Looking at the Arriva network map, what would the potential be for something from Durham to Sunderland via CLS? 

Quicker than anything they currently offer and adds more Arriva presence to the corridor between Durham and CLS which could help the X12 grow?

I think 53/54 should be sent around Northumberland park interchange

Also X21A to take over 52 to Ashington and Newbiggen.

X11 Newcastle Durham hourly,then ontodarlington to reinstate a direct bus between Newcastle Darlington lost years ago by GNE. —x12 Newcastle to middlesbourgh ,hourly between Newcastle and Durham. every 30 mins or less, Durham - middleborough. X11/12 will give Newcastle/Durham a 30min service between both services.

X40 Darlington,Richmond,catterick,ripon,york  every 2 hrs——x41 Darlington ,Richmond,catterick,R.I.P. on,Harrogate, every 2 hours . I have heard people in Richmond have to get a bus back into Darlington,to then get a train into york. I’m sure an express service would pick up passengers, especially morning and evening peak times.these routes would also see a re connection of local bus services from northwest into north and West Yorkshire,as the only real regular connection is national express, which has to be booked in advance. I’m sure local regional express routes can work through these areas.

(20 Mar 2018, 12:14 pm)Northern4555 wrote X11 Newcastle Durham hourly,then ontodarlington to reinstate a direct bus between Newcastle Darlington lost years ago by GNE. —x12 Newcastle to middlesbourgh ,hourly between Newcastle and Durham. every 30 mins or less, Durham - middleborough. X11/12 will give Newcastle/Durham a 30min service between both services.

You would have to re-number the current X11

305 Whitley bay-North Tyneside General Hospital-New York-Cobalt-Silverlink-Coast Road-Newcastle-Gateshead-Dunston-Metrocentre

X80: Morpeth - Longframlington - Rothbury - Otterburn - Bellingham - Hexham.
New 2 hourly weekday service offering more buses between Morpeth and Rothbury and providing a bus to Hexham from the North. This service will use Optare Solos.

X89: Durham - Arnison Centre - Chester Le Street - A693 - Stanley - Consett - Shotley Bridge - Whittonstall - Hexham. New service providing more connections to the 685 for onward travel to Carlisle.

X85: Newcastle - Metrocentre - Lemington - Throckley - Heddon on the Wall - Corbridge - Hexham. Peak service revised to serve Metrocentre and Lemington.

Arriva should consider having the 53/54 serve Northumberland Park before taking the left turn to backworth. And the 54 should also enter quorum as the 52 does already

1516 & 1607 were both involved in a Collision on North Road yesterday.

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X11: Middlesbrough - Teeside Park - Stockton - Norton - A19 - Peterlee - Seaham - Sunderland. New service to provide new fast links to Middlesbrough and Stockton from Sunderland, Seaham and Peterlee. This service will opetare hourly Mon to Sat and replace service S1 in Stockton.

X13: Blyth - Cramlington - Bedlington - Morpeth. This new route will replace service 43 between Cramlington and Morpeth.

X14: Newcastle - Regent Centre - A1 - Stannington - Morpeth - Longhorsely - Rothbury - Thropton. This service will be revised to serve Stannington recreating a link to Morpeth.

X17: Thropton - Rothbury - Cragside - Alnwick - Alnmouth Station - Amble.
New route providing a link with Rothbury.

X19: North Shields - Tynemouth - Whitley Bay - Seaton Sluice - Blyth. New route providing a route along the coast.

X20: Revised to terminate at Amble.

X14, X17 and X20 will all interwork on most journeys (although X14 and X17 will operate every 2 hours)

(26 Apr 2018, 12:51 pm)S830OFT wrote X11: Middlesbrough - Teeside Park - Stockton - Norton - A19 - Peterlee - Seaham - Sunderland. New service to provide new fast links to Middlesbrough and Stockton from Sunderland, Seaham and Peterlee. This service will opetare hourly Mon to Sat and replace service S1 in Stockton.

X13: Blyth - Cramlington - Bedlington - Morpeth. This new route will replace service 43 between Cramlington and Morpeth.

X14: Newcastle - Regent Centre - A1 - Stannington - Morpeth - Longhorsely - Rothbury - Thropton. This service will be revised to serve Stannington recreating a link to Morpeth.

