(26 Mar 2016, 8:25 am)Andreos1 wrote For years, operators have told us services operate using data from previous years.

If they are indeed doing that, why isn't anything changing? 
If demand is increasing year on year, why aren't operators stepping up and beyond?

In addition that, I would love to know how data is analysed for services that are non-existent on Bank Holidays.
How can they work out passenger demands, without data?

Yesterday, I went inland for the day, visiting areas served by a major operator during the normal working week - when demand is probably lower than it was yesterday (judging by the cars parked and visitors visiting - in addition to those living and working in the areas).
Was there a bus service yesterday? Whey no. Of course there wasn't.

(26 Mar 2016, 6:08 pm)Adrian wrote I didn't bother going out at all yesterday, as I really don't fancy waiting round for ages and ages to get anywhere. The service I have on a Sunday is piss poor, yet still far better than what a lot of Durham has. Several villages are without a bus service for 3 out of 4 days over the Easter weekend, yet we're apparently in 2016.

(27 Mar 2016, 1:10 pm)palatine3833 wrote You have to look at the bigger picture though.  Yes, demand is greater on Easter weekends etc., but the drivers also have families that they would like to spend the time of year with.  Since it's a bank holiday, the company has to rely on volunteers to work the holiday - if you don't have the volunteers, you can't operate the services.  Then you also have to look at the additional costs of operating on such holidays, since the drivers that do volunteer will need an incentive to do so.  I agree that some parts of the region need higher operating levels on these holidays and that a Sunday service is, in the most part, inadequate, so maybe operators could design a 'special timetable' to relieve the crowds.

(27 Mar 2016, 1:10 pm)palatine3833 wrote You have to look at the bigger picture though.  Yes, demand is greater on Easter weekends etc., but the drivers also have families that they would like to spend the time of year with.  Since it's a bank holiday, the company has to rely on volunteers to work the holiday - if you don't have the volunteers, you can't operate the services.  Then you also have to look at the additional costs of operating on such holidays, since the drivers that do volunteer will need an incentive to do so.  I agree that some parts of the region need higher operating levels on these holidays and that a Sunday service is, in the most part, inadequate, so maybe operators could design a 'special timetable' to relieve the crowds.

(27 Mar 2016, 3:42 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Looking at some of the routes on a Bank Holiday, I think they should operate to these timetables giving the best of reduced costs whilst meeting demand during the day:

GNE:
- Coaster 1/1A every 15 minutes between Whitley Bay and Gateshead with hourly / half hourly extensions as per usual Sunday timetable to Kibblesworth or Wrekenton during the daytime.

- Simplicity 2A/2C every 30 minutes each combining every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Connections 4 every 10 minutes between Heworth and Fallowfield Way continuing every 20 minutes to
Houghton Le Spring during the daytime.

- Red Arrows X1 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- TEN 10 / 10A / 10B normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Angel 21 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Castles Express X21 normal Saturday service.

- Crusader 27 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Red Kite 45 / 46 / 47 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Fab 56 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Drifter 60 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Drifter 61 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Loop 93 / 94 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Cobalt Clipper 309 / 310 every 20 minutes each or every 10 minutes combined during the daytime.
Note that these could run every 15 minutes each (7-8 combined) with the 309 only continuing between Blyth and Whitley Bay every 30 minutes.

Arriva:
- X21 / X22 every 30 minutes each or every 15 minutes combined during the daytime.

- 35 every 60 minutes during the daytime.

- X10 / X11 every 30 minutes each or every 15 minutes combined during the daytime.

- X16 every 60 minutes between Morpeth and Newcastle interworking with service 35 at Morpeth.
This would provide a bus every 30 minutes between Morpeth and Newcastle combined with service X18
as well as the additional X15 journeys which normally operate.

- Coastliner 306 / 308 every 20 minutes each or every 10 minutes combined during the daytime.
Note that these could run every 15 minutes each (7-8 combined) with the 308 only continuing between Blyth and Whitley Bay every 30 minutes or even every 15 minutes.

(27 Mar 2016, 5:49 pm)biglugs@yahoo.com wrote The 2c is not a service are you refering to the 2

(27 Mar 2016, 3:42 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Looking at some of the routes on a Bank Holiday, I think they should operate to these timetables giving the best of reduced costs whilst meeting demand during the day:

GNE:
- Coaster 1/1A every 15 minutes between Whitley Bay and Gateshead with hourly / half hourly extensions as per usual Sunday timetable to Kibblesworth or Wrekenton during the daytime.

- Simplicity 2/2A every 30 minutes each combining every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Connections 4 every 10 minutes between Heworth and Fallowfield Way continuing every 20 minutes to
Houghton Le Spring during the daytime.

- Red Arrows X1 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- TEN 10 / 10A / 10B normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Angel 21 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Castles Express X21 normal Saturday service.

- Crusader 27 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Red Kite 45 / 46 / 47 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Fab 56 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Drifter 60 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Drifter 61 every 15 minutes during the daytime.

- Loop 93 / 94 normal Saturday service during the daytime.

- Cobalt Clipper 309 / 310 every 20 minutes each or every 10 minutes combined during the daytime.
Note that these could run every 15 minutes each (7-8 combined) with the 309 only continuing between Blyth and Whitley Bay every 30 minutes.

Arriva:
- X21 / X22 every 30 minutes each or every 15 minutes combined during the daytime.

