(29 Dec 2014, 6:13 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote Cutting the frequency from 10 min to 12 min means one less bus per hour hence more passengers per bus so there will be more dwell time at stops thus the timetable will need longer end to end. It was not honest for GNE to say the 27 and 56 changes were to make the service more reliable when in fact they were also, and probably mainly, to save money. If you say passengers won't notice the difference between a 10 and a 12 minute frequency, then would they notice if it went down to 15?
If you lived on the routes of services 27 and 56, would you prefer the service to remain as it is at present? Not knowing if you can rely on it or not, as sometimes the buses get delayed and bunch up in twos? The current service is completely unpredictable, and whilst I haven't been affected a great deal, those who use the services more frequently may be delayed more frequently. This issue is not unique to services 27 and 56, either. It happens to Stagecoach's streamlined 10-minute frequency services too, but you don't find them doing anything about it, as apparently they're happy with their profit levels ya'da ya'da...
For your information, service 56 currently takes 1hr 10m from Sunderland - Newcastle. There is currently three minutes layover in Newcastle, and five in Sunderland. The new timetable gives 1hr 15m from Sunderland - Newcastle. There will be five minutes layover in Newcastle, and a further twelve in Sunderland. I needn't really say any more...