(23 Apr 2024, 12:17 am)Driver9*** wrote They're limping along till the company takeover and/or start of the SE Northumberland rail line. I doubt the X21/22 will ever revert back to the 20 mins frequency besides a few extra morning/late afternoon runs. The X10/11 at Blyth were the same and now every 30 mins.
It has happened at the worst time (an inept parent company who checked out years ago + COVID + historic mismanagement) and the Northumberland Line. The saving grace is that the NL is car centric (the modelling for demand by the AECOM and NCC is "interesting") and will not directly offer direct services to Newcastle CC.
The elephant in the room is the likelihood of franchising (a step in the right direction IMHO) - the long term outlook is how the NL can actually serve demand in communities with walk up stations with direct links into Haymarket and how the wider bus network can support that. I digress.