(05 Jan 2015, 1:26 pm)aureolin wrote I wonder how much the fare discrepancy has to do with things? £3.80 all day on Stagecoach, but £6.20 on GNE? They're also over £1 cheaper for under 18s.

No idea how much a return is from say Boldon to Newcastle via GNE, but I'd be surprised if it's cheaper than £3.80.

Perhaps some Bargain Bus style competition is called for?

I find it difficult to compare the price of day, weekly and annual tickets between operators due to the totally different ways their services operate.

Stagecoach operates very few services to allow you to travel between different cities. If I wanted to travel between Sunderland and Newcastle, I'd have to get the E2 from my house to Marsden followed by the hourly X34 to Newcastle, with journey time (including connections) being longer than it would have been for me by using the 56 or X36 direct to Newcastle from the Stadium of Light.

I gave this as an example previously, when one of my friends (who lives in Monkwearmouth) was deciding which ticket to buy following the expiry of her POP card.

Similarly, there are no services which get you from Teesside to Tyne and Wear. Go North East doesn't even have a depot in Teesside yet provides three buses per hour from Tyne and Wear to Teesside!

Arriva's prices are higher than Stagecoach's too, presumably for the same reason as Go North East... You can go so much further with greater ease.