(08 Mar 2016, 7:39 pm)X8X9X10 wrote Regarding the X7/X8, why not extend the 554 to Haymarket or have some equivalent shuttle service similar to the X6 to meet morning/evening demand inside the business parks?
I don't know about the X7, but I know the X8 already suffers huge delays (areas like Moor Farn roundabout near Annitsford and Cramlington serve as significant bottlenecks) at peak times to the extent that further extending the service without extra vehicles or timetable frequency would be a really bad idea.
If Blyth wanted to sort issues out with the X7 / X8 with no PVR increase whatsoever, they could do this with evening and Sunday journeys remaining the same on all routes. Extra time would be given to all services mentioned bar services X6 / X9. Monday to Saturday journeys would be like this:
- Current X6 renumbered to 9X. No other changes.
- Current X9 renumbered X6. No other changes.
- No route change to service X7 but with extra time added in timetable to improve reliability.
- Current X8 during Monday to Saturday daytime only running between Newcastle and Cramlington. Evening and Sunday journeys continuing to Blyth via normal route. Extra time added in timetable to improve reliability. X7 / X8 interwork in Newcastle.
- NEW X9 replaces northern section of the X8 between Blyth and Cramlington before continuing to Newcastle via the same routes as the X10 / X11. Extra time added on both sections of route to improve reliability. Buses running every 30 minutes during Monday to Saturday.
- X10 / X11 reduced to every 30 minutes each with extra time added to improve reliability. Evening and Sundays unchanged for both.
- X9 / X10 / X11 would run:
* Every 8-12 minutes from Blyth like this: 00:00; 00:10; 00:18; 00:30; 00:40; 00:48
* Every 15 minutes from Newsham in both directions like this (X10 / X11): 00:00; 00:15; 00:30; 00:45 very similar to the way that the 10/10B worked to and from Prudhoe when the TEN group of services were first revised.
* Every 9-11 minutes between Parkside and Newcastle in both directions like this: 00:00; 00:10; 00:21; 00:30; 00:40; 00:51
