(24 Nov 2021, 12:05 am)Storx wrote Reading through the lines but it's not exactly clear what it is. X Lines etc are on borrowed time to be replaced by Super Route Red (Every 5 Mins), Super Route Green (Every 10 Mins), Interurban Express (Every 15 Mins), Connect (Every 30 Mins) and Rural (Less Frequent) with DRT thrown in aswell.

The X30/X31/X70/X71/X72 (GNE) X14/X15/X18 (Arriva) are all to be Interurban Express though.
The 1/2/57/57A/New 30 Min Cramington -> Morpeth (Arriva) are all to be Connect services. (Page 101)

I suppose it all comes down to what the reference of "the creation of a unified brand; having a consistent approach to customer service at every point in the journey;" means, which is listed as the opportunity around branding within the BSIP document.

On one hand you could say it equates to the understanding in a Franchising model, e.g. TfL all red buses with the buses roundall, or Manchester moving towards a TfGM consistent branding with the Tram, but in a partnership, it could be like the West Yorkshire Metro example, with the logo being present at bus stations, train stations and on buses, but buses and trains still running under their own corporate branding. Either way, I hope it means a lot more than just a lucrative contract for a certain designer.

On the Xlines example though, I'd say that's something that could be expanded on and rolled out to similar services by other operators in terms of consistency.