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(18 Oct 2013, 6:12 pm)Tom wrote Or hourly Peterlee-Sunderland, ommiting Dawdon?
(19 Oct 2013, 8:23 pm)Tom wrote What does everyone think of this suggestion?
Service X8 - Middlesbrough - Stockton - Peterlee - Washington - Metrocentre
This service would provide a number of new links for the Teesside area. There are also options to operate it via Billingham and Dalton Park, rather than Stockton. There are several good things about this service. Firstly, Peterlee. Peterlee is a hub for Go North East services, with many serving remote places with no other bus link. If a new ''Switcha'' ticket was introduced for passengers, the service could be more used.
Additionally, this service would replace the X88. It won't serve Concord anymore, but this shouldn't be a big problem. Firstly, the service isn't really busy Concord-Washington. Also, there are many services that operate from Washington to Concord, for example the 4 and 50!
(20 Oct 2013, 7:22 am)fozzovmurton wrote Would the interest in such a service be there...
Firstly you talk about replacing the X88, would your X8 suggestion be 6/7 days a week or Sundays/Bank Holidays like the X88.
It is an interesting suggestion, an expansion of my WTX suggestion to include Dalton Park. How about, keeping in line with your suggestiom
X8 Middlesbrough-Billingham-A19-Dalton Park-New Seaham-A19-Washington-Western Bypass-MetroCentre
I could not see such a service ever being worth more 1ph but once Dalton Park Development finishes if all goes well there may be potential for more public transport opportunities to be siezed upon...I am not sure about timing, could such a service be done in a similar amount of time to the present TTX Services. It opens connections between Teesside and Dalton Park/MetroCentre, Dalton Park and The Mallard or Mill Inn would serve as an Interchange point for people from Murton and Seaham. The only reason I have missed Peterlee of that, although it is an important hub for GNEs local services but with X9 passing through and X10 passing close by, they have decent links via Gateshead and the X66, maybe amend the X10 with your X8 suggestion to go into Peterlee to give a half hourly service both ways out of Peterlee Bus Station.
At the end of day, it is all well and good saying things like Dalton Parks needs this service or that service, and I am like a broken record at times, but I cannot see GNE even bothering to look at it till at least phase 2 opens
(19 Oct 2013, 8:23 pm)Tom wrote What does everyone think of this suggestion?
Service X8 - Middlesbrough - Stockton - Peterlee - Washington - Metrocentre
This service would provide a number of new links for the Teesside area. There are also options to operate it via Billingham and Dalton Park, rather than Stockton. There are several good things about this service. Firstly, Peterlee. Peterlee is a hub for Go North East services, with many serving remote places with no other bus link. If a new ''Switcha'' ticket was introduced for passengers, the service could be more used.
Additionally, this service would replace the X88. It won't serve Concord anymore, but this shouldn't be a big problem. Firstly, the service isn't really busy Concord-Washington. Also, there are many services that operate from Washington to Concord, for example the 4 and 50!
(19 Oct 2013, 10:33 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote Just had a thought instead of extending the 26 to Doxford International, why not extend the 38 instead to replace the short 39's.
(20 Oct 2013, 10:59 am)cbma06 wrote Im more surprised that the X88 is still running, would of thought that GNE cancelled the service and have the passengers going via X1 and X66 from Galleries and via 56 and X66 from Concord.
Can you imagine the knock on effect if the suggested X8 was delayed in Middlesbrough and Stockton or even a hold up on the A19 and delays on the A1 next to Metrocentre.
Nothing wrong with passengers from Teesside getting the X9 and X10 to Gateshead Interchange then boarding the X66 shuttle to Metrocentre.
(20 Oct 2013, 11:13 am)Tom wrote Yeah, maybe Hartlepool then?
(20 Oct 2013, 11:13 am)cbma06 wrote The 38 used to go to Doxford Park, it was when the 38 went from Sunderland-Doxford Park-Herrington Burn-Houghton and the 37 Sunderland-Doxford Park-Herrington Burn-Washington, both providing a 30 minute frequency on main part of the route, but it wasn't commercially viable so the 37 went back into the hands of Nexus with the Sunderland to Doxford Park being cut, and the 38 was chopped back where it originally terminated.
