X bus route numbers

[Ken H]

Are there any rules about what makes an X number. First in Yorkshire seem to apply it to any services that limit stops for part of the journey, which does not seem 'Express' to me. The X84 to Ilkley does not seem very 'Express' to me.
Should there be a rule and what should any minimum non stopping requirement be?

 

[Scotrail314209]

Stagecoach West Scotland's X36 service is limited stop from Ardrossan to Kilwinning, picks up all stops in the Garnock Valley until Beith before running non stop down the M8 to Glasgow City Centre.

The X77 is the same in which it's limited stop from Ayr to Prestwick Airport, before going non stop to Glasgow.

 

[Dai Corner]

There are some examples in This old thread

 

[RustySpoons]

For me a service number that is prefixed or suffixed with an 'X' should be express, either quicker than another service by taking a more direct route or only stopping at limited stops. I wouldn't class a bus that takes the most direct route but still stops at every stop an express service.

 

[carlberry]

Are there any rules about what makes an X number. First in Yorkshire seem to apply it to any services that limit stops for part of the journey, which does not seem 'Express' to me. The X84 to Ilkley does not seem very 'Express' to me.
Should there be a rule and what should any minimum non stopping requirement be?

First in Bristol decided X was short for Excel so it's applied to lots of stopping services between Bristol and North Somerset, none of which are express for longer than a bypass.

 

[Andyh82]

Are there any rules about what makes an X number. First in Yorkshire seem to apply it to any services that limit stops for part of the journey, which does not seem 'Express' to me. The X84 to Ilkley does not seem very 'Express' to me.
Should there be a rule and what should any minimum non stopping requirement be?

X84 used to have stopping restrictions in Inner Leeds, the first alighting stop/last boarding stop being a few miles out, and then observing all stops thereafter

The X63 between Bradford and Huddersfield uses the same concept at both ends of the route, observing all stops in the middle

 

[Kremlin Stooge]

I don’t know if an ‘X’ prefix can be exclusively used to designate an express bus service. It can also be part of a branding for a route or group of routes, such as the ‘Excel’-branded services running to and from Bristol into North Somerset and the Bristol Channel coastal towns. These have routes numbered from X1 to X9, but are not particularly “express”, except for the express version of the X1 which is numbered X1x.

Edit - just seen I’ve been ninja’d by carlberry above. Must type faster!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

There are some examples in This old thread

I was thinking that this hoary old chestnut had been done before...

The X can be a limited stop or express. As said by others, it can be short for Excel in North Somerset. Or in other spots, it can be a cross for cross country, as in Wiltshire.

The idea that it HAS to be for an express is a bit misleading and the idea that it has to have some sort of criteria. Minimum stops, minimum number of miles of limited stop status..... I think there are perhaps more important things to worry about.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think the basic idea of it is because you might have services 1, 2, 3 etc in two adjacent towns, and you don't want to confuse a service that goes between them for one of the local ones, so if you stick an X in front it is clearly a different route.

Generally used for express services of course, but those are the ones most likely to bridge two numbering schemes anyway.

The other way is to use high numbers like NatEx do.

 

[py_megapixel]

I think the basic idea of it is because you might have services 1, 2, 3 etc in two adjacent towns, and you don't want to confuse a service that goes between them for one of the local ones, so if you stick an X in front it is clearly a different route.

In Oxford, Stagecoach uses the letter S on their longer routes out of Oxford to other towns, for almost the same purpose. I believe it stands for Stagecoach - as it's Stagecoach's own route, rather than one shared with Go-Ahead. (Although Stagecoach do have some of their own, shorter-distance, routes without the prefix, such as the 16)

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

In Oxford, Stagecoach uses the letter S on their longer routes out of Oxford to other towns, for almost the same purpose. I believe it stands for Stagecoach - as it's Stagecoach's own route, rather than one shared with Go-Ahead. (Although Stagecoach do have some of their own, shorter-distance, routes without the prefix, such as the 16)

You believe wrong.

