I was overhauling and mixing routes for fun and started to think partnership wise what would be best. So I started thinking about the madness that is North Tyneside having Stagecoach, Arriva, GNE, GCT and the Metro - quite a lot for a 'small' population. 

For partnership to work in my opinion then combined routing and ticketing are key. Below is my example of a partnership concept on key groups of routes which would have combined ticketing and timings....

Coast Road (Arriva & GNE)
306 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 306 Route & Frequency 
307 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 310 Route & Frequency (Hadrian Park now served by 23/24), renumbered for consistency with 306/7/....
308 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 308 Route & Frequency
309 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 309 Route & Frequency 
310 Newcastle - Whitley Bay = Current 51/51A Route & Frequency, renumbered (short runs extend to Northumberland Park instead of Holystone)

Cramlington - North Shields (Arriva & GNE)
17 Whitley Bay - Ashington = Current 57 Route & Frequency
18 North Shields - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 57A Route & Frequency
19 North Shields Ferry - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 19 Route & Frequency

Wallsend (Stagecoach & GNE)

20 Wallsend - Whitley Bay = Current 317 Route & Frequency
21 Gateshead - Whitley Bay = Current 1 Route & Frequency
22 Throckley - Northumberland Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, extended to Northumberland Park
23 Throckley - Hadrian Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, doesn't serve the business parks on Scotswood Rd and diverts at Willington to Hadrian Park
24/24A Wallsend - Hadrian Park = Current 41/41A Route & Frequency
61 Benton/Four Lane Ends = = Current 18 Route & Frequency, renumbered to line up with 62 & 1 and extended to Wallsend via lost link (Q3 route)

I welcome feedback and please add your own areas/changes if you wish...

(15 Apr 2022, 4:27 pm)logidoodah wrote I was overhauling and mixing routes for fun and started to think partnership wise what would be best. So I started thinking about the madness that is North Tyneside having Stagecoach, Arriva, GNE, GCT and the Metro - quite a lot for a 'small' population. 

For partnership to work in my opinion then combined routing and ticketing are key. Below is my example of a partnership concept on key groups of routes which would have combined ticketing and timings....

Coast Road (Arriva & GNE)
306 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 306 Route & Frequency 
307 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 310 Route & Frequency (Hadrian Park now served by 23/24), renumbered for consistency with 306/7/....
308 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 308 Route & Frequency
309 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 309 Route & Frequency 
310 Newcastle - Whitley Bay = Current 51/51A Route & Frequency, renumbered (short runs extend to Northumberland Park instead of Holystone)

Cramlington - North Shields (Arriva & GNE)
17 Whitley Bay - Ashington = Current 57 Route & Frequency
18 North Shields - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 57A Route & Frequency
19 North Shields Ferry - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 19 Route & Frequency

Wallsend (Stagecoach & GNE)

20 Wallsend - Whitley Bay = Current 317 Route & Frequency
21 Gateshead - Whitley Bay = Current 1 Route & Frequency
22 Throckley - Northumberland Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, extended to Northumberland Park
23 Throckley - Hadrian Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, doesn't serve the business parks on Scotswood Rd and diverts at Willington to Hadrian Park
24/24A Wallsend - Hadrian Park = Current 41/41A Route & Frequency
61 Benton/Four Lane Ends = = Current 18 Route & Frequency, renumbered to line up with 62 & 1 and extended to Wallsend via lost link (Q3 route)

I welcome feedback and please add your own areas/changes if you wish...

Overall I quite like your suggestions, a nice tidying up, but there's still some repetition that could probably be eliminated! Don't think re-numbering the 1 to the 21 will work, bound to be a source of confusion with the Angel 21 in Newcastle and Gateshead. I almost think you'd be better doing 301-305 instead of 20-24.

All the Coast Road basically needs changing is the 306, 308, 309, 310 all running every 20 mins each during Monday to Saturday daytimes with the 309 serving High Farm. Obviously to create some headway between 308 & 309, common frequency between Newcastle and Station Road would be:

- Every 4-6 mins Mondays to Saturdays
- Every 10 mins Evenings (with short 308 to Billy Mill too and short 309 to Cobalt / Northumberland Park too)
- Every 7-8 mins Sunday daytimes

Plus the 51/51A running as oddballs.

