(27 Oct 2022, 7:22 am)busmanT But you can't "turn the clock back" 36 years just like that!!

37 years ago there wasn't Sunday trading; there weren't out of town business parks; there weren't large housing estates being built well away from main bus routes'; there wasn't work from home - nearly everyone travelled 5 days a week to a relatively local job, whereas now many people travel 20-30 miles each way per day to work. Large numbers of people were employed in heavy industry with works buses providing transport (steel works, coal mines, Team Valley et al). 

If you are not in your mid 50s you can't really remember pre-deregulation - let's not forget that deregulation (36 years - 1986 to 2022) has lasted longer than the PTE/NBC era (17 years - 1969 to 1986) and the Nationalised (BTC/THC) era (21 years - 1948 to 1969).

(27 Oct 2022, 9:26 am)Rob44 I always chuckle when people mention places like team valley. What exactly can you buy there that you don't need a private car/van to take home. You cant get a lawn moor from homebased on. Or a 3 tv from curry's.  Hell on some buses there isn't even anywhere to put a couple of carrier bags of shopping due to the metro tray been place in the luggage bit

(27 Oct 2022, 9:34 am)Andreos1 Clothes? Kettle? Trainers? Laptop? Printer ink? Windscreen wipers? All from Retail World. 

Shopping from Sainsburys.

Plus getting to and from work for the thousands who work there.

(27 Oct 2022, 10:30 am)Rob44 If i was using a bus for any of these items i would either go to the metro Centre or Newcastle. If i was using the car i'd go there or metro centre due to free parking.
As for Sainsburys are you suggesting doing your weekly shop and having to hump 4, 6 or 8 bags from the entrance to the bus stop for starters, then have nowhere to put it when you get on?  If your only going to Sainsbury for milk and bread fair enough but surely then you'd just go local and pay the premium to the local shop keeper rather thanGNE?

I just think increasing buses to the likes of the " centre" ofteam valley wouldn't make more people go there.  If it would surely the landlord of the valley would maybe incentivize more buses to be re-routed there?  Its a car based retail park, just like many others and it hasn't got anything there that you cant get in gateshead, newcastle or metro centre which all have better bus connections and more choice of shop when you get there

(27 Oct 2022, 10:49 am)streetdeckfan I pretty much exclusively go to the Team Valley by bus, because parking is a bloody nightmare! Anything big I always get on Home Delivery anyway as it's less of a faff.

We used to have an office on the Team Valley for the distribution side of the business, and of the 5 people that worked there, only one of them had a car, the rest used the bus.

I'd also argue that Team Valley is better than Newcastle for shopping if you were using the bus. Unless what you wanted was in Eldon Square (which it won't be, because it's crap), then you'll be trekking all over Newcastle!

Metrocentre isn't all it's cracked up to be either, unless you want overpriced clothes made by the same sweatshop workers as Primark, then there's nowt there either!

(27 Oct 2022, 10:59 am)Rob44 Well your the only person i know who does that.  Im not sure how you can argue that team valley is better then newcastle??  Can i get a burger king at team valley?  Can i go to the pictures to see Black adam?  Can i go to an arcage to play space invaders or and adult arcade to play fruitmachines?  Can i buy a football top ( without giving fat mike) any money.  Can i have  a pint?  Can i buy a phone from ee, or vodaphone shop?  Can i use my big mac and fries for 1.99 bus ticket at McDonalds? i get a tattoo?

Im also not sure where you get parking is a nightmare from as when i do go in the car its alway fine for me?

I wonder if we are talking about 2 different place?

(27 Oct 2022, 12:20 pm)streetdeckfan Can i get a burger king at team valley? 
Why would you want to get a Burger King? They're the worst of the fast food chains! 

Can i go to the pictures to see Black adam?  Can i go to an arcage to play space invaders or and adult arcade to play fruitmachines? 
I was talking purely about the shopping aspect.

Can i buy a football top ( without giving fat mike) any money. 
No, but why would you. Just buy some proper clothes. 

Can i have  a pint? 
Probably not, but I'd hope you'd be able to last a few hours without one.

Can i buy a phone from ee, or vodaphone shop? 
EE used to be there, but not anymore (I don't think). Vodafone is crap, but at there's O2! (Vodafone actually use O2's network anyway given their mast sharing agreement - O2 manages the east, Vodafone manages the west) You can also go to Carphone Warehouse in Currys if you wanted.

