Re Arriva's share: Correct, but that would be their share of the total market, including Metro. I doubt that the Hexham/Ashington swap had much of an effect, as what they lost in the Tyne Valley (four buses per hour?) they probably gained on the Ashington corridor; and GNE combined it into their operations, effectively reducing some overbussing between Crawcrook and Newcastle (or 'drastically reducing service levels', if you're a glass half empty person!).

In many respects, you could trace Arriva's lower market share back to the Metro Integration period in about 1982/3, when United (as was) gave up their share of Newcastle-Throckley/West Denton/Chapel House/Heddon and Newcastle-Newbiggin Hall to the PTE's buses, in exchange for being the sole operator on the Newcastle-Tynemouth service (previously shared by PTE, Tynemouth and Wakefield's). Or further back - swapping their Newcastle-High Spen for Venture's Prudhoe Town Service in 1969. Or even further back - swapping their share of Newcastle-Darras Hall for the Corporation's Newcastle-Branch End back in the 1930's. Taking the longer perspective, you could draw the conclusion that, at various times, their management made the wrong decisions. If the swaps had gone the other way, they might today be a major operator in outer west Newcastle.