Then for Hadrian Park, Stagecoach's 22 split into the 22 & 23 (running every 20 mins each or every 10 combined) with 22 doing current route to Cobalt & perhaps Northumberland Park with 23 serving Hadrian Park replacing the 311.

(15 Apr 2022, 5:22 pm)L469 YVK wrote All the Coast Road basically needs changing is the 306, 308, 309, 310 all running every 20 mins each during Monday to Saturday daytimes with the 309 serving High Farm. Obviously to create some headway between 308 & 309, common frequency between Newcastle and Station Road would be:

- Every 4-6 mins Mondays to Saturdays
- Every 10 mins Evenings (with short 308 to Billy Mill too and short 309 to Cobalt / Northumberland Park too)
- Every 7-8 mins Sunday daytimes

Plus the 51/51A running as oddballs.

Then for Hadrian Park, Stagecoach's 22 split into the 22 & 23 (running every 20 mins each or every 10 combined) with 22 doing current route to Cobalt & perhaps Northumberland Park with 23 serving Hadrian Park replacing the 311.

As busy as the Coast Road corridor can be, there's no way it requires a 4-6 minute frequency Mon-Sat. The likes of Billy Mill/Rake Lane are over-bussed too as a result. You're just evening out the over-bussing into a clock-face timetable there, when really the resource could be better used elsewhere.

In the world of partnership, if true to the word, then most of the diversions off the main route could be better served by better linking some of these North Tyneside estates to the Metro system.

(15 Apr 2022, 4:27 pm)3logidoodah wrote I was overhauling and mixing routes for fun and started to think partnership wise what would be best. So I started thinking about the madness that is North Tyneside having Stagecoach, Arriva, GNE, GCT and the Metro - quite a lot for a 'small' population. 

For partnership to work in my opinion then combined routing and ticketing are key. Below is my example of a partnership concept on key groups of routes which would have combined ticketing and timings....

Coast Road (Arriva & GNE)
306 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 306 Route & Frequency 
307 Newcastle - North Shields = Current 310 Route & Frequency (Hadrian Park now served by 23/24), renumbered for consistency with 306/7/....
308 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 308 Route & Frequency
309 Newcastle - Whitley Bay/Blyth = Current 309 Route & Frequency 
310 Newcastle - Whitley Bay = Current 51/51A Route & Frequency, renumbered (short runs extend to Northumberland Park instead of Holystone)

Cramlington - North Shields (Arriva & GNE)
17 Whitley Bay - Ashington = Current 57 Route & Frequency
18 North Shields - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 57A Route & Frequency
19 North Shields Ferry - Cramlington/Ashington = Current 19 Route & Frequency

Wallsend (Stagecoach & GNE)

20 Wallsend - Whitley Bay = Current 317 Route & Frequency
21 Gateshead - Whitley Bay = Current 1 Route & Frequency
22 Throckley - Northumberland Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, extended to Northumberland Park
23 Throckley - Hadrian Park = Current 22 Route & Frequency, doesn't serve the business parks on Scotswood Rd and diverts at Willington to Hadrian Park
24/24A Wallsend - Hadrian Park = Current 41/41A Route & Frequency
61 Benton/Four Lane Ends = = Current 18 Route & Frequency, renumbered to line up with 62 & 1 and extended to Wallsend via lost link (Q3 route)

I welcome feedback and please add your own areas/changes if you wish...

This is probably going beyond what your wanting but for someone local to the 19/57/57A, I'm not sure how doable it is but for your 17/18/19 I'd rather see.

57 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Cramlington, every hour.
58 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Willow Farm, direct to Cramlington, 58 route to East Hartford omitting Beacon Hill every hour
59 - 19 route from North Shields omitting the fish quay loop to Cramlington, 57 route from Cramlington to Ashington, every hour.

(The fifties are already North Shields / Whitley Bay local services).

