(18 Apr 2017, 4:24 pm)BJ10VUS wrote I'm not familiar with the South Hylton area, but does the 8 even cover a lot of the route the 8X covers within South Hylton? The 8 doesn't serve The Golden Lion by the looks of it.

The 8X is similar to the 8, but not exactly the same.

The 8 only goes round one housing estate and turns right onto Claxheugh Road in South Hylton, where it terminates. The 8X goes onto most of the streets in South Hylton and has a lot of reverse manoeuvres. Unlike the 8, as you quite rightly state, the 8X continues down the bank in South Hylton, eventually leading to The Golden Lion pub.

I think its main purpose serves to get the local residents of South Hylton home, after their trip to the pub on a night. It's quite a steep bank that isn't very well lit - and this area of Sunderland isn't exactly the most affluent, shall we say. It also provides the elderly residents of South Hylton with a door-to-door service with the local Metro station, when the 8 doesn't operate. The passenger numbers are pretty low (I used to try and have a ride of it every few months when I lived over that side of the water - the driver regularly rode around with no interior lights on, and would comment on me being his first passenger all night).

Under the proposed route, it would continue via the 8 route (presumably after its trip down to the pub) and provide a link to the City Centre (which the 8 and Metro does at the moment). I just don't think the demand is there for another service to South Hylton from the City Centre.

Couple of pretty shoddy shots below.