In regards to the X93, I reckon the growth seen over the past 2 summers has helped to push the case for investment. The Middlesbrough-Whitby half is the quieter of the two, amazingly, with heavy usage between Scarborough and Whitby... indeed we have regularly had to dupe one of the morning services from Scarborough to Whitby!

I think the vehicle situation also has helped, after the disaster of summer 2013 with the Enviro 400s, we needed to find a permanent solution and there aren't many available. The VDL Gemini trialled last winter was a success but ultimately I think the MAX scheme in Northumberland stopped that happening, so the Volvo B7TL's cascaded from London were implemented as a short term solution. They have steadied the ship somewhat over the summer, but they were never intended to be a long term solution and something needed to be found to plug the gap. Indeed there was a plan to cascade some Volvo B9TL's from Yorkshire next year, however they have managed to find these 6 in dealer stock so that the X93 will benefit from "new" vehicles.