I think everyone makes their judgements of the loadings at Park Lane, rather than on the route. The 39, as a service, is generally speaking quite successful and I'd like to say it was quite stable too.
I don't think the short 39s were introduced to combat loadings from Park Lane to Grangetown, but from Doxford Park to Park Lane. The loadings have been evened out somewhat between Doxford Park and Park Lane, but I find that the short runs to Doxford Park often leave with far fewer passengers. Why? You're messing with a service that shouldn't be messed with. The service is likely to pick up custom from Grangetown onwards as the normal 39 runs do, but not from Park Lane.
As for those peak time runs on the 60/61... How many of those passengers were POP card holders? As a daily user of the Stockton Road corridor services at that time, I'm fairly positive when I say the buses are made up of pensioners and kids more so.
RE: Go North East - Latest