(07 Aug 2020, 3:18 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I can imagine a lot of people living in places like Newcastle and Gateshead not wanting to cycle locally because of the traffic, even with the layout changes the councils are making. If someone can take a bus ride to out of the city centre with their bike, it might make them more likely to cycle, and give them an excuse to use the bus at the same time.
I think the issue they're more likely to see is a lack of capacity for bikes. There's only two per bus, so a family (2 adults, 2 kids) would have to take separate buses.
I'm also surprised they aren't putting bike racks on the Red Kite services, places like Chopwell Woods or Thornley Woodlands Centre for example are great places to go, and not too far of a journey.
The thing is though these people must already have a way to get to go cycling without the bus and unless they live next door to Eldon Square or Gateshead Interchange then they're going to have to travel the same roads and traffic etc to get onto the bus anyway.
They're pretty much 99.9% likely to continue to use the car to get to the place they'd want to go cycling and also the lack of capacity, buggies in the way, pensioners who refuse to move without an argument it all becomes a hassle.
This is especially the case on the X84/X85 where the train is a much more attractive proposition as there's more space to get on. I'd like to be proved wrong don't get me wrong but really can't see people using it.
There is some routes I could see them working on tho possibly but sadly none of them are GNE. (X14, X15, X18, X20, X93, 685) since you could connect at the Regent Centre / Morpeth, Hexham or Guisborough / Outskirts of Middlesbrough.