(14 Jun 2022, 10:20 pm)Storx wrote Yeah totally agreed with what you say to be honest. I've definitely found that with GNE but then again I rarely post things are positive unless it's correcting people as it's not really debating stuff.
Mind Arriva always baffles me as even known it's supposedly 1 company up here it really doesn't feel like it. It definitely feels like there's
Arriva Northumbria: Ashington, Jesmond, Blyth
Arriva Teesside: Redcar and Stockton
Arriva Durham: Durham and Darlington
With the first two lot generally being okay, attempting to keep their fleet in some form of order with the obvious lack of investment, generally handled Covid alright with sensible frequency decreases and haven't really been affected by the driver issues much.
Then there's Durham and Darlington which are just terrible, the fleet is in shocking condition, cancellations are rife everywhere, allocations are all over the place with Solo's doing full size routes and vice versa. The Pulsar's that came up here from Durham are in an absolutely shocking state and it's not as if they can blame the areas as Ashington isn't exactly Beverly Hills. It always feel like GNE are really micromanaged from the top but Arriva are just let to do whatever they want, what's better it's up for debate really but there's no consistency across Arriva.
Yeah your probably right, mind it would be interesting to see if the 57 would exist as it is now or whether it would've ended up going further South with some form of subsidy. Agree on the ticketing though, I'll never forget the absolutely ridiculous situation where it was cheaper to buy tickets to Annitsford then a ticket from there from Annitsford to Newcastle.
Sounds good that to be fair, mind I'm not sure all these large car parks are really needed, tbh Seghill would probably be better for most of Delaval nvm Seghill. For me I'm backtracking heading to the wrong end of Delaval to head to Newcastle and it's 6 and 2 3's really heading towards Seghill instead.
Agreed we've derailed this thread a bit (sorry the pun) but it's more on topic than bingo I guess.
Ah yes the old 57/57a chestnut. The boards for that seem to (a layperson like me) utterly crazy, especially on a Sunday, the evening and Sundays subsidy has contributed to that though. With the ABT, the consultants (AECOM) had a bit of fixation on having large car parks at every single station if they could, and didn't seem interested in bus connectivity. Mind you when some of the current county councilors thought Seaton Valley was in Tyne and Wear kind of tells you what we are up against.
Again to keep it on topic, with my Labour hat on, I'd say that that re-regulation and a more hands on PTE (perhaps with a purge of the current leadership) is what's needed. I'll get my coat.