(26 Jan 2022, 9:41 pm)Storx wrote Wonder if it might also have to do with the type of networks they've both pushed. GNE pushing the hub and spoke model hard whereas Arriva and SNE have long bus routes connecting two (or more) hubs but serving lots of little communities in between.

I know certain people on here like pushing that hub and spoke is the future but looking at what's going in North Tyneside it can't be anything of the opposite since GNE are now pretty cancelling all of the spokes.

Like just picking Ashington out of anywhere, it doesn't matter where you live in Ashington there will be a service direct to Newcastle nearby some quicker than others but it's a service. Similar to Newbiggin along the road with both direct links to Newcastle, Ashington and Morpeth argubly the 3 places they'd most likely want to be. Compare to that to say Washington where a very small amount of the town have a direct service to Newcastle, Sunderland or Chester Le Street. If you live in say Teal Farm and want to go anywhere you have to piss about with a minibus to a hub to then change to go anywhere which no doubt don't connect with anything.

I know which network I'd have and the fact the first isn't subsidised at all currently and second is probably says something.

I dunno I don't really see SNE (and dont know enough about Arriva ops to comment) being much better on that front to be honest.  SNE 'cross city' routes in Sunderland and Newcastle only work if you happen to want to go from e.g. Silksworth to Doxy or or the Sunderland North Estates.  You still need to change to get to plenty of places as they binned off all of their more 'community serving' linking up routes over the last couple of decades (likes of 5, 6, 7, 14, 17, 18/19, 21 etc in Sunderland and 2, 3, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20 etc in Newcastle).  Hub and spoke definite demotivator for public transport usage overall; convenient as it may be for the operators.