RE: September Service Changes
(06 Aug 2021, 11:49 am)morritt89 wrote The 39 to Doxford Park has been fairly quiet the past few times I've done it so a Solo would be more than adequate. Anyone familiar with Doxford International and the parked cars that used to be literally everywhere cannot fail to notice the distinct lack of cars around the area now.
The 33 and 38 will be branded Solos but two different colours and names and different again from the 39.
Service 62 will be operated by Deptford.
Seems a little strange that Deptford is operating the 62 but Peterlee doing the 65, realistically running light from Peterlee or Deptford to Seaham is probably about the same, with 65 going full size bus I’d assume Deptford would have took that too especially considering the later evening and Sunday journeys. Can we assume 62 will be branded something other than Peterlee Purples and Solo or Versa? Also what about the 62A I’m assuming that will be solo and will that be a Peterlee Purple branded? Seems messy, it would have been better keeping the 208 for the estate service and just coordinate the 62 as they have done so 62 & 208 combined provide a bus every 30 minute from Easington Colliery, Horden and Peterlee.
As for other changes, Wingate and Station Town seemingly a loser here with GNE saying use Arriva services! 206 replaces the 55 loop but the 202 isn’t replaced on the section south of Peterlee. Maybe it’s low usage, but with the Arriva X21/X22 only going to Peterlee I do wonder if extending the X6 that way to replace the 202 could have kept the quick link to Peterlee and provide faster services to Seaham and Sunderland than previously had with the 202 and 55 respectively.
The X1 extensions strike me as a little unwarranted, they’re not replacing any routes and are just new links to Washington and while new links are good, I do wonder if they’re needed. I do wonder if an opportunity wasn’t missed to keep the Seaham-Houghton link by routing a X1 to Dalton Park after Houghton via Seaton and Seaham. Creating new links between Dalton Park and Seaham to and from Washington and Newcastle but also maintaining links between Seaham and Houghton and a service in Seaton which has always been provided. Although I do think it’s a shame more wasn’t done to make the 71 work and promote that service and the new links created only a year ago before withdrawing it.
204/204A appears to be going unbranded and appears to now be standalone, which makes sense. Although it’s strange for it to keep the 204 numbering which is part of the Peterlee sequence of services. Also 204A is such a long service number. Just give it a generic two digit number, 18/18A for instance. As already pointed out the opportunity could have been taken to renumber the other 2xx series, with now many holes in the numbering with services withdrawn or replaced.
It is really good to see an effort made with the 65 service, I always thought it was a mistake a few years ago when it was stripped back. As many on here have pointed out in the past, stripping back services to the bare bones doesn’t encourage usage. A Sunday service was long overdue, that fact that there was no bus between from Seaham to Dalton Park and Murton on a Sunday was always a massive hole, but also to Hetton and Durham. I hope it’s well used.
