(26 Nov 2014, 5:20 pm)Dan wrote No, I don't think it will alter what Go North East orders as part of this financial year.
Providing the changes work for the best, I'd imagine that services 20/20A will see investment into double decked vehicles within the next financial year.
I'm guessing that residents of Sunderland prefer cross-city style services, allowing them to get from A to B (via the world) on one bus opposed to using two and getting there faster. Perhaps this is because of Stagecoach's dominance in the city, who set up services in this style.
The main objective of these changes has been to provide more cross-city style services, based on suggestions from customers in the past. I think service 29 can be treated as the 'guinea-pig'; despite suggestions otherwise on this forum prior to the changes, service 29 is pretty reliable and has been popular with passengers.
I don't think suggestions from customers prior to this consultation will be good enough evidence to serve as justification that the changes will provide more commercially successful services than at present though, so they'll be on a trial period of 6 months and will be reviewed after this period. Go-Ahead's financial year starts in the sixth month of the calendar year, so this 'trial period' (as I suggest) will conveniently fit in well with the start of the new financial year, when Go North East will start to conjure up plans for which vehicles it intends to order that year.
I think the timetable will stay the same as present - two 38s per hour and one 238.
After serving Hollycarrside; I think one 38 is planned to follow the same route as present, and the other is planned to go to Houghton-le-Spring (or nPower?) via a similar route to the present 35A and also serving Grasswell (appears to be somewhere in Newbottle) following suggestions prior to the consultation from customers.
Few repaints coming up if changes go ahead!
Like i said before, i can see most services keeping the same buses as of now, only think the 38 will use Versa, as at least 5 could be spare.