(30 May 2015, 8:36 pm)tyresmoke wrote I guess there's not much you could do with it other than implement another bus into the schedule. The possibility for getting held up enroute is enormous on a route like the X18 with the amount of places it had to pass through between Berwick & Newcastle. Providing a robust schedule covering a route that length is nigh on impossible I'd expect (I have limited experience of these routes mind!) - from my experience down in my area, the X93 is a similar sort of operation, albeit on a much shorter route, where the possibilities for being held up are endless with the territory they serve. A 2 or 3 minute delay in 4 or 5 places enroute would soon add up to 15+What puzzles me with the X18 is that everytime I've used it from Berwick to Morpeth, or vice versa, it's on time for pretty much the entire route, and if it does get late, by say Bamburgh, it's made it up by Seahouses.
There are huge sections of route, that if the driver really pushes, they'll make up minutes easily. The past few times we've had to wait at Belford, again at Bamburgh, then Seahouses, Craster, before generally arriving in Alnwick a good few minutes early, giving a very long changeover time there.
I remember once we got stuck behind a few cyclists on the way into Craster, and we were back on time quickly after leaving. Now I'm not saying that the run I usually use is the busiest in the world, but downstairs especially is pretty busy, and the past few times I've had a fair few comrades joining me on the upper deck.