(27 Sep 2020, 4:53 pm)streetdeckfan wrote The X12 is an X21 'competitor' that happens to continue on to Middlesbrough. Between Newcastle and Durham it's not /that/ bad, they run limited stop via Birtley rather than via the A1. I also use the word competitor very loosely, I'm talking in terms of route, not the experience!
My issue with the X45/6/7 is that there's not really a slower version of the route, so it's not express. It's just a regular route.
You can twist the meaning of express all you like by saying it includes routes that go the same way as the car, but at the end of the day, if there isn't a slower way to get there, it's not express.
Removing a couple stops that nobody used anyway and calling that section 'limited stop' doesn't count either.
Having said that, I do like the fact the marketing technically says 'rapid bus links' rather than calling them express routes explicitly, even if it is implied.
Isn't the X12 limited stop between Coxhoe and Durham aswell, it's a proper express bus to me. If we're going down the Arriva lack of express routes then they're definitely awarded to the X7, X8, X21 (Darlington), X22 (Darlington), X46 (Crook) and X75. The X7 and X8 miss 5 stops max I believe and aren't express anywhere else - infact it's a right slog and quicker to use the 19/57/57A and Metro to town from Delaval / Holywell most the time especially at rush hour. Are the others express at all..?