(04 Oct 2021, 11:50 am)Rob44 wrote to be fair this wasn't aimed at you. I tend to agree with 99% of what you post! But you could say Gateshead is a hub but how many buses turn around there and return to kibblesworth, birtly QE hospital, wreckenton? Not many I tell you. I may have made this up but I'm sure when the Metro first started in the 80's the buses that did continue to Newcastle only dropped off at Gateshead metro - if you were in Gateshead and wanted to get to Newcastle the Metro ( and maybe the cross tyne service 1 ) were the only choices. Now it seems like GNE rival the metro by charging slightly less to get to Newcastle as do arriva from haymarket to regent centre.
If you are comparing team valley to a bus stop on Durham road personally i choose durham road due to the pubs i could pop into. I don't fancy sitting in McDonalds or costa then having to leg it to the bus stop for my connection. I rather be in a pub having a pint and just have to cross the road to the bus stop. Obviously talking about team valley as it sis now. If they spent ALOT of $$$ on it this may be different)
We are thinking big. We are thinking creatively and we realise bus lanes, filled with buses going to/from the city centres and town centres aren't the future.
We are thinking about how we could get even just a small percentage of the thousands of people using the western bypass out of their cars and on to the bus - without sending them on a tour of Gateshead just to get to work and then the same after work.
Highways England have some interesting comments about the economy in this https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/y.../#overview
And also this https://highwaysengland.co.uk/our-work/y.../#overview
Yet transport operators don't seem to be on the same page. They have an apparent obsession with hub & spoke in to and out of the traditional centres, but mainly ignore what could be described as the 'modern centres'.
If I'm an operator and I'm looking to grow my market, I'm going to look at traffic flows and do whatever I can to ensure my vehicles are following those flows and getting people on to my vehicles.
I'm not going to ignore those flows and I'm not going to send my buses in different directions, away from those flows.
I'm going to push for transport hubs and partner with other private companies to set up resources and sites within those hubs so that there's stuff going on. I'm going to position those hubs in key places and integrate different modes of transport in to that hub. They're going to be pleasant environments too.
I'm thinking big. I'm thinking beyond plugs, WiFi, tables and a copy & paste livery. I'm building a network fit for 2021 and beyond!
And anyway, it should be 100%. Not 99%
