(05 Jan 2015, 8:33 pm)aureolin wrote Looking at just the X36 though, it's instantly at a disadvantage, because the Boldon to Newcastle (and the fast) section of the route is more expensive than the X34. Aside from the price, I'd say it's like for like, as passengers aren't going to care about a few minutes difference in timings between the two.

Fare paying passengers, unless they already have a valid season ticket with either operator, are going to use the cheapest service. I used day tickets as the example, as neither publish their return fares, and I didn't have time to query it with both operators. The difference between £3.80 and £6.20, I'm sure you'll admit, is significant. 

I get that different operators operate the services in completely different ways, but if someone wants to make a day trip between Boldon and Shields, as per this example, I don't think they'll be too concerned that there's three buses an hour to Teesside. Nor will they be too bothered that Arriva run services to Berwick. I just think that it's a missing opportunity that some sort of special fares aren't on offer for this service, especially when it's recently been reduced due to low passenger numbers. Perhaps a Fast Cats route saver, or even a weekend/school holiday discount return would encourage numbers across? 

I've deliberately ignored the Boldon-Sunderland section of the route, because I do think that any service between Sunderland and Newcastle is doomed. The majority of daytime travellers will choose to use the Metro nowadays. I do think that the Boldon-Newcastle section has growth, but perhaps a need to get back to the drawing board for the first leg of the route. Something that GNE can't be accused of not doing in the past, with replacing the X3 with the X36 in the first place.

Sorry -  I hadn't read your post in context to the "Fast Cats" X36 service, and I was speaking generally.
My point was that Go North East's day ticket prices are based on zones, due to the fact that their network of services cover such a large distance. Stagecoach can introduce a day ticket covering all of their operations at a fairly low price because it's impossible for customers to make use of Stagecoach's entire network in the North East (my example before was that there was no way to get from Wearside or Tyneside to Teesside). There are occasionally other tickets offered - route savers, town/city savers - which are cheaper than the comparable BuzzFare ticket. Arriva's pricing strategy is exactly the same.

It's unusual that there isn't some form of cheaper day ticket available in the X36's case. By taking a quick look at Go North East's website, their Sunderland and South Tyneside DaySavers are £3.50 - 30p cheaper than Stagecoach's similar offering. Clearly there are instances whereby Stagecoach's ticket is better value (E1/E2/E6 services - the Sunderland DaySaver would not be valid as far as South Shields), but in the large majority of cases, Go North East's DaySavers offer better value for more local town services where there is competition.