(14 Oct 2020, 3:39 pm)L469 YVK wrote As it stands, GoNe as of Jan 2020 has reduce the Coast Road & 57 PVR count combined by 16%. If they dropped the 309 & 310 to every 30 minutes with the 311 running every 15 minutes, that would reduce the PVR by a further 11% which I doubt they would do for a negligible saving.

Arriva on the other hand if they reduced the 306 & 308 to every 20 minutes would reduce the headcount of full size vehicles (single or double deck) by nearly 28%. With the 51/51A (minibuses) also taken into account and an extension of the 51A to Marden & Whitley Bay, that saving would still almost be 20%.

GoNE are in the stronger position and if Arriva reduced frequency, they'd likely have to pull the X6 unless other misc workings could be pulled in to cover it. I tried timetabling a reduced 306/308 with the X6 and it's almost impossible. Most of the connections onto the X6 are covered by GoNE too.

You keep going on about too many buses along the Coast Road, there's one bus that stands out here that you keep missing and that's the 311. It's utterly pointless serves nothing new and just duplicates everything else but now your suggesting that's every 15 minutes and the long distance 309/310 get cut down to every 30 minutes. That's the bus that needs to go if anything; send the 310 around Hadrian Park and just be done with it.

Also the X9 failed, the 44 failed why on earth you'd want the 51A going to Marden again when it's not purpose of the 306 through there is a mystery. Now that's a waste of a bus.

I would remove the 306 from Battle Hill though just not to disagree with everything but the 309 along Station Road is a similar problem, one every 20 minute service inbetween a 7.5 minute bus service which leaves a messy 5, 6, 9 service in Battle Hill. The 22X is another service which is pointless and that really does carry fresh air and the 10 minute 22 and 15 minute 1 which aren't all needed neither going into Cobalt.

Surprised you don't mention the other side which is genuinely a problem though with 9 buses an hour between South Beach and Seaton Sluice and even 8 if you dropped the 308 down to every 20 minutes.

Personally if you could control both an ideal service would be:

306: Same (Don't serve Battle Hill)
308: 30 Mins, Blyth to Newcastle; 30 Mins, Whitley to Newcastle
309: 30 Mins, Blyth to Newcastle
310: 30 Mins, Whitley to Newcastle via Monkseaton - old 75/76/85/86 (whichever one it was) then same as 309 from Foxhunters.
311: 30 Mins, North Shields to Newcastle - current 310 via Mullen Road
312: 30 Mins, North Shields to Newcastle - current 310 to Meadowell, High Flatworth, 310, Hadrian Park, current 310 via Mullen Road.

The 312 is about creating new links in particular Tyne Trading Estate which doesn't have a bus to Newcastle and new link from Meadowell, Battle Hill and Mullen Road to Silverlink and the 310 restores a better service to Monkseaton.

306 / 308 - Arriva so nothing.
309 / 310 - Cobalt Brand.
311 / 312 - Nothing or Centurion.

I haven't done the maths but I think the PVR would be roughly the same overall for GNE and slightly less for Arriva and it stops this stupid Cobalt and Coast crap brand.