RE: Bus Graphics/Brands Ideas
To add to my post in the Branding topic, here are my designs for the new brands.
All brand logos will follow a common design
All buses in each 'local' area will have the same overall brand allowing them to be used on any route, although I would still have subtle route branding in the form of destinations on the side. For example, below would be a Gateshead Local bus that would be primarily allocated to the 49/49A
Then we have the connector brand, this would be used on longer distance routes that cover multiple 'local' areas. This would replace the likes of Coaster, Crusader, Connections 4, Country Ranger, Red Kite Ranger, Tyne Valley Ten etc. But it would also be used on currently unbranded routes such as the 6 and 28.
Finally, we would have the three CityLink services, these would replace the Prince Bishops, Angel, and CityRider. As the name suggests, these services link the three cities in the North East. It's questionable whether replacing these would actually make any difference to the simplicity of the branding, but it provides a common brand for similar routes.
X-lines would remain, but all vehicles would be the same (either blue or charcoal, I can't decide) allowing them to be used on any route.