24 - 342 route hourly
25 - 342 route Wallsend to Coast Road, remaining of the 335 towards Killingworth hourly

26 - North Tyneside 'loop' service which consists of the 317 Wallsend to North Shields Ferry, Fish Quay, North Shields, 335 Route to Hadrian Park, 41A from Hadrian Park to Wallsend every 30 minutes plus service running the current 41 every 30 minutes aswell giving 15 minutes between Hadrian Park and Wallsend.
27 - Reverse of the above two.

19, 317, 335, 342, 58 withdrawn.

It's ridiculous that there's 2 buses an hour serving nothing pretty much via East Cramlington whereas Seghill only has 1 bus an hour now towards Cramlington and people from Ashington are more likely to want to go to Cobalt than Whitley Bay (it would be as quick to get the 1/2 to Blyth and change onto the 308/309 anyway) and North Shields bus station is a decent enough hub for people wanting a bus from Wallsend to Whitley, there's alternatives via the Metro or the 26/27 which would cover most anyway.

(15 Apr 2022, 6:30 pm)Storx wrote This is probably going beyond what your wanting but for someone local to the 19/57/57A, I'm not sure how doable it is but for your 17/18/19 I'd rather see.

57 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Cramlington, every hour.
58 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Willow Farm, direct to Cramlington, 58 route to East Hartford omitting Beacon Hill every hour
59 - 19 route from North Shields omitting the fish quay loop to Cramlington, 57 route from Cramlington to Ashington, every hour.

(The fifties are already North Shields / Whitley Bay local services).

24 - 342 route hourly
25 - 342 route Wallsend to Coast Road, remaining of the 335 towards Killingworth hourly

26 - North Tyneside 'loop' service which consists of the 317 Wallsend to North Shields Ferry, Fish Quay, North Shields, 335 Route to Hadrian Park, 41A from Hadrian Park to Wallsend every 30 minutes plus service running the current 41 every 30 minutes aswell giving 15 minutes between Hadrian Park and Wallsend.
27 - Reverse of the above two.

19, 317, 335, 342, 58 withdrawn.

It's ridiculous that there's 2 buses an hour serving nothing pretty much via East Cramlington whereas Seghill only has 1 bus an hour now towards Cramlington and people from Ashington are more likely to want to go to Cobalt than Whitley Bay (it would be as quick to get the 1/2 to Blyth and change onto the 308/309 anyway) and North Shields bus station is a decent enough hub for people wanting a bus from Wallsend to Whitley, there's alternatives via the Metro or the 26/27 which would cover most anyway.

Is there not 2 to Cramlington - the 57A and the 19, granted the 19 goes the long way round, but now there is a link from Seghill to East Cramlington and the Hospital there, rather than having to walk from High Pit.

(15 Apr 2022, 6:35 pm)citaro5284 wrote Is there not 2 to Cramlington - the 57A and the 19, granted the 19 goes the long way round, but now there is a link from Seghill to East Cramlington and the Hospital there, rather than having to walk from High Pit.

Aye it's not really logical though to go that way by the time you went on a tour of Delaval etc it would be just as quick to wait for the 57A I'd imagine, I'm not from Seghill so not 100% sure of that.

I know the 57 was sent via East Cramlington for operational reasons though, the same reason it got cut from the North Shields end as there was no way to run it without dead running to Cramlington and back or using full size buses interworking with the 56 (54) as it did at the time. It was 3 buses an hour until roughly 10 year ago so quite a big drop.

I know locally there's been pushing for buses to Rake Lane ever since it got dropped though so would be quite popular merging the 317 and 57/57A, it's effectively just bringing back the old 810/811 but going along Malvern Road and via Preston Village rather than direct and the 19 is kind of bringing back the old 442 bar it's a different route South of Seaton Delaval and it's clearly not working as it is from Whitley Bay to Wallsend so why not try something different imo.

(15 Apr 2022, 5:51 pm)Adrian wrote As busy as the Coast Road corridor can be, there's no way it requires a 4-6 minute frequency Mon-Sat. The likes of Billy Mill/Rake Lane are over-bussed too as a result. You're just evening out the over-bussing into a clock-face timetable there, when really the resource could be better used elsewhere.

In the world of partnership, if true to the word, then most of the diversions off the main route could be better served by better linking some of these North Tyneside estates to the Metro system.

