Go North East: Service Suggestions v2
Go North East: Service Suggestions v2
(23 Jul 2017, 6:56 am)Dan By suggesting that the 97/97A are extended via the S1 route, I'm not sure you do understand why the X66 service has had extra stops added and will now be extended via the S1 route?
By and large, footfall at the Metrocentre is going down. Like most shopping centres, a lot of people have moved away from the traditional methods of shopping, in favour of online shopping. On a service like the X66, I think it is only right for Go North East to move with the times, instead of sticking to the same route that was always traditionally known, despite shopping habits changing massively since then.
One of the main areas of the Metrocentre that is growing, unlike the other shopping malls, is the yellow quadrant. The yellow mall is where the leisure activities and restaurants are based. If this is the main place in the Metrocentre that people are travelling to, it seems a great idea in my eyes to provide a direct bus there from Gateshead, that takes under 15 minutes and runs at a regular frequency through the day.
It's important to understand here that Go North East faces their biggest competitor on their Metrocentre services: the car. Even I, as someone who gets free travel, often use the car when travelling to the Metrocentre. Why? A lack of a direct service to where I usually shop in the Metrocentre. I can drive to the Metrocentre in 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, but you're looking at borderline an hour by the time I get the Metro to Gateshead, X66 to Metrocentre, then walk to the shopping mall of my preference (or wait for a connection to S1 - which may have just left as I arrived). What is the appeal of travelling by public transport, especially when there is free car parking?
Time will tell with the X66 - but with the right marketing, it can only be a good thing.
(23 Jul 2017, 6:56 am)Dan By suggesting that the 97/97A are extended via the S1 route, I'm not sure you do understand why the X66 service has had extra stops added and will now be extended via the S1 route?
By and large, footfall at the Metrocentre is going down. Like most shopping centres, a lot of people have moved away from the traditional methods of shopping, in favour of online shopping. On a service like the X66, I think it is only right for Go North East to move with the times, instead of sticking to the same route that was always traditionally known, despite shopping habits changing massively since then.
One of the main areas of the Metrocentre that is growing, unlike the other shopping malls, is the yellow quadrant. The yellow mall is where the leisure activities and restaurants are based. If this is the main place in the Metrocentre that people are travelling to, it seems a great idea in my eyes to provide a direct bus there from Gateshead, that takes under 15 minutes and runs at a regular frequency through the day.
It's important to understand here that Go North East faces their biggest competitor on their Metrocentre services: the car. Even I, as someone who gets free travel, often use the car when travelling to the Metrocentre. Why? A lack of a direct service to where I usually shop in the Metrocentre. I can drive to the Metrocentre in 15-20 minutes depending on traffic, but you're looking at borderline an hour by the time I get the Metro to Gateshead, X66 to Metrocentre, then walk to the shopping mall of my preference (or wait for a connection to S1 - which may have just left as I arrived). What is the appeal of travelling by public transport, especially when there is free car parking?
Time will tell with the X66 - but with the right marketing, it can only be a good thing.
