(31 May 2016, 9:37 pm)BusLoverMum wrote I'm a little bit in love with that!

I don't know Hartlepool well but I did know that their bus services have been stripped back to the bare bones. The huge swathes of red are a little alarming. Is the area to the west of the town centre largely residential?

I do also wonder about the life expectancy of people living in and around Elwick, as the stats for serious accidents entering the A19 from there are pretty scary.

That little line of stops just off the A179 is, I presume, Hart village? That's served by the Scarlet Band 58. I know that service is secured by DCC, within Co Durham. Is that section of the route operated commercially, as I don't think Hartlepool Council secure any services now, do they?

I'm glad you like it!

The areas both east and west of the town are residential and busless. 

I read a piece at uni about the impact of the cuts which featured Elwick. I'm struggling to find the document now but it was pretty heart-wrenching stuff about how not only are the elderly stuck in the village, their relatives can't reach them either so they end up lonely for days on end. It's worth noting Pauls Travel have stepped in since with their limited service which was in the news recently: 

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/loc...-1-7939079

In the article, the operator explains how the service runs at a £5,500 annual loss but they have no plans to withdraw it as long as people need their service. It's very concerning how the mobility of our most vulnerable is left to a generous local businesswoman after being abandoned by both Stagecoach and the local authority. 

The stops on the A19 itself are a bit of a worry! I'm certain the X7/X9/X10 won't observe them but I wonder if any service has ever served them in the past? I wonder who ever thought it would be a good idea!

Those stops are indeed the ones which the 58 observes. While Hartlepool does not fund the service, I wonder in DCC are more open minded to the idea that the residents of Wingate/Station Town may have a need to go into another area. Indeed, their Link 2 service will take passengers up to 5 miles into the Tees Valley.