(19 Apr 2018, 8:10 pm)Andreos1 wrote More a gut instinct, rather than being under pretence of insider knowledge.
I don't think the X1 makes as much money as we maybe think it does and therefore, may explain why the B9's have been operating as long as they have, with little sign of any replacement or internal upgrade/refresh.
Across its route, it picks up punters connecting from another service. Whether it be a proportion boarding in Houghton or a lengthy load getting on at the Galleries north-bound, or Gateshead, the Galleries or Houghton southbound.
There are naturally very few points on the route (Hetton maybe excepted), where passengers board and pay a fare expecting to change to a service going somewhere the X1 doesnt.
Grasswell, Hetton, Shiney, Springwell and possibly Wrekenton, are the few places to take cash fares from experience. I would argue numbers (both financial and bums on seats) at those points are dwarfed by numbers at Houghton, the Galleries or Gateshead.
Not sure how this can be fixed.
The route needs deckers and possibly replacements for the vehicles currently allocated, but (as far as I can see), the route doesn't take as much as it should in cash fares...
Passengers across the coalfields and Washington are encouraged by theoperators business model to buy day tickets etc and change buses at key interchange points.
If those tickets are bought on a service which connects to the X1, such as the 4, X5, 8, 35, 36, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86 - then it doesn't really support any financial business case put forward to purchase new vehicles for the X1. The others maybe (in fact look how many of those services have vehicles which are newer than the B9's or have had a refurb).
The X1 no.
I can see where you're coming from there like. The B9TLs are very well suited to the route too.
The only thing I could perhaps see happening if GNE start to replace the older Omnidekkas and Vykings is:
- New buses being ordered for 'either' the Tyne Valley Ten, Fab 56 or Cobalt Clipper (probably either of the latter 2x taking BSOG and funding into account).
- B9s from whatever route above cascaded onto the Red Arrows and bringing it inline with the specification for most mainstream decker routes (plugs, USBs etc).
- 6049-55 as well as 6005-07 replace the ex London B9s on the Toon Link and 15.
- 6001-04 for DFDS 327.
- Ex London B9s replace older Omnidekkas and Vykings (or older Omnidekkas replace Vykings).