(Yesterday, 10:48 am)Storx wrote Are many people going end to end though?

The X9/X10 cuts the intermediate links like Peterlee to Stockton or Billingham to Dalton Park for example, which I'm sure some people would want. 

imo it should've have been something that should've been looked at under BSIP, with a short Peterlee to Newcastle service and doubling the frequency of two major areas without a reasonable rail link or alternative buses unlike the other towns. Even if it was only peak times.

I often did - with multiple bus journeys both before and after my X9/X10 journey, it made sense to have an Explorer ticket.  Any use of rail on top of that is an added expense that, when you have an Explorer, is unnecessary.

I do get that it's a trade-off between cost and speed, though.