(20 Jun 2020, 4:10 pm)Storx wrote Yeah it's definitely the same with the Blyth expresses, the only two areas where people tend to moan about is the fact the X8 is way too slow from Cowpen estate since it goes via everywhere now and Beacon Hill in Cramlington has a quite early last bus out of Newcastle.

It's definitely the same with the freqency though, personally I'd say they're some of the best routes in the North East. God help going back to the day of extended 41's etc to Blyth which didn't work at all which we had before the eventual settling of only the X10 and X11 and the X7 and X8 going via Gosforth and the Freeman which didn't go down well at all hence the removal. Some other bus companies really need to learn that having a stable bus network is better than changing it every other week, *cough Sunderland and North Tyneside*.

It's not so much about changing the bus network but rather "streamlining" it.

To be fair, there's nothing in the current form that needs to change in terms of routes. But in terms of frequencies and passengers vs demand, Arriva are going to need to adjust accordingly on some of their core routes.

Passenger numbers post social distancing will likely reduce to some extent, hopefully not too much. But Arriva can't keep running around using the bare minimum in terms of vehicle quality. They need to start doing things properly. Having the correct vehicles for the correct PVR and suitable spares available (and NOT an ex-London boneshaker tarted up in MAX branding & spec).