(27 Oct 2016, 5:41 pm)tyresmoke wrote Having been one of the drivers on the 5/5A for almost 2 years, it is a shame to see the 5A being curtailed at Skelton but I can't say I am surprised, as beyond Hollybush round to Asda and Brotton it was very weak. In these times of budgets being squeezed I'm not surprised to see the resource being cut here (it takes a whole bus to extend from Hollybush to Brotton and back).
I don't think you will see the 5 being diverted via Asda either, there isn't enough time in the schedule to do this without cutting something else out (which would be Skinningrove/Liverton presumably).

As for the evening X4 - I would see it as a welcome investment by Arriva - clearly being done using limited resources to keep the cost down for what will presumably be a trial to start with. I would expect that Middlesbrough to Brotton/Skelton and back is as far as you can get in 2 hours judging by the daytime timetable. The opportunity to time it to allow connections from/to the 5 for passengers from Loftus gives them a chance to see what usage figures are like and decide whether they can justify increasing the resource cost and extend the X4 through to Easington (3 buses) or even Whitby (4 buses).

Interesting points. They do seem to struggle to know exactly what the best thing to do with the 5's is, but they never seem to seriously consider either the express option, or if they need to cut out some time, do all the 5's and 5A's all need to run from Swans Corner all the way into Middlesbrough, stopping everywhere? How many passengers from East Cleveland actually want to get off along there, and it seem to take an eternity to get into Middlesbrough sometimes.

The X4 has been a success, so for me I'd keep it as much as possible the same as it is now, but with a reduced frequency on an evening. There's already services between Middlesbrough and Redcar/Marske on an evening, so if the X4 is only going to go a little further down the road, its not going to be a great benefit to anyone. I take the point about connections, but people are reluctant to have to rely on these.