(18 May 2022, 12:10 am)Jimmi wrote One of the other issues with the 61 now is its in a somewhat over-saturated market with other services running along the same corridor(s), between Murton and Dalton Park (albeit with slight differences) there's currently 7 buses an hour (61: 3ph - 62: 1ph - 65: 2ph - X1: 1ph), between Dalton Park and Sunderland you have Arriva competing with a 15 minute frequency on the 22/23 with GNE having a 20 min frequency on the 61 (plus between the two locations you also have the 62 & X6 thrown into the mix) and other GNE services in parts the rest of the way like the 60, 65 & 39/39A.
I do wonder if the fact the 61 goes against the grain of many of its contemporaries in Sunderland by looping round via Burdon Road & Holmeside instead of going straight into Park Lane Interchange has an affect on things?
Could drop the 39/39A to half hourly on the 39A route and renumber it the 2B maybe instead and have the 2's working every 10 minutes. Would be every 30 minutes out of Washington towards Sunderland so not that bad timing wise.
Then have the 61 running every 20 minutes in-between them so it's a 5 / 10 service along there. Seems more sensible than it running as an oddbod service.
The 39/39A mostly duplicates things anyway including Stagecoach services. Whatever happened to the BSIP as there still seems to be a lot of protecting routes with the Coast Road services and now these. Not to mention the 33 which duplicates either the Stagecoach 12 or 13 throughout (forgot which).