Thing is DDs do get full at times! Memories of following a Durham X1 through Stockton and taking a Prestige full because the Gemini in front of me was full... god knows what happened that day!
The Durham Uni students provide a heavy passenger loading on X1... It's generally the X2 that is the lesser of the two (by a long way I'm told!) but it justifies running it.
RE: Arriva North East