X17: Thropton - Rothbury - Cragside - Alnwick - Alnmouth Station - Amble.
New route providing a link with Rothbury.

X19: North Shields - Tynemouth - Whitley Bay - Seaton Sluice - Blyth. New route providing a route along the coast.

X20: Revised to terminate at Amble.

X14, X17 and X20 will all interwork on most journeys (although X14 and X17 will operate every 2 hours)

The X14 needs to be every hour to keep the every 15 minute frequency between Newcastle and Morpeth.

I'd have the X17 starting at Alnwick, connecting journeys with the X20 isn't something passengers will want travelling to Alnwick.

X13: Commuters to/from Newcastle do use the 43 to beyond Cramlington, so, backwards step withdrawing this link. X13 would also provide an unneeded link between Blyth and Cramlington, like we haven't got enough already.

X14: Like mb134 said above, this would have a negative impact on the A1 express corridor.

X17: Great idea, but doesn't need to be X-prefixed as it isn't an 'inter-urban model' service. See below for my thoughts on terminating at Amble. Also, serving/terminating at Alnmouth Village may be beneficial, however, this may impede on X20 calling at the Station, and X18 calling at the Village if not timetabled carefully.

X19: Just seems to be a pointless route? Can't see any real demand for a further route from Blyth down the coast.

X20: It's a well used route from South East Northumberland to Alnwick. The Max upgrade and Alnwick extension caused a massive increase in overall passengers using the service. Withdrawing the Amble-Alnwick section will be a very backwards step.

Service Suggestion:
X66: Middlesbrough - Teeside Park - Stockton - A66 - Great Burdon - North Road - Darlington - Railway Station - Skrene Park - Newton Morrel Village - Scotch Corner - Richmond - Colburn 

X67: Middlesbrough - Stockton - Hartburn - Darlington - Skrene Park - Newton Morrel Village - Scotch Corner - Richmond - Catterick - Scotton.

X26 and X27 merged with X66 and X67 to form a Cross Town Link allowing passengers to remain on the bus without changing. X66 will serve Teeside Park Monday to Saturday and on Sundays cover the X67 route aswell. S1 withdrawn aswell.

21: Darlington - North Road - Harrowgate Hill - Newton Aycliffe - Sedgefield - Fishburn - Trimdon - Deaf Hill - Station Town - Wingate - Peterlee. This service will operate Every 2 hours Monday to Saturday and hourly on Sunday.

X21: Darlington - Cockerton - Faverdale - Burtree Gate Junction - A1 - Sedgefield - Fishburn - Trimdon - Deaf Hill - Station Town - Wingate - Peterlee - Seaham - Sunderland.

21A: Old X22 Route No Changes apart from reduced to Every 2 hours.

*New* X22: Middlesbrough - Stockton - A19 - Station Town - Wingate - Peterlee - A19 - Dalton Park - Mill Inn - Ryhope Village - Grangetown - Sunderland.

Journey times on X21/X22 reduced by 30 minutes. Between the X21/X22 they will combine to provide a hourly express bus to Sunderland. Wingate and Station Town will regain a direct bus to Teeside. Sedgefield will also gain a direct bus to Darlington without going round all the estates.

21A/X21 and X22 will not operate on Sundays. Service 21 will operate Peterlee to Darlington only.

The idea for trips will work like this:
21 to Peterlee back to Darlington then X21 to Sunderland back to Darlington then back on 21 etc 

21A will be the same with X22.

PVR:
21/X21: 4 (Drivers will get extra Layover time so the service can have more chance of being reliable)

21A/X22: 4 (Increase PVR by 1)

Some express buses to the coast via the likes of battle hill would be nice instead of the slow 'stop at every bus stop' services 306/308

Service Suggestion:
X12: Middlesbrough - Stockton - Sedgefield - Durham - Framwellgate Moor - Arnison Centre - Chester Le Street. This service will no longer operate to Newcastle, instead terminate at Chester Le Street. However, the service will additionally serve Arnison Centre. On Sundays the service will remain Durham to Middlesbrough only.

44 renumbered X44: Dinnington - Regent Centre - Newcastle - Gateshead - Birtley - Chester Le Street - Framwellgate Moor - Durham. This service is routes 44 and X12 merged together, the service will operate limited stop between Regent Centre and Durham. The service will operate Every 30 minutes Mon to Sat Daytimes with a hourly Sunday service. This will therefore offer a Sunday Arriva service between Newcastle and Durham.