Not really if you think about it. Low Fell & Durham Road has 8x per hour with the 21 plus the X12, X21, 25 taking that to 14x per hour.

The Coast Road between Station Road and Newcastle Haymarket has had (excluding 307, 38, 51, 51A, X8, X9)

2004 - 14x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 300 & 305 - 6x per hour

2006 - 16x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 305, 315 & 316 - 8x per hour

2007 - 18x:
- As above but with the then 'new' 309 every 30 minutes and I believe an 'enhanced' pink panther 307 also every 30 minutes.

2008 - 22x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 75 & 76, 309 - 8x per hour (75 & 76 replaced by 310 in 2010)
- 58 (City Centre) - 6x per hour

2012 - 19x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 - 8x per hour
- 58 (replaced by 57 in 2016) - 3x per hour

2020 - 17x
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 & 311 - 9x per hour

12x per hour (all 20 mins each) would take the number below pre 2004 levels but all services would be double deck operated unlike then.

(15 Apr 2022, 7:43 pm)L469 YVK wrote Not really if you think about it. Low Fell & Durham Road has 8x per hour with the 21 plus the X12, X21, 25 taking that to 14x per hour.

The Coast Road between Station Road and Newcastle Haymarket has had (excluding 307, 38, 51, 51A, X8, X9)

2004 - 14x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 300 & 305 - 6x per hour

2006 - 16x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 305, 315 & 316 - 8x per hour

2007 - 18x:
- As above but with the then 'new' 309 every 30 minutes and I believe an 'enhanced' pink panther 307 also every 30 minutes.

2008 - 22x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 75 & 76, 309 - 8x per hour (75 & 76 replaced by 310 in 2010)
- 58 (City Centre) - 6x per hour

2012 - 19x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 - 8x per hour
- 58 (replaced by 57 in 2016) - 3x per hour

2020 - 17x
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 & 311 - 9x per hour

12x per hour (all 20 mins each) would take the number below pre 2004 levels but all services would be double deck operated unlike then.

Just because something happens elsewhere, doesn't mean that it's relevant somewhere else. Just the same as quoting frequencies from years ago doesn't mean there's any such demand in 2022. 

I personally think that Low Fell is overbussed. There's no need for the X12 or X21 to serve there, and actually just slows things down for end-to-end customers from Durham and beyond.

(15 Apr 2022, 7:43 pm)L469 YVK wrote Not really if you think about it. Low Fell & Durham Road has 8x per hour with the 21 plus the X12, X21, 25 taking that to 14x per hour.

The Coast Road between Station Road and Newcastle Haymarket has had (excluding 307, 38, 51, 51A, X8, X9)

2004 - 14x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 300 & 305 - 6x per hour

2006 - 16x :
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 305, 315 & 316 - 8x per hour

2007 - 18x:
- As above but with the then 'new' 309 every 30 minutes and I believe an 'enhanced' pink panther 307 also every 30 minutes.

2008 - 22x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 75 & 76, 309 - 8x per hour (75 & 76 replaced by 310 in 2010)
- 58 (City Centre) - 6x per hour

2012 - 19x:
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 - 8x per hour
- 58 (replaced by 57 in 2016) - 3x per hour

2020 - 17x
- 306 & 308 - 8x per hour
- 309 & 310 & 311 - 9x per hour

12x per hour (all 20 mins each) would take the number below pre 2004 levels but all services would be double deck operated unlike then.

And in 1983 you had:

306 (Newcastle - Tynemouth) - 4bph
308 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 4bph
309 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 1bph

A total of 9 buses per hour.

The same frequency can be applied to 1984, 1985 and 1986.

This is a snapshot of four-year period where 'partnerships' were in place by virtue of the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Executive, and bus patronage was considerably more than it is today.

A partnership will result in less buses, no-more than 10 per hour by my estimation, tootling along the Coast Road because, as competition subsides, the duplication of routes will stop.

There is absolutely no need for 17 buses per hour along the Coast Road between Newcastle and Northam Road.

(15 Apr 2022, 7:50 pm)Adrian wrote Just because something happens elsewhere, doesn't mean that it's relevant somewhere else. Just the same as quoting frequencies from years ago doesn't mean there's any such demand in 2022. 

