(25 Feb 2020, 7:01 pm)mb134 wrote See I think this is something that is hugely overlooked when it comes to Arriva, at least the Northumbria operations. Since the huge service changes at the start of the last decade, virtually everything has remained the same in terms of routes and frequencies. 

While there have been some alterations, such as the X20 up to Alnwick, the Blyth X30, 43 to Morpeth, by and large the (main) routes are the same. 

Then with frequencies, people know that if you're wanting to get from Morpeth to Newcastle there's a bus every 15 minutes, Bedlington to Newcastle every 10, Blyth to Morpeth/Ashington every 20 etc. While passenger numbers are falling across the country, this network stability is something that they need to take advantage of. If people know where the buses go and how often they are, improving vehicle quality on more of them may be the final push to get more people out of cars.

This exactly, it's just stupid to chop and change things when you don't need too. If it doesn't work then you ending up with starting to butcher it which has happened with GNE in North Tyneside and Sunderland and also Stagecoach in Sunderland. Every time there's service changes lately it's reducting in services renumbering things, extending it here then reversing it. Extending another service then that not working and all the time numbers are going down.

You just have to look at the 11 for the prime example of it.

317 for years doing the same route.
Renumbered 17.
Extended to Cramlington to replace something 319? (that route is as bad if not worse).
Changed to 11 and removed from Holy Cross and extended to Newcastle.
Cut back to Wallsend again.
Now supposedly going back into Holy Cross (again) so full circle back to square one.

But in the same time it's been a 20 minute service at times down to 30 minutes and gone from full size singles which used to be busy to minibuses.

It's a similar story in Sunderland in the Silksworth area, every change there's an extension here, a cut there then another extension here. People get sick of it and just what's the point if the bus might not run again in a few weeks.

(25 Feb 2020, 8:38 pm)L469 YVK wrote Well technically, it's every 20 mins if you take into account the 5/15 gaps as most passengers will end up using the X22 as that comes first. 

To be fair, Arriva ran a pretty stable network over the recent years. However, they do need serious fleet investment though. It would make sense now that the E400 comes with a 'ZF' stop-start option to replace the E400s on the X21 / X22 with 7541-50 to Blyth for the 308 (with 7551/52 as spares). X10 /X11 would also be another prime candidate for new vehicles too.

Going back to the Coast Road argument, it would be 6 and 2 3's either the 306 & 308 remaining at a 15 minute frequency or, reducing to a 20 minute frequency but both remaining on the Coast Road no longer serving Battle Hill Drive. However, with the news that GNE are dropping the 19, many passengers will be relying upon the X6 connection in Newcastle, which of course would either have to be withdrawn or worked using scholars / split shifts if the 306 & 308 was reduced to every 20 minutes. I think given the circumstances surrounding the 19, ANE will most likely stick with a 15 minute frequency on both services for the time being.

The next new buses for the X21/22 will be 2025 at least and the 308 around 2023 imo. Neither routes need new buses atm. If you buy new buses for those where do the Gemini's go? Get sold? There only full size buses are the 3 commanders, the few ex London buses dotted around and the Scanias (not urgent) that really need replacing and something like the X66/X67 in Darlington deserve investment over any Northumbria routes or the Yarm buses which haven't had new buses in years. The minibus fleet is where the investment is needed more to get arid of the darts and start getting the solos off (12 years).

The only 3 routes in Northumbria which I would say should get investment are the 35, 57/A and the 685. 35 / 57 / 57A to see off some darts and fleet standardisation and 685 because the Scania's are past it.