I did see a 319 yesterday but had planned my itinerary not to need it. As it is buses, trains and land scenery I like rather than boats and water, I didn't use the ferry either. I did North and South Shields on different days, North on Wednesday and South yesterday.
As an aside, I even went back to the same ice cream place in South Shields as in 2017!
RE: Gateshead Central Taxis