(06 Oct 2025, 6:18 pm)DaveFromUpNorth wrote I would create a simplified service with a new ticket
The new ticket would be called the X lines Plus ticket...
It works similar to a transfare ticket however create an X line service say Stops Stanley Sunniside Tanfield Lea Metrocentre Newcastle
only stopping at certain stops. make it express /direct/ quick
There is another service that is longer and stops at every stop and goes off into villages etc... but with the ticket it means that passengers can get off and get on the express bus and vice verser.
It would be ambitious and useful if feeder buses stopped at the stop until the express service arrived and "swapped passengers"
Next stop announcement and tracking could be tweaked to say the next slower service is 3 Minutes behind this bus and this bus will arrive at Stanley 11mins quicker than service X
Even known it's an interesting idea, I'm not really sure it's needed.
Like just picking out routes you could easily do something like
43: X73 Route, but flip it with the 6 between Tantobie Crossroads and the Pack Horse giving Burnopfield a much faster route to Metrocentre / Newcastle (Every 30 Minutes, Hourly Evenings / Sunday)
44: Current 6 route, again flip it with the X73 between Tantobie Crossroads and the Pack Horse giving Stanley a faster Metrocentre link (Hourly All Day / Sunday)
44A: Same route as above, but via Hobson rather than Tanfield (Hourly Daytimes)
X30: Via Gateshead, otherwise no changes (Hourly Daytime)
X31: Via Gateshead, otherwise no changes (Hourly Daytime)
X32: Withdrawn
X70: Run direct between Dipton and Burnopfield, otherwise no changes (Hourly Daytime)
X71: Via Gateshead, otherwise no changes (Hourly Daytimes, Every 2 Hours Evening / Sunday)
X72: Withdrawn, replaced by 43/44
X73: Withdrawn, replaced by 43/44
X40: Consett - Leadgate - Non Stop - Annfield Plain - Stanley - Non Stop - Sunniside - Lobley Hill - Non Stop (via A184) - Newcastle (Hourly All Day / Sunday) - Map of route
X301: Newcastle to Whickham via X30/X31/X71 route then do the 301 loop round Whickham (Every 20 Minutes, Hourly Evenings/Sunday)
It's not a million miles away from where things are now but the main towns would get the new X40 giving the fastest links between them and Newcastle with the main towns of Stanley and Consett supplemented with the X30/X31/X70/X71.
All the villages are then covered by the new 43/44 which is basically just the 6/X73 anyway and everywhere has an evening service with the same route as their daily service which isn't the case right now.