(25 Dec 2014, 3:04 pm)Dan wrote Hit the nail on the head, here.

I went out last night to Park Lane for a photo of an odd working, and must have seen at least 15 buses between 18:00 and 18:30, and not a single bus had more than three passengers on-board. I shared the 9 (double deck allocation) from Stadium of Light to Park Lane with just one inebriated man, and it left with nobody... Almost every 'E' service I saw carried nothing but fresh air, too.

Whether it's because people have gotten used to having a relatively poor service over the festive period or simply because the demand is not there, buses are running around empty as it is and it's not feasible for bus operators to run a normal weekday service over this period.

I think the demand just isn't there, as I'm sure many including myself didn't venture out yesterday because they don't want the hassle of going to the shops. The 1/X1 passes my home and the loadings throughout yesterday were much lower than earlier in the week or a normal Saturday and at least one Pulsar on the 1 was replaced by a Solo before 5pm, as there was no need for the capacity.
However I have seen quite a few taxis working today including a Stanley travel minibus in Darlington.