(25 Dec 2012, 11:08 am)Daniel wrote In regards to the X9:
Current suggestions have been to run it from Sunderland - to provide those who live in that area with a link to either Middlesbrough (both Josh and I suggested this) or Newcastle (which I also suggested). If the withdrawal of the X3 does go through, I could only imagine that this would be an even better idea. Running it from Peterlee, I can't agree with. One already serves Peterlee, neither serve Sunderland at present. Perhaps would be nice to see it link up to Hartlepool too, but if it ever managed to go from Sunderland, it couldn't happen. That would drastically increase the PVR of the route, and Go North East just don't have the sufficient amount of vehicles to do so. Not only that, but people's journey time would be dramatically increased too. Those wanting to travel from Newcastle to Boro would perhaps have to get the one beforehand to get there at the same time as they do now (or perhaps even the one before that)!
As would routing the X9/X10 to serve Sunderland, which will NEVER happen for 3 very good reasons:
1) The main selling point about the service is that it is more direct, stops closer to the shops in Newcastle and runs more frequencly that the train between Newcastle and Middlesbrough. It's also cheaper than driving a car up there.
2) The increase in the number of vehicles needed, plus your 'assumed' running time, would make the route unprofitable. Also, your estimated running time 'in both directions' would take the route behond both the European Driving hours limit (4hr 30 mins) and the domestic driving hours limit (5hr 30 mins) before the driver must have his/her break. As the X9/X10 is operated by buses fitted with Tachographs, it's covered by the European drivers hours, so as such the drivers can just 9 hours a day, which means they could in theory do 3 round trips on either the X9 or X10 during the day now.
3) The volume of passengers travelling between Teesside and Sunderland would not jusitfy the re-routing. Plus, diverting it would drive people away as they wouldn't want to be sat on a bus for anymore than 2 hours (hence why Arriva's X93 is busy in the summer compared to the 5, the X93 does Middlesbrough-Whitby in just over an hour, the 5 takes 2 hours).
Add to the fact, the X10 has never served Sunderland. Even in the days on joint operation with United on both Newcastle-Middlesbrough routes (Northern also operated certain journeys on the X1), it has never served the city. Also, when the suggestion has been mentioned previously to Go North East on Facebook, they have turned it down for the reasons mentioned above plus the lose of the 10 minutes (20 on certain afternoon trips) 'turn around' at both end of the route.
So, in short, it's a pipe dream that will stay as such.