(21 Jul 2020, 9:43 pm)L469 YVK wrote Demand on popular routes like the 21 will naturally fall post Covid19 & Social Distancing so a 10 minute service might be justified. It's not just the 21 though, it's a lot of different services which are going to be affected post Covid19.
I do reckon GNE will keep the 21 between Durham & Chester for the timebeing but perhaps space out more evenly with the 50 & X21. If they did however cut the Durham to Chester section out and maintained a 7-8 min frequency between Chester Le Street and Newcastle, the PVR would be 14x vehicles with no tight layovers. That still wouldn't be enough to find the 1x extra StreetDeck needed for the X5 & X15 unless the PVR was reduced to 13x with a tight layover or they terminated the 21 at Market Street or Pilgrim Street.
Social distancing is going to be around until early 2021 tho if we're lucky and that's the problem. I really can't see the cut coming from the main section of the Angel. It struggled the last time it was every 10 minutes and that was with full capacity.
The X-Lines won't be waiting til then to be launched. If you wanted to save another bus scrap the X21 between Bishop and West Auckland as it seems to cart around fresh air anyway.