(17 Sep 2021, 9:14 am)Drifter60 wrote I think it’s all about perception to a certain extent, I’ve done the 24 route years back from Durham to Horden - and it felt pretty direct until it got to Peterlee Moorcock then we did an approx. 15 minute tour of housing estates in Peterlee and it just felt such a long winded route. We ended up with an added 10-15 minutes onto the journey and came out just a little bit further down Burnhope Way, a journey that would have been 2 minutes just running direct past the college. I agree Oakerside should be served, but I suppose at the minute do you put off anyone who may want to use it long distance to go from Blackhall to Durham or Ludworth to Hartlepool because actually it just feel it takes forever.
On a wider note and a general observation from across the forum, I’m not sure if I like the whole attitude of “people should be grateful because the alternative is no service” so whatever the issues maybe the buses take too long, they don’t go where people want them to go etc. but hey be grateful it’s that or nothing as you’re a small village/estate whom doesn’t deserve decent bus services. Very low standards, as if the public should just get on with on below par services. Do we also suggest a small town shouldn’t complain about their only main supermarket because it’s that or nothing. No one else is going to open in this town as there isn’t any demand, so use the one with bad customer service and long queues because it’s all you’re going to get.
I don't disagree with you but the point is there's just probably not the demand to do the route throughout so in reality all your doing it creating a faster bus for 4 pit villages between Sherburn and Shotton Colliery to the demise of Oakerside which has more population than those 4 villages anyway.
There's no demand for 6 buses an hour between Durham and Peterlee neither so what other options are there. Decrease one of them to hourly which would likely be the 24 since the Western side is served by the 64(A) - not sure which off the top of my head, and the Eastern side is served by the 22 from Shotton with an hourly 25 which would combine with the 24 between Peterlee and Hartlepool or alternatively you'd have a Peterlee local service from Peterlee just serving Oakerside.
Personally, they're all much worse than what's there already.
The only thing that possibly would make sense is swapping the 22 and 24 around.
So the 22 does Durham to Hartlepool (fast) and the 24 does Durham to Sunderland via Peterlee and Easington with the 23 being Sunderland to Hartlepool (fast) if you can get it to work. It fixes the discussion on the Blackhall side so argubly the only 4 communities which are disadvantaged are the 4 small pit villages.