(19 Jul 2022, 6:15 pm)big mac wrote It's strange how the 58's passenger numbers have dwindled so noticeably over time.  I remember it being consistently busy around 10-15 years ago.  Why has it declined so much?

Changing passenger travel patterns? Poses the age old question about services changing to suit or just continuing the same old forever and a day.

(19 Jul 2022, 6:30 pm)Unber43 wrote Tbf 57 does get some of the nicest buses in the fleet, 

6337, 6050. However Its mostly just crap which gets thrown on there.

Not sure like they got the Merc's when they were nearing EOL and before that they had the awful dual door B10's. The Scanias they got in the early 00's were alright but they've had nothing half decent since. I'm not even sure what's on there now it just seems to be anything that Riverside isn't using atm.

In comparison to the 58 which has had new Merc's the bendy buses which some were only a few old then the Versa's after that. Then that's gone to pot aswell tbh.

(19 Jul 2022, 6:19 pm)Unber43 wrote I don't think people have realised how much the 58 numbers have actually went down, it could be cos of the copious amount of buses which go around their route.

But yeah, Bendys were quite busy, Versas  a fair amount of people and the deckers are just dead, they maybe have 20 seats free during peak times. The 58 to me is no longer a flagship route, and I don't really think it was very really one

I would say the service changes last year where the 51/52 were extended from Gateshead to Newcastle in order to cover a loss of links on certain parts of the route when the Quayside section was switched over onto the 53/54 thus resulting in a bus Every 7/8 Minutes between Newcastle & Heworth, on top of having the 56/57 up to Deckham has to have an impact as there is a Bus Every 3/4 Minutes on the latter alone to which I have seen a 51/56/57 & 58 running together due to how tight those timing's are. Furthermore i'd say the 58 only needs a single decker due to how many empty seats there are and I can also see the extension from Heworth to Amazon also impacting passenger numbers on the 4.

In response to earlier posts, you cannot remove tables and increase capacity. Combined legroom of the forward and rear facing seating is where the table is placed, so no space has been lost.

Only way to increase seating is by adjusting all the pitching for the seats to create a row or two at best.

Anyone know the diversion for the 39 routes next week with burdon road closed

(19 Jul 2022, 9:17 pm)Malarkey wrote I would say the service changes last year where the 51/52 were extended from Gateshead to Newcastle in order to cover a loss of links on certain parts of the route when the Quayside section was switched over onto the 53/54 thus resulting in a bus Every 7/8 Minutes between Newcastle & Heworth, on top of having the 56/57 up to Deckham has to have an impact as there is a Bus Every 3/4 Minutes on the latter alone to which I have seen a 51/56/57 & 58 running together due to how tight those timing's are. Furthermore i'd say the 58 only needs a single decker due to how many empty seats there are and I can also see the extension from Heworth to Amazon also impacting passenger numbers on the 4.

Even 12 minutes isnt enough for the 4 especially during the peaks, you'd have people standing by the time it left concord.

Just confirming both the 41/41A will be returning to Howdon,it doesnt state it in the article,it just says the 41 ,only found that out by looking at its timetable from Monday 25th July

Does anyone know if Percy Main are keeping the QA/QB till the new buses arrive. If that's the case I've got no chance of seeing a QuayCity on the 1 now.

Nice to read the route will miss out the low bridge on the way back to Newcastle from Wallsend

(20 Jul 2022, 7:26 pm)Aaron21 wrote Does anyone know if Percy Main are keeping the QA/QB till the new buses arrive. If that's the case I've got no chance of seeing a QuayCity on the 1 now.

Nice to read the route will miss out the low bridge on the way back to Newcastle from Wallsend

The QA/QB will remain operated by Percy Main after Sunday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Does anyone know when the pdf timetables will be update for the service changes

(20 Jul 2022, 7:50 pm)Dan wrote The QA/QB will remain operated by Percy Main after Sunday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank god for that. Now can we have a QuayCity on the 1

(20 Jul 2022, 7:55 pm)michael_kelly wrote Does anyone know when the pdf timetables will be update for the service changes

I'm not sure what you want the PDF's for but if it's to print or use, they're available from the Nexus site (not in GNE design though).

I feel like I'm in a Shouty Man sketch from Horrible Histories.
"It's perfectly complicated!"

(22 Jul 2022, 12:38 pm)F114TML wrote I feel like I'm in a Shouty Man sketch from Horrible Histories.
"It's perfectly complicated!"

They have to change the 61's routing, this is just madness.

(22 Jul 2022, 12:50 pm)ASX_Terranova wrote They have to change the 61's routing, this is just madness.

I wouldn't be surprised if in Sept County Durham changes it, and has the 61 every 20 mins, and the 61B, goes along Station Road, Seaham, Dawdon, up Graham Way then the 62 route to Peterlee. 


As people are just confused.

(22 Jul 2022, 12:55 pm)Unber43 wrote I wouldn't be surprised if in Sept County Durham changes it, and has the 61 every 20 mins, and the 61B, goes along Station Road, Seaham, Dawdon, up Graham Way then the 62 route to Peterlee. 


As people are just confused.

It makes sense to someone. Somewhere...
Passengers? The people using it. Not a chance.

