(21 Aug 2013, 3:59 pm)Rob wrote Better buses = Check
Better schedule = Layover could be increased, but then you have the problem of buses queuing to get to a stand at either end of the route all day, every day. Alternative is to reduce the frequency, so does a bus every 15 minutes suit you better?
Express = Is there really demand for an express between Wrekenton and Sunderland?
A bus every fifteen minutes suits me better because that way I am more likely to turn up in time for the bus and for it to then turn upon time, however, I doubt many would agree with me. In most cases, the 56 is their only bus to Newcastle, or Sunderland (depending on location) and in that case, the ten minute frequency is much better. If you were to take the Seven Stars at Wrekenton as an example, you may recall that at one time the stop was served by a fifteen minutely 56, a 725 (which I believe became a 25? prior to being the X25) and the 28. Today it is only the 56 and the hourly 28. It would seem to me that the 56 could be run as an acceptable 15 minutely service in this area if the X25 was no longer run as an express. It is only an express between Wrekenton and Newcastle, unnecessary considering that the X1 does that every ten minutes! An increase in layover, like you say has the issue of queuing for stands, however, that is only really an issue is Newcastle. If the service was extended to serve Newcastle Eldon Sq, or Haymarket bus station, however calling at Pilgrim St and then down to New Bridge St, to maintain a link to that area of Newcastle City Centre, you would solve that problem because in that case there is a siding for the buses to wait in and a stand for set down (although at Sunderland that just means dropping passengers at an empty stand). As far as an express is concerned, not between Sunderland and Wrekenton, however between Sunderland and Newcastle there is. Back in the days of the X2 it was a great way to get between Sunderland, Washington Galleries, Wrekenton, Gateshead, and Newcastle... you could even include Concord as a stop, if you should so desire. I always recall that route as being a nigh on a full bus if not actually full.
