(06 Jan 2022, 7:49 pm)MurdnunoC wrote But why Blaydon? You have yet to provide a reason why anyone from the West End of Newcastle would want to travel to Blaydon. The only reason I can think of is that YOU want to travel to Blaydon, which is fine, but at least be honest about it rather than disguising it under the premise of wanting to create new links between places where very few people either end of the route wish to travel
While Metrocentre is a ghost of what it is once was, it still provides a number of things which Blaydon does not. So diverting the 6 or the 7 away from the Metrocentre would be commercial suicide for either service. My point about Metrocentre, which I think you misunderstood, is that there is little point in creating new Metrocentre specific services, shoppers specials if you will, like we might have seen in the past as shopping habits have drastically changed over the last decade or so.
On a final note, there were once services which operated between Blaydon and Westerhope (616/617/641/M16/M17). The reason they originally existed was to provide Stella Power Station with a bus service. Once that was demolished in 1990 ridership declined which led to the eventual withdrawal of the route sometime in the early 2000s, if not earlier. So to go back to my opening question: Why Blaydon? What has suddenly changed which would make folk want to go there?
I can remember getting Atlanteans, Olympians and Nationals on the 616/617 back in the day. The demise was stark, mini buses in the end and even then in the M16/M17 days the service was split at Blaydon on evenings and Sundays.
(06 Jan 2022, 7:09 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Could we see the 6 and 7 withdrawn in the future if the Metrocentre is losing popularity? Maybe a new Four Lane Ends - Kingston Park - West Denton - Blaydon service? Be good to see the 6 and 7 run to Blaydon.
The 6/7 strikes me as two routes in one. Metrocentre - Newbiggin Hall/Westerhope et al and then Newbiggin Hall/Westerhope to the Freeman. Can't see many people using it the full route.
(07 Jan 2022, 12:45 am)OrangeArrow49 wrote There is more to life than shopping, people might have family or friends in different areas. Also tickets are problematic as Blaydon is GNE and Westerhope is Stagecoach (apart from the 74) so it costs more in this case travelling into Newcastle and then on to Westerhope. Sometimes the demand hasn't been explored (a service could run from the Metrocentre to Blaydon or Elswick and it makes little difference).
For my journey to Blaydon I believe I can get the 941 to Scotswood Road and then get the 12/12A from Scotswood Bridge towards Winlaton, so it avoids going into Newcastle unnecessarily.
I'm thinking you're referring to the stop on the Scotswood Bridge slip road? If so, does the 12/12A still stop there? I'm sure a while back I can remember reading that they were removing stopping on some stops on Scotswood Road to speed up journey times.