(26 Dec 2013, 5:21 pm)Adam Malarkey wrote GNE had there Bus Station Manager at the MetroCentre Today, Didn't see any other Station Managers about Today at The Galleries and Eldon Square, So there was a small form of Customer Service provided.

I also Noticed Nexus decided for the sake a Day to Move the 2C onto the M2/M3/50/W5 and W6 Stand heading towards Lambton etc, But the 2A remained on it's Correct Stand, I Fail to understand the Logic behind this as the Driver on the 2C pulled onto the Correct Stand that it stops at anyway.

I assume it's the Galleries Bus Station you're talking about. If so, Nexus don't manage or own it? GNE do on behalf of Prudential?

(26 Dec 2013, 5:22 pm)aureolin wrote I assume it's the Galleries Bus Station you're talking about. If so, Nexus don't manage or own it? GNE do on behalf of Prudential?

Nexus still cocked up a few times today. I noticed a few stand alterations elsewhere (drivers unaware), and also the 58 having been renumbered to the 8!
Good job the real 8 doesn't go near Heworth, eh?

(26 Dec 2013, 5:22 pm)aureolin wrote I assume it's the Galleries Bus Station you're talking about. If so, Nexus don't manage or own it? GNE do on behalf of Prudential?

Yes it is

(26 Dec 2013, 5:25 pm)Dan wrote Nexus still cocked up a few times today. I noticed a few stand alterations elsewhere (drivers unaware), and also the 58 having been renumbered to the 8!
Good job the real 8 doesn't go near Heworth, eh?

I noticed in Sunderland Stand S(I think) was displaying the 56, but I seen a couple of 56's going off it's normal stand

(26 Dec 2013, 5:13 pm)aureolin wrote No idea - but do you meet the demand of your customers or copy your competitors?

My point was that it was said it was embarrassing Customer Services was not open today, but I have not seen anywhere that it is embarrassing that Arriva CS is not open on a weekend (what is the difference between today and last Saturday?).
It seems some people love to have a pop at GNE whenever they can, we should start a thread GNE bashing then at least it would all be in the same place on the forum.

Vehicles that I photoed today (I've included other operators, but mainly I went after GNE today). Cheers to the driver of 6047 giving the thumbs up for the photo. Todays photo locations were Battle Hill, Tynemouth, Holystone, Gosforth Town Moor, Handy Drive (Dunston), Causey Arch, Washington Galleries, Castletown, East Boldon & Jarrow.

Go North East
4 - 4964, 5205.
9 - 4954, 4955, 4973.
10A/10B - 5379, 5384, 5385, 6043, 6045, 6047
26 - 5369, 5373.
27 - 5319.
35A/35B/88 - 5298.
43/44 - 4838, 4854, 4855.
44/45 - 8332, 8334.
47 - 4927, 4930, 4957.
49/49B - 5311, 5312, 5313, 5317, 5328, 5330
58 - 5381.
309/310 - 5223, 5225, 5226.
X1 - 5217.
X31 - 6018.
X66 - 5341, 5345, 5347

Phoenix
1 - KX53SCZ & NJ11EXJ
53 - MV07EXU & MX57CBF

Stagecoach
10/11 (SS) - 36472.
30/31 (NC) - 19445
100 - 27506, 27508, 27510.

(26 Dec 2013, 6:20 pm)citaro5284 wrote My point was that it was said it was embarrassing Customer Services was not open today, but I have not seen anywhere that it is embarrassing that Arriva CS is not open on a weekend (what is the difference between today and last Saturday?).
It seems some people love to have a pop at GNE whenever they can, we should start a thread GNE bashing then at least it would all be in the same place on the forum.

I agree - it's getting a bit pathetic all the moaning and having buses out (and more of them) on Boxing Day is serving the customer and that's a lot more than some operators did today. All the information that people needed was shown in the links provided in messages today and they do work from mobile's too, however, some people don't seem to be able to read the information that's there for them.

