(02 Apr 2021, 7:57 am)Ianthegoon wrote I think dropping Explorer validity has probably lost it for me as well. Like others on here, I like to mix and match my bus journeys, so need the flexibility of being able to hop on and off whichever bus takes my fancy. However, if I get the special "X11" ticket, that then limits me to GNE services; yes, I can use the X9 / X10 to come back up from Middlesbrough, but if I go anywhere beyond that I'm stuck until the X11 or I have to fork out for an Arriva ticket as well. And my timings also become very limited if I stay with GNE.
Might there not have been scope for an "Explorer Plus" ticket, same validity as Explorer with the addition of the X11? Maybe scope for a small surcharge on X11 for holders of Explorers?
The remittance to an operator for use of an Explorer ticket is next to nothing. If you're buying an Explorer, you'd likely be the same passenger who would go to Scarborough by using the existing X9/X10 and X93 services. Especially while social distancing is in place, if you're an Explorer ticket holder, you're potentially taking up a seat that could have been allocated to a full fare-paying passenger. A harsh way of looking at it, but that's the current situation that we're in.
The £15 ticket, which is effectively an all-zones (including X9/X10) day ticket allowing additional travel to Whitby and Scarborough, is priced similarly to that of a coach trip ticket (£19.50 for this example). Go North East's equivalent offering is less as a normal service bus is not as desirable as a coach, but it has the added perk of having all Go North East services included, as well as the Beachcomber open-top bus service. Arguably there are reasons why it could have been priced at the same value (flexibility: you have to book a coach, but not this bus; and unlike the coach trip, the ticket also gives added flexibility, in that you can visit both Whitby and Scarborough in the same day) but I think that £15 is fairly priced and should enable Go North East to cover its costs adequately, with a reasonable load.
As with all seasonal services, the bus will not be full every single day (indeed if it's raining, chances are nobody will be on it and the service will run at a considerable loss that day), but the good days hopefully outweigh the bad.