(12 Sep 2022, 5:42 pm)Unber43 wrote Really the X36 was a failure because of the location it was in, clearly there is demand with the X24 and that misses out basically everything apart from Sunderland, Royal Hospital and Newcastle.
I think an X56 would work but I feel like starting it in sunderland would bad, as no one really wants to connect, if you start it at Ryhope or Seaham you've got customers who hate changing buses.
With the current state of the metro I would prefer the 1 hour, 20 mins on the 56 than 40 mins on the metro.
I don't want to drag this into a suggestions thread but if you really want an express Newcastle services to Concord you'd be better extending the 4 as a replacement for the X56 and if you want a real Sunderland service, meddling around the Washington X1 into multiple services, not going to suggest them all but one of them could be the X1 as far as Washington then the 39B from there to Sunderland.
You'd create links from Doxford Park and Gateshead/Newcastle in the process.
The 56 should be split into 3 services like this I suggested awhile back imo:
R1 - 56 (every 30 mins)
R2 - 56 (every 30 mins) Sunderland to Concord, 84/85 loop clockwise as far as Washington
R3 - 56 (every 30 mins) Newcastle to Concord, 84/85 loop anticlockwise as far as Washington
Washington needs work though imo, local services just don't work and it's the only place hanging onto them. What it doesn't need is more express services bypassing the place.