(07 Mar 2026, 10:13 pm)Storx wrote The 1 and 36 are totally different though, the first one is the only bus service through the Clarences and the second one does multiple short journeys like Billingham to Norton aswell. They're also the only service between the bits. Not to mention the 1 links Seaton Carew seafront to Teesside for days out etc.
There's nothing inbetween other than Dalton Park either, and that alone won't stack it up. It's the Peterlee to Hartlepool bit that's the problem as the 23/24 is every 15 minutes and you're never going to compete against it.
GNE have attempted links to Sunderland before and they literally got withdrawn as no-one used it.
Once franchising comes in, there's definitely arguments for merging the X6/23 though imo.
I disagree, I think there's space for both the 23 and X6. Arriva deciding it needs to make passengers get off and get another bus will be something hopefully franchising gets rid of. Maybe even something more sensible like the 23 serving Seaham Harbour too making the 24 a fast option again and potentially binning the X6 entirely. In reality the main reason the 23 was withdrawn to Sunderland was because it was inconvenient for Arriva to run with no East Durham base and mainly in "GNE territory", franchising would mean it could be based out of one of the Sunderland depots and not matter who's territory it goes through, then it might make sense again.