(21 Jan 2014, 9:05 pm)G-CPTN wrote Should routes be served by vehicles sized to manage the maximum capacity, or should timetables be staggered according to demand throughout the day?
Whatever happened to DUPLICATEs? - you never see them nowadays whereas they used to be commonplace in the 1950s.
The demand from the shipyards (long gone) at starting and finishing times meant long queues for buses, but those days are over . . .
Gone are the days of operating the same frequency all day long, timetables now need to match the demand from your customers and that's why express services like the X9/X39 to Cobalt run at peak times at the expense of other journeys. Changes like this are being seen on Teesside now too with the changes to Arriva services in February.
Duplicates don't happen as the companies simply don't have the spare vehicles and/or drivers to operate them.