(10 Jul 2014, 9:03 pm)peter wrote There are countless examples of GNE and Arriva going head to head recently with the major examples being the OK1 vs X1, X7 vs 21A/23/24, 685 vs X84/5 and 51 vs 307.
1. When the OK1 was introduced Arriva were bound to retaliate because they are the primary operator in Darlington (operating all routes except for a couple by Scarlet Band and Dales and District) and are obviously very protective over it as it will likely make them a heap of cash. As a result about a month after the OK1 the X1 was introduced which departed exactly two minutes before the OK1 at Darlington, Bishop Auckland and Crook. Arriva also had the advantage of already having a network and thus connections in Darlington. Thanks to this GNE revised the route of the OK1 to run from Bishop Auckland to Middlesbrough while Arriva extended one journey per hour to Tow Law and kept one journey terminating at Crook in place of service 1 which was revised to terminate at Bishop Auckland (meaning technically the number of Arriva buses to Crook was reduced once again to one every half an hour). Despite this the OK1 was still no match for Arriva and was withdrawn.
2. GNE introduced the X7 linking their Sunderland and Peterlee networks with Middlesbrough in order to create a new service linking these places and thus filling a gap in the market. Unsuprisingly Arriva chose not to retaliate as the X7 is not the the exactly same as any routes they run only sharing similarities with routes 21A, 23 and 24 though these only share main stopping points in common with the X7 (i.e Sunderland, Peterlee and Middlesbrough) while the rest of the route is different hence there was no reason for Arriva to intervene.
3. GNE introduced the X84/5 after the OK1 was withdrawn after noticing a gap in the market and the large amounts of complaints Arriva had been getting with regards to the 685. Since its introduction the 685 as far as I'm aware seems to be becoming a less popular option with many opting for GNE over Arriva. Suprisingly Arriva have chosen not to retaliate likley because just like Arriva in Darlington, GNE have a network in Hexham and more services than Arriva from Newcastle. As a result I can see Arriva choosing to abandon the 685 in the future allowing either Stagecoach Carlisle and Stagecoach Newcastle to operate the service jointly or even for GNE and Stagecoach to operate it jointly!
4. Arriva introduced the service 51 in order to replace the X6 and a stretch of the 53 along with changes to the 54 and 306. Arriva realised the potential to extend a stretch of a previous route to Newcastle by the same route as GNE 307 as it only ran hourly, terminated at Benton Asda and it started later and finished earlier. Unsuprisingly GNE have chosen not to retaliate as it is not one of their major services and is carried along by the 17 and a scholars contract and as the contract has been lost I imagine will be withdrawn pretty soon.
Result:
OK1 vs X1=GNE withdrew the OK1.
X7 vs 21A/23/24=No issues as there was no identical or similar Arriva service to the X7 hence all services mentioned are still operating.
685 vs X84/5=At the moment nothing but in the future I predict something major will happen.
51 vs 307=I imagine GNE will withdraw the 307 in the near future.
Lets not forget about the Bargain Bus?