It’s a few years ago now but think it was something like “Select” - an enhanced quality product that predated Gold

 

[SouthEastBuses]

I don’t know if an ‘X’ prefix can be exclusively used to designate an express bus service. It can also be part of a branding for a route or group of routes, such as the ‘Excel’-branded services running to and from Bristol into North Somerset and the Bristol Channel coastal towns. These have routes numbered from X1 to X9, but are not particularly “express”, except for the express version of the X1 which is numbered X1x.

Edit - just seen I’ve been ninja’d by carlberry above. Must type faster!

Or the regular bus routes of a bus company in Hampshire called Xelabus.

 

[Bletchleyite]

You believe wrong.

It’s a few years ago now but think it was something like “Select” - an enhanced quality product that predated Gold

Fairly sure it stands for Saturn, as they played around for a bit with the Home Counties routes having space related themes to the naming/numbering, with each town getting a planet for their own mini network. Most of the prefixes have gone now but those ones seem to have stuck.

Edit: I can't find any pictures of the Saturn branding, but Bedford was Pluto (P prefixes):

Stagecoach Volvo Olympian NCME 16672 L672HNV in Bedford wearing "Pluto" route branding

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

www.flickr.com

 

[daodao]

a service number that is prefixed or suffixed with an 'X'

A service number that is suffixed with an 'X' to me means an extra bus or short working. It was widely used as such by Manchester Corporation Transport and its successors.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Fairly sure it stands for Saturn, as they played around for a bit with the Home Counties routes having space related themes to the naming/numbering, with each town getting a planet for their own mini network. Most of the prefixes have gone now but those ones seem to have stuck.

No - those were the Planets routes based in Bedfordshire; Saturn was Bedford to Luton, Mars was Bedford to Biggleswade, Jupiter was Bedford to Flitwick.

The S prefix, after a bit of research on Flickr, actually stood for Superior - see this photo (credit to photographer) https://www.flickr.com/photos/27379...3k-xh2bbw-23j19R4-jnvJZT-yZRFLJ-dsx26B-RCoRQK

I knew it was something that was defined a higher quality level before the Gold concept took hold.

 

[Jordan Adam]

Stagecoach Bluebird have had quite a notorious history with X numbers in recent years.

The first example is the X17 (Aberdeen-Westhill) which replaced the 215/216/217 in 2008, the X17 was not limited stop or express, rather hilariously the original branded buses on the service advertised "All Stops - Direct Route". It is generally believed that the X17 numbering was a marketing gimmick to make punters in the Woodend area think the X17 was faster than First's competing services, although this was not the case given they both take the exact same route and serve the exact same stops. A few months back the X17 was split in to two services and renumbered as the 5/6.

The second and even poorer example was the X20 (Aberdeen-Kintore-Kemnay-Alford) which was not limited stop or express either, making matters worse there was actually a limited stop and more direct variation that skipped Kintore numbered the 420! Thankfully in 2019 the numbers of these services were rectified after many years with the X20 becoming the 220 and the 420 becoming the X20.

 

[richw]

Where I grew up the X route was a limited stop version of the normal service working, so theoretically quicker than the non X route. Generally speaking though passengers don’t understand limited stop when the bus is from the same double decker fleet and will flag it down on every stop. Some drivers will work the limited stop to the letter, others would stop for anyone flagging them down anywhere which defeated the object of the limited stop fast service. I understand those drivers point of view that they never drive past a passenger hailing the bus at a stop.

 

[WM Bus]

X20/X21/X22 QE Hospital & University Fast to and from the City Centre.
X20 is limited stop/express on the Bristol Road, about to be withdrawn at the end of the month due to National Express cuts.
X21 and X22 are direct and fastest routes to QE Hospital and Unviersity. Not express/non stop for any vast distance. They serve all stops enroute (bar missing out 2 stops served by the 80 on Bath Row and Holloway Head)
platinum 6880 - 6889 are the current branded vehicles for the corridor for the time being, though that could change at the end of the month, when these service cuts happen on the 29th.
And it still remains to be seen what the new frequency/timetable for the X21/X22 will be.

