(21 May 2022, 10:41 am)Michael wrote Oh god, hope not.. it'll be named "Sunderland District red" or something daft like that.

Really hope, they start to drop some of the brands and just make most of the services "Fleet livery"

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Were already down to be losing:


Sunderland District Violet
Sunderland District Blonde


Looks like the new 24 PVR will be 5.. with the 20 having a PVR of 8

to me it seems pointless splitting them

Should of extended the 60 to shields , Dan are you listening [emoji23]

55 should of gone awhile ago as the service is covered by other bus services, now you get the whinging passengers complaining that there’s no direct bus, maybe there should realise it’s not the 1980’s no more and it’s 2020’s now, the younger generation don’t understand these days that there can’t get from A to Z unless you go through The alphabet first.


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(21 May 2022, 10:44 am)Unber43 wrote the 20 should be every 10 mins...

on A690 there is a bus every 15 mins now, with it being every 7 50% of the time. That needs to change

Why should the 20 be every 10 minutes , there’s no demand , buses running around not full and GNE forking out use of buses and drivers wages which will not cover the running costs.


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(21 May 2022, 12:44 pm)cbma06 wrote Should of extended the 60 to shields , Dan are you listening [emoji23]

55 should of gone awhile ago as the service is covered by other bus services, now you get the whinging passengers complaining that there’s no direct bus, maybe there should realise it’s not the 1980’s no more and it’s 2020’s now, the younger generation don’t understand these days that there can’t get from A to Z unless you go through  The alphabet first.


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You shouldn’t extend the 60 to Sheilds unless it goes to every 10 mins, every 20 mins to Sheilds 

also they would need new buses to fit the the pvr. Just leave the 60 stop chopping and changing things it destroyed the 35

(21 May 2022, 10:05 am)Unber43 wrote X5/X15 have already had 2 repaints in two years, same with X10, X22 (what a mess). 

Who is running GNE they clearly don't have a clue.

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I don't really think anyone can argue with you there. 

the 60 still hasn't had anything done to it in nearly a decade - maybe time for new buses tbh. 

Although many could argue this new 24 could do with some branding.

24 should be corporate colours

Once the percentage of branded buses go higher than corporate livery then GNE lost there identity, branding doesn’t work when most of the routes from the depot are branded , especially when branded buses end up on other branded routes, only a selection of routes should be branded, the rest should be corporate colour routes


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(21 May 2022, 12:47 pm)Unber43 wrote You shouldn’t extend the 60 to Sheilds unless it goes to every 10 mins, every 20 mins to Sheilds 

also they would need new buses to fit the the pvr. Just leave the 60 stop chopping and changing things it destroyed the 35

Doesn’t need a 10 minute service to shields

Why need new buses?, there only need repainted with a revised livery, stagecoach got much older buses on the road

Gne like chopping things and destroying things [emoji23], the 535/536 was destroyed when there renumbered it to the 35/35a/36 when there decided to divert the service via the old OK routes and nothing really left from the OK routes anymore


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(21 May 2022, 12:52 pm)cbma06 wrote 24 should be corporate colours

Once the percentage of branded buses go higher than corporate livery then GNE lost there identity, branding doesn’t work when most of the routes from the depot are branded , especially when branded buses end up on other branded routes, only a selection of routes should be branded, the rest should be corporate colour routes


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Doesn’t need a 10 minute service to shields

Why need new buses?, there only need repainted  with a revised livery, stagecoach got much older buses on the road

Gne like chopping things and destroying things [emoji23], the 535/536 was destroyed when there renumbered it to the 35/35a/36 when there decided to divert the service via the old OK routes and nothing really left from the OK routes anymore


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I think the 60 should just be kept the way it is. 

You could extend the 55 to Shields. extending the 20 to south shields was a awful idea, i wonder how many passengers were taken off the 50 to use the 20.

(21 May 2022, 12:59 pm)Unber43 wrote I think the 60 should just be kept the way it is. 

You could extend the 55 to Shields. extending the 20 to south shields was a awful idea, i wonder how many passengers were taken off the 50 to use the 20.

