(22 Dec 2019, 11:17 pm)DH9 wrote The Stanley changes look interesting.  Clearly, M6 and M8 are truncated to Stanley and Metrocentre only.  It's a shame as the M8 was a cleaner way of travelling between Annfield Plain and the Metrocentre than the 6.  I'm guessing the 32 will finish an hour earlier in the afternoon than the M8 does with its Annfield Plain extension due to lower afternoon passenger numbers.

New 32 appears to be the M8 extension to Annfield Plain made stand alone.  Unless theres something I'm missing, it would be probably more economical to send every second 16 into Fines Park (buses can do the route).  Given the 16 in both directions stands a Stanley for 5 minutes, there' scope to do this.

The M6 extension to Lanchester reverts to being the 30.  As this is hourly, this leaves Quaking Houses at one bus per hour for first time in years.  Again, I may be missing something.

If M7 continues to be an East Stanley only service, the numbering becomes anomalous.

I hope the unreliability of the 6 is sorted out.

One change that has not happened and I'd have liked to have seen is it being the X31 and not the X30 continue hourly to Consett.  The X31 makes more sense from a commuting point of view on accessing Gateshead and the Team Valley.from Annfield Plain.  The two X32 journeys in each direction should definitely be extended, which would have restored a direct link between Consett and the southern end of the Team Valley lost with the 2007 withdrawal of the 934.

I'm hoping also the short 6 on a morning from Flint Hill to Stanley has its guaranteed link with the 7.10 am X32 restored.  That was personally very useful to me.