I'm sure there's plenty of demand from Newcastle for people wanting to go to Whitby and Scarborough. TBH those places have a lot more to offer then the Coastal resorts around here at least.

And from past experience when Arriva ran the service it was pretty full. Caught it from Whitby to Boro once and was lucky to get a seat (on a Urban 90 Lowlander).

As for pensioner passes, if the bus departs Newcastle before 9am, they would have to pay anyway Monday to Friday.

Plus I'm sure groups of young people might use it to go to Scarborough (or Whitby for the Goth Festival) for the weekend. In some cases involving the consumption of a lot of alcohol.

Sometimes people don't like driving long distances, and drivers may not like driving to places like Whitby and Scarborough due to the way the roads are (not that I'm one of those).

We just have to wait and see, people were skeptical about the Toon Tour when it was launched, and despite an absence last year for obvious reasons, though the open toppers didn't sit around idle. It has returned again for 2021.

There is no harm in Go North East trying something new rather than doing nothing because people were being negative about it. Because if GNE didn't try new ideas people (or enthusiasts mainly) will be constantly asking the question "What if?"