Extending the 55 to shields is an awful idea, especially if it’s getting withdrawn


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(21 May 2022, 1:04 pm)cbma06 wrote Extending the 55 to shields is an awful idea, especially if it’s  getting withdrawn


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I think it could save the service. Every 15 mins Houghton every 30 mins to Peterlee via Doxford Park 

36 - South Shields - Sunderland - A690 Doxford park (20 way)- Houghton - Easington - Peterlee - Every 30 mins
37 - South Sheilds - Down to Fuewell -  Sunderland - Thornhill - A690, Thorney, Farringdon, Doxford Park - Grindon - Pallion - Sunderland.

(21 May 2022, 1:10 pm)Unber43 wrote I think it could save the service. Every 15 mins Houghton every 30 mins to Peterlee via Doxford Park 

36 - South Shields - Sunderland - A690 Doxford park (20 way)- Houghton - Easington - Peterlee - Every 30 mins
37 - South Sheilds - Down to Fuewell -  Sunderland - Thornhill - A690, Thorney, Farringdon, Doxford Park - Grindon - Pallion - Sunderland.

Good idea but those area's are dominated by Stagecoach

Thornhill - 23 (12 goes near)
Thorney - 23
Farringdon - 3/13
Doxford Park - 4/12/13
Pallion - 10/11

(21 May 2022, 1:22 pm)Michael wrote Good idea but those area's are dominated by Stagecoach

Thornhill - 23 (12 goes near)
Thorney - 23
Farringdon - 3/13
Doxford Park - 4/12/13
Pallion - 10/11

But looking at them, they don't really connect all in one. Appart from Thornhill to Doxford & Farrington and Doxford. 


+ They have USB's, which is a lot more than SC have.

(21 May 2022, 1:10 pm)Unber43 wrote I think it could save the service. Every 15 mins Houghton every 30 mins to Peterlee via Doxford Park 

36 - South Shields - Sunderland - A690 Doxford park (20 way)- Houghton - Easington - Peterlee - Every 30 mins
37 - South Sheilds - Down to Fuewell -  Sunderland - Thornhill - A690, Thorney, Farringdon, Doxford Park - Grindon - Pallion - Sunderland.

There’s nothing to save the 55, x1 doubled the freq, the 55 is covered by other services, only thing it will save is drivers wages and use of the buses on the 55, competition is dead now, GNE not going on stagecoach routes and vice versa, GNE are starting to cut back services due to no profits , other bus companies will be starting to cut back soon when the government money pot gives way this year


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(21 May 2022, 1:23 pm)Unber43 wrote But looking at them, they don't really connect all in one. Appart from Thornhill to Doxford & Farrington and Doxford. 


+ They have USB's, which is a lot more than SC have.

The areas you mentioned were covered by stagecoach routes, but no profit , services were streamlined and share holders have to be paid and the passenger have to connect to other bus services through the city centre


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(21 May 2022, 1:32 pm)cbma06 wrote There’s nothing to save the 55, x1 doubled the freq, the 55 is covered by other services, only thing it will save is drivers wages and use of the buses on the 55, competition is dead now, GNE not going on stagecoach routes and vice versa, GNE are starting to cut back services due to no profits , other bus companies will be starting to cut back soon when the government money pot gives way this year


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The 55 is salvageable, it gets rammed on a morning and an evening it just needs something to boost journeys and extending it to sheilds will keep the A690 connection, Houghton, and Doxford Park.

Tbh you could do a few more things with the 35 on the A690 aswell.

GNE Deptford can't work properly if there are no city links to local areas and no just South Sheilds, Newcastle, Peterlee, Durham

(21 May 2022, 1:37 pm)Unber43 wrote The 55 is salvageable, it gets rammed on a morning and an evening it just needs something to boost journeys and extending it to sheilds will keep the A690 connection, Houghton, and Doxford Park.

Tbh you could do a few more things with the 35 on the A690 aswell.