 

[leedslad82]

Team Pennine have just announced the Wakefield to Holmfirth service is to be renumbered X1. But the X stands for explorer - it most definitely isn't an express or limited stop service.

 

[thesignalman]

Are there any rules about what makes an X number.

That was the inital question and the straight answer to that is a simple "no". Many above have illustrated that. Routes can be numbered any way the operator chooses.

One operator I have noticed uses an "F" prefix which after a lot of thought I suspect indicates "Fast". If it takes a lot of thought, it isn't a very good marketing technique!

John

 

[NorthOxonian]

You believe wrong.

It’s a few years ago now but think it was something like “Select” - an enhanced quality product that predated Gold

Though the S6 was renumbered after "Select" had disappeared - presumably for consistency with the other county routes (despite being operated by a different depot and at the time technically a different operator).

 

[Bletchleyite]

That was the inital question and the straight answer to that is a simple "no". Many above have illustrated that. Routes can be numbered any way the operator chooses.

One operator I have noticed uses an "F" prefix which after a lot of thought I suspect indicates "Fast". If it takes a lot of thought, it isn't a very good marketing technique!

F in the Luton area means "fast via the Busway", indeed there is or was lettering on the side of the bus indicating this.

Not fast in a railway sense i.e. non stop, but fast in the sense of faster than the parallel road.

 

[SeveerYeliab]

IMO an X route either means a limited stop express, or an all stops bus that takes a shorter amount of time than its 'non x' equivalent.

In my neck of the woods, Stagecoach South East have an Ashford - Maidstone 10X. It's in no way express, and the X actually means 'extension' , as buses on the Folkestone - Ashford 10 used to extend to Maidstone (no longer the case).
Personally, I liked the old way, where the extension to Maidstone was numbered 510, so isn't going to confuse any potential passengers who may think that the 10 and 10X go the same place.

 

[ALEMASTER]

As you mentioned South Yorkshire some contrasting examples from Sheffield..
Stagecoach X17 (Barnsley-Matlock) is limited stop throughout and also uses fast roads for part of the route like the M1 and Dronfield by-pass.
First X5 (Sheffield-Dinnington) is limited stop at the Sheffield end
First/TM Travel X54 (Sheffield-Harthill) observes all stops but uses fast roads like Sheffield Parkway (which has no bus stops on it) for part of the journey
Hulleys X57 (Sheffield-Manchester) is limited stop at the Manchester end
First X78 (Sheffield-Doncaster) observes all stops, uses normal roads and takes forever.. for me this one shouldn't really be an "X" route, it was once however the First South Yorkshire flagship service with a high frequency and branded vehicles.

 

[duncombec]

It's an interesting assumption that the letter has to mean something. Given that there is very little meaning in numbers, what is to say the inclusion of a letter always has a meaning, and indeed, always has the same meaning!
We've seen an example above, where Stagecoach Oxfordshire used 'S' for 'Superior', yet many counties (by no means all) have spent the last year using 'S' as a prefix for Scholars only.
To take the all stops X78 example above, what would have been the assumption had First decided to number it F78, or even Y78?

It's the same with suffixes - West Midlands has that use of an "E" suffix (for Exception, IIRC?)... does the uninitiated ask what happened to the A, B, C and D variants of the route, because surely to have an E you need the others to have got that high?

Whilst there is no doubt a letter prefix or suffix often has a meaning, we should be wary of immediately associating the same meaning to that prefix for every operator, everywhere.

 

[lincman]

In Manchester many years ago, an X suffix usually meant a short working of a route

 

[Statto]

It's an interesting assumption that the letter has to mean something. Given that there is very little meaning in numbers, what is to say the inclusion of a letter always has a meaning, and indeed, always has the same meaning!
We've seen an example above, where Stagecoach Oxfordshire used 'S' for 'Superior', yet many counties (by no means all) have spent the last year using 'S' as a prefix for Scholars only.
To take the all stops X78 example above, what would have been the assumption had First decided to number it F78, or even Y78?

