(15 Sep 2020, 6:51 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote I've been fascinated by route numbers for years. I particularly dislike things such as those mentioned by somebody else 1/1A/1B and X1, 5 and X5 etc being confusing. If the 1 had a express introduced that would be the 1X, which is stupid! I agreed with Coaster 1/2 becoming 1/1A as it frees up more numbers.
Suppose with a limited amount of numbers, it can't be avoided. Branding does help, like Coaster 1 and Red Arrows X1, or now all expresses will be X-lines so will be totally separate.
My biggest hate are the 10s. The 10A is completely different from the 10. Sure, they share a common part of the route, but they have completely different destinations.
IMO, routes should only have the same number if they follow the same broad route but with minor variations. The 49/49A is a great example of it, they both run from Gateshead to Winlaton Bus Station, but take different routes through Blaydon
You also bring up a good point about the 'express' routes. Logically, you would assume that the X1 is an 'express' 1, or the X5 is an 'express' 5, the same way the X21 is an 'express' 21, but they're not. That's completely unacceptable in my opinion.
It wouldn't be so bad if they were in completely different areas but they're not, at Gateshead it'd be quite easy to think the X1 goes to the same place as the 1A/B, or at Newcastle the X10 goes to the same place as the 10 (although with the X10 no longer serving Eldon Square that's unlikely). As we all know passengers can be stupid and not read the displays properly.