The passengers on the 55 between Peterlee and Houghton, can get on the x1 which observes the same exact bus stops with at least same 30 minutes timetable and even more journeys on the x1 between the Lane and Houghton, and then get off at Houghton church and stay at the same bus stop and not walk about and board the 20 to Sunderland, even GNE out of there own heart [emoji23]would extend some journeys on the 39 to cover worries passengers to get to Doxford international. The 35 doesn’t need anymore diversion, it’s a long route enough from the days of the 535/536 service


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(21 May 2022, 1:48 pm)Unber43 wrote GNE Deptford can't work properly if there are no city links to local areas and no just South Sheilds, Newcastle, Peterlee, Durham

Eh?, so you want GNE to run the stagecoach routes in Sunderland, there’s no other areas there can go to unless there have a ferry service going east across the North Sea to get the discounted ciggs and alcohol and probably have the service branded the bacca bus [emoji23]


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(21 May 2022, 1:51 pm)cbma06 wrote The passengers on the 55 between Peterlee and Houghton, can get on the x1 which observes the same exact bus stops with at least same 30 minutes timetable and even more journeys on the x1 between the Lane and Houghton, and then get off at Houghton church and stay at the same bus stop and not walk about and board the 20 to Sunderland, even GNE out of there own heart [emoji23]would extend some journeys on the 39 to cover worries passengers to get to Doxford international. The 35 doesn’t need anymore diversion, it’s a long route enough from the days of the 535/536 service


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You can say you can get X but then connect with X bus. (everyone does, but no one thinks about the price)

But that all great but it costs money for which, £1.80 from Sunderland - Peterlee (which is VERY cheap). Peterlee-Houghton £1.80 then Houghton to Sunderland is £1.80 it is double the fare. Which isn't going to make people jump for the bus. and Houghton & Hetton aren't the best places to change over for buses. They're not the nicest. Especially into the late evening.

Also yes it may be SC Dominated, but if GNE were to charge £1.80 between Sunderland & Farringdon it would be 90p cheaper than Stagecoach.

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Also a Sunderland Central Day ticket is 50p cheaper than Stagecoach's its just no GNE service apart from the 39 really goes into suburbs. They just stay on the main road.

Also the frequency of every 12-15 mins do help with SC

(21 May 2022, 1:58 pm)Unber43 wrote You can say you can get X but then connect with X bus. (everyone does, but no one thinks about the price)

But that all great but it costs money for which, £1.80 from Sunderland - Peterlee (which is VERY cheap). Peterlee-Houghton £1.80 then Houghton to Sunderland is £1.80 it is double the fare. Which isn't going to make people jump for the bus. and Houghton & Hetton aren't the best places to change over for buses. They're not the nicest. Especially into the late evening.

No-one in their right mind would travel on the 55 between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The 22 and 23 travel both to Sunderland every 15/30 minutes and connect to every single area pretty much locally. 

Peterlee is Arriva territory not GNE.

(21 May 2022, 2:57 pm)Storx wrote No-one in their right mind would travel on the 55 between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The 22 and 23 travel both to Sunderland every 15/30 minutes and connect to every single area pretty much locally. 

Peterlee is Arriva territory not GNE.

Doxford? If it's rammed in the peak, why not just revise it to run in the peak only?

(21 May 2022, 2:57 pm)Storx wrote No-one in their right mind would travel on the 55 between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The 22 and 23 travel both to Sunderland every 15/30 minutes and connect to every single area pretty much locally. 

Peterlee is Arriva territory not GNE.

Maybe tail it at south hetton reduce the PVR to 3.

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(21 May 2022, 2:57 pm)Storx wrote No-one in their right mind would travel on the 55 between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The 22 and 23 travel both to Sunderland every 15/30 minutes and connect to every single area pretty much locally. 

Peterlee is Arriva territory not GNE.

To pay 50% less, I would.

(21 May 2022, 2:57 pm)Storx wrote No-one in their right mind would travel on the 55 between Peterlee and Sunderland.

The 22 and 23 travel both to Sunderland every 15/30 minutes and connect to every single area pretty much locally. 

Peterlee is Arriva territory not GNE.