45 and New X45: Dinnington - Regent Centre - Newcastle - Central Station - Metrocentre - A1 - Team Valley - Birtley - Chester Le Street. Service 45 will be revised to operate hourly between Dinnington and Newcastle, New service X45 will also operate Hourly with both combining together to form a 30 minute frequency between Newcastle and Dinnington. Service X45 will operate Limited stop between Regent Centre and Chester Le Street. Passengers will also recieve a new bus to Team Valley for Work and Leisure, it will also offer Cross City Links without changing buses.

Benefits for changes:
Teeside will recieve a direct bus to Arnison Centre.
Dinnington will recieve faster more direct buses to Newcastle and New services to Metrocentre, Team Valley, Chester Le Street and Durham.

Passengers from Durham can connect at Chester Le Street with service X45 direct to Metrocentre.

There will be 4 buses an hour between Durham and Chester Le Street. There will be 3 buses an hour between Newcastle and Chester Le Street.

Disadvantages:
Town Moor will loose 3 buses an hour to Newcastle, although they still have services 43/45/46/54/55 from Arriva.

Teeside and Sedgefield will loose their direct bus to Newcastle.

56: North Shields - Tynemouth - Whitley Bay - Monkseaton - Northumberland Park. 
New service linking Whitley Bay with Northumberland Park. This new service will allow service 306 to no longer serve Whitley Bay. This service will operate every 30 minutes.

(13 Jun 2018, 8:42 pm)S830OFT wrote 56: North Shields - Tynemouth - Whitley Bay - Monkseaton - Northumberland Park. 
New service linking Whitley Bay with Northumberland Park. This new service will allow service 306 to no longer serve Whitley Bay. This service will operate every 30 minutes.

The bit continuing to Northumberland park could affect the 51 a bit.

Some suggestions for Newcastle to Darlington Express Services

X6 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Tudoe - Spennymoor - Bishop Auckland - Cockfield - Ingleton - Darlington - (Hourly)
X6A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Tudoe - Spennymoor - Bishop Auckland - Tindale - Shildon - Darlington - (Hourly)
X7 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Croxdale - Ferryhill - Newton Aycliffe - Darlington - (Hourly)
X13 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Sedgefield - Stockton - Harrogate Hill - Darlington - (Hourly)

Alongside X12 services will run on a combined frequency of up to Every 10 Minutes between Newcastle, Durham and Darlington operating Monday to Saturday daytime.

(14 Jun 2018, 6:35 pm)Malarkey wrote Some suggestions for Newcastle to Darlington Express Services

X6 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Tudoe - Spennymoor - Bishop Auckland - Cockfield - Ingleton - Darlington - (Hourly)
X6A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Tudoe - Spennymoor - Bishop Auckland - Tindale - Shildon - Darlington - (Hourly)
X7 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Croxdale - Ferryhill - Newton Aycliffe - Darlington - (Hourly)
X13 - Newcastle - Gateshead - Chester-Le-Street - Durham - Sedgefield - Stockton - Harrogate Hill - Darlington - (Hourly)

Alongside X12 services will run on a combined frequency of up to Every 10 Minutes between Newcastle, Durham and Darlington operating Monday to Saturday daytime.

Ticket prices would have to drop to compete with the GNE 21/X21.

(16 Jun 2018, 12:25 pm)JM03 wrote Ticket prices would have to drop to compete with the GNE 21/X21.

There should be no need to reduce ticket prices as Arriva prices are lower than GNE 21/X21. Example GNE Durham - Newcastle return £6.50 while Arriva offer unlimited travel between Durham and Newcastle with an X12 route saver for only £5. GNE Chester le Street to Newcastle single £3.60 while Arriva charge £3.10.

Prices are similar on the Durham to Bishop Auckland section with a GNE Auckland Castle ticket at £5.20 compared to a Sapphire 6 ticket at £5.00.

If Arriva were to increase the service frequency as proposed in the above service suggestion they could justify a small fare increase.

