(03 Apr 2021, 10:44 am)peter wrote I think the problem with this argument is that each point of view can be attributed to each journey. On the journey towards Whitby/Scarborough, like Dan says there would be no point letting on a load of passengers at Newcastle who are only travelling to Washington, Peterlee or Middlesbrough when there are other services available to them, if it meant passengers who were wanting to use the service through to Whitby or Scarborough were being turned away. Because in that case, you might as well just add some extra journeys on the X1 and X9/10.
However on the return journey all the passengers from Whitby/Scarborough board first and so like Andreos says, there would be no harm in picking up some X1 or X9/10 passengers on the way back to Newcastle - your issue there I suppose is that it's of no real benefit for GNE to allow them to board the X11 cause it would, in theory, reduce passenger numbers on the journeys on those services running after the X11. I suppose one might argue that from Middlesbrough onwards the X11 should be to drop passengers off only - but then you're in the realms of a coach service rather than a bus route. In the case of the X9/10 - there is an X10 10 minutes before the X11 and half an hour after - not long to wait really.
The only 'harm' is that it would become needlessly complicated - you can't travel southbound on the X11 with your X9/X10 ticket, but you can travel northbound?
This is another example of a barrier which would cause confusion (exactly what Andreos1 is against), so with that in mind, I think we're in agreement that it's better to have the X11 treated completely separately to the X9/X10 for simplicity... Unless, of course, Andreos1 has an argument for leaving Whitby/Scarborough passengers behind, in favour of allowing those with alternative options to travel on the X11 instead.