- 35 every 60 minutes during the daytime.

- X10 / X11 every 30 minutes each or every 15 minutes combined during the daytime.

- X16 every 60 minutes between Morpeth and Newcastle interworking with service 35 at Morpeth.
This would provide a bus every 30 minutes between Morpeth and Newcastle combined with service X18
as well as the additional X15 journeys which normally operate.

- Coastliner 306 / 308 every 20 minutes each or every 10 minutes combined during the daytime.
Note that these could run every 15 minutes each (7-8 combined) with the 308 only continuing between Blyth and Whitley Bay every 30 minutes or even every 15 minutes.

(27 Mar 2016, 2:27 pm)Ambassador wrote Completely agree. Retail and other service sectors (GNE drivers are part of this service sector) wouldn't think twice about working bank holidays.

Most companies either pay well for working it or offer a day off in lieu plus your bank holiday allowance.

I'm not saying a full service on all routes but key flagship stuff like the 21, X1 etc should have better than Sunday when the Sunday timetable doesn't even work for those routes on a normal Sunday! I've ended up driving on Sunday's because the 21 is simply totally unreliable .

(28 Mar 2016, 9:32 am)JakeSavage wrote Pop quiz: with today's weather forecast being decidedly "changeable", how many of the services which apparently struggled on Good Friday will need 'bolstering' today?

(Bearing in mind you'd also need to declare your intentions at least 21 days in advance...?)

(28 Mar 2016, 11:52 am)JakeSavage wrote Looking at stagecoach's twitter, only Sunderland were reporting heavy passenger demand. And we should bear in mind that on bank holidays all their main core routes are now running at 20 minutes, combining to run at 10 minute intervals on common sections, and also that the ecos are running to full weekday timetables (post 1030).

The majority of reported concerns were due to bank holiday traffic congestion. Same on the GNE Twitter feed, although their passengers did appear a bit more confused as to the services which were running. 

I do think the point of folk having different destinations dependent upon the weather is a valid one though. But equally so is the legal requirement to confirm the services 21 days in advance - it's hard enough to to predict the glorious British summer at 21 hours notice, yet alone 21 days...!

(28 Mar 2016, 9:48 am)Adrian wrote There was no 'apparent' struggle about it. Stagecoach and Go North East both admitted on social media that they were having capacity issues. Arriva not so, but you could tell from the live map that they were struggling.

People will still go out somewhere, regardless of the weather. The variable is where they go to. There'll still be plenty of travel to and from town and city centres, the likes of the Metrocentre, and so on.

The poor bus service provision is what puts people off. Not the weather.

(28 Mar 2016, 11:52 am)JakeSavage wrote Looking at stagecoach's twitter, only Sunderland were reporting heavy passenger demand. And we should bear in mind that on bank holidays all their main core routes are now running at 20 minutes, combining to run at 10 minute intervals on common sections, and also that the ecos are running to full weekday timetables (post 1030).

The majority of reported concerns were due to bank holiday traffic congestion. Same on the GNE Twitter feed, although their passengers did appear a bit more confused as to the services which were running. 

I do think the point of folk having different destinations dependent upon the weather is a valid one though. But equally so is the legal requirement to confirm the services 21 days in advance - it's hard enough to to predict the glorious British summer at 21 hours notice, yet alone 21 days...!

(28 Mar 2016, 12:30 pm)Adrian wrote But why would there be an increase in traffic on the roads, if there wasn't a demand for people to get to places? Perhaps some people have taken the car instead, because they don't want to be waiting an hour between buses?

Most of us will be fully aware of the notice required to confirm services, but you wouldn't have a lesser service on a Saturday or Sunday if it's raining, so why a bank holiday?

GNE reported that one of their 21s was running 43 minutes late at one point. That's a bit more than traffic congestion right there. Another from just now: 

"Go North East
1 hr ·
Due to severe congestion on market lane, 45/46, 49/49a V8 and 6 services are operating via the A1 into the Metro Centre"

(28 Mar 2016, 8:18 pm)tyresmoke wrote I worked Goiday on the Metro buses and the contrast to today couldn't be more stark. I'm not sure whether you could throw too many resources to 'variable' destinations such as Whitley Bay which saw excessive demand on Friday. I did the same shift today as I did on Friday... 1049 and 1204 from Shiremoor ... Friday loaded 50 & 73 people, today those numbers were 16 & 14.
On Friday the Coaster buses were also struggling to cope with the loadings, they could have done with deckers allocating given the forecasted weather. Traffic problems were killing everything in and around Tynemouth & Whitley Bay on Friday  while there were no such problems today.
Of course there is an argument for improved services although I would add only between 10-11 and 3-4 the main shopping times, outside of those times the cost would outweigh the revenue.

(01 May 2016, 4:29 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote Right then, lets have a guessing game for Tomorrow predicting how late a service (or more if you so wish) is going to be.

Here's mine to get started:

- GNE Angel 21, 45 minute delays.

- GNE Red Arrows X1, 30 minute delays.

(02 May 2016, 10:32 am)BusLoverMum wrote Well this will scupper timetables. There's been an incident on Percy Street. Loads of police and a security van under the bridge. Nexus putting signs up in Eldon Square bus station so I can't see it clearing any time soon.

(02 May 2016, 10:54 am)South Tyne Lad wrote Is Arriva operating a Sunday service today? I can't find any info on times for them.