Can i use my big mac and fries for 1.99 bus ticket at McDonalds?
No idea, but if you go to mcdfoodforthoughts.com, click that you don't have the receipt, tap the next button a few times until it lets you through, then fill in the survey with whatever you want, you'll get a £1.99 voucher that you can use anywhere, even if you order on the app (tap more, scan voucher, and type in the code).

i get a tattoo?
Probably not.

(27 Oct 2022, 10:30 am)Rob44 If i was using a bus for any of these items i would either go to the metro Centre or Newcastle. If i was using the car i'd go there or metro centre due to free parking.
As for Sainsburys are you suggesting doing your weekly shop and having to hump 4, 6 or 8 bags from the entrance to the bus stop for starters, then have nowhere to put it when you get on?  If your only going to Sainsbury for milk and bread fair enough but surely then you'd just go local and pay the premium to the local shop keeper rather thanGNE?

I just think increasing buses to the likes of the " centre" ofteam valley wouldn't make more people go there.  If it would surely the landlord of the valley would maybe incentivize more buses to be re-routed there?  Its a car based retail park, just like many others and it hasn't got anything there that you cant get in gateshead, newcastle or metro centre which all have better bus connections and more choice of shop when you get there

(27 Oct 2022, 1:52 pm)Rob44 I believe its sharing rather than one company using the other https://www.apwireless.co.uk/o2-and-vodafone-mast-sharing-completed-by-the-end-of-2017/

(27 Oct 2022, 2:29 pm)Andreos1 But doesn't it depend on people's circumstances?

Someone on Lobley Hill might be able to pop to the Metrocentre, Gateshead or Newcastle or even their local shop - but Sainsburys, Team Valley or their office/workplace, is literally at the bottom of the street.

When I last worked on the Valley, I had a colleague who lived on Saltwell Road. 
It was two buses and a walk, or a walk (they didn't drive).
The time I worked on the Valley prior to that (different employer), a colleague lived on the Racecourse Estate and needed to be at the far end of Kingsway.

They're literally the other side of the railway line to the workplace.

Despite the proximity, it is almost impossible to get to the majority of the Valley unless you take a hike or change bus. 
Or drive, clog up roads and delay buses etc.

(27 Oct 2022, 7:35 am)Economic505 That’s why I said ‘something akin to 1986’ , recognising there are differences. I remember deregulation well. I was 13 at the time.

(27 Oct 2022, 2:41 pm)Rob44 TBH i do agreed with you but.... in my option ( and it mnens nowt) there is nothing on team valley ( retail bit) that you cant get to more easily on the bus to metrocentre / gateshead/ toon.  Ok you could buy your new sofa at scs but you could alos do that at the metrocentre.

Work is different, although i would imagine anyone taking a job down there without the means of private transport would look at how they are going to get there.  I'm sure a few on here can guess where live and work within the gateshead area from my previous posts.  If i want to get to work its  a 30minute trip via 2 buses ( if they connect and on a evening after 7pm its 1 hour 30. Its 12 minutes in the car.  When i first started work i lived in Hazlerigg so had the commute of bus, metro bus or bus to town then bus again. I didn't care that it took me an hour as its the only way i could do it. Now, if i had to do it due to whatever reason It would kill me to use the bus .

(28 Oct 2022, 1:31 pm)Michael PB0002404/89
Variation BUSWAYS TRAVEL SERVICES LTD X34 (X34) Newcastle,Pilgrim Street Horsley Hill
Effective date: 20 Nov 2022

Linked to it moving back to South Shields.

Edit:

Wonder if any other changes will appear?

(28 Oct 2022, 1:48 pm)pbjd Nothing to do with the return to South Shields. Variation will be the inclusion of the Christmas Sunday journeys which I believe haven’t ran since 2019.


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(31 Oct 2022, 11:27 pm)col87 Well like I thought due to how slow Stagecoach have been announcing the changes and the council / Connect Tees Valley always taking ages to update the bus stops ( there still have services on the stops which have not existed for years ) it’s caused a lot of confusion.  They still people at Asda wanting to get the 1 and half the town have no direct service to the Marina now. But you can now get 3 different services to Morrisons but only 2 ( 3 if you count the Paul’s Travel 65) outside of Asda. I won’t be surprised if by Summer  they make further changes.