(04 Dec 2018, 11:46 pm)L469 YVK wrote The problem is that things won't change due to Arriva holding a monopoly  And the 'express' routes will always make money regardless of how poor or unreliable they are. 'Pack 'em in and run 'em late' has always been the approach.

And one of the annoying gripes was the withdrawal of the late evening Newcastle - Blyth services (308/X10) without good reason or even only limiting them to a Fri & Sat evening or making a route variation (didn't consider tye 23.40 X10 serving 43 route to Cramlington yet introduced a late evening 44/45).

ANE needs a similar approach to what the late Peter Huntley took with GNE. He wasn't perfect by any means but he turned things around and stabilised the business. That's what ANE needs.

- Gold standard (or Sapphire MEANS Sapphire)
- Two-way Radios
- No running early for fag breaks (well most timetables don't allow that anyways)
- Good driving standards (no doing 40 on a clear 60/70 without good reason when the bus is already 10 mins late)
- Strict branding
- Service delivery managers for a group of routes
- Meaningful live chats / consultations
- Simple ticketing
- Better pay for drivers
- Dedicated control rooms / customer services for Northumbria and Durham County

The downgrade of Sapphire has come as no suprise, it worked on the 7 when it first came out as the staff were committed and even had a dedicated Sapphire uniform, sadly the standards have dropped and most Sapphire routes are just not what they should be.

If Arriva engaged more, and invested more into Staff and the Fleet, Arriva would be more well known for good reasons. Go North East got rid of their Cadets (which were newer) and yet Arriva seem to cling on to stuff until the last second.