Arriva Launches X1 in Competition with OK1

 NK09 BPU one of the 09 registered Arriva Pulsars being used on the new service  © Steven Hodgson

To celebrate the launch of their new X1- 'the best one service' on 13 February, in competition with the recently introduced OK1, Arriva launched their new route in the centre of Darlington.
According to their press release, http://arrivabus.co.uk/content.aspx?id=17101 "they brought a little bit of Hollywood glamour to Darlington, as their Marilyn Monroe lookalike took to the red carpet at Joseph Pease Place today.  The service’s team of dedicated drivers were on hand to show Marilyn the kind of star treatment all our passengers can expect when they travel on the X1."

Nigel Featham, managing director of Arriva North East said: “We are excited to be launching the new X1 service in Darlington. It allows us to offer an express service that will run alongside our existing 1/1B route. Our passengers will soon benefit from four buses per hour on the Crook – Bishop Auckland – Darlington corridor throughout the day on Monday through to Saturdays.”

 NK09 BPU again in Darlington © Steven Hodgson

The Arriva service competes with the recently introduced OK1 which runs from Crook to Bishop Auckland, West Auckland and Darlington, every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes.
http://www.simplygo.com/our-services/the-ok-expressway/
The OK1 was launched a few weeks ago, so has had time to build up a loyal customer base and Go North East offer very competitive pricing via their Keycard scheme although Arriva offer day tickets, so it will be interesting to see whether the new Arriva service can attract business.

David Gambles