(14 Aug 2021, 4:05 pm)Adrian wrote The last two days have been a bit of an experience for me, having spent two consecutive days as a commuter after 18 months. I think it's fair to say that things aren't always as they seem, so I've written up my experience here: https://www.busesandbeyond.co.uk/2021/08...commuters/

Would welcome any thoughts.

Very well written and many of us will share your frustrations and it really is that difficulty in convincing people that buses (and in some cases the passengers on that bus) are a viable alternative - the same really applies to the metro too which just seems to be a constant stream of bad news and sassy Twitter replies from the metro account. A bit like GNEs used to be.

The free magpie over day initiative tomorrow (which is more borne out of Newcastle city council somehow forgetting about football) is a positive one. If you can convince those match goers to take that journey weekly and then maybe coax them onto buses for leisure journeys.

would I be using Uber if I was working 5 days a week at an office, no, but hybrid working is changing that for me and many others. My company used to do travel loans and they’ll continue to offer those but they’ve also started offering rider share discounts. The reason for this is colleagues tell us they don’t feel safe on public transport and those mixed messages you point out don’t help. Arguably an Uber driver probably has lower cleanliness standards than a bus but that’s not the perception. 

I also don’t think you can use the stick approach with car drivers because quite frankly the infrastructure isn’t there and despite the best efforts of Gateshead Council to deter cars, it’s busier than ever through traffic light city.