There have been passengers who used to get the 55 from Hartlepool all the way to Sunderland before, must only wanted the scenic route through Houghton unless there had day tickets cheaper than Arriva

At least Arriva starting to paint there buses now, must of found a discount card for paint in the pound shop, at least there getting rid of the sapphire and max colours which is a few years past the sell by date, and also rid of the branded route numbers on the sides


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(21 May 2022, 1:58 pm)Unber43 wrote You can say you can get X but then connect with X bus. (everyone does, but no one thinks about the price)

But that all great but it costs money for which, £1.80 from Sunderland - Peterlee (which is VERY cheap). Peterlee-Houghton £1.80 then Houghton to Sunderland is £1.80 it is double the fare. Which isn't going to make people jump for the bus. and Houghton & Hetton aren't the best places to change over for buses. They're not the nicest. Especially into the late evening.

As I've said before, I think that the very cheap fares that GNE are now offering is simply meaning that there isn't enough revenue to make the services commercial any longer.
Passenger numbers would need to have more or less doubled for GNE to break even on the reduced fares, and they clearly haven't as almost every change on the consultation says "....do not carry enough customers to cover the costs of carrying them".

I suspect that passengers would be happy to pay fares closer to the old ones to keep the services running, rather than cheap fares and no service (or reduced service and/or the need to change buses mid journey).

I wonder if the X1 and 20/X20 will have good connection times in Houghton?
and will GNE sort out the poor headways that they have all over the network - it will be really bad if, with fewer buses running, the ones that remain all run close together.

(22 May 2022, 8:40 am)busmanT wrote As I've said before, I think that the very cheap fares that GNE are now offering is simply meaning that there isn't enough revenue to make the services commercial any longer.
Passenger numbers would need to have more or less doubled for GNE to break even on the reduced fares, and they clearly haven't as almost every change on the consultation says "....do not carry enough customers to cover the costs of carrying them".

I suspect that passengers would be happy to pay fares closer to the old ones to keep the services running, rather than cheap fares and no service (or reduced service and/or the need to change buses mid journey).

I wonder if the X1 and 20/X20 will have good connection times in Houghton?
and will GNE sort out the poor headways that they have all over the network - it will be really bad if, with fewer buses running, the ones that remain all run close together.

Do you reckon the fare initiatives GNE have done has actually had no material effect on passenger numbers? I.e. all they've done is make it cheaper for exisiting customers, which are at 80% of prepandemic levels nationally

When i used to get the bus home after the match or after a few pints i noticed when the £1 fare coming in groups of people using the bus to get from one place to another. The taxi rank on low fell was definitely less busy and the bus stop next to it more busy when it was £1 after 7pm. Now its £2 a group of 3/4 lads going to town from the fell would be the same price as a taxi? plus taxi takes you exactly where you want in town and not just to market street or st marys place.

(21 May 2022, 3:13 pm)cbma06 wrote There have been passengers who used to get the 55 from Hartlepool all the way to Sunderland before, must only wanted the scenic route through Houghton unless there had day tickets cheaper than Arriva

At least Arriva starting to paint there buses now, must of found a discount card for paint in the pound shop, at least there getting rid of the sapphire and max colours which is a few years past the sell by date, and also rid of the branded route numbers on the sides


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Wouldn't be my choice mind taking a detour, then again I'd probably train it anyway if it wasn't too frequently.

Ayeee mind tbf the 22/23/24 don't have the worst buses around. Not sure if I'd rather have a bit of a scruffy Pulsar vs a Citaro or Solo. The last I can't stand for journeys over 20 minutes and Citaro's sadly are getting on a bit even known I don't mind them.

I've wondered for a while how the "not carrying enough passengers to be viable" actually stacks up.

A few thoughts on this - first it seems GNE want buses as full as possible to maximise profits, however that is potentially counterproductive when I suspect I proportion of customers would but put off by a fuller vehicle, having to sit next to someone etc. So by making buses fuller to meet their profit targets, GNE are potentially going to reduce evern further those "wanting" or choosing to use the bus.