I personally think that Low Fell is overbussed. There's no need for the X12 or X21 to serve there, and actually just slows things down for end-to-end customers from Durham and beyond.

If you take the X12 and X21 out of Low Fell you’d need to up the 21 to cover the gap. Both handle quite a lot of passengers at the Cannon and take the strain of the less reliable 21.

(15 Apr 2022, 9:17 pm)MurdnunoC wrote And in 1983 you had:

306 (Newcastle - Tynemouth) - 4bph
308 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 4bph
309 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 1bph

A total of 9 buses per hour.

The same frequency can be applied to 1984, 1985 and 1986.

This is a snapshot of four-year period where 'partnerships' were in place by virtue of the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Executive, and bus patronage was considerably more than it is today.

A partnership will result in less buses, no-more than 10 per hour by my estimation, tootling along the Coast Road because, as competition subsides, the duplication of routes will stop.

There is absolutely no need for 17 buses per hour along the Coast Road between Newcastle and Northam Road.

Do you mean Station Road?


Yeah, until the wider network is reviewed with perhaps more local areas getting better connected to nearest Metro stations instead, reducing to 12x per hour would be a start meaning a bus every 5 minutes between Newcastle and Station Road.......then a bus every 10 minutes to High Farm & Battle Hill or a bus every 10 minutes to St Peter's, Willington Square, Silverlink, Norham Road and Billy Mill.

---

(15 Apr 2022, 6:30 pm)Storx wrote This is probably going beyond what your wanting but for someone local to the 19/57/57A, I'm not sure how doable it is but for your 17/18/19 I'd rather see.

57 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Cramlington, every hour.
58 - 317 route from North Shields to Whitley Bay, 57A route from Whitley Bay to Willow Farm, direct to Cramlington, 58 route to East Hartford omitting Beacon Hill every hour
59 - 19 route from North Shields omitting the fish quay loop to Cramlington, 57 route from Cramlington to Ashington, every hour.

(The fifties are already North Shields / Whitley Bay local services).

24 - 342 route hourly
25 - 342 route Wallsend to Coast Road, remaining of the 335 towards Killingworth hourly

26 - North Tyneside 'loop' service which consists of the 317 Wallsend to North Shields Ferry, Fish Quay, North Shields, 335 Route to Hadrian Park, 41A from Hadrian Park to Wallsend every 30 minutes plus service running the current 41 every 30 minutes aswell giving 15 minutes between Hadrian Park and Wallsend.
27 - Reverse of the above two.

19, 317, 335, 342, 58 withdrawn.

I do like the way you've restructured the 19/57/57A/58, seems far more logical too!

Is the 26/27 (correct me if wrong) basically a re-hash of the old 303/304? I like that idea too!

Let’s renumber NT services to the 3xx range. Time to turn back to the golden age of T&W bus travel.

(15 Apr 2022, 9:17 pm)MurdnunoC wrote And in 1983 you had:

306 (Newcastle - Tynemouth) - 4bph
308 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 4bph
309 (Newcastle - Blyth) - 1bph

A total of 9 buses per hour.

The same frequency can be applied to 1984, 1985 and 1986.

This is a snapshot of four-year period where 'partnerships' were in place by virtue of the Tyne and Wear Public Transport Executive, and bus patronage was considerably more than it is today.

A partnership will result in less buses, no-more than 10 per hour by my estimation, tootling along the Coast Road because, as competition subsides, the duplication of routes will stop.

There is absolutely no need for 17 buses per hour along the Coast Road between Newcastle and Northam Road.

Can't see it happening personally. Partnerships will only work where it benefits the operators. No chance will you be able to tell GNE to shut down Percy Main as it's what they effectively need to do to sort the Coast Road mess out (there's no need for the 309/311 at all really and similar things should could be said about the 1 aswell) and there's no way that Arriva will give up the 306 and 308 either to GNE as why should they, they've been their routes since year dot. Can see it being a big problem area with the partnership personally, the fact they're both not dropping the frequency now when let's be honest there's way too many buses down there but everywhere else they're getting cut nilly willy shows there's resistance.

