(30 Jan 2014, 9:44 am)andreos1 wrote Maybe it's time for a re-jig of routes, stopping places and services along Durham Road - rather than another taxpayer purchase of green buses, which only ensure three of the vehicles (see what I did there) stuck in the queues of traffic, aren't belching out fumes?
The hybrids haven't grown wings and don't make the traffic disappear.
Road improvements, attractive pricing and reliable alternatives to the car are amongst the only things that can help the traffic disappear.
However, as for new deckers, why not try the Optare decker with the Merc engine?
Very good!
I don't think GNE can do much more, the loadings on the Angel are good (but how much of that is down to lack of car ownership and concessionary is another debate) and the timetabled frequency can't be knocked (though its very rarely running at that frequency as you say due to other issues)
But the Angel is only going to get worse in terms of reliability. They've tried with the pointless Durham Road bus lane from Newcastle Bank through to Low Fell but the addition of another 2 sets of lights in Birtley won't help and might even drive more folk from longer distance to the X21 - not a bad thing.
I do sympathise but sometimes it is simply just easier to take the car and no amount of bus lanes etc will ever change that