(07 Feb 2020, 1:27 pm)Venturego wrote Just tried to find GNE routes/services to Newcastle Airport, as I thought an All Zone day ticket at £7 would save me using the car + parking etc.., but amazed to see GNE no longer have any services to the Airport. - Surely an Express link from Metro Centre, would be very successful as it would link to most of the GNE network using connecting services, and would be both Fast, Efficient use of possibly only one bus, and avoid City Centre, as transferring to onward services at Metro Centre would suffice.
As it is at the moment, I would need to buy a multi operator ticket, transferring to either Stagecoach or Metro trains in Newcastle etc...
Wonder if Martijn Gilbert is aware of, what seems to me, a huge missed opportunity to plug a gap, which I am sure there will be great demand from early morning to late night, servicing passengers on daily return flights.
There's little demand though really. 5.4m people using a flight a day / 365 days is 14.8k people a day. Knock off 98% (2%) as that's likely the amount of people coming from Derwentside / Tynedale (anyone else would use the Metro). That's down to 296 people and that's if your lucky. Then knock off another 20% off who are coming in overnight / past last buses. Your down to 237 people. If the service is hourly with a journey in both directions from 7am to 10pm that's 30 journeys which works out at a total of 8 people per bus and that's if everyone used the service - which in reality no-one will as a holiday is a treat and the last thing you want to do is mess around with buses. There's no profit in that.
A non express bus which does bits of the West End though and eventually goes to the airport might work however as the connectivity from the West End to the Metro Centre / The Airport is pretty much non-existant bar travelling via Newcastle. Something like this https://goo.gl/maps/pTLmcM47s9JUSyLcA but it would make more sense being a Stagecoach service really. I know it doesn't really do your purpose but it would be useable for those coming from Derwentside etc if they wanted and might actually have a chance of making money because of the intermediate journeys from the West End to Kingston Park, the Airport, and the Metro Centre which are non-existant. I know of someone who travels to Byker to go shopping as there's no links to any other supermarkets without changing with this you'd give them 2 more direct options (Tesco Kingston Park / Asda Metro Centre) so the demand is there.