(21 May 2024, 2:03 am)DaveFromUpNorth wrote Personally I would introduce the X39 to operate through the day and make it an express route
Newcastle Haymarket - five Swans - corner House then express to bottom of station road (coast road stop of Wiltshire drive) then all stops in Battlehill Drive to Cobalt then change the service to 309 and all stops to Bylth
If a service is running late it can operate as a X39 to Battlehill and pick up time.
This would then stop the need to go up and down every ramp and get stuck at every light possible.
Personally I'd up that X39 to every 15 minutes and extend it to Blyth splitting via the 308/309 route in Blyth both every 30 minutes, additionally serving The Silverlink to give Silverlink links and the two bus stops on the Coast Road (no real added time) but at the same time curtail the 308 at Whitley Bay with it going via Battle Hill, you could maybe even link it together with the 306 and create a loop - even maybe via Monkseaton and reinvent the 325/326 in some form which were popular routes at one point.
There's absolutely no need for 6 buses between Whitley Bay and Blyth, it's complete overkill and a waste of resources especially with the traffic issues around the Spanish City adding delays.
ie.
306/308 - Every 10 Minutes, Newcastle to Jolly Bowman, Every 20 Minutes NT Loop.
X38/X39 - Every 15 Minutes, Newcastle to Cobalt (Direct), Whitley Bay and Blyth
307 - Every 20 Minutes, Serving all the nooks and crannies, Hadrian Park; Mullen Road etc.
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/55.01269...?entry=ttu - Visualisation of the loop for those who can't picture it (modified the 306 to do a bit of the 307).
It's basically how the 43/44/45/X10/X11 work between Newcastle and Cramlington via Gosforth.
Obviously it'll only work once franchising comes in though because of the operator differences.