(17 Sep 2020, 12:06 pm)tcts24 wrote I'm fairly certain I didn't misinterpret. Provided the number and ultimate destination combined is different i.e. from Sunderland city centre one could catch a 23 to Dene Estate, Thorney Close or Hartlepool or one could get a 55, X6 or X7 to Peterlee. Renumbering the 10 from Newcastle so it doesn't look to similarly numbered to the X10 doesn't matter. They go in completely opposite directions and nobody could possibly get confused between them unless they are too thick or ingnorant to figure that out. If somebody can't or doesn't want to comprehend that not all buses go to the same places, then no elaberate numbering system will make a scrap of difference.
I was astonded during last years Arriva strike, how many people on Facebook couldn't grasp that the handful of buses that were running would stop between the listed timing points - as the normally would - despite stating this at the top of the post. No amount of telling some of them, "yes it will stop outside your house like it usually does" would sink in.
That's a fair point but for me the 10, X10 etc is/should be the same route. I understand what your saying about people are stupid enough to read it but each number should represent it's own route. So if there is a 10, then the X10 is an express version of that bus in the same sense that the 10B is a variation of the 10.
Personally the bus route should be 1 - 99. Anything with an X at the front is either express if there is no corrosponding number or if there is then it's an express version of that bus route the same sense than any variations of A and B's must have some common section (don't believe that's an issue up here). I'm anal when it comes to stuff like though to be fair.
Examples being the 21 is the stopper service, X21 is an express variation. The 20 is the stopper service the X20 is the express variation. The 63 to Killingworth is the stopper version, the X63 is the express version if that makes sense. It shouldn't and won't be confusing for the majority of people but as you've said with the Arriva strikes some people are a bit stupid lets say. There's a few posters on here who keep suggesting ideas of new variations of routes in particually the Q3 for quicker routes from end to end missing the point it's about the bits inbetween so it's not just those who never use buses who don't seem to grasp there's points between neither.
One thing I will say to give credit though is we don't have the stupid C routes anymore as that was confusing for passengers so some good has come from the changes.