When Doxford International opened, how many bus services went through that area, there was quite a few bus services and now not many as only a few was using the services as majority was using the car.
If this proposal goes through about service 26 going to Doxford Park, then the 26 is going to be heavily delayed and it will inpact the cross city journeys. I think the 26 will be a red herring to see some reactions from the public (the same thing when GNE said about proposals sending the 20 to South Shields, the reliability of the service would of been either the 20 will be a no show for passengers for a about 30 minutes or you get about 3 buses coming together).
(20 Oct 2013, 11:45 am)CatsFast101 wrote I'm sorry but I don't buy all this stuff about cross city services. The 9 mangaes reliability okay and it is goes from North Shields-Sunderland and what about things like the X3/X36 that go through a two city centres and a busy stretch at Heworth Metro. So I don't get really how a service going through the 26 journey would struggle that much. I mean reliability of things like 20/56 aren't too bad, yes there is the occasionally problem but I don't see how the proposed 26 would be that adversely affected.
(20 Oct 2013, 12:10 pm)cbma06 wrote When GNE put on service 29/39 it never worked out as there was delays on the service and the buses were getting bunched up, that's why GNE had to split the service up, even by GNE admitted that running those service from north side to south side and vice versa was causing the service reliability issues, same when the 26 from Pennywell was extended from City Centre to heworth didn't work out and that service had to be split due to reliability issues between the north and south divide.
(20 Oct 2013, 12:24 pm)CatsFast101 wrote I remember the 29/39 but never understood it, I can't see how it is such a problem.
(20 Oct 2013, 12:38 pm)cbma06 wrote the 29/29A?/39/39A replaced the 139 and 140, and some 135/136
the 26/26A replaced the 126 and 160
the 36/36A replaced the 126 and some 135/136.
probably the times of the timetable were to tight and with delays in mornings and evenings with rush hour didn't help aswell.
If the 26 goes ahead its going to be delayed in rush hour in Doxford International and will have a knock on effect for passengers waiting for the service between Interchange to Boldon especially Castletown residents.
(20 Oct 2013, 7:09 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote If goes via the current 39 route into Doxford Park via Morrisons and Moorside then it shouldn't be a problem, but it goes via East Herrington like the X35 does then it will encounter problems during the rush hour.
(12 Oct 2013, 3:55 pm)CatsFast101 wrote Well I know it's not a view shared by everyone but I think interworking shouldn't be a problem as long as drivers change their blinds before entering interchange/ bus station/termination point. If drivers don't it can get quite confusing. The 202/265 interwork at Seaham, and most drivers pull into the interchange stand showing their next duty (ie when the 202 from Peterlee is pulling in its already changed to '265 Durham') however when drivers don't do this it becomes a problem as one Peterlee driver did at Seaham an old lady had seen the bus pull in as 265 Seaham and as she was waiting for the 202 she didn't board the bus he changed once in stand, but by this time you can't really see the blind and I had to tell the lady this was the 202 as the driver didnt attempt to assist.
Again I've seen 61/2C's on Sundays pull into stand C showing '2C Sunderland' and then people are don't think it's their bus. But there's no reason why interworking should be confusing. I mean I do think interworking that results in mis-branding of branded services is far from ideal but the way the Venture network and East Durham buses do this is fine.
(21 Oct 2013, 5:02 pm)fozzovmurton wrote I have noticed that a couple of times with 61/2C, more recently though the driver changes the blind just before they get to Park Lane in both directions, what people also find confusing is being dropped off on the wrong stand, coming from Murton some drivers go right round and set down on the middle stands and some also drop 2C punters on Stand C...But other drivers may drop off on Stand C from 61 and go right the round empty and vice versa with 2C
(21 Oct 2013, 5:13 pm)dans_bus_photos wrote Its more the cost- why have a driver sitting in the interchange for 25mins every half an hour throughout the day just so they dont have to interwork services.