My other thought is about vehicle size - routes like the 28, 29, 55 etc are deemed too empty to viable, but are using a fairly large vehicle. If they were run with e.g. Solo they would be potentially half full - realise some of the fixed costs don't reduce using a smaller vehicle, but this is true of every minibus route and plenty of those are deemed viable...Often this stuff just comes across as 'we cant fill enough of the sized bus we want to run on here so we are pulling the service' rather than trying to adapt the offer to increase viability.

(21 May 2022, 3:13 pm)cbma06 wrote There have been passengers who used to get the 55 from Hartlepool all the way to Sunderland before, must only wanted the scenic route through Houghton unless there had day tickets cheaper than Arriva

At least Arriva starting to paint there buses now, must of found a discount card for paint in the pound shop, at least there getting rid of the sapphire and max colours which is a few years past the sell by date, and also rid of the branded route numbers on the sides


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I’ve seen lots of local complaints about the Arriva services, 22/23/24 recently across East Durham really, Horden/Haswell etc.. buses not turning up on a sort of regular basis. Parents of college/school kids complaining about them being late, and passenger particular older being left at bus stops for up to an hour at times. Apparently the app shows buses not running but sometimes they don’t update as not running until it’s departed from the first stop and if it does show prior to departure, it’s not very helpful for older passengers, who don’t check an app before heading out.

So I wouldn’t be sure that the people of Peterlee/East Durham are so keen to rely on Arriva either. Mind I’ve not seen many complaints about GNE unreliability, perhaps there is some I’ve not looked, or maybe the cancellation list means there’s increased awareness leading to less of backlash on social media.

(22 May 2022, 8:40 am)busmanT wrote As I've said before, I think that the very cheap fares that GNE are now offering is simply meaning that there isn't enough revenue to make the services commercial any longer.
Passenger numbers would need to have more or less doubled for GNE to break even on the reduced fares, and they clearly haven't as almost every change on the consultation says "....do not carry enough customers to cover the costs of carrying them".

I suspect that passengers would be happy to pay fares closer to the old ones to keep the services running, rather than cheap fares and no service (or reduced service and/or the need to change buses mid journey).

Well I do think there’s a balance between making bus fares attractive offering by having value for money. But there is a point towards it being too cheap. I rarely use buses but I’ve done so a few times recently - once to Durham and once to Sunderland for days out drinking when for obvious reason I cannot drive to/from.

Yesterday, two friends coming from Seaburn to Sunderland on a Stagecoach E service, paid £4.60 for two singles. Two other friends paid £3.60 for two singles from Seaham to Sunderland on the GNE 60 route. Now that’s £2.30 and £1.80 respectively. The 1st journey is 15 minutes, all within ‘Sunderland’ boundaries and the 2nd is about 30 minutes on the bus and cross county boundaries. I was surprised at the difference in fares, it does seem like £1.80 from Seaham to Sunderland is very cheap for an adult single. I’m pretty sure 10 years ago the single fare for that journey was above £3. Considering general increases across ten years, let alone recent rising costs and fuel prices. I do think GNE are selling themselves too cheap and it’s potentially unsustainable.

Also bringing back the earlier point about Arriva vs GNE in Peterlee, I’m pretty sure Peterlee to Sunderland is about £4, if not a bit more on Arriva. If GNE are offering the same journey for £1.80 then I’d be happy to travel via Houghton on the 55, there’s also the X6 remember too.

X6 35 mins hourly
55 55 mins half hourly
Vs
22 35 mins half hourly
23 45 mins half hourly

Clearly it would seem people aren’t using the 55 as it’s up for withdrawal or GNE are hoping to keep customers via X1 then 20 forcing people to day tickets or two singles instead of one. And maybe boost the X6 too.

When I was in college, I'd often pay to use the X6 rather than use my free travel on the 22, simply because I could rely on the X6 to turn up on time. Not so sure on that now, although it tends to be a more binary will it or won't it, rather than how late. Also, Stagecoach is mad expensive for longer journeys but if I'm running late for uni I can go a few stops to cut off 5-10 mins of walking for £1.30 (just gone up to £1.40) - I don't think GNE fares go that low barring the under 19 single?

