(30 Dec 2018, 8:44 pm)GNE6312 wrote 77
Hexham
Acomb
Humsaugh
Bellingham
A68
A696
Otterburn
Belsay
Ponteland
Newcastle airport
Prestwick
Dinnington
Old great north road
A1 stannington bridge
Stannington (village hall & village centre)
Stannington St Mary's inn
Whitehouse farm
Morpeth
Every hour
Allocation: new optare versa xFEs
X77
Hexham
Corbridge
A68
A696
Otterburn
Belsay
Ponteland
Newcastle airport
Prestwick
Dinnington
Old great north road
A1 stannington bridge
Stannington
Stannington St Mary's inn
Whitehouse farm
Morpeth
Every hour(creating an every half hour joint service from Hexham to Otterburn, Belsay, ponteland, Newcastle airport, Prestwick, Dinnington, stannington, whitehousefarm & Morpeth when joint with the 77)
Allocation: new optare versa xFEs
78
Hexham
Acomb
Humsaugh
Bellingham
A68
A696
Otterburn
Elsdon
Thropton
Rothbury
Alnwick
Every hour
Allocation: new optare versa xFEs
X78
Hexham
Corbridge
A68
A696
Otterburn
Elsdon
Thropton
Rothbury
Alnwick
Every hour (making an every half hour joint service from Hexham to Otterburn, Elsdon, Thropton, Rothbury & Alnwick when joint with the 78)
79
Hexham
Acomb
Humsaugh
Bellingham
A68
A696
Otterburn
Elsdon
Thropton
Rothbury
Longframlington
Longhorsley
Morpeth
Every hour
Allocation: new optare versa xFEs
The routes are just too long - there's a reason most the routes operating around these areas are subsidised - there's just not enough people to justify a commercial service - nowhere near.
Acomb to Bellingham is already pretty well catered for with the 680 - even during tourist season. The Airport used to be covered by the 74A on a Sunday, and many years ago by the regular 74 during the week, and again there just wasn't the passenger numbers to justify it, hence why it was dropped (a handful of airport workers along the corridor on a Sunday if you were lucky - very occasionally a passenger or 2, but you could go weeks without). Versa's would be rattled apart quickly by the route too, and not great in some of the tighter streets. It would also be nigh on impossible to maintain a service in any real winter weather.
IIRC there are a couple of twice weekly services running for some of these areas run by adapt and/or PCL, and these seem to do fine.