(07 Oct 2016, 8:14 pm)L469 YVK wrote And to top it all off, the Toon will be kicking off at 19:45 this year. Wonder if a close enough Sunday service with additional journeys (that don't usually run on a Sunday evening) will be the pecking order this year?

(07 Oct 2016, 8:42 pm)GX03 SVC wrote Hopefully GNE run something to Ashington and Morpeth.

(08 Oct 2016, 7:43 am)L469 YVK wrote GNE could do the X21 route to Bedlington then X22 route to Newcastle from Ashington with a PVR of 2x on an Hourly Service.

(08 Oct 2016, 8:32 am)GX03 SVC wrote Or the X21 route throughout? 

(09 Oct 2016, 10:44 am)ifm001 wrote Bearing in mind when matches that fall on new years day don't get any offerings or extended services it all looks very highly unlikely

(28 Oct 2016, 5:41 pm)RobinHood wrote https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/nexmas2016

Arriva planning to run Boxing Day services this year in Tyne & Wear.

(28 Oct 2016, 5:46 pm)Michael wrote Oh wow, they've actually moved into the 21st century =0

(28 Oct 2016, 6:07 pm)Jimmi wrote Not that far into the 21st century, still nothing for those of us who don't live on Tyneside ... [emoji19]

Hopefully the Tyneside routes will do well and hopefully in future, we could see some services south of the Tyne. Won't hold my breath though...

(29 Oct 2016, 4:50 pm)mb134 wrote Good to see Arriva finally running some services on Boxing Day, even if they are only in Northumberland this year. Will be interesting to see the timetables, and how long the services will run for. Anyone know if all three depots will be running their own routes, or if one depot will be running them all?

(29 Oct 2016, 5:44 pm)tyresmoke wrote As far as I know they'll all be run out of Jesmond, although will be drivers from their own depots.

(30 Oct 2016, 1:43 pm)northern156 wrote Nothing going west over to Hexham either...!

(30 Oct 2016, 12:47 pm)mb134 wrote So, will all vehicles be supplied by Jesmond? Or will Ashington and Blyth send vehicles to Jesmond on Christmas Eve?

(30 Oct 2016, 6:56 pm)tyresmoke wrote Vehicles would just be from Jesmond I imagine. Its easier if you're trying to run it at low cost.
Hopefully if it is deemed successful they may look at expanding the operation in future years.

(30 Oct 2016, 11:46 pm)mb134 wrote Ah, so no MAX or Sapphire then. (Bar whatever 1408/11 are allocated to).

Hopefully, I imagine driver permitting that a full Sunday service would still run at a profit in most areas, especially if Newcastle and/or Middlesbrough are playing at home. (Perhaps the lack of a Middlesbrough home game this year is why Arriva didn't take the plunge and operate services south of the Tyne?)

(31 Oct 2016, 12:03 am)Ambassador wrote Newcastle don't kick off until 7.45, I'd imagine Arriva will have stopped service by then. Only GNE took up the funding offer from altoonative travel last year for a skeleton evening service.

It's still crazy there's no service on New Years Day but there is on Easter Sunday

(31 Oct 2016, 12:06 am)mb134 wrote I think the Newcastle match will be a main driver behind Arriva's decision to operate services on Boxing Day this year, it would seriously surprise me if they stopped the services before that game kicked off.

(31 Oct 2016, 12:03 am)Ambassador wrote It's still crazy there's no service on New Years Day but there is on Easter Sunday