(04 Apr 2024, 1:25 pm)Lewis1509 wrote Yeah, I don't even live in any of those areas but I use the 317 very often to get to North Shields (or I used to until GNE made it sh*te), and I never understood that the only bus that goes through those areas don't go to Newcastle. 

My idea would be to either extend the 317 to Newcastle or swap the routes around with the 1 between Wallsend and Howdon for Holy Cross residents. Can't say the same for Preston though, as it would probably be alot quicker to change at Whitley or Shields for another direct bus (306/7/8/9), or even a Metro.

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I didn't expect GNE to run the 317 that badly to be honest, considering it used to be a GNE route over a decade ago. And even when they withdrew the original 317, they still had other services serving the exact same route in certain places. 

I heard from a Walkergate driver that they're subcontracting the 317 to someone else. However, with that being said, said bus driver is notorious for talking absolute waffle as confirmed by other Walkergate drivers.

Another factor is, how would a Walkergate driver know so much about GNEs behind the scenes.