(26 Dec 2013, 6:20 pm)citaro5284 wrote My point was that it was said it was embarrassing Customer Services was not open today, but I have not seen anywhere that it is embarrassing that Arriva CS is not open on a weekend (what is the difference between today and last Saturday?).
It seems some people love to have a pop at GNE whenever they can, we should start a thread GNE bashing then at least it would all be in the same place on the forum.

It was posted in the GNE forum. If the same comment was made in the Arriva or Stagecoach forum, I'd have replied with the same. If someone hadn't posted on here, I wouldn't have noticed nobody was working the page today. It's no good pulling the old "everyone is picking on me" line out the hat for GNE. Most companies (including, I imagine, GNE) work on the negative criticism and use it to improve.

(26 Dec 2013, 8:19 pm)busman101 wrote I agree - it's getting a bit pathetic all the moaning and having buses out (and more of them) on Boxing Day is serving the customer and that's a lot more than some operators did today. All the information that people needed was shown in the links provided in messages today and they do work from mobile's too, however, some people don't seem to be able to read the information that's there for them.

It always comes down to the moaners eh. Those damned customers always wanting more....

Customer service is becoming a 24/7 operation no matter how much people would like to believe otherwise. Long gone are the days of 9-5 being acceptable. I do personally think that GNE are pushing furthest forward in shifting their operation to meet that demand, as they tend to do with most things, but it needs to be said that not manning the page today has been an bit of an oversight to put it lightly. How can you possibly argue otherwise when the Facebook page has been busier than I've seen it in a long time?

(26 Dec 2013, 5:25 pm)Dan wrote Nexus still cocked up a few times today. I noticed a few stand alterations elsewhere (drivers unaware), and also the 58 having been renumbered to the 8!
Good job the real 8 doesn't go near Heworth, eh?

Is this on the wall boards or paper timetables? Seems a bit illogical to shift stand allocations round for the sake of a day, unless the special timetables meant several services departing from the same stand at the same time? Haven't been anywhere by bus today so not noticed anything, bar a red Solar and a black Solar working the 4.

(26 Dec 2013, 6:20 pm)citaro5284 wrote My point was that it was said it was embarrassing Customer Services was not open today, but I have not seen anywhere that it is embarrassing that Arriva CS is not open on a weekend (what is the difference between today and last Saturday?).
It seems some people love to have a pop at GNE whenever they can, we should start a thread GNE bashing then at least it would all be in the same place on the forum.

You're an idiot if you can't see the difference.

Saturday was a normal Saturday service. Everyone knows

Today is a limited service with differing buses on different routes. Some routes are different from normal.

The lack of 1 person sitting on Facebook on the busiest day in terms of posts is pathetic.

Our provincial operators need dragging into the 21st century.

(nb mods please feel free to move off topic)

Probably worth mentioning that Stagecoach were manning their twitter page today (indeed I can even see some posts put up yesterday!)

Judging by some of the comments, it seems GNE are obviously happy with their service today.

Whilst passengers are disgruntled due to lack of services and queries not being answered and the GNE 'bashers' voice their concerns - the GNE 'defenders' manage to balance the chip on their shoulders and argue that they have performed better than others...

As long as the powers that be are happy, stuff the passengers eh?

I can't from a Customers Standpoint how we can Complain about having zero Customer Service Today, After all whoever works on the Facebook/Twitter Pages and those who take the Phone Calls do that on Daily Basis all Year round, Hell GNE have went on to extend there Opening Hours for Customer Services in the past Few Months, Be greatful you even got a Bus Service at all Today unlike the Majority of Arriva Passengers who had No Service at all.

I think with the Hard Work GNE Customer Services put in on a Daily Basis, despite all the Agro they get at times, the least they Deserve is a Few Days off to Spend time with there Families and Enjoy the Festive Season like the rest of us.

