(14 Aug 2022, 12:05 am)omnicity4659 wrote Problem with that is the Bedlington and Morpeth extension.
It could be viable to extend the 53 to Bedlington and truncate the 43 to there too, with them alternating into the newer estates in the area. Perhaps sending one of the routes via Bebside and Bedlington Station to cover the Bebside-Cramlington leg of the X9, with one of the X10/X11 starting up in Bebside instead to maintain the Newcastle link.
You'd need to send something to Morpeth otherwise you'd lose the Morpeth -> Cramlington link which is the purpose of the 43 extension, rather than Newcastle.
Removing the X9 link is a bad idea though. The X8 is the questionable route, duplicating the 52/57A between Cramlington and Newcastle for large parts, bar the short section between High Pit and Annitsford towards Newcastle, serving very little and then the X7/X10/X11 between Cramlington and Blyth.
Personally I'd some how try and merge the 52 and X8 as one route and maybe interwork that with a 30 minute 55 with full size buses and 54 if timings are possible, interworking with the X7 giving a 15 minute service between South Gosforth and Newcastle.
So it does 52 -> 54 -> 54 -> 55 -> 52 (Blyth Based with Streetlites)
For the 53 I'd extend that back to Morpeth like it used to years ago as the 343 and work it with the Morpeth driver boards with the 1 and 2 (Ashington Based with Pulsars)
That's the 50's sorted. Then the X7/X9/47 could work together with a PVR 10
Doing X7 -> 47 -> X9 or X9 -> 47 -> X7
Just leaves the 43/44/45/46/51/51A