Trivia: When 'X' doesn't stand for 'Xpress

[CatfordCat]

And is some fifteen minutes faster. The 4 and X4 leave Bracknell bus station within minutes of each other but the X4's route gets it 15 mins in front by the time it gets to Wokingham, so in this case is highlights the faster journey.

in theory at least - when Reading Buses took over the route (both variants of which were route 90 under First Berkshire) it was more usual to get 2 buses together every 30 minutes on the western end of the route...

it seems to be better now that Reading Buses have had a couple of attempts at revising the timetable / schedules.

I'm not arguing about it being quicker between Bracknell and Wokingham, as it has the more direct route, but as per the original question, it's not limited stop or express.

Thinking about it, the 4 (but not the X4) arguably has a brief 'express' section without bus stops on the A 329 dual carriageway between the Coppid Beech and Jennetts Park roundabouts...

 

[Lynford1976]

Stagecoach South East's 10X (Ashford - Maidstone) route is so numbered because it's an extension of the 10 between Ashford and Folkestone.

The entire route was historically all numbered 10. In NBC days it went even further west to Sevenoaks!

 

[backontrack]

Stagecoach South East's 10X (Ashford - Maidstone) route is so numbered because it's an extension of the 10 between Ashford and Folkestone.

The entire route was historically all numbered 10. In NBC days it went even further west to Sevenoaks!

At a time, Ashford to Maidstone was 510.

At that time, the 1 Canterbury-Ashford bus was much less frequent and was called the 652. The 2 from Ashford to Tenterden/Rolvenden was called the 400, and what was the 295 is now the 2A.

 

[johnnychips]

The X78 in South Yorkshire is one I can think of - which stops at every stop, and also diverts off the main road between Rotherham and Doncaster to serve Conisbrough.

Hear hear! Not just a straightforward route through Conisbrough either: from the Doncaster end you are about 500m from rejoining the main road to Sheffield, the A630, when the bus turns left back on itself to serve an estate.

Older readers may remember the X77/277 which stuck to the A630, just touching the edge of Conisbrough. Even older readers may remember when it was Limited Stop - certainly in Doncaster it was roughly every other stop.

 

[pompeyfan]

First Solent's X4 and X5 are the least express service there is. I can't remember the reasoning why they ended up with an X prefix.

 

[90sWereBetter]

Ipswich Buses have an X1, X2, X3 and X5. The X3 and X5 were introduced as "fast" services complimenting the existing route 3 (Ravenswood) and 5 (Foxhall Road/Hospital), mostly to prevent First getting a foothold on these services in 2012. It's a bit weird that they've kept these services numbered as such since they've withdrawn the 3, and combined the 5 into the 11 and 6 (renumbering as routes 6/6a).

The X1 is a copy of First's 61 to the Greenwich estate, whilst the X2 is a peak hours only "fast" service to the estate.

That being said, First introduced an X7 service between Ipswich and Felixstowe last year, which runs directly down the A14 to Felixstowe. It's to compete with the rail service.

 

[Hophead]

Around the Eastleigh area, there's a small network of routes with an X prefix. In this instance, that would appear to mean "operated by Xelabus" (a local independent who have inherited some of the former Velvet & Brijan services amongst others.

 

[SCH117X]

Just recalled an amusing take on this, when the X59 ran between Harrogate and Skipton, all stops / on request apart from last few miles into Skipton where Pennine operated a commercial service, it was described by in the local rag by a Councillor as being a X numbered service because North Yorks CC funded it! The fact that other NYCC funded services were not X numbered was completely overlooked.

 

[Tetchytyke]

IIRC X18 was historically the 418, becoming the X18 in the early 1980s as between Newcastle and Morpeth it was faster than the 414/5 via Wideopen. It then had a spell as the 518

These days it's a fairly recent branding decision from Arriva, with all the buses from Newcastle to south east Northumberland being given X numbers. Some genuinely are express services on their way out of Newcastle. Some, like the x7/x8, are limited stop for all of 2.5 miles to South Gosforth. Its the same with Stagecoach's X63 and 22X.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Stagecoach South East's 10X (Ashford - Maidstone) route is so numbered because it's an extension of the 10 between Ashford and Folkestone.

The entire route was historically all numbered 10. In NBC days it went even further west to Sevenoaks!

Surely it should be 10A?

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

These days it's a fairly recent branding decision from Arriva, with all the buses from Newcastle to south east Northumberland being given X numbers. Some genuinely are express services on their way out of Newcastle. Some, like the x7/x8, are limited stop for all of 2.5 miles to South Gosforth. Its the same with Stagecoach's X63 and 22X.

Not that recent - it was the X18 for about 20 years before becoming the 518. The history was it was the X18 as it was "express" from Newcastle to Morpeth whereas it was the 418 on evenings and Sundays as it stopped at Wideopen.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

That was 1986 but dereg saw it go and the X18 was the sole number, all being limited stop from Newcastle to High Clifton. Oddly, the other fast routes to Morpeth kept their traditional 501/505 rather than gain X numbers until, as you say, the recent changes and Max numbers/rebrand.