If you want talk about Poor Customer Service then you should of went Clothes Shopping on Boxing Day, It was a Bloody Nightmare, not Single shop I went into Today to Buy Clothes had there Changing Rooms Open, there Excuse was "The Changing Rooms are Closed due to the Sales being on Today", What help is that to a Customer who needs to try the Clothes on first to make they have the Correct size before Purchasing.

I ended up Buying a Pair of Jeans out of Next at MetroCentre and having to go to the Toilets next Debenhams to check they fitted, due to the Changing Rooms being Closed, Luckily for me they did, Rather than Purchasing them and going Home and trying them on to find they didn't fit at all. And having to make Another trip to get them Exchanged.

I have worked at customer services at both Go North East and Stagecoach South. Sadly I agree customers should be glad that any service is provided on Boxing Day at all. Customers are provided information and in some cases well in advance. If they leave it until the last minute then what should they expect. On alot of occasions CS can do very little to actually help the customer simply offer words of advice. CS mainly deal with complaints which, although may seem urgent to the customer cant be dealt with instantly as they often need to be investigated. GNE website is light years ahead of many customers including other methods. So I am afraid perhaps i am biased but all of the team deserve christmas at home to relax and customers should be grateful for the levels of service provided that are not provided in other parts of Go Ahead's companies especially Wilts & Dorset in Salisbury where no service has been provided from 24th to 27th!!!

(27 Dec 2013, 12:54 am)Adam Malarkey wrote I can't from a Customers Standpoint how we can Complain about having zero Customer Service Today, After all whoever works on the Facebook/Twitter Pages and those who take the Phone Calls do that on Daily Basis all Year round, Hell GNE have went on to extend there Opening Hours for Customer Services in the past Few Months, Be greatful you even got a Bus Service at all Today unlike the Majority of Arriva Passengers who had No Service at all.

I think with the Hard Work GNE Customer Services put in on a Daily Basis, despite all the Agro they get at times, the least they Deserve is a Few Days off to Spend time with there Families and Enjoy the Festive Season like the rest of us.

If you want talk about Poor Customer Service then you should of went Clothes Shopping on Boxing Day, It was a Bloody Nightmare, not Single shop I went into Today to Buy Clothes had there Changing Rooms Open, there Excuse was "The Changing Rooms are Closed due to the Sales being on Today", What help is that to a Customer who needs to try the Clothes on first to make they have the Correct size before Purchasing.

I ended up Buying a Pair of Jeans out of Next at MetroCentre and having to go to the Toilets next Debenhams to check they fitted, due to the Changing Rooms being Closed, Luckily for me they did, Rather than Purchasing them and going Home and trying them on to find they didn't fit at all. And having to make Another trip to get them Exchanged.

I didn't have a bus service that came in 1 1/2 miles of me and unless I drove or walked, I couldn't get to the shops.
The day was originally going to involve a group of us heading to the match - several of us didn't bother when we realised how awkward it would be getting there and back (I wasn't the only one to not have a bus service).

Touching on your Debenhams point, do they not have a service offer on each day of the year?
Do their staff not deserve time off?

Again, our provincial bus companies need dragging into the 21st century.

It's a service industry. It should operate. Leisure, retail and catering alongside the NHS and emergency services worked yesterday.

Next changing rooms are closed as sale stock isn't tagged. Too easy too shoplift

Nature of the beast

(26 Dec 2013, 8:19 pm)busman101 wrote All the information that people needed was shown in the links provided in messages today and they do work from mobile's too, however, some people don't seem to be able to read the information that's there for them.

I agree.

Service information for Boxing Day was released quite a while ago. If I could prepare the journeys which I was going to make for my day of photography, then any member of the public could also refer to timetables for their journeys.

I've seen many complaints on Go North East's Facebook page today about the lack of a normal Monday to Friday bus service. One person even complained about having a weekly ticket which cost £21.80 and he was unable to use it this morning as no buses operated in his area before x time, so he had to pay someone £10 to get to work...
If that were me, I'd have checked online to see what the operation was going to be like prior to purchasing a ticket! You wouldn't buy an advance single ticket for a train if you couldn't get to the station on time, so what's the difference with buses?

