(29 Oct 2023, 9:18 pm)MurdnunoC wrote The problem with hub and spoke models is that people tend to forget that hubs and spokes are there to support an even bigger structure: the wheel.

Hubs and spokes alone are pointless on their lonesome. You need things at the top of the spokes to make the model work more effectively. So, for example, having Durham and Consett at the end of the spokes is a bit pointless if one has to travel to Newcastle in order to get from one to the other whereas having the direct link between Durham and Consett makes the wheel (or network) work as it should. 

Now, obviously there is a link between Consett and Durham in the form of the X5/X15 (and to a lesser extent, the 16), but there are examples where that link is almost non-existent. 

For example, in the GNE dominated area of Derwentside, the villages of Rowlands Gill and Burnopfield lie approximately one mile from each other. Now, there is a limited link between the two villages in the form of the R5, but it only runs between 0900 and 1600 Mon-Sat (I think) which means if one wishes to travel outside of those times across a relatively short distance, it would involve either walking (about 20-30 mins depending on fitness), or getting on a bus to Metrocentre (about 10-15 minutes), then getting the bus from Metrocentre to Burnopfield (about 30 minutes). And that's two buses you need. So travelling down the spoke to the hub, then from the hub back up a neighbouring spoke, not only costs you more money, but also time.

Of course, if you had a car, the journey takes less than 5 minutes, so why use the bus at all? 

This is where, I think, the hub and spoke model largely fails as communities which should be connected by public transport links become isolated from one another.