(30 Jan 2022, 11:01 pm)Adrian wrote My thoughts on the X84/X85 changes: https://www.busesandbeyond.co.uk/2022/01...or-hexham/

Comments/views welcome.

An enjoyable read as ever. I think to an extent the improvements on the Tyne Valley 
line will have also impacted the X85, trains will always outrank the bus in terms of preference for a leisure commuter.

You raise a good point on the effectiveness of branding. You look at the profitable routes across the region like the 39/40, 21 etc they all pass major population centres but they are all historic, they make money in spite of the bus companies input not because of it. Nobody boards the 21 because it has a table with a checkers board, it’s nonsense. The tables are a hindrance. 

I think at some point we’ll move away from nonsense like tables and focus on what matters. Pricing, convenience and reliability…I can see it on a generic Ray Stenning branding now.