(29 Jan 2021, 4:04 pm)L469 YVK wrote Why didn't Arriva have the foresight to slightly reduce service levels like GNE did? The situation at Jesmond is a shambles!

Whole of Arriva's operation needs ripping up and starting from scratch. Fingers crossed DB get rid and the right operators move in! Not saying GNE & Stagecoach are perfect but they're stable and not in a race to the bottom unlike Arriva.

Maybe you can supply them with that crystal ball they should have used?

The changes are coming in from Sunday, but they have been in planning long before Newcastle started losing all of their journeys this week. I'm also aware the Durham County depots will follow on 14 Feb with reduced service levels too.

If only they had that crystal ball so they could have known half the depot at Newcastle would be told to self isolate because of one positive result.

You can't complete a full set of schedules in a few hours. Apparently they couldn't revert to anything they did last year on the first lockdown as the services have changed since so had to replan, schedule duties and get it all agreed with local trade unions before a date can be committed to.

Also, just to highlight - how can Arriva be accused of holding a 'Race to the bottom' when they were the only operator who actually wanted (and tried) to maintain normal service levels - but now ultimately can't. Also, Arriva were the only operator to reinstate absolutely 100% service levels EVERYWHERE in Sept. GNE didn't and neither did Stagecoach - the former having already changed service levels and the latter holding down all of the weekend frequencies.

Sometimes the comments on here show how out of touch the enthusiasts really are with how bus operators actually work.