(20 Jun 2021, 1:43 pm)streetdeckfan wrote If anything, it's more likely to make me buy an Arriva ticket over the GNE ticket since I live on a shared route.
In fact, if it hadn't been for me regularly travelling up to Newcastle I think I probably would have already ditched my GNE ticket and switched mostly to Arriva since the services are more frequent (although with much worse buses), instead of mostly using GNE like I currently do.
You only have to stand and wait in the freezing cold if you aren't prepared enough!
With the wonders of live tracking, I can get to the stop 30 seconds before the bus arrives with basically no risk
One of the biggest annoyances for me using public transport is definitely the connections. It's not so bad when I'm connecting to a frequent service like the 49, but when I'm on my way back down home on an evening and I have to change from the X21 to the Arriva 6 (because the latest GNE bus to West Auckland leaves Newcastle at 4pm!), I have a 40-50 minute wait.
Which one is it?
Not preparing enough or because connections are poor?