(27 Sep 2022, 8:55 am)Unber43 wrote Take note of what exactly. Did Arriva create these routes through asking the community what they want? Or are these busy because of reduced timetables/cancelled service? Or was it just demand which has been their and arriva haven't changed their work and have found a long standing plan which works and it did for years before the pandemic.

I do think Arriva deserve some credit for their response to covid. Over at GNE, the network has been chopped to pieces since March 2020. Meanwhile Stagecoach seem to withdraw all of their least profitable routes and hope the local authority steps in (which of course they did in Newcastle, with the Sunderland changes never coming to fruition). I'd say of the three Arriva have been the most consistent, with the network looking largely the same as it did in March 2020. 

A handful of high frequency services had their frequency reduced including the Darlo Town Services, the 7, 8 and 9 at Stockton, the 6 and 64 at Durham and the X10/11 at Blyth to name a few but on the whole the network has been pretty consistent. Admittedly, the X16 was withdrawn (but that was essentially a frequency decrease on the Morpeth corridor) and the X12 reduced to hourly Newcastle to Durham, but you're competing with the train on those flows tbf. The only real casualty has been the 86 from Bishop to Toft Hill and tbh it was only a matter of time before they gave that up to be DCC tendered as with every other local Bishop Auckland service. While they certainly struggle in other areas, fleet presentation for one, they do deserve some props because you can get on the same bus and same route you were getting on before Covid, many GNE passengers can't say the same.