(11 Jan 2015, 6:53 pm)tyresmoke wrote I did indeed, and I would hazard a guess that you'll be correct as end to end passengers are always going to go with a direct service, passengers between Bishop Auckland & Durham may think about switching though if a superior service is offered.
Of course for regular commuters, the service which offers the most flexibility (and more importantly, price) will always win.

It's interesting to find there is a £5 difference between similar offerings between the Wear Valley area & Newcastle though, with the weekly Pronto saver priced at £22.50 as opposed to Arriva's offering at £17.40. GNE will always win the battle between Durham & Newcastle based on frequency alone, never mind the numerous connections available such as Metrocentre's regular shuttle buses. However the prices are fairly competitive with the Arriva weekly at £17.40 and GNE's Angel saver just £17.00. The connections required at each end of the region would depend on which one the passengers would purchase I would suggest as nobody (or not many) would realistically just travel from Durham Bus Station to Eldon Square and back each day.

See, I completely agree with what you're saying about GNE always winning the battle between Durham and Newcastle on frequency alone, but it beggars the question of why the X2 is kept in it's present form? I'd say it would make more sense to keep the X12 as a standalone service, with added layover at either end to improve reliability. To replace the X2, run two of the 6's through to Newcastle as an X6, providing the same limited stop service between Durham & Chester le Street, but then non-stop to Gateshead (or even Newcastle) via the A1? It would probably even result in a reduction in PVR?

(11 Jan 2015, 7:15 pm)Dan wrote If the journey time was six minutes difference Bishop Auckland - Newcastle, Go North East could definitely consider it a threat... But when it's 25? Can you see commuters forking out an extra £4.70 to have an increased journey time of 25 minutes - just so they can use power sockets and Wi-Fi - especially when it involves a connection in Durham?

Just to query the price, as I think I missed your reply the other night when we were discussing. The comparison was the North East all zones ticket, but the Durham District is valid on the 6 to Bishop, and the X2 to Newcastle, priced at £17.40? I hadn't realised it was valid on the 6 until I checked mind.

But to answer the question, perhaps commuters are willing to pay more for a considerably quicker service? X21 has needed an increase in peak time frequency recently, which tells it's own story, and a flip of the coin - the X2 is pretty much bare between Durham and Newcastle. I can't believe for one minute that nobody commutes from Durham to Newcastle...