(06 Feb 2022, 1:36 pm)Rob44 wrote it shouldn't but that what my car driving workmates have said. Im on my own here now so cant ask but assume they've been stung when traveling by bus and it not turning up. Like i've said before us enthusiast see bus travel differently to people who have to use buses to get from a 2 b. that's what they want to get to a 2 b whether is on a 70 plate bus or a 63 plate bus, whether is has NSA or doesn't have NSA whether it has wifi whether it doesn't etc etc

I agree that the bus turning up (and on time) is the most important aspect for all passengers.

A sizeable amount of passengers have switched from the car to bus over the past decade through the provision of phone chargers, tables (places to socialise with friends/family on board, or to catch up on work through tablets/laptops). The provision of next stop audio-visual also increases confidence in those unfamiliar with bus travel, or the area, as well as those who are visually impaired or hard-of-hearing. So when a bus turns up that doesn't have these features, it is disappointing or detrimental to people who have switched because they've been offered those services.

In my opinion, from an on-board offering point of view, companies need to focus on getting these basics right first inside the bus, so regardless of what age or colour the bus, you know what you're getting - instead we've ended up with a mish-mash of different coloured buses with different things inside depending on where you live or which direction you're travelling in and it's that consistency, as well as cleanliness, that passengers would actually appreciate. Then when they have that sorted, then they can look into marketing what they have as a whole (and be proud of it) and not just on a route-by-route basis whenever they've painted something or had a handful of new buses.

From talking to those across various departments and companies, more (and a hell of a lot of) time, effort and money needs to be spent on bringing maintenance and punctuality up to standard again. Arriva and Go North East are running their engineering departments on a shoestring budget, whilst all companies are struggling to recognise problem points with punctuality with their services (especially over the last couple of years)... then they point the fingers at ex- and potential customers for holding their ever-deteriorating ingbus service up.


And that's the view of an "enthusiast", who is also an ex-bus commuter and frequent leisure travel customer, who since took the plunge and got a car - where I don't have to worry about the random roulette of having an infotainment system, comfortable seating, air con, USB chargers (or an actual vehicle!) or not.....amongst other problems. But funnily enough, bus companies seem to think they know better than those telling them how they could attract them back, so these points are never really addressed properly (despite the endless surveys from local authorities and Arriva!).