Service information was given to people well in advance and throughout the day yesterday via announcements - anyone with an internet connection (whether it's on a mobile, tablet or laptop/PC) can check the website. Let's face it - if they can complain on a Facebook page, they can access the information for Boxing Day operations.
Despite this, I saw many people yesterday (including younger people who most definitely have access to the above devices) waiting around for buses and referring to the timetables at bus stops.
A young lad about the same age as me had waited for the 56 for an hour thinking it was a Sunday service, but the first one from Sunderland wasn't scheduled to come until 08:50am...
Rear advertisements have been placed on buses for the convenience of customers I gather, to alert them of operations around the Christmas/New Year period, notices have been pinned on the usual boards on-board buses, GNE's website has had the information available for quite some time and even their Social Media reps have been issuing the information for quite some time too...
...And for what purpose? Customers have ignored all of the above, and are still confused.

(26 Dec 2013, 9:32 pm)aureolin wrote Is this on the wall boards or paper timetables? Seems a bit illogical to shift stand allocations round for the sake of a day, unless the special timetables meant several services departing from the same stand at the same time? Haven't been anywhere by bus today so not noticed anything, bar a red Solar and a black Solar working the 4.

In my example, it was the 58 at Heworth.
The boards with all of the times of buses had the 58 down as 8, all of the Newcastle-bound services were down as using the stand the Washington-bound services use and vice versa... Drivers still used the same stands though!

(26 Dec 2013, 10:31 pm)tyresmoke wrote Probably worth mentioning that Stagecoach were manning their twitter page today (indeed I can even see some posts put up yesterday!)

Is this Twitter page manned by enthusiasts or an official Customer Services team? I ask because I've only ever seen enthusiasts discuss it, and I've not actually seen any announcements on-board Stagecoach buses with information about it. I can't find any mention of it on the Stagecoach website either.
If it's enthusiasts (or even drivers who are enthusiasts) which run it, it does not surprise me that someone was online yesterday or indeed Christmas Day.

(27 Dec 2013, 2:40 am)Coastliner700 wrote I have worked at customer services at both Go North East and Stagecoach South. Sadly I agree customers should be glad that any service is provided on Boxing Day at all. Customers are provided information and in some cases well in advance. If they leave it until the last minute then what should they expect. On alot of occasions CS can do very little to actually help the customer simply offer words of advice. CS mainly deal with complaints which, although may seem urgent to the customer cant be dealt with instantly as they often need to be investigated. GNE website is light years ahead of many customers including other methods. So I am afraid perhaps i am biased but all of the team deserve christmas at home to relax and customers should be grateful for the levels of service provided that are not provided in other parts of Go Ahead's companies especially Wilts & Dorset in Salisbury where no service has been provided from 24th to 27th!!!

Hear, hear!

GNE are light years ahead of many operators throughout the country, for both their operations and indeed their presence on the online platform.
Once they have a real time tracking app similar to Arriva's which is being rolled out at present, I really doubt there's much more they can do to improve other than longer hours (which were actually recently implemented).

When we had really bad snow earlier this year, I think I recall GNE being online until the very last bus of the night...

I do think the same arguments regarding work services and those getting to work on earlier morning buses is brought up evey year. GNE/Arriva & Stagecoach (I assume with the latter) are running to Saturday timetable on the non-bank holiday days between Christmas & New Year; always been this way. However workers do miss out as Saturday buses start a lot later on all routes, obviously the number of people off mean some services can't run, but maybe it's about time Nexus/DCC and other local authorities actually got involved especially to places of key employment; Team Valley & Doxford International etc. worth mentioning thought that Arriva ran to normal timetable for a Tuesday on Christmas Eve as opposed to the Saturday timetable offering from GNE with both running off at 6-8.