(22 May 2022, 1:55 pm)Drifter60 wrote I’ve seen lots of local complaints about the Arriva services, 22/23/24 recently across East Durham really, Horden/Haswell etc.. buses not turning up on a sort of regular basis. Parents of college/school kids complaining about them being late, and passenger particular older being left at bus stops for up to an hour at times. Apparently the app shows buses not running but sometimes they don’t update as not running until it’s departed from the first stop and if it does show prior to departure, it’s not very helpful for older passengers, who don’t check an app before heading out.

So I wouldn’t be sure that the people of Peterlee/East Durham are so keen to rely on Arriva either. Mind I’ve not seen many complaints about GNE unreliability, perhaps there is some I’ve not looked, or maybe the cancellation list means there’s increased awareness leading to less of backlash on social media.


Well I do think there’s a balance between making bus fares attractive offering by having value for money. But there is a point towards it being too cheap. I rarely use buses but I’ve done so a few times recently - once to Durham and once to Sunderland for days out drinking when for obvious reason I cannot drive to/from.

Yesterday, two friends coming from Seaburn to Sunderland on a Stagecoach E service, paid £4.60 for two singles. Two other friends paid £3.60 for two singles from Seaham to Sunderland on the GNE 60 route. Now that’s £2.30 and £1.80 respectively. The 1st journey is 15 minutes, all within ‘Sunderland’ boundaries and the 2nd is about 30 minutes on the bus and cross county boundaries. I was surprised at the difference in fares, it does seem like £1.80 from Seaham to Sunderland is very cheap for an adult single. I’m pretty sure 10 years ago the single fare for that journey was above £3. Considering general increases across ten years, let alone recent rising costs and fuel prices. I do think GNE are selling themselves too cheap and it’s potentially unsustainable.

Also bringing back the earlier point about Arriva vs GNE in Peterlee, I’m pretty sure Peterlee to Sunderland is about £4, if not a bit more on Arriva. If GNE are offering the same journey for £1.80 then I’d be happy to travel via Houghton on the 55, there’s also the X6 remember too.

X6 35 mins hourly
55 55 mins half hourly
Vs
22 35 mins half hourly
23 45 mins half hourly

Clearly it would seem people aren’t using the 55 as it’s up for withdrawal or GNE are hoping to keep customers via X1 then 20 forcing people to day tickets or two singles instead of one. And maybe boost the X6 too.

There’s been a few last week where the 24 been upto 20 minutes late and quite a few 24’s cancelled which have a knock on effect on the 23/22 bus services


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(22 May 2022, 1:55 pm)Drifter60 wrote Clearly it would seem people aren’t using the 55 as it’s up for withdrawal or GNE are hoping to keep customers via X1 then 20 forcing people to day tickets or two singles instead of one. And maybe boost the X6 too.

The 55 is getting used but GNE decided to double the freq on the x1 to compensate with the 55 freq withdrawl , it’s not always about customer numbers as GNE are practically not making profit or not enough profit to make shareholders happy, once the government money dries up there be a lot more services getting reduced if GNE fails to get enough passengers back on the bus, I would of withdrew the x6 and keep the 62, the 62 and x6 is about 99% same route between Sunderland and Seaham, and it’s only about 5 minutes extra going via Hetton and Murton, looks like gne decided not to run commercially in the east Durham area and deciding for the tax payer to fund the bus services again


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(22 May 2022, 3:44 pm)cbma06 wrote The 55 is getting used but GNE decided to double the freq on the x1 to compensate with the 55 freq withdrawl , it’s not always about customer numbers as GNE are practically not making profit or not enough profit to make shareholders happy, once the government money dries up there be a lot more services getting reduced if GNE fails to get enough passengers back on the bus, I would of withdrew the x6 and keep the 62, the 62 and x6 is about 99% same route between Sunderland and Seaham, and it’s only about 5 minutes extra going via Hetton and Murton, looks like gne decided not to run commercially in the east Durham area and deciding for the tax payer to fund the bus services again


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It's not, though - the X6 is faster by a country mile.

