(04 Feb 2021, 11:22 pm)L469 YVK wrote The 309/310/311 is actually a very clever but simple idea.

Before the changes:
- Total PVR was 25 (309/310/57)
- Passengers along the Coast Rd didn't want Central Newcastle, they wanted St Mary's & Haymarket
- Due to 309 needing to go standalone, this resulted in inefficient driver rostering as a driver (correct me if wrong) couldn't do 5 hours on the 309 (2hr30 round trip) due to time in the pool van needing to be taken into account.

Basically, they've ironed all 3x of the above problems out whilst maintaining an even more frequent service as well as a regular service on individual routes.

If Arriva dropped the 306 & 308 frequency to every 20 mins (10 combined) but made sure all journeys were double deck operated, they'd maintain roughly the same seats per hour on combined sections. And if Blyth to Billy Mill was proving too popular for a 20 min service (unlikely post COVID), introducing a parallel half hourly X38 would make more sense.

As for the Marden part of the 306, Arriva could extend the 51A via Murton Village and at the same time.......gain extra funding by partially replacing the 359.

It really isn't though, you might think on paper it's a good idea but on the ground it really isn't. Your obsessed with the Coast Road where no-one gives a toss who the bus is as it's like £1.50 for a single so it's cheaper to get singles so you get on whatever comes first - I used to live there so know it happens. The money is from Whitley / Shields and there's no reason for people to use it especially from Whitley. It's more expensive, less frequent, runs earlier in the evening and takes longer. There's just no reason for anyone to pick it unless your obsessed with tables like Streetdeck.

You also have an obsession to remove the 306 from Whitley to Tynemouth but it's a killer for GoNorthEast as someone from Blyth has absolutely no incentive to use the 309, it's less frequent, more expensive and there's less routes for your money if you need to change and it's the same from Tynemouth / Marden (with cheaper ticketing available for the 306/308). Why choose the 1 when you can get the 306 which offers more journeys and a quicker journey to Newcastle (remember the 1 has been cut aswell - partially by Stagecoach aswell putting the hammer in with the 22 in Wallsend aswell)

For example from South Beach; you'd have the X7, X9 and 308 (not far away) with routes to everywhere and changes at Cramlington to even further places or Blyth to anywhere North. The 309 has nothing, you've got the 1 at Whitley which is covered now by the 306 and the 11 to tbh no-where, not to mention the 309 is less frequent.

The fact the 309/310 went instantly every 30 minutes and Arriva have kept both the 306/308 every 20 minutes pretty much sums what the numbers are like and the 311 has been running with Omnicity's as it's dead and a 20/30 minute service is a big difference.

GoNorthEast are in trouble in N. Tyneside imo and they're backtracking off instead of competing, they just pretty much gave up Wallsend to Cobalt after Stagecoach went for it. It's why I come across harsh when people attack Arriva and gloryify GNE as the GNE I see is the same as the Arriva they attack. For example Arriva have newer buses than GNE in N. Tyneside (2014 vs 2013) and that's saying something and Arriva have never that I'm aware downgraded an investment with 2nd hand stock not even in standard interior.