(18 Mar 2015, 12:40 am)markydh wrote Data usage means nothing. A far more useful statistic would be the amount of individual connections each day when compared to the total number of passengers. And equally the number of passengers who actually make that change (49 -> 10/A/B) when compared to the number of direct passengers. I might also add that the re-routing that occurred within Blaydon of the 31 and 32 was a direct result of passenger feedback having lost their direct bus (along the full length of Shibdon Road) when the 41 and 42 were withdrawn a few years ago.
Incidentally, the 31 and 32 can't be doing too badly. Compared the many routes operated by the 'change every 6 month' company, they have remained pretty stable for ages. Like most bus routes, they are peaky. Eastbound in the morning and Westbound in the evening. Witnessing the odd service every so often in the quietest part of the day or in the above case, entirely against the peak flow, isn't a particularly useful guage of the general usefulness and profitability of a route. People witnessing my own local service, the X82, might see the odd quiet run in the middle of the day, but the frequency has remained the same for 10 years. Stagecoach are no mugs. Nor are GNE. Wifi is a nice addition but I still doubt the majority of people would choose to go out of their way to change buses to have it for 20 minutes or so when they can just stay on the same bus all the way to exactly the same bus station.
I should also add that the fact a few forum members WOULD make such an change is no surprise. There is a distinctly young demographic on here, bar a few older types like myself (only in my thirties but still) Younger people like having wifi. Your average pensioner, the demographic most appreciative of direct routes, wouldn't care two hoots about it.
(18 Mar 2015, 8:00 am)Drifter60 wrote The idea of wifi is a great addition, but I cannot agree it impacts decision on which bus to get. I fail to see that anyone would choose to change buses JUST to get free wifi. Likewise, apart from a couple of scholars Dan mentioned, I doubt people chose the 60 over 61 if going Sunderland-New Seaham.
(Also my friend couldn't connect on Tuesday to the drifter wifi, never did get fleet number, apologies)
I agree with a lot of the points made here.
When looking at anything like this, cost versus benefit, is always a handy tool.
Obviously unless we are insiders or have some knowledge,we can only assume costs. We can all guess the benefits.
Is it safe to assume profits increase, covering the initial outlay? If they do increase and costs are covered, I would love to know the rate of return - not that I expect to find out.
The decision/refusal to obtain user details and demographics when logging on, is also a curious one.
By asking passengers to register, you instantly obtain a wide range of data, useful for analysis and much more.