With regards to weekly tickets, I can see both sides. Customers know inadvance or should know inadvance what services are running and to what times. So there's no excuses from passengers claiming not to know the timetables. However if you buy a weekly ticket each week (like I do) it costs me £23.50/£24.00 for red & turquoise and if you buy week tickets like I got into a situation which meant mine expired each Thursday, I would have to buy a week pass on Thursday 19th, for it to expire on Wednesday 25th Decmeber, it still works out cheaper than 6x£6.10 for the day ticket each day. And if I bought it a day later it'd be 1 day of no buses and 1 with a very limited service. It's not good for the customer, maybe some nice Christmas deals from the operators (slightly reduced weekly/monthly tickets maybe?) might a gesture of good will it been Christmas and all that not to mention paying for Christmas is hard enough without feeling like the bus company have ripped you off!

I do think GNE is good company and offer some great value fares that can't really be complained about, but there is some things which can get peoples backs up; without going off topic and rambling too much, the peak time fares for my cousin's daughter, she's 11, and each morning is getting the bus to school costing £1.35 each way as she going during the peak times when really £1.80 should do her there and back, but no it's costing £2.70, 90p more each day quickly mounts up.

I do think GNE are very good in bad weather a few weeks backs I recall them staying online a little later maybe? Or providing extra information in the floods wasn't it? Which was very good. The snow updates earlier this year were very good. They were online til 10pm in most cases of extremely bad snow/ice which is very reassuring, if they were to launch an app similar to arrivas live tracking map that would also be excellent as I personally love arrivas app it's very handy for passengers. Something which I will be using for sure.

GNE are streets ahead of Arriva. I remember one morning when I was getting Arriva's 43 and due to the fact that Arriva only have mobile phones, the driver couldn't report the problem until he got to Haymarket and that run ended up being cancelled leaving us passengers waiting for another 15 minutes. Now if GNE were running that service, the driver could have easily managed to contact the depot via the radio for another bus to be sent to Haymarket before he got there. Also, the ticketing is miles ahead of Arriva and far more easier to use. Mind you though folks, one thing that gets on my nerves is people who don't turn up for their bus on time, the driver drives off and people have the audacity to complain about it! It's their responsibility to get there on time and when they make it by the skin of their teeth, they faff around with £20 notes just for a short hop down the road. GNE aren't perfect in any sense but they do at least try.

My final piece for now, is based on a comment from the GNE fb page that I have just seen.

The GNE representative has stated that they use information gathered from the previous Boxing Day to determine the services they run.

Newcastle had their first home game for donkeys years on Boxing Day and by all accounts this wasn't taken into account, with stories emerging of the reduced services, resulting in crowded 21's leaving passengers standing and the x1 being worked by Solars.
Dread to think how other services to Western Gateshead and Stanley/Consett via the Metrocentre managed.
The only extra services I can see from previous years (happy to stand corrected) were the contracted soccerbuses, drafted in to assist with the 52,000 people making their way to Gallowgate, who had done other things in years gone by.

The 93 and 94 didn't run to TVTE for some strange reason and services to Sunderland from outlying towns and villages (where there had been home games for consecutive seasons) were at a similar frequency to previous years.
Dalton Park seemingly wasn't served either.
Unsure of retail parks on North Tyneside, although it appears Byker retail park didn't justify a service either.

I am curious as to how they can argue there is no need for a service, if there hasn't been one previously and the business case behind it (whilst respecting business interests).
If any of the reps can explain, I would be all ears.

Demand for services will change year on year and no doubt increase as society changes.
Whether people agree with it or not, it is time for the bus operators to adapt too.

(27 Dec 2013, 11:30 am)andreos1 wrote I am curious as to how they can argue there is no need for a service, if there hasn't been one previously and the business case behind it (whilst respecting business interests).

Wasn't the X31 introduced on a trial basis this year?

(27 Dec 2013, 11:34 am)Dan wrote Wasn't the X31 introduced on a trial basis this year?

I never noticed it whether it had ran previously.
If it is a new Boxing Day service, then brilliant.

