(Today, 12:40 am)PH - BQA wrote The 14:30 306 left 10 mins late though, so there was (at most) a 15 minute gap between that leaving and the 14:58/15:03 307/308 starting to board passengers at 14:55. I thought I had saw something leaving in the direction of St. Mary's Place on my way into Haymarket at 14:50, but I may have been mistaken. 

So, if there were missing runs, essentially in the 20 mins between 7507 leaving at 14:40, and the 307/308 leaving just after 15:00, enough passengers had accumulated to more than fill 2 deckers. Most of the ones headed in had decent loads too, and on my way back in the ones leaving looked just as busy. 

I'm really not sure if 3 BPH is enough to be honest, that's slicing the frequency in half? Certainly the past few times over the past year where I've used the 308/309 they've had good loads on that section of the route, and to me they definitely justify the current frequency. That corridor is one which, for years, has been plagued by issues with congestion, the answer needs to be in improving the appeal of public transport (through quicker links, as an example) rather than slicing it and giving people yet more reasons to move to a car.

Aye not surprised they would full to be fair. 30 - 40 is probably the usual loads I'd say around at that time. Add a few shoppers in and I could see them being full. 

Probably agree with 3 BPH, 4 BPH is probably the sweet spot.

Personally I don't actually disagree with an express service but I'd be tempted to have it 4 BPH doing the 309 route from Blyth to Cobalt then running non stop from there. 

Then I'd probably just try and do something like

X38: Every 30 Minutes, Newcastle - Limited Stop - Silverlink - Cobalt - Whitley Bay - Seaton Sluice - Ridley Park - Blyth
X39: Every 30 Minutes, Same route as above Newcastle to South Beach into Blyth via 309 Route
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306: Every 20 Minutes, Newcastle to Whitley Bay via Selby Gardens
307: Every 20 Minutes via Selby Gardens
308: Every 20 Minutes, Newcastle to Whitley Bay only
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350/351 Loop, Both Every 30 Minutes (BSIP Funded): Newcastle - Wiltshire Drive - East Benton - Benton ASDA - Holystone New Estate Only - Northumberland Park - West Allotment - Cobalt - Silverlink - Hadrian Park - Battle Hill - Mullen Drive - Newcastle
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38 or 355 (BSIP Funded), Extended to Whitley Bay via Holystone Village and 351 to Route to Whitley Bay
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341 (335), Run to Wallsend instead of Hadrian Park offering 30 Minute service combined from ASDA to Wallsend. 
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Current 351 Withdrawn
19 Shorts Withdrawn or all extended to Cramlington (Replaced by 350/351 for important part)
W2 Withdrawn replaced by 355 or 38

It's probably enough resources for the corridors if you have all the long distance travel on the new express corridor winning them over and also improves areas around East Benton and Holystone which have a dire service currently as an understatement.