(15 Sep 2021, 7:47 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I personally think it's a great idea. If they can't encourage people back onto the bus, then it makes sense to try and get a slice of the pie from car-sharing. Plus it seems to be Newcastle based, and GNE don't really have that many services north of the city.

I'm not sure I understand the aim of the partnership, if I'm honest.

We're going from 'getting people out of their cars and onto buses' to 'getting people off our buses and into cars'. What's this doing to combat congestion, where buses are supposedly struggling from the lack of bus priority and private car use domination. 

I don't see what is in it for GNE either. I've just had a quick look on the Co Wheels website, and the nearest hire locations to me are Low Fell and Gateshead Town Centre. If I've bussed that far, then I can't foresee any reason why I'd alight to pay around £5.50 an hour to use a car. Especially when I've got to take it back to the same location. The majority of locations appear to be in the student areas of Newcastle, where there's already more than enough buses - plus the Metro.

Maybe there's another message behind it, but I'm not seeing it. It's almost a defeatist stance to public transport, highlighting its inadequacies.