(05 Mar 2026, 9:39 pm)220631612 wrote I’m a bit late jumping into the party but I’d heavily argue Stagecoach have showed the most commercial innovation out of all the major North East Operator's. The Seasider between NorthShields and Whitley Bay had great potential but thwarted by COVID. Obviously the X24 has been their major success story in recent years too. Although the X55 wasn’t a success they still made a go of it. And more recently as well the 37 to Cramlington seems to be performing relatively well too. Is there room for more? Absolutely. But as things stand Stagecoach have certainly taken more successful commercial innovative risks than any other North East Operators in the last decade. I’d argue the next step would be to introduce a Sunderland-Hartlepool-Middlesbrough service to bridge that gap, perhaps numbered X14 or X44 to help bridge the gap and allow for the Hartlepool 1 to be ran more efficiently.
Have to admit it did strike me as insane when in Eldon Square around the time of Hartlepool Tall Ships a couple of years ago seeing Nexus signs proudly stating "There are no direct bus services to Hartlepool" then giving you options of changes at Dalton Park or wherever. I dont have a clue how direct/quick/frequent/cheap rail options are but the fact there's no direct bus service to key towns from cities like Newcastle and (even less links) Sunderland is testament to how inadequate the bus network is these days to support any meaningful level of modal shift.