(21 May 2022, 3:27 pm)Unber43 wrote X21 from what I have seen don't get that busy (It would be nice to hear StreetDeck Fan on how busy the X21 gets)

It really depends on the time, during the day it seems to get a fair load, but it seems to be more local journeys than people like me that use the full route (ie. West Auckland to Bishop/Spennymoor, Bishop/Spennymoor to Durham etc. It seems to be reasonably on par with the Arriva 6 these days in terms of passenger numbers, at least in my experience. The northern section is usually the busiest, with it filling up at Newcastle and emptying at Durham, and vice versa.

(21 May 2022, 3:35 pm)Unber43 wrote Because they gave GNE dodgey coaches

Realistically, it was probably a good trade in the end given how things have turned out.
Since the coaches were only leased, they were able to just give them back at the end of the lease with no penalty. If they kept the StreetDecks, they would have been stuck with another 9 buses worth £2.5 million, and no passengers to pay for them