(24 Nov 2014, 2:09 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Hate to say "told you so", Dan, but it was a lousy consultation and perhaps you'll realise that the sun doesn't always shine out of GNE's exhaust pipe. Their consultations have been progressively worse over the years. When they did the full ones via internet and leaflets I really thought they did care about what people thought, but soon realised they didn't.
It goes without saying that Go North East is not perfect; indeed, no bus operator is. There's always going to be criticism due, but the criticism from company to company will vary, and so will the reasoning for the basis of complaints too. There's always a flip side of the coin to any criticism though, and I feel the majority of members of this forum don't look to see the other side when they're firmly in place with their views, which is why I always look to provide the opposite side of the argument... You'll find that tyresmoke aims to do the same for Arriva, and mrnut85 for Stagecoach...
The consultations on the web platform allowed far too many people to contribute, and a lot of these people suggested that they travelled on the routes affected a number of times per day. The consultations on the print platform didn't gather enough responses. It's the first time Go North East has done a face-to-face consultation, and it hasn't worked particularly well either. They're trying to gather as many opinions as possible, using a method which is cheap but effective. I don't think this method has worked particularly well, which means the company should aim to work on another method in readiness for the next consultation.