(22 Aug 2015, 5:21 pm)GX03 SVC wrote Personally ALX400s or anything ex-London is now suitable on the X20 or the 35 (or any other route). Passengers want a modern, clean, comfortable bus that isn't a slow cast-off that some Mr Johnson didn't want in his city. Yes, alright, they're better than the Olympians as they don't have to leave vulnerable and disabled passengers behind.

The X20 should have been extended once newer vehicles have been sourced, the promotion for the X20 at the moment is extremely poor. I've only noted it on Arriva website, on buses nowhere near Ashington and a poorly displayed poster on the portacabin at Ashington. Timetables are unable to be issued as the route map shows that it uses Hawthorn Road. Arriva have taken up my complaint about the promotion about Alnmouth Station (a poorly printed poster that should be displayed on buses soon) but why can't they do it with the X18?

Overall, I find the promotion, extending the route without newer vehicles and then promoting the route a farce. Who wants to ride the old crappy buses that were on the route already?

Totally agree with you mate. I was also wrong about the X21 / X22. Nedderton is only a slight PITA and if you consider that you can get roughly 18 mile each way in less than an hour, then that actually aint too bad unless you include Newbiggin. I also think that the X20 should certainly be promoted more.

I must say that I've had a look at Arriva's fleet list and it seems very scrappy with any old bus (particaularly MAX branded vehicles) being thrown about anywhere. Arriva need to have a good clean up with some more investment and more standardisation in the fleet rather than just chucking buses around left, right and centre. GNE's fleet is mostly standardised and easy to allocate and Arriva need to do the following:

- Is the route a single or double deck route (excluding the 6 and 7 for occasional capacity boost).
- Is the vehicle type going to be the same or very similar.

It's no good having single deckers running around on the long X14, some X15 runs and some X12 runs and even old B7s tearing around on the X20. This is what it should look like:

All double deck MAX DB300 routes:
- X7, X8, X9, X10, X11, X12, X20 (if no E400savailable).

All double deck MAX E400 routes:
- X14, X15, X18, X20 (DB300s if none available).

A pool of spare modern MAX deckers that can be swapped around when needed (i.e summer X93 extras).

All single deck MAX routes running with ONE type of single deck vehicle.