(04 Jan 2022, 10:21 am)Andreos1 wrote 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.

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.

Follingsby Lane being upgraded is positive, but it still leaves you extremely limited in what you can do in terms of a bus service. 

I don't think any operator will be considering another Sunderland to Newcastle, via North Sunderland estates service anytime soon, which leaves you with extending the Stagecoach 4, GNE 35 or creating a variation to the 56. The latter might sound the more sensible of the three, but you'd then be removing half of the 56 runs from Washington and Springwell Village.