It's the same with suffixes - West Midlands has that use of an "E" suffix (for Exception, IIRC?)... does the uninitiated ask what happened to the A, B, C and D variants of the route, because surely to have an E you need the others to have got that high?

Whilst there is no doubt a letter prefix or suffix often has a meaning, we should be wary of immediately associating the same meaning to that prefix for every operator, everywhere.

Agreed, my area Merseyside, E suffix was used for short journey's, others letters were variations of the main route, & the last year Merseyside has used S for school extra for the main commercial routes

Back in the day, Crosville renumbered most of there services into an alpha system, with the prefix letter given a designating area, such as A, Flintshire, B, Mold, & so on, although L was limited stop, & X, express, most of the Crosville X routes, passed to National Express, when National Express was formed.

Wilts & Dorset[or whatever they're called now] X means cross country

 

[NorthOxonian]

It's an interesting assumption that the letter has to mean something. Given that there is very little meaning in numbers, what is to say the inclusion of a letter always has a meaning, and indeed, always has the same meaning!
We've seen an example above, where Stagecoach Oxfordshire used 'S' for 'Superior', yet many counties (by no means all) have spent the last year using 'S' as a prefix for Scholars only.
To take the all stops X78 example above, what would have been the assumption had First decided to number it F78, or even Y78?

It's the same with suffixes - West Midlands has that use of an "E" suffix (for Exception, IIRC?)... does the uninitiated ask what happened to the A, B, C and D variants of the route, because surely to have an E you need the others to have got that high?

Whilst there is no doubt a letter prefix or suffix often has a meaning, we should be wary of immediately associating the same meaning to that prefix for every operator, everywhere.

The thing is though, letters shouldn't be misleading. Most of the time it's fine having a stopping service get an X label, but there are some cases where stopping services are prefixed X and expresses are not!

For example, in Hexham two of the routes to Newcastle are the X84 and the 685. You might think the X service is faster, but no - it's actually a lot slower due to going via Wylam. The X85 is a legitimately fast service which uses the main road for the entire run east of Corbridge (it was changed recently to take out the last of its village stops), but the X84 really isn't in the same league.

 

[AM9]

The thing is though, letters shouldn't be misleading. Most of the time it's fine having a stopping service get an X label, but there are some cases where stopping services are prefixed X and expresses are not!

For example, in Hexham two of the routes to Newcastle are the X84 and the 685. You might think the X service is faster, but no - it's actually a lot slower due to going via Wylam. The X85 is a legitimately fast service which uses the main road for the entire run east of Corbridge (it was changed recently to take out the last of its village stops), but the X84 really isn't in the same league.

In an unregulated bus environment,'X' (or any other letter) is just a branding tool. Unless prospective passengers know the difference that specific letters convey, they shouldn't assume anything. Regulation would obviously be able to fix that - and many other problems created by a lack of regulation.

 

[ALEMASTER]

It's an interesting assumption that the letter has to mean something. Given that there is very little meaning in numbers, what is to say the inclusion of a letter always has a meaning, and indeed, always has the same meaning!
We've seen an example above, where Stagecoach Oxfordshire used 'S' for 'Superior', yet many counties (by no means all) have spent the last year using 'S' as a prefix for Scholars only.
To take the all stops X78 example above, what would have been the assumption had First decided to number it F78, or even Y78?

It's the same with suffixes - West Midlands has that use of an "E" suffix (for Exception, IIRC?)... does the uninitiated ask what happened to the A, B, C and D variants of the route, because surely to have an E you need the others to have got that high?

Whilst there is no doubt a letter prefix or suffix often has a meaning, we should be wary of immediately associating the same meaning to that prefix for every operator, everywhere.

I'd judge based on what traditionally is used in that particular area. In Sheffield typically:

X - limited stop
M - local minibus
6 - works service
7 - school service
9 - night bus

and more recently SL - Supertram link