(03 Jan 2022, 5:31 pm)Adrian wrote Seems a bit odd to walk 10 mins to avoid an extra couple of minutes on a bus, and then put someone out in giving him a lift home, to avoid a couple extra minutes on the way back. Each to their own I suppose, but I don't think many would use it as a reason to boycott a service.

The 294/M2 diversion (M3 did Stephenson Road/Northumbria Centre) was about the same as the Follingsby extension in adding time to the service. I suppose it worked both ways though, because people heading to Shiney College would use the 294 instead with it dropping off outside the door.

I suppose its not ideal for any service to extend in running time, but at the same time they should serve key spots on a route and not ignore them. Follinsby is a key employment spot on the 4 route for me, and I'm not sure how else you'd serve the park. The old 994 shuttle from Heworth carried nothing but fresh air for years, but clearly Amazon being there has presented a new opportunity that has been acted on.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

It's an interesting one. However broken down, that 10min walk and then taking up the offer of a lift on the way back, probably saved quite a bit of time overall and allowed him to avoid getting to know the roundabout a little more than he does already.

Back in the day before the 294 was extended to Shiney College and was the Harraton/Rickleton bus, that Coach Road diversion was even less of a pull for those travelling that little further on it.

(03 Jan 2022, 9:27 pm)Rapidsnap wrote I think in some cases, it's part of the planning permission for Amazon to pay towards public transport to serve the area of the site. Though it doesn't apply to all Amazon locations.

Follingsby Park is just sadly in an awkward location meaning either a service terminating there and returning to Heworth, or buses having to loop back on themselves to carry on to their destination. A way around it is to alternate journeys via Amazon, but again would leave an uneven timetable and even worse longer gaps in certain locations between runs if there was a bus missing.

It would be interesting to know where the the Amazon workforce were actually travelling from ahead of their shift and the same after a shift. Particularly if GNE are wanting 100% of the fare revenue vs a proportion of it (assuming punters are starting off on a Metro, SNE or ANE bus).

There's also the fact that the road through Follingsby to Nissan is of a lot higher standard than it was in years gone by and has opened up other routes, beyond a simple in and out job off like we see currently or in the past with the 994.