goes up to Chopwell but still forms part of the brand.
At present service 764 from Weardale is the nearest equivalent to this proposed route. However, this terminates in Wolsingham, a much less significant destination than Crook or Bishy, has a fairly sparse timetable, and doesn't have very much marketing. Would a more regular service to busier destinations be able to sustain itself?
(08 May 2020, 1:11 am)BoroLad I'm not local to the area, so don't know if there'd be demand, but could a Consett - Tow Law - Crook - Bishop service work? The southern part would compete with Arriva which isn't ideal, but much of the route is quite an obvious gap in the bus network. The timings on current services along the corridor would indicate a journey time of about 58 minutes is possible - if you can shave a few minutes off you might be able to get away with a PVR of 2 for an hourly service. I would probably have it as part of the Venture network, numbered V7 or V8, because while it isn't a Consett town service, the V9 goes up to Chopwell but still forms part of the brand.
At present service 764 from Weardale is the nearest equivalent to this proposed route. However, this terminates in Wolsingham, a much less significant destination than Crook or Bishy, has a fairly sparse timetable, and doesn't have very much marketing. Would a more regular service to busier destinations be able to sustain itself?