(15 Feb 2024, 6:40 pm)stagecoachbusdepot wrote Didnt realise it was replacing 553, reads in the press release like a new service
Believe it's just getting formally split now, there's only a few boards in the morning / evening for the Freeman to Wallsend side of it. It's a bit confusing with 3 operators currently running it and 2 different routes aswell, the Wallsend to Freeman side will become the 653 to fix that though.
If I'm right Arriva, GNE and Stagecoach currently all run bits of it.