(31 Dec 2014, 3:46 pm)Jimmi wrote Problem with that is you have two services to Durham leaving from two different places, and are both a bit of a walk from each other and one is not exactly a pleasant looking area and people would not know where to go. Also having the X21 leave Eldon Square towards Durham but not the 21 could mean more people would turn to the X2.
As far as I am aware, the Angel carries far more passengers than any other service in the North East. It is for this reason why I think Go North East is reluctant to make any changes to service 21, in case of any loss of patronage to competitors as a result of a possible bad decision.
Arriva is currently refurbishing buses to "MAX" specification, featuring the provision of free Wi-Fi and e-leather seats, for allocation to services X1/X2 (the latter of which, as you know, competes with Go North East's 21/X21 services). Arriva will quite rightly expect market growth from this upgrade in specification, and there is a pretty limited scope from which the market growth can come from... Go North East management isn't stupid, and will appreciate that there's a possibility for loss of custom, so I think they'll know that they can't sit back for much longer.