(22 Dec 2020, 12:47 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I totally agree.

I'm not very familiar with the areas you mention, or how much of a diversion it would be, but could it not be an issue of them not wanting to 'bloat' the route too much?

I know when they re-routed the X21 through Woodhouse to cut out the estate and run straight down Proudfoot, that saving in journey time allowed them to extend the route all the way to West Auckland without affecting the vehicle/driver requirements.

But then again, West Auckland is already very well served by the Arriva 6 and it left half of Woodhouse without a bus service meaning the council is now having to subsidise a Weardale service around the estate. And from what I've been told, that was done purely so GNE could ditch the outstation in Crook with the intention always being to pull the service from Woodhouse but doing it in stages to reduce the outrage!

Very little effort or 'bloating' at all.

As an example, the 25 could easily be diverted down Blackfell Way and along Birtley Lane towards Chester (obviously in reverse in the other direction) during the school peaks. This would not only allow kids to get a bus to and from school, it could also reduce the number of cars in the area.
I reckon it would need very little adding to the timetable versus its normal running time along Portmeads Road. 

The stop opposite the Library/Cenotaph has the 28 stopping there, but not the 82.
Give passengers the option of using that stop and you're opening up new and easier opportunities to get to the QE. As it stands, passengers who use the 82 and change on to the 28 are forced to get off at one stop (bus stop 1 on the first image), walk across Station Lane, carry on for 50yds or so and wait for another (infrequent) bus at bus stop 2.
As it stands, it's not really worth the hassle in doing the journey that way. 

The southbound journey is even worse. Getting off the 28 at bus stop 3 or the 21 at bus stop 4 and having to walk to bus stop 1 for an 82 back home. 
Depending where you live in Birtley, you could board a 23 at bus stop 4, but potentially there is the need a different type of ticket or an extra cost. 

It's little things like that which need improving. 
Continuous improvement and tweaks, which could make things so much easier for passengers and (regardless of any tables and WiFi), make travelling by bus more attractive. 

There are many further examples just in Birtley alone of public transport not quite hitting the mark. 
The 25 and 81 run along Portobello Road, but don't enter Vigo or Barley Mow where the passengers actually live and walk to & from the bus stop. 
The 82 enters Vigo in both directions, but does a weird loop with a canny distance between Birtley bound (B1 on the second image) and Washington bound buses. (W1 & W2). Depending where on Vigo you live and where the bus stop is, you could be driving out of the estate and well on your way somewhere before you get anywhere near the bus stop.
Just to add the 23 to the mix, it stops at B2.
I've no idea which stop Birtley bound passengers gamble on if they're on Windermere mind. Stand in the middle of the road perhaps and run as fast as you can up or down the hill when you see a bus approaching?

Edit: Forgot to add images.