(06 Jun 2023, 9:49 pm)L469 YVK wrote Not particularly, the common frequency between the 352/353 and 353/354 makes total sense.
Hopefully if Nexus can clean up the tenders come March, there is scope for consolidation / expansion beyond these initial changes.
They're a pretty simple set of routes effectively largely unchanged.
And not forgetting, the 352/353 will give GNE a little step in the door and taster should Arriva deem the 43/44/45 to be commercially unviable too given the remote changeovers in Cramlington & Dinnington. The 43/44/45 can't be reliably 'interworked' on a 15 minute frequency hence the 2019 changes, unless given a 15 minute layover at Haymarket. Only way they'll work is if other Blyth - Newcastle services go down the EV route to allow interworking.
There's no common corridor between the 52/53 they're two different bus routes bar a very short section in Cramlington and Burradon.
The reason isn't because of remote changeovers either, it's literally there's nowhere for the buses to go and it's not economically viable to build an extension at Ashington just for them.
The 43-45 are some of the strongest bus routes in the North East. It's the Q3 which is the problem bus around there, most times I see it it's single numbers including at peak times. No doubt because of the diversion around Jesmond no-one wants to do and lower frequency