(13 Oct 2020, 9:44 pm)streetdeckfan wrote It depends where you're travelling to though.
I live in Bishop where GNE only operate the X21, the rest of the services are operated by Arriva. Despite this, to me GNE is much more attractive because they offer more services north of Durham which is where I generally travel to. If I was just travelling locally I'd stick with Arriva.
I think the same can be said for GNE's offerings in North Tyneside, if you generally travel south of the tyne, GNE will probably be your best bet, but if you go north, then Arriva is probably better.
Especially for people like me who don't really drink. Unless it's a Spoons I probably don't know where it is!
I get that it's easier to use name of a 'landmark' rather than the proper stop name, but I'd prefer it if they just used the actual stop name, at least that way it's the same as the name in Google Maps!
Can't imagine there's too many people travelling south of the Tyne though, the fact the 58 and 1 both aren't going over there anymore probably suggests that, remember they have the Metro aswell which will be quicker for most places even with a connection to it but I do get your point about the X21.
Understand the point in landmarks but it's a bit confusing in pubs in a place which has 10 - 15 pubs in a street and the one they've chosen has shut down. I understand it though in a little local village where the pub is the focal point.
(14 Oct 2020, 4:55 am)L469 YVK wrote But with the CAZ due to come into force, Arriva are going to need new vehicles at somepoint and the only way they're going to afford that is by streamlining & downsizing. Not completely through and through cuts but of the 306 & 308 can offer (depending on vehicle size) the same amount of capacity on a 10 minute frequency combined between Billy Mill and Newcastle using 20% fewer vehicles (including extension of 51A to Marden / Whitley Bay replacing 306 and 359).
As mentioned in the future orders thread, Arriva are only running a 15 minute service on the unique section of the 308 for convenience.
There's a lot of claims here, why would Arriva only be able to afford new buses by downsizing the route, without evidence or fact it's just bold claims from no-where. The fact it's been able to do it since the 1980's and beyond without any issue I don't see how all of a sudden it still can't do it and it's always been one of Arriva's core routes in Northumbria and always will be. It also doesn't need new buses as they've had Euro 6 mods as part of the North Tyneside Green Fund.
The only evidence of any issues along the Coast Road was someone from GNE saying that's there's too many buses from their view. You have to remember however that the GNE have other services which are a bigger problem than Arriva's, the 22X in particular which will take anyone from the West side of Newcastle to Cobalt as it's cheaper and quicker so you've lost a large flow towards Cobalt from Newcastle. Not to mention the 22 and 1 taking passengers away from other areas all wanting to travel to Cobalt but they're more of an issue for the 40, 41 and 19 as much as the 309.
Either way we've had this discussion before and neither of have information on the profit of the 306/308 so we don't have the facts to really say how frequent it needs to be but you can't make claims without evidence in the sense that it can only survive by being downsized.