Demand for the beach service has always been inconsistent depending on weather and time of year, the problem with the 15 and it's predecessors was that the 30 minute frequency was insufficient on certain days, but for most of the year any higher of the frequency wouldn't have been viable.
I've already experienced the 13 loading at Queen's Links with a fair few particularly in the evenings and weekends and it's currently still chilly outdoors.
Add to that extending the 13 to Hillhead in the evening and doubling the frequency from hourly to half hourly has meant that the Seaton leg of the 13 in the evening is quite busy now and there's far less pressure on the 20,
That might be so but there is now some students being left at Hillhead because they've had streetlites on the 20, this proved a problem just the weekend past, most aren't using the 13 to Union St/Guild St simply because it's a longer route via Queens links, from what I've experienced the 13 is mostly used for by a few students at best to and from beach boulevard to Hillhead.
Presumably that will continue to be an issue if small vehicles are used on the 20.
Loadings have also been a squeeze on the 1 & 2 around 7pm as the larger buses are being removed at night, that's fine but there removal seems abit premature, certainly on a Friday/saturday as the better weather and longer nights make a comeback.
Another curio I've got about Aberdeen seems to be a certain reluctance for people to go upstairs on doubles, just today on a 2 I see people shoulder to shoulder down stairs yet the upper deck more than half empty, and the tri axles really don't have great space down stairs.
On a side note I forgot how bad the turning circles are on those Enviro 500s since they were in Glasgow.
before the July changes when the evening service on the 13 was hourly the buses usually ran empty.
My assumption of this is that between January to July 2022 the saturation of free travel passes at huge expense to the tax payer has brought them out since they don't need to pay now as oppose to walk.
Youngsters also now using the 13 from queens links to Seaton most likely walked before, but again it's free now so why walk.
Another smart thing that they did is that rerouting the 13 via Guild Street means it serves the same stops as the 3 to Mastrick
Or this created another problem for the 13, after being late to hand the bus over to another driver at Castle St this week traveling in the Hillhead direction I ended up being 6 minutes late to drop the bus off despite all the way from Scatterburn to Union St I was on time until I got to Carmelite St/Guild St and I'm almost certain it was for the sake of two people boarding at guild st.
The 3 I haven't driven but I'm almost certain has the same problem now and again, why not just Union Terrace > Union St > Market St in both directions, turning left from Union Terrace on to Union St is directly going onto a bus lane with no cars whatsoever, naturally as a result turning right from Union St to Market St is MUCH quieter at peak time.
The 20, sits for 6 minute of layover on Guild St causing mayhem when it's due particularly at peaktime, particularly when a 3 to Mastrick, 12 to Heathryfold, 13 to Scatterburn and a 59 to Northfield are all showing up around the same time causing mayhem in the process..
After experiencing it firsthand I'll certainly never see these route choices as great.
With all that said they'd be as well axing the journeys via Footdee, even under the 15 you'd rarely see anyone get on or off there and if you did it was usually tourists who could easily walk from Links Road; i'm yet to see anyone use the 13 to/from Footdee. It's the classic case of local residents and a councillor campaigning for a service they never have and never will use.
Footdee is a rather stupid addition and on most occasions councillors are as clueless as those making the route decisions.
The 20 I believe used to operate Union St > Broad St > Gallowgate in both directions but it was changed to operate via Castle St/North West St only so it could serve Morrisons in only one direction traveling to Hillhead, very odd.