Loadings were obviously analysed from the 43/44 and they were enough to justify an extra bus from Stanley - perfect for shoppers, workers and people going to the match.

Anyone in Newcastle on a normal Saturday can see the justification in having frequent 21's and x1's - when a match has finished during the week, extra services are put on to some routes such as the x10.

So I am unsure as to why the frequency was reduced to/from Newcastle on a number of services and smaller vehicles introduced for the x1, if demand would be similar, if not increased to normal.

Comments have been made, comparing services to the Tokyo Metro!

This is a multi-million pound organisation and they couldn't forecast/manage loadings on one of the busiest shopping days of the year in addition to 52,000 people converging onto the City Centre...
However, the other big two are just as guilty in failing to maintain their service offer.

Edit.
I would still love to know the business case and even logic behind the decision making though.

If for example the x1 picked up a stack of people heading to Newcastle from Houghton - what would GNE be able to determine from that?
Would they be aware that passengers had been dropped off by family, dropped off by another bus from an outlying estate/village or walked there?
Unless passengers were specifically asked or held a day/week/month ticket, then there is no way in the world GNE can determine if there is a demand for a service in say Fencehouses or Bournmoor.

It is the same with the 21 picking up passengers in Chester le Street.
For all GNE know, the 10 getting on, could have all come from Garden Farm Estate - which would justify demand for a bus through there on Boxing Day.

Every year, I see numerous posts (there will be any amount who don't post) on fb from passengers wanting to get to work on TVTE.
There are some this week - yet according to GNE towers, there is no demand?!

(27 Dec 2013, 11:34 am)Dan wrote Wasn't the X31 introduced on a trial basis this year?

And I believe the 21 was at a higher frequency this year than last year.

And the coast road frequency was higher this year than last year.

And the 309 was extended to Blyth.

Things were taken into account to improve the services operating for shoppers and the Newcastle home game, with more buses than ever on the road.

Based upon the number of drivers working on Boxing Day, you build a core network. As with any operation, it is obvious that your primary operations are going to be those which take priority. This is not to suggest that secondary routes are overlooked. Indeed, the Blaydon Racers service 49 and 49B operated at a combined 15 frequency yesterday, over the 30 minute combined frequency provided on Laser services 35B and 35C. The 21 operated at a 10 minute frequency yesterday, between Newcastle and Chester-le-Street. Providing service users with a normal Sunday service operation, and allowing 1200 people per hour to be moved between Chester-le-Street and Newcastle.

In an ideal situation, the new Wright Gemini, for the Fab Fifty Six service, would have been used on Red Arrows operations yesterday. It is normally the case that vehicle types are matched as close as possible to their usual counterparts, to provide a similar total capacity. However, the Wright Solar vehicles have been used on Red Arrows operations over the past few years, on a Boxing Day, with no loading issues. Maybe there was an unpredictable increase in demand this year?

It isn't all about “demand”, it is about creating a network which will transport a larger proportion of passengers. A service to the Team Valley Retail Park could be provided, but this would potentially result in another service being unable to operate. The X31 does stop at the Team Valley, so a service to the Team Valley was provided. It is a difficult decision to make, and no doubt those who do, base their efforts upon guaranteeing a larger proportion of network users are able to travel.

With the intention of bringing this to a close: Riverside will be operational next Boxing Day.
New opportunities will arise from this, and loadings from this year will be assessed as they are every year. Branding and vehicle class allocation should be even better than ever before as a result of the great deal of investment, and hopefully we'll see another service or two provided as well.

(27 Dec 2013, 11:47 am)andreos1 wrote I would still love to know the business case and even logic behind the decision making though.

Why would a business want to tell a member of the public their affairs.....surely it is for the Management and Directors of the business to make them decisions and it has nothing to do with you (or anyone else) when them decisions get made. I am not just talking GNE here, but for all businesses?

