27 Jan 2020, 9:12 pm
#455
(27 Jan 2020, 8:04 pm)L469 YVK I seen the 311 heading to Newcastle along the Coast Rd this morning and the loads seemed decent.
I suspect Arriva will probably end up doing the following:
- 306 & 308 reduced to every 20 mins each
- 306 pulled from Battle Hill Drive creating a simple 10 min frequency between Billy Mill and Newcastle
- Evening services reduced to hourly on both services (with them interworking and 308 getting more running time during the evenings)
- Section of 306 withdrawn between Tynemouth and Whitley Bay with 51A extended to Marden Estate via West Allotment, New York and Rake Lane
- X6 withdrawn
How can you suspect any of that? None of it makes sense.
- Why would they drop the frequency they've both been every 15 minutes forever and the 308 is one of Arriva's flagship routes and slightly less frequent than GNE as it is (8 buses vs 9 along the coast road).
- Removing the 306 from Battle Hill will remove the link from there to the coast and Tynemouth.
- The 306 and 308 are both busy at evenings why would they do that. Interworking also makes no sense the 308's at night run to Blyth and go into the depot why would you have dead running back to Jesmond or an empty extra bus from Blyth to Newcastle. Also they'd be less frequent than GNE.
- So removing the link from Marden to Whitley, Morrisons, Tynemouth and North Shields with Arriva and having an extremly long winded and pointless route along Rake Lane to Marden. (The recently axed 59 with 1 person a journey).
- Don't know enough on the X6 to comment on that.
