(07 Jun 2023, 6:57 am)Storx wrote There's no common corridor between the 52/53 they're two different bus routes bar a very short section in Cramlington and Burradon.But with only 12x EV's on order, Arriva will have to either....
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
- Curtail the 43 at Cramlington and introduce a 15 minute layover at Haymarket so that interworking can happen with the 44/45 - straight issue with stand availability waiting for 7-8 minutes before being allowed to pull in.
- Drop the 43 & 44/45 to every 20 minutes each as per current Saturday timetable to allow interworking - why would they do that if frequency has already been re-increased to every 15 minutes.
Remote reliefs to Dinnington or Regent Centre will prove costly overtime.
Other option with a Qualifying Agreement set up covering all of the 43/44/45 (except the Cramlington to Morpeth stretch).....
- Arriva keep the 43
- GNE take on the 44/45 from Riverside