(10 hours ago)Storx wrote imo it's not really not bad value for money really considering the number of short routes that would have to run all over the place to replace it.

For context the 58, 434 and Morpeth locals in Northumberland are £1.7k a day or so combined and there's an awful lot more needed than that.

In Nexus land the 19 (North Tyneside part only) and 335 in 2023 were £3.5k a day combined. That's pretty much your whole budget gone already.

It wouldn’t be bad if people actually used it and it was actually of some use and easier to use such as been able to ring up or text instead of using an app which is complicated.    As it currently is it is a complete waste of money and like the airport is nothing more than a vanity project by Ben Houchen who will just keep wasting money on it instead of looking at what any alternatives are.

Exactly. Rarely used, generally empty, but money continues to be thrown.

Based on the Northumberland example, imagine how many buses this could pay for, that could provide all the same links, but on a timetable? 11 or 12 vehicles? It could probably be done with half of that.

TeesFlex literally competes with the existing bus network in East Cleveland, for example! It's an absolute waste of money.

(9 hours ago)col87 wrote It wouldn’t be bad if people actually used it and it was actually of some use and easier to use such as been able to ring up or text instead of using an app which is complicated.    As it currently is it is a complete waste of money and like the airport is nothing more than a vanity project by Ben Houchen who will just keep wasting money on it instead of looking at what any alternatives are.

You can, 0330 678 1535 is the number. It's at the bottom of the Tees Flex page, albeit quite hidden must admit.

[quote pid="319081" dateline="1751809239"]
SupermanExactly. Rarely used, generally empty, but money continues to be thrown.
Based on the Northumberland example, imagine how many buses this could pay for, that could provide all the same links, but on a timetable? 11 or 12 vehicles? It could probably be done with half of that.
TeesFlex literally competes with the existing bus network in East Cleveland, for example! It's an absolute waste of money.
[/quote]

It's only 9 vehicles all of that above and most those carry around fresh air aswell, especially the 58 and 19 shorts and a few of them don't run beyond 5pm either.

Teesflex isn't the problem, it's how it's advertised and the fact they've duplicated it in parts - the 1/2 should not exist at all, in particular. 

It's reasonable value for money imo as people would moan if there was a bus running to random villages carrying fresh air aswell.

(7 hours ago)Storx wrote You can, 0330 678 1535 is the number. It's at the bottom of the Tees Flex page, albeit quite hidden must admit.

[quote pid="319081" dateline="1751809239"]
SupermanExactly. Rarely used, generally empty, but money continues to be thrown.
Based on the Northumberland example, imagine how many buses this could pay for, that could provide all the same links, but on a timetable? 11 or 12 vehicles? It could probably be done with half of that.
TeesFlex literally competes with the existing bus network in East Cleveland, for example! It's an absolute waste of money.

It's only 9 vehicles all of that above and most those carry around fresh air aswell, especially the 58 and 19 shorts and a few of them don't run beyond 5pm either.

Teesflex isn't the problem, it's how it's advertised and the fact they've duplicated it in parts - the 1/2 should not exist at all, in particular. 

It's reasonable value for money imo as people would moan if there was a bus running to random villages carrying fresh air aswell.
[/quote]

The phone number is also on the buses themselves

I disagree, by a partnership approach, they could cover pretty much all of the areas TeesFlex claims to support, with a dedicated bus service of at least hourly (some even better) at about 80% of the cost in estimation. This could be done by means of extending existing services in most cases, removing a massive chunk of duplication.

The fact both TeesFlex and Svs 1/2 are extended until March 26 shows they don't have a clue what they are doing.

Someone should put in a FOI on TVCA to understand the cost per passenger, as I believe it's scary high and probably cheaper to pay for a taxi in most cases. The lack of proper scrutiny is shocking. Politically, Ben has backed himself into a corner on this one.