(28 Apr 2019, 3:49 pm)S830OFT wrote X14: Reduced to operate Every 2 Hours, combining with service X15 to form an hourly service between Longframlington and Newcastle.
Reduced frequency to Rothbury.
X15: Newcastle - Regent Centre - Stannington Village - Morpeth - Northgate - A697 - Longhorsley - Longframlington - Edlingham - Alnwick.
Connections from Stannington to Newcastle.
Unnecessary and pointless diversion to serve Edlingham.
X16: Withdrawn, replaced by extended journeys on service X43.
Kirkhill loses its direct service to Newcastle.
X17: This service will replace service X15 with all Journeys operating from Newcastle to Berwick with an 2 hour frequency.
Increased frequency to Berwick.
Reduced frequency to Felton and Shilbottle.
X18: Due to constant unreliability, journeys from Berwick/Seahouses will terminate at Alnwick, these trips will still continue to Morpeth and Newcastle, although will do so as service X15. The Alnwick/Amble section to Newcastle will be revised to operate as service X19 with an Every 2 Hours frequency.
X19: This service will replace the X18 between Newcastle and Alnwick with a revised Every 2 Hours frequency, although extra buses between Newcastle and Morpeth, and Widdrington and Alnwick operate on other MAX services.
Splitting the service is pointless and is a very dangerous thing to do. Through connections to and from the southern part of the coast will be lost, which is where the tourist market is. Interworking with another MAX service at Newcastle may be better to give slack for a larger layover at Berwick.
The 2-hourly frequency south of Alnwick will shatter the two buses an hour between Widdrington and Alnwick, and will also sever connectivity from Morpeth and Newcastle.
X20: Sunday journeys will operate on this service between Ashington and Alnwick up to Every 2 Hours, additionaly serving Cresswell and Widdrington Estate, therefore allowing service 1 to only operate between Wansbeck Hospital and Blyth on Sundays.
Journeys to the "CELL" communities of Cresswell, Ellington and Lynemouth on route 1 are reliant on the core Blyth to Ashington to part subsidise the additional bus with the rest coming from the extension to Cresswell and Widdrington. Using additional resources to set up the X20 service will make the lifeline service to CELL unprofitable and the service will be lost.
X43: Journeys to Morpeth will be revised to operate Every 30 Minutes Mon - Sat, and hourly Sundays. This service will be strictly single decker operated for journeys to Kirkhill due to the narrow road out of Morpeth. Additionally this service will not observe stops between Gosforth and Newcastle, with these stops being served by the 43.
Pointless frequency increase to what is basically a token service to Red House Farm and Stobhill. Arriva run the 43 up to Morpeth to serve RHF to ensure that they didn't lose a bus service altogether.
Services X14 and X15 will both combine to provide an hourly bus service between Newcastle and Longframlington offering new vital links for Stannington to Newcastle, Morpeth, Rothbury and Alnwick.
Longframlington to Newcastle had an hourly bus (with some gaps) anyway.
Service X15 will also offer a faster alternative for journeys to Alnwick from Morpeth with journey times estimated at 40 minutes.
Pointless as you've just lost half the passengers who'd want Felton and Shilbottle.
Service X16 will be withdrawn with journeys replaced by service X43.
Kirkhill loses direct bus to Newcastle.
Service X17 will replace the current service X15 with a frequency of up to Every 2 Hours, although will offer additional journeys at Peak times between Newcastle and Alnwick.
Frequency to Shilbottle and Felton halved.
Services X14/15/17/19 will combine to offer a direct bus up to Every 30 minutes between Newcastle and Morpeth, although additional buses to Newcastle will continue on service 43.
Turn up and go frequency of every 15 minutes gone, and halved to every half hour. Disaster.
Service 43/X43: These services will both operate Every 30 minutes, combining to continue the Every 15 minutes frequency between Cramlington and Newcastle.
X43 is pointless.
And that's how you destroy a stable Northumberland bus network.