(03 Jun 2020, 10:49 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I 100% disagree with you there. I used to use the X21 pretty much every day, often several times a day and there was always a pretty good load throughout the journey, sure, it gets quiet at times, but it was very unusual to only have 10 passengers on board

During the peaks, the X21 and 21s were pretty much always full by the time they leave Gateshead, which was particularly annoying for people like me who travel all the way to Bishop, so I ended up just getting the X30 to Stanley then the 16 to Durham, and catch the X21 from there once everyone has got off.

The train ride is also way more expensive, and very inconvenient due to the literal mountain you have to climb to get to Durham train station

Just noticed I worded that bad, that was about the short X21's there not the extended runs through to Bishop. It was in reply to the suggestion for them becoming more frequent.

Tbf though it's only extra £200 a year or so to use the train, which takes 15 mins vs 50 mins for the bus. I'd personally happily walk up the hill (you could even cycle, which is handy at both sides) to save an hour sitting on buses which could easily be delayed (less likely on a train) but everyone has there own opinion I suppose and I know it's a popular route as they removed the barriers at Durham because the majority of people come from Newcastle where they'd have their tickets checked to stop the congestion in Durham station.