(20 Nov 2014, 5:07 pm)Dan wrote Because it's been a commercial success.

Service 26 carried very few passenger numbers prior to those service changes in January, but the loadings on service 29 are very healthy now. It goes to show that the evolving market showed demand for a through route to Doxford Park from North Sunderland, and indeed showed demand to justify a combined 10 minute frequency from Sunderland to Doxford Park!

Service changes are often thought to be 'pointless', and a number of enthusiasts on this forum alone use it as a basis for criticism. Why? Service changes are often formed on the basis of what has already been requested by customers, and they are then well planned to be commercially viable from a team with umpteen amount of years experience doing this... Customers don't always benefit from service changes as some runs of services with low use are sometimes chopped, but I'd suggest that most customers do benefit from changes on the majority of occasions. Whether it's faster journey times, new links being created, or later journey times being implemented...