(21 Dec 2014, 4:35 pm)markydh wrote The Q3, which is replacing the X40, will be wholly subsidised as it is funded through the Great Park association. The NEXUS funding works the same way it does for Stagecoach's peripheral services in Newcastle such as the 15/15A i.e. part of the route is commercial and part of it is sunsidised. And yes, ANY service which receives public money is not wholly commercial (not counting BSOG). It's an important distinction.

Key word in bold!

Very very few services in Tyne & Wear are wholly commercial, as Nexus often contributes funding towards evening/night journeys which wouldn't otherwise operate. Even as enthusiasts, we usually think of these services as commercially operated given that the majority is paid for by the bus operators and they receive the associated profits...
I'd imagine that it will be a similar story for local councils in other counties, and Nexus isn't the only party to do this in the region.

The current Q1/Q2 services, during the daytime, will be fully paid for by Go North East and operated commercially. Go North East therefore controls the frequency of the services during the daytime, and can choose to run these services around their already established network of commercially-operated services, should they choose to. The small amount of funding Nexus will contribute will decrease each year, making this less of an initial commercial risk to Go North East. You are right in suggesting that the new Q3 will not be commercial, although this was fairly obvious given that the X40 is not commercially operated at present.