(1 hour ago)Nerd4321 wrote So the 3 started today
Seems the 2nd morning journey is the only service to interwork with the X30. The first run seems to go bavk to Blyth and do the 3rd run.
Thought Ive noticed something is that the first journey is timed 4 minutes after the X9 is. Which kinda confuses me as why would you time a service to the station 4 minutes behind a route that people are more than likely gonna get on first and just walk to the station
The evening services just seem to come off whatever is available
I suspect the arrival time at the station on the morning peak is the key driver of what time the bus runs, along with where the bus needs to drop back in afterward.
Arriving around 15 minutes before the train feels sensible, which is what the 3 looks to be doing.
The X9 currently arrives at the end of the road when the Newcastle-bound train is due for most of the day, at 15 and 45 minutes past. Its unlikely to be attractive at those times. Arguably, it needs to run around 10 minutes earlier to be a viable connection option throughout the day, in both directions to be honest.
I would hazard a guess that the fact the morning X9 runs on top of the 3 is probably more linked to the extra time the X9 needs to get into Newcastle at the other end of the route, after all, if it was on its normal headway, they would be almost evenly spaced.