- Order 9 new ADL Enviro400 / Dennis Trident 2s for routes X21/X22(becomes X41/X42) rebrand 7522-8 as "Sapphire Express" and re-number as X41 & X42. No route or timetable changes while these are trialed with the current timetable to see if it needs tweaking in any places etc.
- 7501-5 get branded as 35/35A along with 1579-81 which will be refurbished to Sapphire spec for 35/35A which will be upgraded to a 10 minute frequency - Mon-Sat daytimes. As the 35 no longer interworks onto route 100 the frequency can be upgraded with just one more bus(?).
- Route X20 (Newcastle-Alnwick) gets upgraded to MAX with deckers from another Arriva division, these will be branded as "Explore Coast & Castles", and promoting the link to South East Northumberland. This route would remain hourly and use the X18 route between Widdrington Station and Alnmouth Station, where the X18 & X20 will call at Alnmouth Station, while the X20 goes straight to Alnwick while the X18 calls at Alnmouth Village then Alnwick (or whatever it is currently) to have a 30-minute frequency between Widdrington & Alnwick.
- So the X18 & X20 get promoted as "every 30 minutes between Widdrington and Alnwick, with hourly extensions to Alnmouth Village"
RE: Arriva North East: Service Suggestions
Here's my suggestion for routes X18, X20, X21, X22, 35, 35A.