(19 Mar 2013, 11:20 pm)aureolin wrote

(18 Mar 2013, 10:49 pm)Andreos1 wrote The M1s have had their mid-life refurb and will
be due an external refresh soon.
If Washington do get the Citaros, then the
majority of the single deck fleet there would be standard, although being brutally honest after
the proposed changes to the M1 last summer, I
don't see GNE viewing the route as a money-
making priority. Not enough to invest in a load
of brand new vehicles anyway.

Personally feel that the M1 was destroyed prior to the Galleries the moment the route was changed from the old Easington Lane - Heworth route. As a regular user of the service at present, I still feel it gets really busy between the Galleries and Heworth, no matter the time of day really. I always feel the M1 suffered in order to push people in to using the X1 between the Galleries and Houghton. To me, that's clear enough from the proposals to reduce the service between Fatfield and Houghton last year. Fencehouses was never going to generate the demand for a 10 minute service.

I spoke to Peter Huntley on open line prior to the M1 being rerouted through Fencehouses and we discussed how people would go to Washington, Gateshead via Houghton on the M1/x1 from Fencehouses, due to perceived journey times and the fact a buzzfare/dayrover would make the cost identical, rather than direct on the M1 which isn't what they were wanting at all. His comments and reaction was one of surprise, but he stated he would take note.
When the timetables were published, all connections between the two services were promoted via The Galleries...

Between Heworth and The Galleries, the M1 is the quickest service so it is bound to popular.
The potential in Fencehouses is high, not just for the M1, but its location so close to two boundaries restrict where passengers will go. Why pay a fortune on a single, return or two zone buzzfare ticket to Chester le Street or Washington, when it can cost less on a longer journey, using two buses to Sunderland?
It is the same in Birtley. People go on a 30/45 min journey north rather than pay a fortune to go 10 mins down the road to Chester...