On a walk through Gosforth this morning I saw 5498 on the 0749 Q3X. It went past the Brunton Park stop with the 49 just behind, and neither looked to stop. As I walked past the stop 30 seconds later, there was about 8 people waiting for a bus of some description - they most certainly didn't all get there in the 30 seconds between 5498 passing and me walking past.

The 49 was terminating at Regent Centre, so I understand the logic behind not getting that, but the Q3X would have taken every single person waiting into Newcastle (which is where I assume they were going). Is there an assumption from the public that the Q3X takes the same route as the Q3, and as such they'd prefer to wait for an Arriva service to town? Does the peak-only nature of it mean that people are happy to let it pass and get an Arriva service which they can buy a return ticket on?

The decision to perform the loop in the direction that it does also means that it omits the Glamis Avenue stop, which always seems to have people waiting for a bus.

It doesn't seem like the thought process behind the Q3/Q3X changes was sanity checked by anyone with any understanding of the busy stops in the area, or what people actually want. The Q3X, in particular, seems like a waste of time when for all bar 2 stops people will be better off getting either an Arriva express or a 43/44/45.