I think it's great that go north east are providing these services when others don't bother. Boxing Day is becoming increasingly more popular. However a comment on corrie from Christmas Day (which I'm just watching now) got me thinking. Roy Cropper commented on the local Weatherfield wayfarer (coronation street's local bus service) operating to an every 2 hour limited schedule. I'm wondering if some of the more frequent services that don't usually run could do to be an hourly or 2 hourly if necessary. Things like Loop, Lime, 61 etc. having things interworking etc. just an idea?

I did see one 309 yesterday and it was very busy indeed. This is probably because this was the only service from Blyth and along the Billy Mill-Silverlink section of the Coast Road. Maybe they should have the 309 every 20 minutes next year, and don't bother with the 310? The 58 serves Hadrian Park anyway.

(27 Dec 2013, 12:14 pm)Rob wrote Based upon the number of drivers working on Boxing Day, you build a core network. As with any operation, it is obvious that your primary operations are going to be those which take priority. This is not to suggest that secondary routes are overlooked. Indeed, the Blaydon Racers service 49 and 49B operated at a combined 15 frequency yesterday, over the 30 minute combined frequency provided on Laser services 35B and 35C. The 21 operated at a 10 minute frequency yesterday, between Newcastle and Chester-le-Street. Providing service users with a normal Sunday service operation, and allowing 1200 people per hour to be moved between Chester-le-Street and Newcastle.

In an ideal situation, the new Wright Gemini, for the Fab Fifty Six service, would have been used on Red Arrows operations yesterday. It is normally the case that vehicle types are matched as close as possible to their usual counterparts, to provide a similar total capacity. However, the Wright Solar vehicles have been used on Red Arrows operations over the past few years, on a Boxing Day, with no loading issues. Maybe there was an unpredictable increase in demand this year?

It isn't all about “demand”, it is about creating a network which will transport a larger proportion of passengers. A service to the Team Valley Retail Park could be provided, but this would potentially result in another service being unable to operate. The X31 does stop at the Team Valley, so a service to the Team Valley was provided. It is a difficult decision to make, and no doubt those who do, base their efforts upon guaranteeing a larger proportion of network users are able to travel.

Thought that was how it would work i.e the network built around the available resources/staffing.

However, if demand isn't taken into account, then passengers and revenue are also going to be missed out on - particularly if what the GNE fb person said was true.

To build a network you need resources and you need to match that with the demands of your customers and make a profit - whether that is on boxing day or not.

Granted the x31 serves TVTE North End.
It is a big place though, with a massive concentration of business based in the South End...

I would argue the increase in loadings wasn't unpredictable either.
The company knew where the sales would be and knew where football games were too.

It doesn't take a planning genius sitting with access to spreadsheets and computer software to work that out.

If the network dictates three services between Herrington Burn and Hetton on Boxing Day or however many between Fatfield and the Galleries, then so be it.

(27 Dec 2013, 12:37 pm)CatsFast101 wrote I think it's great that go north east are providing these services when others don't bother. Boxing Day is becoming increasingly more popular. However a comment on corrie from Christmas Day (which I'm just watching now) got me thinking. Roy Cropper commented on the local Weatherfield wayfarer (coronation street's local bus service) operating to an every 2 hour limited schedule. I'm wondering if some of the more frequent services that don't usually run could do to be an hourly or 2 hourly if necessary. Things like Loop, Lime, 61 etc. having things interworking etc. just an idea?

Years ago, Stagecoach used to do the boxing day bus services in sunderland etc..., stagecoach used to run the 222 between Sunderland and East Rainton as it was secured by Nexus, and DCC didn't secure any bus services in County Durham, over the years GNE started to do some commercially with the old 21 route as running a boxing day service between Chester-Le-Street and Newcastle.

A lot of moany passengers on facebook wondering where their bus is, I think Tyne and Wear County should take a leap out of the County Durham area where theres no arriva service at all. always have been and always will that a Saturday service always between boxing day and new years day except on a Sunday, because theres no scholars and work services that operates.