Stagecoach North East: Service Suggestions

Kuyoyo

6,853

06 May 2020, 12:28 pm #560

(06 May 2020, 11:49 am)James101 I've thought it through a bit more based on these comments, all times based on regular timetables:

There is a drop in direct buses to Boro from 5 bus stops along Norton Road, from 8 buses per hour to 4. That said, all stops on Norton Road are still served at every 6/7 minutes from Norton to Stockton when combined with service 52. I'd argue 4 buses per hour extending to Boro would be sufficient for 5 stops which have no other competitor operator.

I'm not sure it's as black and white as saying the H1 link isn't viable as it was withdrawn. The H1 was a standalone route with a low and uneven frequency. No ticket integration with Stagecoach or Arriva was available and Compass Royston offered no further network connections. This proposal largely runs on established corridors with existing resources. If anything I'd say the biggest barrier to this ever happening is how the current ENCTS system incentivises operators to break up journeys which are used by pass holders (i.e. hospital services) as it generates two journeys for reimbursement rather than one.

From a turn-up-and-go frequency to 4 buses an hour that won't be evenly spaced. You also fail to recall that the 35 and 38 swapped routes in Norton back in November and it's unlikely they will be swapped back over since the 35's reliability has seen an improvement since the change. So that means 2 stops (Red Lion plus another as the 37 will most likely have to go straight into Norton High Street) go from effectively 6 buses an hour direct to Middlesbrough (4 36s and 2 37s) to a bus every 30 minutes, while the rest of the stops go to 4 buses an hour direct effectively half what they currently have.
Not to mention the confusion this would cause along Norton High Street - instead of 4 buses an hour to Middlesbrough (6 an hour to Stockton) from one side, you'd have 2 an hour on the 38 to Middlesbrough and 2 35s to Stockton going from the current side of the road while the 37s towards Middlesbrough would be going from the opposite side to the 35/38. Not to mention in Roseworth - don't forget the 37 technically has the 15 for competition from Redhill Road Shops. People will use the first bus that gets there but if the 37 towards Stockton is going from the opposite side of the road to the 15, that's going to push passengers onto the 15 travelling towards Stockton (and connections for Middlesbrough in Stockton - another key area this 'idea' destroys, seeing as Arriva would boast the higher frequency from Stockton to Middlesbrough of 7 buses an hour vs Stagecoach's 6 buses whereas at present Stagecoach have the more frequent service).
Simple thing here - they aren't broken so why mess your regulars about for the sake of what might be a handful of passengers a week?
And as for the 36 replacing the 6 from Hartlepool to Clavering - just why? Why take that section off Hartlepool depot and give it to Stockton depot? The mess it would make of Stockton's duties (a shift on 36s during the week now can do 2 round trips in the maximum driving hours) plus the amount of route learning that would be needed. Was fine back when a handful of trips extended up to Clavering and Hart Village at peak time as the trips could be allocated to a set rota to reduce the number of drivers that needed route learning but if it goes up there all day, you're talking having to route learn every driver in the depot more-or-less. And what does that do for Hartlepool depot itself? It's already the smallest depot in the division in terms of allocation and PVR (South Shields' PVR and allocation pre-Covid-19 is only just higher than Hartlepool's - by 5) so by how much would having a 15 minutely 6 from Owton Manor to the Marina only reduce Hartlepool's 26 vehicle PVR down to? And if that is culled down further, is there much point in keeping Hartlepool depot open?
Simple solution is as I said - open North Tees Hospital as a destination on Tees Flex for the Hartlepool Zone as well as the Stockton and Darlington zone. If there are people wanting to travel from Hartlepool to North Tees, then that will give them a quick, flexible and direct link without messing with established corridors