(14 Oct 2020, 6:54 pm)Storx wrote You keep going on about too many buses along the Coast Road, there's one bus that stands out here that you keep missing and that's the 311. It's utterly pointless serves nothing new and just duplicates everything else but now your suggesting that's every 15 minutes and the long distance 309/310 get cut down to every 30 minutes. That's the bus that needs to go if anything; send the 310 around Hadrian Park and just be done with it.

If the 310 was sent through Hadrian Park with 309 & 310 on a 15 minute frequency, that would increase the PVR to 18x (1 more than the original 309 & 310 PVR of 17x. 311 is a fine route and far from a waste of time and in fact, a very innovative idea by GNE compared by previous attempts to sort the problem child out (Hadrian Park) without the need to de-tour the 310.

Also the X9 failed, the 44 failed why on earth you'd want the 51A going to Marden again when it's not purpose of the 306 through there is a mystery. Now that's a waste of a bus.

Purpose since the 44/X9/X6 failed was to try and find a steady replacement. The easiest option was to tag on the 306. An extended 51A would actually be a 'gem' for Arriva as it would likely be subsidised by Nexus if they agreed to replace parts of the 359 with that and the 54 duplicates most of the 359.

I would remove the 306 from Battle Hill though just not to disagree with everything but the 309 along Station Road is a similar problem, one every 20 minute service inbetween a 7.5 minute bus service which leaves a messy 5, 6, 9 service in Battle Hill. The 22X is another service which is pointless and that really does carry fresh air and the 10 minute 22 and 15 minute 1 which aren't all needed neither going into Cobalt.

I think the Sunday 309 could be better spaced out but the actual frequency does it's job quite well in terms of streamlining compared to having the 57 as the 'oddball'. I reckon for Cobalt, GNE will hold the fort until Stagecoach start reducing or withdrawing services from Cobalt. With the rumoured acquisition of Q12 to Quorum by BT/EE, it's likely that both Arriva & Stagecoach will shift focus there.

Surprised you don't mention the other side which is genuinely a problem though with 9 buses an hour between South Beach and Seaton Sluice and even 8 if you dropped the 308 down to every 20 minutes.
Primary purpose of the 308 & 309 is to provide links to North Tyneside so not a big problem and not that the operators would expect to make a fortune on that particular section of route. Arriva do have a good stronghold though in that part regarding Seaton Sluice and South Beach.