20 Jul 2019, 10:04 pm
#22
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(20 Jul 2019, 3:52 pm)Adrian </p><p>
</p><p><br></p><p>There's very little brand loyalty from ENCTS pass holders, and I'd imagine, Network One users also. They'll get the first bus that turns up.</p><p><br></p><p>As a commercial ticket holder, if I had a choice, I'd chuck Arriva without a second thought. Even if it meant paying a little more.</p><p>
</p><p><br></p><p>Even if I didn't have my GNE pass, I would happily pay the extra to not travel Arriva! </p><p>During CTBW I thought I'd pay the £1 and only use Arriva for the day. Fair to say, by the time the time I got to Spennymoor on the 6, I was regretting the decision as the X21 was directly in front, with it's leather seats, tables and sockets. Once I got to Newcastle (via the X12, which was also a mistake), I decided to try the 'new' e400s they have on the X21, and if I'm being honest, Arriva's 'high spec' Sapphire buses are just on par with GNE's standard spec, except with an order of magnitude more rattles!</p><p>On the way back home, I didn't fancy subjecting myself to the X12 again, so took the X21 and relaxed in comfort.</p><p><br></p><p>I don't have any statistics to back up, but I regularly see a lot more passengers get on the X21 over the 6 at Durham, so I think regular passengers do appreciate the nicer buses.</p><p>In fact, my mother (who knows less than nothing about buses) got the GNE X46 to Crook over the Arriva X46 because it "looked nicer". She didn't even know they were ran by two different companies. </p><p><br></p><p>So basically what I'm saying is, in a situation where the average person wants to get the bus, and they're not tied to any particular operator (ENCTS, Network One, one off user etc.), and the buses go to the same place, I'd be willing to bet that the majority would pick a bus the nicer bus. Network One and ENCTS, in particular as they would be more likely to try both operators</p>
