As someone who has lived in North Tyneside all my life like others who have commented. There has been a reduction of services across the borough over the years but with car ownership on the rise its no wonder. And it's not just GNE, Arriva have also hacked away at their North Tyneside network over the years what with routes I used quite often growing up like the 355 Newcastle-Whitley Bay via Four Lane Ends and 356/56 Newcastle-North Shields via Killingworth. As well as the Newcastle-Whitley Bay section of the 44.


There have been a number of things GNE have done over the years to help turn the tide with millions spent on new fleets and refurbs over the years. It hasn't been all rosey I'll admit, having a fleet of 16 reg Solo's replaced with the secondhand batches with none of the original features wouldn't have helped as a backward step. But other initiatives over the years such as attempts at introducing express services like the X90 Commuter Club (Tynemouth-Newcastle and Newcastle-Cobalt), the latter being the foundations of the X39 Cobalt Express and the former showed there wasn't the demand there for an express service from the coast to Newcastle.


I feel there are very little new opportunities for other operators to expand in the borough, apart from Stagecoach introduction to Cobalt with the 1 and 22. What is needed across the borough is more bus priority measures, help make the network more attractive with faster journey times that might help entice people from their cars.


Also on the new housing estates front, one thing I was reading a while back, as part of the planned Killingworth Moor and Murton Gap housing developments the two large scale developments expected in the next decade or so, there is a proposed new bus route by the developers/North Tyneside Council Local Plan. The service would link Four Lane Ends Interchange to the proposed new Metro station at Murton Gap, via Quorum Business Park, Killingworth, Killingworth Moor Development, Cobalt Business Park and Murton Gap Development. More information can be found on page 28/29:- https://my.northtyneside.gov.uk/sites/de.../Part3.pdf but whether we'll ever see the service is anyone guess .


I would love to see my home borough bus network thrive and expand but I just don't see the demand for anything more than the current offering.