(06 Jan 2020, 9:03 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Whenever I have seen the 516, it has indeed been carrying nothing but fresh air, but when I have used it there has been a few passengers on with me. I was actually going to question if Stagecoach could re-route a service to replace the 516, Nexus seem to waste money funding services that are hardly used and could be withdrawn and replaced by re-routed services by the big three. Strangely the 32A and 84/84A have good passenger numbers sometimes, but even Nexus has told me passenger numbers are higher when a Nexus service is operated by any of the big three compared with independent operators. Does Stagecoach operate any Nexus contracts these days?
When did Stagecoach withdraw the E3? When did the 16 start operating and why did it become the 516? I would like to see another service run alongside the E1. Is the Coast Road in South Shields a continuation of the Coast Road on North Tyneside?
From old articles and timetables I've read in the past I'm sure the E3 was withdrawn around 2003 and replaced with a rerouted E1 - which used to go straight along the Coast Road? It would be ideal for the route to be brought back as an open-top bus service. I think the 16/516 was created to provide a bus service on streets that were left without a bus service following Stagecoach cutbacks in the early 2000s.
Below is an old video on YouTube of Go North East operating the 16 bus service which went to Jarrow (and I'm sure it also went to Lukes Lane Estate when first created?), which later became the 516.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cb9wLb-2eBE