(16 Jun 2018, 1:55 pm)GuyParkRoyal wrote There should be no need to reduce ticket prices as Arriva prices are lower than GNE 21/X21. Example GNE Durham - Newcastle return £6.50 while Arriva offer unlimited travel between Durham and Newcastle with an X12 route saver for only £5. GNE Chester le Street to Newcastle single £3.60 while Arriva charge £3.10.

Prices are similar on the Durham to Bishop Auckland section with a GNE Auckland Castle ticket at £5.20 compared to a Sapphire 6 ticket at £5.00.

If Arriva were to increase the service frequency as proposed in the above service suggestion they could justify a small fare increase.

The only reason why is because the kids prices are double on Arriva compared to GNE.

(18 Jun 2018, 3:00 pm)JM03 wrote The only reason why is because the kids prices are double on Arriva compared to GNE.

Arriva's maximum child fare is £1 with a Teen Card, is it not?

(18 Jun 2018, 5:10 pm)mb134 wrote Arriva's maximum child fare is £1 with a Teen Card, is it not?

It is but with Go North East you don't need any card you simply just ask for £1 from the driver.

(16 Jun 2018, 1:55 pm)GuyParkRoyal wrote There should be no need to reduce ticket prices as Arriva prices are lower than GNE 21/X21. Example GNE Durham - Newcastle return £6.50 while Arriva offer unlimited travel between Durham and Newcastle with an X12 route saver for only £5. GNE Chester le Street to Newcastle single £3.60 while Arriva charge £3.10.

Prices are similar on the Durham to Bishop Auckland section with a GNE Auckland Castle ticket at £5.20 compared to a Sapphire 6 ticket at £5.00.

If Arriva were to increase the service frequency as proposed in the above service suggestion they could justify a small fare increase.

It's the frequency combined with reliability that keeps me opting for the £6.30 castles express daysaver rather than the £5 arriva ticket to Newcastle.

(18 Jun 2018, 5:29 pm)S830OFT wrote It is but with Go North East you don't need any card you simply just ask for £1 from the driver.

Which gets messy when kids are around the cut off mark. 

Either way, £1 from both companies makes them the exact same price for kids...

(19 Jun 2018, 9:31 am)mb134 wrote Which gets messy when kids are around the cut off mark. 

Either way, £1 from both companies makes them the exact same price for kids...

With savvy kids in T&W getting unlimited Bus, Metro, local rail and Ferry travel for £1.10 a day.

Why anyone would pay different, is beyond me.

(19 Jun 2018, 9:31 am)mb134 wrote Which gets messy when kids are around the cut off mark. 

Either way, £1 from both companies makes them the exact same price for kids...

Not when you factor in the cost of getting the teen card.

(19 Jun 2018, 7:03 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Not when you factor in the cost of getting the teen card.

What is that, £5?

So as you can have it in theory for 14 years ("valid for any young person until their 19th birthday", and you don't pay until the age of 5), it works out as pretty much nothing. 

At most it's fractionally more than GNE, and that's only because Arriva are avoiding the scenario of awkward confrontations with drivers about age (I'd argue making the passenger experience more pleasant for everyone involved), and revenue protecting. 

If you also take into account some of the journeys you're able to do with a teen card (X15/18, 685), then that minimal fee really isn't too bad. 

Going back to the original point, Arriva have cheaper fares for adults on the mentioned services, and their child fees are all but identical, so what's everyone's issue with them?

(19 Jun 2018, 8:08 pm)mb134 wrote What is that, £5?

So as you can have it in theory for 14 years ("valid for any young person until their 19th birthday", and you don't pay until the age of 5), it works out as pretty much nothing. 

At most it's fractionally more than GNE, and that's only because Arriva are avoiding the scenario of awkward confrontations with drivers about age (I'd argue making the passenger experience more pleasant for everyone involved), and revenue protecting. 

If you also take into account some of the journeys you're able to do with a teen card (X15/18, 685), then that minimal fee really isn't too bad. 

Going back to the original point, Arriva have cheaper fares for adults on the mentioned services, and their child fees are all but identical, so what's everyone's issue with them?

Back to the Durham newcasNew corridor, frequency and reliability. Works the other way Durham to spennymoor, although arriva is 2 buses. Buggered if I'm standing at 4 lane ends for 28 minutes because I've unavoidably just missed the X21 (though I did just that with the 6 many times at its most disrupted)