(16 Oct 2024, 3:50 pm)BusLoverMum wrote Also not reversed, pre-covid, GNE ran 6 buses per hour between Newcastle and Durham, 8 at peak times, in some combination of 21 and X21. It’s still only 4 . When they show up.

One thing I have seen for the first time in however long is morning dupes on the 50, though - though some mornings that ends up being 2 streetlites running together. I’ve not seen it as pointless as a streetlites and a solo, yet, though it wouldn’t surprise me as there has been a solo and an double decker, some mornings.

Previously, it was 4bph on service 21 and 2bph on service X21 (6 bph with extra X21's at peak times) - a few months prior to covid, they experimented with running the X21 every 15 mins between Newcastle & Durham during off peak (half hourly still towards Bishop) but was something which never returned post covid.
Their arguments probs being that there's 6bph between Durham Bus Station & the Arnison Centre on the 21/50/X20 then after that it's nothing till CLS and suggests 4bph is enough to head from Durham to Newcastle - anyone with a degree of sanity would get the train which takes 10-15 mins rather than crawl through Low Fell at peak times, I have started doing the train to reach Newcastle from Durham as the 21/X21 feels slower and slower each time I do it (and can't keep to time) - Arriva cutting the X12 to hourly between Durham and Newcastle also hasn't helped. Sure enough, last time I did a hop on the train to Newcastle, passengers who alighted from the same 7 at Durham as me also used the train to reach Newcastle.

The extra morning 50 was a recent introduction (typically allocated a StreetLite as it drops onto the 8 afterwards), as was extending a 16A to start from Harelaw Bank Top - although the article also proclaims about an extra X15 and X21 like its a new thing/improvement (these have existed for 10+ years now!!!):  https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/extra-capa...dent-buses