(14 Sep 2023, 10:16 pm)mb134 wrote I'd had the same thought about the school buses, it seems to be the thing creating the occasional 1 hour gap in the X7/8/9 cycle as during the 10am-3pm window they seem to be limiting any cancellations to maybe 1 bus off at most. 

I think they'll prioritise the X30 given there are only 2 per direction? That, and I imagine it's probably pretty easy to ask a driver to stay back for one X30 from town (if it is a driver issue, rather than vehicle).

Yeah it seems stuff is dropping out for them and then not returning into service no doubt be the end of the shift for them.

Yeah that's true mind I suppose as the X7 is a hell of a bus route at rush hour. Mind that said, that probably doesn't help either as the traffic is much worse in an evening and they're regularly upto 20 minutes late which could knock driver hours off so they couldn't do another return trip without going over especially by the time they're 30 - 40 minutes late which isn't uncommon.

Could explain why buses aren't returning to Newcastle on the 306 aswell.