Personally all I think we will see is them choosing who has what route with GNE serving High Farm and Battle Hill and Arriva doing Selby Gardens and direct along the Coast Road omitting Battle Hill. Frequency between them who knows.

(15 Apr 2022, 9:45 pm)L469 YVK wrote Do you mean Station Road?


Yeah, until the wider network is reviewed with perhaps more local areas getting better connected to nearest Metro stations instead, reducing to 12x per hour would be a start meaning a bus every 5 minutes between Newcastle and Station Road.......then a bus every 10 minutes to High Farm & Battle Hill or a bus every 10 minutes to St Peter's, Willington Square, Silverlink, Norham Road and Billy Mill.

---

I do like the way you've restructured the 19/57/57A/58, seems far more logical too!

Is the 26/27 (correct me if wrong) basically a re-hash of the old 303/304? I like that idea too!

Just has a look, it does seem to be actually bar it serves Murton aswell. There's been so many number changes on that route I've lost track with it.

(15 Apr 2022, 9:45 pm)L469 YVK wrote Do you mean Station Road?


Yeah, until the wider network is reviewed with perhaps more local areas getting better connected to nearest Metro stations instead, reducing to 12x per hour would be a start meaning a bus every 5 minutes between Newcastle and Station Road.......then a bus every 10 minutes to High Farm & Battle Hill or a bus every 10 minutes to St Peter's, Willington Square, Silverlink, Norham Road and Billy Mill.

---

I do like the way you've restructured the 19/57/57A/58, seems far more logical too!

Is the 26/27 (correct me if wrong) basically a re-hash of the old 303/304? I like that idea too!

It's similar to the 313/314, in that it comprises a 'loop' of North Tyneside, but differs to some of the places served.




A convoluted route, at times, but I believe it might have been simplified later on in its life.

(16 Apr 2022, 8:06 am)Storx wrote Can't see it happening personally. Partnerships will only work where it benefits the operators. No chance will you be able to tell GNE to shut down Percy Main as it's what they effectively need to do to sort the Coast Road mess out (there's no need for the 309/311 at all really and similar things should could be said about the 1 aswell) and there's no way that Arriva will give up the 306 and 308 either to GNE as why should they, they've been their routes since year dot. Can see it being a big problem area with the partnership personally, the fact they're both not dropping the frequency now when let's be honest there's way too many buses down there but everywhere else they're getting cut nilly willy shows there's resistance.

Personally all I think we will see is them choosing who has what route with GNE serving High Farm and Battle Hill and Arriva doing Selby Gardens and direct along the Coast Road omitting Battle Hill. Frequency between them who knows.

If the BSOG becomes directly linked to the BSIP then competition along the Coast Road will cease as funding won't cover the duplication of services and I can't see either ANE or GNE retaining a service for the reasons of pride or as an attempt to save face. If Percy Main becomes an untenable prospect, GNE won't think twice about shutting it down.

(16 Apr 2022, 8:31 am)MurdnunoC wrote If the BSOG becomes directly linked to the BSIP then competition along the Coast Road will cease as funding won't cover the duplication of services and I can't see either ANE or GNE retaining a service for the reasons of pride or as an attempt to save face. If Percy Main becomes an untenable prospect, GNE won't think twice about shutting it down.

Other than the 308 & 309 common section between Blyth and Rake Lane, there'd not really be much duplication with partnerships & integrated ticketing, with the common section between Haymarket and Station Road forming a core 5 minute frequency (based on all routes running every 20 minutes) with all routes then doing their own thing after.

The 308 & 309 would combine up to every 10 minutes between Blyth and Rake Lane, with buses towards the Coast between Newcastle and Station Road combining every 6-14 minutes due to the timing differences between the 308 & 309.

If GNE really wanted to try and takeover the Coast Road back in the day, the then 'new' 58 back in 2008 should've been what it was between Heworth and Newcastle then at the time, the 309 route to Blyth (via Selby Gardens, Willington Square and Silverlink) as it was back then. As for the other routes, the 315 & 316 not re-numbered to 75/76 but revised to omit Hadrian Park with the 305 kept.