Had a look on the timetable, and, between Seaham & Peterlee:
The 62 takes nearly an hour
The 202 took just under 50 minutes
The X6 takes 20 minutes (by the time it gets to Dalton Park, it's caught up with a 62 that left Peterlee half an hour before it, resulting in the terrible headway between DP and Sunderland)

(22 May 2022, 4:33 pm)F114TML wrote It's not, though - the X6 is faster by a country mile.

Had a look on the timetable, and, between Seaham & Peterlee:
The 62 takes nearly an hour
The 202 took just under 50 minutes
The X6 takes 20 minutes (by the time it gets to Dalton Park, it's caught up with a 62 that left Peterlee half an hour before it, resulting in the terrible headway between DP and Sunderland)

Faster doesn’t mean better though

X6 might be quicker but the 62 picks up more potential passengers than the x6.

Yea because the 202 didn’t go via Easington, the 62 is just an replacement of the 208 between Easington and Peterlee , serving more areas is better than not picking any passengers up

62 serves areas and keeping estates connected


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(22 May 2022, 1:55 pm)Drifter60 wrote I’ve seen lots of local complaints about the Arriva services, 22/23/24 recently across East Durham really, Horden/Haswell etc.. buses not turning up on a sort of regular basis. Parents of college/school kids complaining about them being late, and passenger particular older being left at bus stops for up to an hour at times. Apparently the app shows buses not running but sometimes they don’t update as not running until it’s departed from the first stop and if it does show prior to departure, it’s not very helpful for older passengers, who don’t check an app before heading out.

So I wouldn’t be sure that the people of Peterlee/East Durham are so keen to rely on Arriva either. Mind I’ve not seen many complaints about GNE unreliability, perhaps there is some I’ve not looked, or maybe the cancellation list means there’s increased awareness leading to less of backlash on social media.


Well I do think there’s a balance between making bus fares attractive offering by having value for money. But there is a point towards it being too cheap. I rarely use buses but I’ve done so a few times recently - once to Durham and once to Sunderland for days out drinking when for obvious reason I cannot drive to/from.

Yesterday, two friends coming from Seaburn to Sunderland on a Stagecoach E service, paid £4.60 for two singles. Two other friends paid £3.60 for two singles from Seaham to Sunderland on the GNE 60 route. Now that’s £2.30 and £1.80 respectively. The 1st journey is 15 minutes, all within ‘Sunderland’ boundaries and the 2nd is about 30 minutes on the bus and cross county boundaries. I was surprised at the difference in fares, it does seem like £1.80 from Seaham to Sunderland is very cheap for an adult single. I’m pretty sure 10 years ago the single fare for that journey was above £3. Considering general increases across ten years, let alone recent rising costs and fuel prices. I do think GNE are selling themselves too cheap and it’s potentially unsustainable.

Also bringing back the earlier point about Arriva vs GNE in Peterlee, I’m pretty sure Peterlee to Sunderland is about £4, if not a bit more on Arriva. If GNE are offering the same journey for £1.80 then I’d be happy to travel via Houghton on the 55, there’s also the X6 remember too.

X6 35 mins hourly
55 55 mins half hourly
Vs
22 35 mins half hourly
23 45 mins half hourly

Clearly it would seem people aren’t using the 55 as it’s up for withdrawal or GNE are hoping to keep customers via X1 then 20 forcing people to day tickets or two singles instead of one. And maybe boost the X6 too.

It's £5 for a day ticket with Arriva from Peterlee to Sunderland which includes Hartlepool if you need to go there for whatever reason, less for students.

The biggest advantage Arriva has though is the 22/23 serve pretty much every location in Peterlee so you can step outside your door and be on a bus to Sunderland whereas the 55 just goes straight into the town to the centre which is a bit out of the way of most the housing really. 

It's a bit like comparing the 43 and X10/X11 in Cramlington really routes wise. 
https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/buy-tickets/...one/ane026