There is a gap of 1 hour and 20 mins for a bus from murton to sunderland after 7pm before it is hourly after 9pm just hope the people of murton realise this or they will have a long wait if they just miss one

(22 Jul 2022, 2:17 pm)N1cholas wrote There is a gap of 1 hour and 20 mins for a bus from murton to sunderland after 7pm before it is hourly after 9pm just hope the people of murton realise this or they will have a long wait if they just miss one

Just been looking at the picture and there’s a 19:25 and a 20:41 from murton to Sunderland, maybe not carrying enough passengers to justify running a bus in the gap of 1 hour and 20 minutes and between the hourly service after that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

(22 Jul 2022, 12:55 pm)Unber43 wrote I wouldn't be surprised if in Sept County Durham changes it, and has the 61 every 20 mins, and the 61B, goes along Station Road, Seaham, Dawdon, up Graham Way then the 62 route to Peterlee. 


As people are just confused.

I've lost track a bit, is it like this because it is secured, or is this still commercial?

(22 Jul 2022, 4:11 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote I've lost track a bit, is it like this because it is secured, or is this still commercial?

61 to Murton commercial. Durham CC have funded the Murton-Peterlee section as a result of GNE withdrawing the 62. But it seems there’s been little in the way of thinking about the practicalities of the route it’ll take.

I mean that timetable is really a mess. For a good 5 minutes, I did assume DCC had done a misprint. How to ruin the 61 route as well as the 62.

As for good use of tax payers money, I’d have sooner seen DCC fund the 62 route as it is now between Seaham and Peterlee - because this is just the worst of both worlds and ensure links to Seaham aren’t lost either from South Hetton/Easington Village. Or perhaps an even more simpler revision would have been the 61 heading to Peterlee doing a quicker reverse loop of Murton?

The 61 timetable makes complete sense if you view it from the point that GNE want the long 61 to serve all the same stop pairs in Murton as the short one before it goes off to Peterlee, so that some don't end up with an hourly service from Sunderland. I am not saying its right, but that looks like why they've done it that way.

Anyway, the new 12 is by far the worse offender for egregious routing in order to save resource!

When will the route maps be uploaded to the website?

(22 Jul 2022, 4:49 pm)DeltaMan wrote The 61 timetable makes complete sense if you view it from the point that GNE want the long 61 to serve all the same stop pairs in Murton as the short one before it goes off to Peterlee, so that some don't end up with an hourly service from Sunderland. I am not saying its right, but that looks like why they've done it that way.

Anyway, the new 12 is by far the worse offender for egregious routing in order to save resource!

Well it does and it doesn’t, GNE obviously as you say want to keep all areas they currently serve to the new half hourly frequency. But now with 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton they offer 3 buses to Sunderland - come Monday, they’ll still have 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton but 2 are going to Sunderland and one is going to Peterlee. GNE aren’t reducing how many buses per hour they send round Murton but they’re offering a worse service - 2 vs 3 to Sunderland. Obviously GNE’s plan was always to reduce the amount of 61s ph to Sunderland, but the fact they’re actually not reducing the amount of buses going round Murton seems counterintuitive when this was about reducing costs and saving resources.

(22 Jul 2022, 10:23 pm)Drifter60 wrote Well it does and it doesn’t, GNE obviously as you say want to keep all areas they currently serve to the new half hourly frequency. But now with 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton they offer 3 buses to Sunderland - come Monday, they’ll still have 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton but 2 are going to Sunderland and one is going to Peterlee. GNE aren’t reducing how many buses per hour they send round Murton but they’re offering a worse service - 2 vs 3 to Sunderland. Obviously GNE’s plan was always to reduce the amount of 61s ph to Sunderland, but the fact they’re actually not reducing the amount of buses going round Murton seems counterintuitive when this was about reducing costs and saving resources.

Yes, it's undoubtedly a worse service. Indeed, I was thumbing through a "Go With the Times" magazine from the early 2000s where Murton had a 10 minute service to Sunderland. Now it will have almost a Sunday level of service. What a time to be alive!

(22 Jul 2022, 10:23 pm)Drifter60 wrote Well it does and it doesn’t, GNE obviously as you say want to keep all areas they currently serve to the new half hourly frequency. But now with 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton they offer 3 buses to Sunderland - come Monday, they’ll still have 3 buses ph doing the same loop of Murton but 2 are going to Sunderland and one is going to Peterlee. GNE aren’t reducing how many buses per hour they send round Murton but they’re offering a worse service - 2 vs 3 to Sunderland. Obviously GNE’s plan was always to reduce the amount of 61s ph to Sunderland, but the fact they’re actually not reducing the amount of buses going round Murton seems counterintuitive when this was about reducing costs and saving resources.

Must admit it's a very positive way of looking at it. But there's always been a Peterlee service so you can't really add that as part of the 61. Not to mention the 62 the other way. 

Surely it's down from 4 buses an hour (including 62 via Peterlee) to Sunderland to 2 now.

3 buses an hour is close to turn up and go. 2 buses an hour isn't imo.

Somethign I noticed the other day, on the website the 208 has been given Peterlee Purples branding, meanwhile the X62 has lost its branding.

Nice to see GNE have uploaded some Bus Stations stand departures on their website featuring other operators too.

So thats it.

Final 62/55/X70. RIP  

Arguably they should have all been kept and changed.

(23 Jul 2022, 9:05 pm)Unber43 wrote So thats it.

Final 62/55/X70. RIP  

Arguably they should have all been kept and changed.

Final X46/47A/V3 as well

(23 Jul 2022, 9:24 pm)KingSlayerRBLX wrote Final X46/47A/V3 as well

The thing is about the X46 is that doesn't have enough customers, but we'll send the 47 down the same route at double the frequency (if I got the route right)