(14 Apr 2014, 7:49 pm)Marcus wrote I've noticed that before as well, one time two were parked in their stand at Gateshead heading to Sunderland and as soon as they left with about ten seconds of each other a third one came in and was gone within thirty seconds. They probably all joined up again at Wrekenton Bus Link. Does the timetable need altering?, with the 21 they couldn't care less if two were waiting in the same stand at Chester because there's so many and so much frequency they almost don't have to worry about timetables (well, they obviously do because they have to do surveys and the timetables need to run to time, but you know what I mean)
For the 21 I honestly think having some stop on Pilgrim Street would solve the Solution of them Running in 2 and 3's, even having the 21 operating to Durham Every 10 Minutes rather than Every 15 would perhaps solve the problem, Overall I would the Short Journeys to Chester are the Problem to be Honest.
As for the 56, basically depends on Traffic and how many sets of Traffic Lights it Hits along the way, and of course the amount of Passengers who get on/off at Every Single Stop also adds to the Journey Time, But looking at it from an Enthusiast point of view, there much you can do to then improve the Reliability of the Service, I can think of Two things, 1.) Limited Stopping Service - 2.) Dual Door Operation - I think GNE missed a Trick with the 56 in regards to that when it got B9's, you could argue the same for the 21 also.