(18 Mar 2022, 12:36 am)logidoodah wrote My thinking is that the 342 would be better suited to Stagecoach and the 317 to either Arriva or GNE. But still good to see Stagecoach (and the other of the big 3) securing contracts and not to GCT and the likes of which through ticketing and easier journeys are not applicable.
I think the 317 should've been added onto the 18 with this being re-routed to wallsend like it used to before the Q3. As telling people between St Peters Basin and Walker to use the 12 instead is preposterous.
The 317 is a funny one imo as the North Shields to Wallsend is best ran by Stagecoach but the other half is better ran by Arriva. Hard one to really pick the right operator without splitting it.
It's poor the Wallsend links for St Peters Basin like.
Personally though the 18 would be better merged with the 6/7 and the Freeman -> BT Call Centre been covered by an extended 38 every 30 mins imo. Would give Stoneleigh Avenue a faster service to Newcastle (they already have Byker) and give Heaton / Byker a direct link through to Gosforth and beyond including the beloved Kingston Park on here
and just get arid of it altogether similar to the 62 extension in West Newcastle.