Just pointed out on another thread about the workers from Sunderland Enterprise Park and their thoughts on the buses through the area changing regularly.

That document is a couple of years old and GNE are yet again proposing changes in that very area.

The reluctance of the likes of GNE to follow or listen to these proposals seems strange.
I am guessing, they dont see enough profit in the proposals to run the proposed services OR people will stop using/buying the key (i.e they would be able to get a direct bus to/from work rather than having to change on the way).

Using the comments in that article about travel numbers in certain directions, employment hubs etc and an example of a customer in Sulgrave travelling to Sunderland Enterprise Park, I came up with the following scenario.

They get the 56 to Park Lane (or somewhere on route)and then a connecting bus to the Enterprise Park

That customer getting a bus from home and then their connecting bus to work - would be classed as a passenger twice. Obviously the same would happen on their way home from work and for the remainder of the week.

That one passenger contributes 800 passenger journeys over a 40 week period (instead of 52 due to 28 days leave, time off work etc), rather than 400 if there was a direct bus.

Because the Enterprise Park is described as a hub, imagine how many other people have to make the same or similar journeys, using 2 or 3 buses in each direction?
Someone living in Blackfell, would need three buses in each direction and would contribute to 1200 passenger journeys a year on their expensive two zone bus ticket as opposed to 800 journeys using two buses (400 if they got the 186) on a cheaper (half the price) Tyne & Wear ticket just a few years ago.

How good does it look to shareholders when GNE can describe how customers can make upto 1200 commuting journeys a year; since the decision to take away direct buses, introduce additional zones to buzzfare, ignore Nexus proposals and force passengers onto interchange points was made?

Imagine the scene: Several big bosses are sitting around the table at GNE towers when someone suggests:-

- "We restructure the buzzfare zone boundaries so that along prime commuting corridors, day, week and month tickets will double in cost, unless we have competition, in which case we will lower fares or have 'district day tickets', subsidised by passengers in other areas of the region".

- "We will take off less direct routes, so that passengers are forced into changing buses and buy more expensive day, week or month tickets. We will dress this up so they think they are getting value for money and will be tempted to make more 'free' trips".

- "Because passengers are unable to get direct buses, we count them for each bus they use and can tell the world how passneger numbers are increasing, especially when they make their 'free' trips".