I've seen the X24 a good few times recently off-peak, and with the regular allocation of gas buses, I've been able to see how many passengers were on-board (the numbers have been pretty woeful).
There is a clear peak flow (Sunderland to Newcastle in the morning, and Newcastle to Sunderland in the afternoon/evening).
I remain sceptical at the alleged success of the X24 - I've travelled on the service many times and even on the busy peak-time runs, 95% of the passengers appear to be concessionary pass holders or using Network One tickets (so Stagecoach aren't getting the full amount of revenue). It can't be making a lot of money, and the amount of money the Engineering Dept at Sunderland must be spending on maintaining and keeping the Omnilinks running, must be eliminating any sort of profit it might have otherwise made.
My main gripe is that the seemingly poor reliability of the Omnilinks is having a detrimental impact on services which ought to be allocated gas buses. The 20 is usually the one which ends up getting E200s and Darts, while the gas buses are otherwise engaged on the X24...
I intend on using the X24A service next week and will report back then. Here's hoping it's an Omnilink!
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