It is a cunning plan by GNE haha, Last week I paid £3.10 for a Washington Day Saver in 5p's I had saved up. That's 62 5p's. I was expecting the Driver to give me some abuse. He did the complete opposite and smiled and thanked me for such a kind donation as had zero 5p's in his float.

As for the Brandings the only problem is with the PVR for the amount of buses for each branding. If one or two are in the depot getting repaired then obviously you are going to see a Northern branded bus on the Service or another branded bus. e.g. Washington Street Shuttle on South Tyne 88 which is a daily occurrence due reliability issues with the Cadets on that service. It's the same with the Citylink Artics and Wheyaye50 as other examples. The other thing is there is enough Northern Spares to accommodate for Branded Buses which are off the road, which is another reason why we Branded Buses on other Branded Services.

Obviously Marketing of those brands are also key as mentioned in other posts. But think from i've read everyone has missed the point i've made above.