Was out in Northumberland yesterday. Was very impressed with Sapphire. The bus arrived on time, was very clean, and the driver was friendly. The ride quality was average, and the rattles did get on my nerves a bit. Also the Wi-Fi worked well and was fast.

However, the 1 was very late from Ashington, and sadly it was those horrid ALX200's. I really think something needs to be done to improve the reliability on the 1, and possibly some bigger buses as there was standees from Bedlington to Blyth. The 2, however was on time, it was 1773, and was quite overcrowded so possibly it could do with some bigger buses also. Maybe it could be jointly operated by Ashington and Blyth, with them interworking at Blyth to allow a longer layover.

I was annoyed with the X18 though, it didn't turn up at all (or was at least 20 minutes late), so I hope this won't continue when Max gets revealed on the X18. The X14 was also late, but only by about 5 minutes. Was a DAF ALX400 but can't remember what one.

Overall, I think some changes need to be made in Northumberland to maintain reliability, and with the X18, it is a ongoing problem.