TheGrandWazoo
Veteran Member
I have no doubt that there are problems with adjacent areas. In fact, I think this might be part of the reason why some of the bus routes are not more frequent. I have had a brief look at some services in Teesside and frequent services during the day becoming hourly in the evening seems to be the order of the day.
As regards the evening provision in Hartlepool, we might have to agree to differ on this but I would say that a half hourly frequency for a town service is not bad and three of the five Stagecoach services offer that (and appear to compare well with similar size towns, including the above mentioned Worcester). The 3/ 3A runs close to other routes for much (but admittedly not all of its route). The 1 is the route that misses out - perhaps partly because it enters Teesside. As far as Hartlepool is concerned it serves the 'small seaside resort' of Seaton Carew (population just over 6,000) by way of largely industrial areas then through more industrial areas and open fields before reaching Middlesbrough. Not really prime bus territory for evening travel. Seaton Carew also has a station (hourly evening train). At its other end it heads west to the West Park area, and this does seem to be poorly served. The Arriva evening service travels north close to areas served by the local Stagecoach routes (including the 3/3A). All of the Arriva services are interurban and quickly leave the Hartlepool area so I don't suppose the local council has any interest in subsidising bus travel on these routes (especially as there is a reasonable rail service from Sunderland and Middlesbrough, although last trains before 22:00 seem to be a bit mean).
Looking at the fleet list for the area, it does seem like Hartlepool appears to be near the end of queue when it comes to allocating new buses but that is probably because larger operators appear to prioritise larger (probably more profitable) conurbations so Tyneside seems to head the queue. However, my point was about bus frequency which I still think isn't bad. I suppose I just wanted to stick up for Hartlepool, which appears to always get a bad press. The final points on the bus industry are well made, I (too?) believe we are entering into a public transport winter, and a harsh one at that.
Just for avoidance of doubt... I do know Teesside pretty well. I know all too well the delights of the area; all too often shivering in the old Hartlepool bus station waiting for some knackered LH to take me to Stockton so I could get a bus to Darlington and the promise of attractive football In all seriousness, I think I wanted to illustrate that the cuts that Stoke/Staffs councils are making are similar to that experienced with the four Teesside councils - some core services will survive but others (and important links) are lost.
As with the Potteries, services generally are a shadow of what they were with the Stagecoach allocation in Hartlepool is half what it was twenty years ago; the Stockton allocation is down from 120 to nearer 75. Some of that is the carve up of territory to remove duplication/competition between Stagey and NEB as it was at the time before Arriva.
Evening services have been bolstered recently (as another poster has pointed out) in Hartlepool. Yes, there's an hourly Sapphire north of Hartlepool but if you knew the old pattern of 230/231/241/242/X5, you'd appreciate how much that has declined. Similarly, look at the other areas of Teesside and especially East Cleveland - it is very thin on the ground though R&EC Council do lay on a council minibus to provide some skeletal links that I neglected to mention - I think they thought Arriva were going to register more than they did. Stockton and Middlesbrough fair better but then again, the LAs do still support more services.
However, look at what there used to be and you will see the parallels. And yes, I agree all round - these are very tough times out there. The cavalcade of failed operators sadly illustrates this all too well