(03 Apr 2015, 12:18 pm)MurdnunoC wrote How do you shorten the journey time without altering the route? Having only used the service once, I'm not familiar with its stopping arrangements. Does it serve every stop between Sunderland and Peterlee? If it doesn't serve every stop between Sunderland and Peterlee then I fail to see how time can be reduced without drastically altering the route.
Of course all this assumes the frequency of service X7 is going to be increased...
These are the stoping points from the timetable between Peterlee Bus Station:
Peterlee Bus Station, Peterlee Essington Way/Yoden Road junction, Peterlee Essington Way/Crawford Avenue junction, Peterlee Essington Way/Stephenson Road junction, Dawdon Business Park (East Cliff Road & South Shore Road), Seaham Sea Front (Byron Place), Grangetown Stockton Terrace and Sunderland Park Lane Interchange.
You could decrease the journey time simply by taking a few minutes out of the timetable, I don't know how possible it would be to do this though.
I'm not certain it will become half hourly myself, I think it will just end being small changes on this section as although only the Peterlee to Sunderland section appeared on VOSA yesterday it is always possible the Peterlee - Middlesbrough section will appear on there next week.