(17 Sep 2020, 10:33 am)Storx wrote Some people are extremely stupid though and don't bother to read destinations properly. That wasn't a comment directed at you, this was directed at the people who can't read a basic timetable and those who get on a 21 to Chester Le Street and ask if it goes to Durham for 2 examples. There will be some idiots who see X10 and think oh that must be the 10 and it doesn't help when GNE add X's to routes for no reason bar branding reasons (X5, X15, X45, X46, X47). There's enough numbers around there's no need for a 1 and X1, 10 and X10 when it's not needed.
That's a valid point with the 1 and one I didn't think of, maybe only use it where there is no service with the same number so with the 10's it could work.
You misinterpretated the comment on using the same numbers I meant in the sense that in the whole of GNE, numbers shouldn't duplicate anywhere so every route should be different, the same with Arriva Northumbria / North East (they're two different companies as they're not connected) and Stagecoach's each little area nor should there be an express of a bus route has a local service of the same number. There certainly should be no duplicates in the same bus station or town though but the fact GNE have a 57 in Gateshead and Arriva have a 57 in Whitley then there's no issue there as their far enough apart or even the example such as the GNE 47 and Stagecoach X47 in Eldon Square (the two X47's is stupid though). It wouldn't be sensible to ban the same number everywhere in the North East.
This 'simplification' and consolidation of service numbers for GNE came about in the 2006 changes.
No idea whether they thought that those changes would be the final ones, ever. But there were some trends/patterns initially.
However, as those revisions were revised again (and again), then the numbers have fallen out of sync.
Using your examples previously, there did seem some sort of common ground with the 35, 36, X35 and X36. That seems to have gone out of the window now, with those services having a random hotchpotch of numbers covering sections of the routes.
Not sure who benefits at all.
Conversely, there were that many revisions to some numbers, passengers probably didn't have a clue where a certain service was going from one week to the next. Without checking, I can think of 3 southern variations of termination points for the 36 (I think they were Low Moorsley, Rainton Bridge and Chester le Street). I can't even begin to think how many northern variations of the route there was. Shields, Sunderland, Castletown and Town End Farm (possibly?) as terminating points is a start