For me flexible ticketing is key to this as hybrid working becomes the norm and none of the operators here seem to have got it quite right yet. The options -
GNE - Flexi 5 - 5 individual tickets (usage within one month of first ticket) plus limited PAYG on Voltra 53/54.
Arriva - 3 Day Flexi - 3 individual tickets (usage within 7 days of first ticket)
Stagecoach Flexi5 - 5 day riders for the price of 4 (12 month validity) - currently only in Sunderland
Metro - Existing PAYG option
Network One - Still under the impression its 1999 - as forward thinking as a reversing Streetlite
Nexus Bus - Making Network One look like Apple
Stagecoach has the best deal purely as the 12 month validity is a real vote winner, though its limited rollout is disappointing (unsure whether its just testing in Sunderland)
Although I will be returning around 2 days a week next year it won't necessarily be every week and the extremely limited validity offered by Arriva and GNE is disappointing and I'd be loathed to invest in a ticket that I might end up wasting - if I had even 60 days with the GNE I'd be more comfortable, you've got my money - let me choose how I ride. I wouldn't touch the Arriva one with a bargepole unless I was sure I was going in that week
RE: Reversing the decline in passenger numbers
Wistfully stuck in the 90s