(27 Jan 2020, 9:12 pm)Storx wrote How can you suspect any of that? None of it makes sense.

- Why would they drop the frequency they've both been every 15 minutes forever and the 308 is one of Arriva's flagship routes and slightly less frequent than GNE as it is (8 buses vs 9 along the coast road).

* 306 & 308 currently run on a 5/10 split between Billy Mill and Willington Square with the 308 taking the bulk of passengers. A combined 10 minute frequency would spread the load more evenly between them. ANE would still have the monopoly between Billy Mill and Station Road including Malton and Selby Gardens.

- Removing the 306 from Battle Hill will remove the link from there to the coast and Tynemouth.

* Battle Hill is mainly GNE territory now. If passengers needed a bus to the Coast or Tynemouth, it's not too far in most instances to walk to the Coast road. Removing the 306 from Battle Hill Drive would also improve reliability.

- The 306 and 308 are both busy at evenings why would they do that.

* GNE now operate a 20 minute service. Both the 310 & 311 departures at xx:05 and xx:25 will take passengers from Arriva between Newcastle and Station Road. Even if Arriva moved the 306 & 308 to xx:00,15,30,45 they'd still have 2x journeys at xx:30 (5 minutes after the 311) and xx:45 not guaranteed to pick up on shared corridor. If the 306 & 308 were reduced to hourly, the 308 would most likely run at xx:15 with the 306 running at xx:45.

- Interworking also makes no sense the 308's at night run to Blyth and go into the depot why would you have dead running back to Jesmond or an empty extra bus from Blyth to Newcastle. Also they'd be less frequent than GNE.

* From a timetable I've devised (which I will upload to the Arriva suggestions in due course), the only cross depot dead mileage would be as follows:
@ 1x Jesmond board running light back from Blyth between 1800-1900 (after doing a most likely profitable 17:10 308 journey to Blyth).
@ 1x Jesmond board running light to Whitley Bay to commence a short 308 to Newcastle on a Saturday morning.

- So removing the link from Marden to Whitley, Morrisons, Tynemouth and North Shields with Arriva and having an extremly long winded and pointless route along Rake Lane to Marden. (The recently axed 59 with 1 person a journey).

* 51A would be roughly be the same if not slightly quicker than the 306. 51A would provide links to Morrisons. GNE's 1/1A provide links to Whitley Bay, Tynemouth and North Shields from Marden.

- Don't know enough on the X6 to comment on that.