(02 Oct 2022, 6:20 am)Storx wrote But I actually agree than Arriva should probably try later buses on the X7 / X11 / X21 / 308 possibly using the 43 / 44 / 45 / 52 / 53 / 54 buses which terminate in Newcastle at a night to get them back to Blyth / Ashington even if it's just a Saturday.
I'm not sure whether last night was a freak night but it's busiest I've seen all them at 11pm even before Covid. The X7 believe had 35+, there was still 24 on board at Seaton Delaval and quite a few had already left. The X11 and X21 seemed even busier. The X11 nearly filled a double decker (and I'm not talking 1 person per seat).
Not at all a freak night, for a good few hours after the last bus departures there's an endless stream of hackney carriages heading north out of Newcastle.
Nights in Newcastle do fluctuate, sometimes the peak of it ends earlier which will fill up the last buses, but most of the time the peak ends later meaning that taxis handle it.
Some later bus departures might cut down on the amount of taxi drivers driving like dickheads up the Spine Road...