(19 Jul 2024, 10:55 am)Thomas12 wrote I was thinking about the 335/342/359 group of services and how they could be improved.

From my experience, the 335 is a relatively pointless services which has been pointed out on this forum before. On the other hand, the 342 has decent loadings.

Instead of having the 335 operating, I wonder if it would be worth extending the 359 to Wallsend. This could be renumbered a '343' service, which mostly follows the 342 route bus instead operates via Quorum and Four Lane Ends.

So you'd have the 342 operating as is, then a 343 service from Whitley Bay to Wallsend via the current 359 route to Killingworth, then via Quorum, FLE and Benton ASDA.

The 335 generally just duplicates other services, whereas that could offer beneficial new links.

Some interesting ideas but I'm not sure. This is assuming franchising now which is pretty much due anyway I'd say:

19/19A: Cramlington - Cramlington Hospital - Seaton Delaval - Seghill - New Housing (19) - Backworth (19A) - Northumberland Park - Cobalt - North Shields
335: Withdrawn
342: Cramlington - Killingworth - Forest Hall - Wallsend (Every Hour)
343: Cramlington - Killingworth - Four Lane Ends - Wallsend (Every Hour)
352: Withdrawn
353: Killingworth - Cobalt (Peaks Only) - North Shields  (Every 30 Minutes)
354: Killingworth to Newcastle only doing 335 route from Four Lane Ends to Killingworth (Every Hour)
359: Westerhope - Kingston Park - Dudley - Killingworth - Backworth - Shiremoor - Cobalt - Murton - Whitley Bay (Every Hour)

Means you'd end up with the core links mostly every 30 minutes as:
19/19A: Cramlington to Cobalt and North Shields
342/343: Cramlington to Killingworth and Wallsend
57/57A: Cramlington to Whitley Bay
353: Killingworth and North Shields
359: Killingworth and Whitley Bay (only hourly)
353/359: Killingworth to Cobalt

The 352 and 354 are pretty much basket case routes aswell really. The 353 being peak only is to get it under 45 minutes to save a bus.