(16 Jun 2019, 1:52 pm)Malarkey wrote
Do you have better suggestions than what I have come up with, just to note I only the "suggested route 37" would be operated by a minibus with other services remaining double decker operated and from my suggestions have I abandoned the people of Heaton/High Heaton, no I haven't, might want to re-read my post first!
Furthermore I appreciate that the extension to the cobalt was to offer a direct link from Heaton/High Heaton however it doesn't matter what time of day I see the 1 on the Cobalt it runs around empty, last night when I got on it I was the only one it between the Cobalt and Heaton as it didn't pick up a single passenger.
Also given the 1 also goes via Holystone/Benton Asda along the main roads of newly built estates is it going to pick anyone up when all those areas much like Heaton have a high amount of cars users with people living in those areas who are clearly have quite a lot of money. Are those people really going stop taking the car to work in order to get on the bus, I don't think they are if I am totally honest.
As a result of the above is the extension to the Cobalt really financially sustainable for Stagecoach to run throughout the day going forward as I do think it maybe better to have a few journey's extended during peak times only.
Do I have a better suggestion? Yes, it’s fine as it is. Your minibus suggestion is a solution looking for a problem that would create problems. The number 1 has deckers (and had them even when the rest of Newcastle went single around when the 22 got 55 reg MANs in 2005) precisely because of the City Centre to Coach Lane numbers. You’d need minibuses operating every 2-3 minutes to replace the capacity. That’s just not realistic.
I also said that the Cobalt extension was to give Heaton and High Heaton a Cobalt link. You propose scrapping it and replacing it with a Coast Road route which bypasses both of these. It’s nonsensical.