 

[Ian Hardy]

First West of England's X39 Bristol - Bath the only express bit is the part along Keynsham bypass, but as there are not any bus stops along that bit of the A4, the X39 stops at all bus stops along its route.

Grimsby Cleethorpes Transport had the 4X to Laceby & the 9X to Waltham which had no express sections; they were just a suffix to the main route.

Xelabus of Eastleigh - all their routes are X1 etc for obvious reasons.

Ian Hardy

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

First West of England's X39 Bristol - Bath the only express bit is the part along Keynsham bypass, but as there are not any bus stops along that bit of the A4, the X39 stops at all bus stops along its route.

True, but it is an express version, missing out the sun drenched delights of Keynsham. Compared to the 38, it is almost warp factor in its speed

 

[nottinghamcity]

Again, a bit off topic but Nottingham City Transport have generally used "A" as alternative route, "B" as terminates before normal terminal and "C" continues past normal terminal.

 

[CatfordCat]

Again, a bit off topic but Nottingham City Transport have generally used "A" as alternative route, "B" as terminates before normal terminal and "C" continues past normal terminal.

Is that a fairly recent thing? (I'm a bit out of touch with Nottingham) I have an idea that at one time, a C suffix was a City Centre terminating bus on what was normally a cross-city route (there weren't many of them - I'm thinking early 90s)

And I suspect this is too subtle for the general public!

I remember one or two London routes in the 80s (228 in the Eltham area is the only one I can be sure of) where the 228A was anti-clockwise and the 228C was clockwise, but not sure many people got this...

 

[Alex 2901]

X64 "limited stop" along Bristol Road towards Q E Hospital & Selly Oak then all stops to Woodgate via Weoley Castle and Kitwell. Slower than the 23, which had to go via Harborne & California sometimes!

(X64 is Birmingham to Woodgate via Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Kitwell)

 

[nottinghamcity]

Is that a fairly recent thing? (I'm a bit out of touch with Nottingham) I have an idea that at one time, a C suffix was a City Centre terminating bus on what was normally a cross-city route (there weren't many of them - I'm thinking early 90s)

Yes the Cs were the shorts on the cross city services. NCT radically recast services in 2001, severing all cross city routes, and it was at that stage the new A, B and C conversation came about. It isn't widely used now.

 

[Statto]

GMPTE land GM Buses era X was for extra service, & express routes had numbers without prefix X.

Ribble express routes were 7xx although some did have prifix X.

In the West Midlands express routes are in the 9xx series although some are in the X series.

 

[Wolvercoter]

Stagecoach South West run a service X in Exeter which isn't express. It's a early morning special, along with service Y and service Z.

 

[CatfordCat]

GMPTE land GM Buses era X was for extra service, & express routes had numbers without prefix X.

Pity - you could have ended up with a short working on an express route being an X1X or similar



I think Crosville did manage to have some journeys that had prefix and suffix letters - their route numbering (from the 50s) being based on prefix letters for areas and one or two digit numbers

Yes the Cs were the shorts on the cross city services. NCT radically recast services in 2001, severing all cross city routes, and it was at that stage the new A, B and C conversation came about. It isn't widely used now.

Thanks. I've not been that frequent a visitor to Nottingham since about 2002, so I must have missed that...

 

[SCH117X]

I think Crosville did manage to have some journeys that had prefix and suffix letters

There is Connexions X6A in Harrogate (referred to earlier in the thead). Not a X service but Harrogate & District had a B1A, running the opposite way around a balloon looping section of route served by the B1 (now with some variance Trandevs 2A)

 

[TC60054]

I've just remembered about Manchester's X82 which ran between Milnrow and Manchester, supposedly as a faster alternative to the 182 - however the X82 was limited stop, but went around extra estates that the other routes didn't.

Suffice to say, I don't think the route lasted long.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

In the mid 1980s, United Auto had both an X24 Newcastle to Blyth AND a 24X Darlington to Colburn (near Catterick Garrison)

Those were the days when United Auto assiduously tried to avoid having any duplication of numbers.

 

[Martin2012]

The X49 Bristol to Yate service offers a quicker journey between Bristol and Mangotsfield than the 49 does because it uses the M32 as opposed to running via Easton.

However it takes considerably longer to reach Yate than the other routes(46,47,X46 and X47)

 

[Statto]

Pity - you could have ended up with a short working on an express route being an X1X or similar



I think Crosville did manage to have some journeys that had prefix and suffix letters - their route numbering (from the 50s) being based on prefix letters for areas and one or two digit numbers



Thanks. I've not been that frequent a visitor to Nottingham since about 2002, so I must have missed that...

In 1959 when Crosville renumbered non jointly operated every route with a prefix letter so Crosville express routes were Lxx[Limited Stop] rather than Xxx.


Crosville did have routes like H7X, which was variation of the H7 which diverted via Huyton trading estate.


I have 2 Crosville timetable books from 1977 which covers the whole of the Crosville area.