(23 Feb 2014, 5:47 pm)Dan wrote It's only the quickest option by 8 minutes. Arriva's 23 takes 1hr 10m while GNE's X7/X35 takes 1hr 18m (with a connection at Peterlee). Despite this, I highly doubt many people actually use service 23 between Sunderland and Hartlepool. The competition blows Arriva's 23 out of the water on both sections of the route.

I don't know which company provides the cheapest fares, but if they are the same or Arriva's fares are more expensive, I can see why customers seemingly prefer Go North East's services. At Hartlepool in the past, I have heard customers complaining regarding the reliability of service 23. I personally can vouch for delays over 10 minutes during mid-afternoon periods towards Sunderland. I have also heard complaints regarding the reliability of service X35, but as we know, recent service changes enabled Go North East to provide a greater layover for that service in Sunderland. In the little experience I've had with the service post service changes, it has improved things.
Like the SimpliCity ticket for Go North East (recently discussed on that section of the forum), I think the introduction of saver tickets in the East Durham area would have been to attract custom from the competition. Whether this has worked or whether it has backfired and an even smaller amount of revenue is now being generated, I do not know.

I think if anything, Arriva have invested in a service allocated Solos for MPD replacement. Service 23 - albeit poor - must have been one of the better services allocated Solos... Quite like the Venture network for Go North East.

Let's not forget that the 23 takes 70 minutes in both directions, and thats with a direct service rather than a connection that, in times of disruption especially, could go wrong. If you are travelling from Hartlepool for example then GNE's comparative journey time is 89 minutes versus the 70 minutes that the 23 takes, not to mention an earlier service on a morning for those who use it to get to and from work.
Brand new vehicles to be launched in the summer on service 23 will compare well with the Scanias used on the X35 I'm sure, to be of a similar size and operating at a similar frequency.