I see hundreds of GNE buses a day, in an assortment of towns and villages in County Durham and Northumberland. An increasing number are painted the same. Although an enthusiast in my spare time, I am not interested in buses enough from a day to day perspective to be bothered to take on the incredibly difficult task of figuring out the patterns based on only route numbers and destinations, just in case I one day might want to go to Horden or wherever. So by choosing to do away with branding, they are hoping I find the prospect of traveling on a GNE bus attractive enough to persuade me to research their routes and numbering without first being confident a direct bus even exists, and then hoping that if one doesn't exist, I find the prospect of changing between unfamiliar buses in a generic network a fun way to travel. I really don't. London sucks these days. Even simply painting a giant 38 on the front upper side of an otherwise all red Routemaster, made all the difference in persuading someone like me that they actually appreciate the most valuable thing about a bus, well before issues of reliability and specification, is does it go where I what to go?