(10 Sep 2021, 8:26 pm)col87 wrote I know what your saying but a better service could actually bring more people onto the bus. They no reason why they couldn’t at least for example trial the 1 Between High Tunstall - Seaton on a evening. I have had this argument with the council but the council don’t exactly care I asked them about helping out last month just got a load of excuses.  I know when it was Hartlepool Transport they used profits from the more popular routes to fund less popular ones instead we have Stagecoach using any profits mostly for shareholders and as you know Hartlepool is probably the least cared about depot Stagecoach North East have with most things done from Sunderland. If services where there am sure people would use them and the E200 midi buses would be more than enough they could even use one of the tees flex buses for something like the old 15 would be no harm in at least trailing more evening services.

---

The reason the 55 never worked was it was two long a journey and no good as a local service. The 24/58 only serve the Dyke House area of town so still not exactly good if you live in Seaton or Rift House.  I not sure anyone can just start a company up either and do commercial services in the town or else someone may well have tried by now the closest was Tees Valley Coach Travel but that again was an out of town service and even then they did not exactly go head to head with Stagecoach and I no some plans they had for town services never happened.

Stagecoach have trialed route 1 on a night. It was subsidised back in the Hartlepool Transport days. Stagecoach briefly took it on commercially about 20 years ago before the council had to chip in with it again. Clearly, it didn't work out for them. I guess it didn't help that the good people of Seaton Carew decided to smash up half the buses that ran through it either.

Then of course there's route 6, evening journeys withdrawn by Stagecoach a few years ago. They experimentally reinstated the northern section (southern section largely covered by the 36) and that's still going. Plus route 7, evening journeys also withdrawn. They were they ran by Arriva under subsidy. Stagecoach took it back on commercially again following the council's complete withdrawl of it's entire network - including it's own service 980 works bus! Stagecoach still run this today! Meaning they took another experimental risk and it must be working for them.

Yes, it really is that simple! If you or I fancied running the 15 again, all we pretty much need to do is find a base to run from, get an operator licence, two buses (one for the route and a spare) and we're near enough away! Arguably, Paul's Travel is currently best place to plug any gaps and unless I have my wires crossed, she's a Seaton Carew councillor? And if she can't she the merit of running evening buses through her own patch, then it really is down to HBC / TVCA.