(06 Nov 2013, 4:26 pm)Dan wrote 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.
I've saw all of these services on a Monday to Friday peak time in a half term. The short 39's generally leave Park Lane with very little passengers, if any! However, this seems logical. They are really there to pick up commuters from Doxford Park.
The 60/61 has always been a popular service. The normally leave full, however I must say the 60 is a more popular service than the 61. It generally always seems busier.
The 238 usually only carries passengers on the 38 section of the route. Having rode the service (a very long ride) from Houghton to Sunderland, there weren't many passengers Houghton-Seaham, however picked up at Seaham.