(17 Mar 2014, 9:02 pm)aureolin wrote I'd scrap the first half of the route (Newcastle to Durham), as it's done to death down that corridor with the 21, X21, and Arriva X2. Instead, ensure a connection with the X21 from Bishop, on to Newcastle.
I think if you ran with Durham to Peterlee, stopping at Gilesgate, but then non-stop to Peterlee bus station via the B1283, B1280, and B1320, I think it'd work really well. You could probably do that in 30 minutes, as oppose to the fastest service at present - Arriva 24 at 47 minutes. From Peterlee, you have a fast connection to Sunderland and to Boro via the X7, but the "X37" could provide a limited stop service on to Hartlepool via the coast road, serving Horden, Black Hall, and then terminating at the Marina.
If it were me, I'd terminate it at Peterlee just to provide further express services in the Peterlee area - I really don't think that a higher frequency is needed Peterlee to Hartlepool.
I'm unsure how well a direct Durham to Peterlee service would work though - I'd assume it would be hourly if you tried to get it on a PVR of 1. The only thing which would make it more attractive compared to the 24 would be the faster journey time, and you could also argue the onward GNE connections too.