i have mentioned it before, but how much do the core routes contribute to these problems?

Say there are roadworks in pity me. This will cause chaos to anyone wanting to get a bus on a bus at any point between durham and newcastle.
If there was a reliable alternative (like in the past such as the 21a and 21b) between chester and newcastle, then not only would these services offer relief for passengers, it would also assist with the perception of the 21 being unreliable.

If 21's are getting held up going into durham and again on the way out, services will be run short, regulated and passengers will complain.

Obviously you can't have a bus to all destinations or in all directions, just incase there are roadworks in pity me, but by concentrating a core route, down a particular avenue, whilst axing other services, it doesn't take much for delays or regulated services to start taking hold.

This will be true for other services, formed as an amalgimation of other routes such as the 56, x1 etc.

What it will also lead to is the sudden vanishing of open reporting on punctuality and wishy washy gold standard promises.

Ps the shift button is still giving me gyp.