(28 May 2020, 7:58 pm)Storx wrote It's a funny area. Birtley and Chester Le Street always reminds me of the similar issue that we have over my way near Whitley Bay where you have some direct lines where there's a really frequent service (21 / X12 route) but once you go off there it's a waste of time and the links are just generally slow (goes around the world), unfrequent and don't have evening services so you can't realistically rely on bus services or they're local routes so you have to change and there's nothing else; Waldridge Park etc.
It's a similar story here if you live on the 308/309 route or the 1/306 then you have an excellent service go off there and it's a waste of time. Briardene, Wellfield, Earsdon, Whitley Lodge, Monkseaton. It's no wonder bus usage is low and everything is subsidised in the area as it's simply not usable unless you like changing buses and paying multiple operators.
Could imagine that's why usage is low as people simply just don't use them. Making the route longer won't help matters neither.
Might be psychological then, as the 25's current timetable and journey duration from Chester - Newcastle, isn't that far off the 21 trip time between the same points.
They're pretty much the same.
The only difference being is that the one along the top road isn't as frequent as the one along the bottom road.
(28 May 2020, 8:28 pm)LeeCalder wrote I'd argue that the link to the hospital is well used, and it's simply that it fits the frequency they want for Harlow Green, if anything.
28 is once an hour. The rest of the services are all very frequent.
The 25 sits in the middle at every 30.
It's a cost cutting measure. They've saved money by re-routing a bus which already runs every half an hour, and meh, if people want the QE sod them, they can just change buses. Simple enough isn't it?!
Pre-covid, bus use has been down year on year. Is it really any wonder when essential links are being chopped left, right and centre.
Who would clart on getting two buses, adding christ knows how long onto their journey there and back (when it was previously 15 minutes each way) when they could just get a taxi!
That's the thing. If there's two buses an hour now and apparently it's not being used enough - there's not much chance of numbers rising if the journey is made more difficult.