(10 Dec 2013, 9:45 pm)Greg in Weardale wrote It must be uneconomic then, with the equivalent of three light runs a.m. Jesmond to Hexham and one to Carlisle, plus three in the evening Hexham to Jesmond. It's just Arriva's obsession with competing with Northern's Tynedalexpress. Although I generally agree with competition and am opposed to the Tyne & Wear "Quality Contracts" which would in the long run be unaffordable and give a worse service than now, Hexham to Newcastle is an example of where competition becomes silly, even more so than Arriva's 1/X1 v Northern's OK1 was.

Arriva's obsession with competing with the Tynedale Express?! I thought I had mis-read that ridiculous comment, but upon re-reading it I realised I hadn't. So what you are saying is that Arriva should pack up and leave as soon as competition appears? I suspect not. GNE have decided to have a bite on this, so surely they have the obsession for competing (like with the OK1).

I agree competition does become silly from the passenger perspective, but both the recent 1/X1 v OK1 and the recent 685 v X85 service battles were instigated by one operator and one operator alone, who evidently saw a perceived gap in the market. Arriva are simply responding to the competition. Any company out in the real world would do the same, whether it be a bus company responding to a bus company or a supermarket responding to a competitor building a store next door.

The Hexham to Newcastle corridor cannot and will not support the level of competition that exists now. Arriva, Stagecoach and GNE will definitely be hitting minimal profit margins or more likely taking a loss. Come 18 months time, I suspect 1 or more operators will have withdrawn from this section as it cannot be sustainable in the current form for all operators involved.