(15 Jan 2017, 10:35 am)Dan wrote Yes; but if passengers currently buying a dayrider for £3.95 opt to purchase a return of £2.60 instead (£1.35 difference), and the reduction in price doesn't attract enough passengers to cover this, further cutbacks could come in the future.

In order to make £395.00, Stagecoach need to sell 100 dayriders. If all 100 of these passengers opt for a £2.60 return instead, they'd only make £260.00 (a loss of £135.00). They'd have to attract an additional 52 passengers buying return tickets to cover the loss, in this example. If Stagecoach only manage to attract an additional 30 passengers from Go North East, they won't have covered their losses, and Go North East's profits will be dented too, potentially resulting in cutbacks on both Stagecoach and Go North East's services in this area.

Obviously it's not quite as simple as that, but just to throw a few simple numbers into the equation. Competition can be great for passengers (and I think the X24 is a great example of this), but competition in areas where there is already dense competition, has the chance to backfire and at the detriment of passengers.

Ye, it'll have an impact on both companies in the area.

The X24 is great competition for GNE, i think i can see a few people jumping to the X24 between Sunderland and Hastings Hill because of the price of the day ticket and the Tyne and Wear day ticket prices and it only takes 43 minutes, it also offers WIFI, and the possibility of plugs (if they can get them working!) something which the 2/2A doesn't have at the minute (going by the the route so not including the 56).

From Sunderland to Washington to Galleries takes 42 minutes and then 35 minutes on the X1 taking a total of 77 minutes (not including waiting times between 2/2A and X1)

I know which service i would go for!

Unless GNE will sort out that problem and launch their own service via the X24 route!