(22 Nov 2019, 9:12 am)garym67 wrote The X30 is more frequent now but it takes much longer than it used to in the past, the X30 used to be a genuine express serving only Stanley, Sunniside, Lobley Hill, Gateshead and Newcastle and took 30 minutes, not it takes at least 40. Accepting of course there is more traffic now so it gets stuck more often, but observing all stops and going via Whickham makes it anything but express. It's still very convenient and easy if you are just going to Newcastle, but the extra time becomes a pain if you then need to get another bus, rush hour journeys often take 50+ minutes in my experience, albeit as an infrequent user.
Exactly that. I mean the X30 is still pretty quick, it only takes about 10-15 minutes longer than the car assuming it has a clear run, and the car follows the speed limits
My main gripe though is with the X45/46/47. Having them run limited stop for the short section between MetroCentre and Newcastle is not enough to call it an express route in my eyes.
And no matter how you put it, a journey with 71 stops (in the case of the X21) is not express!