(07 Jan 2022, 10:19 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote All I'm saying is places in close proximity should have a service linking them. For example the Stagecoach 71 from Slatyford to Westerhope and onto Throckley or likewise the 72 to Chapel House doesn't involve a trip into Newcastle whereas to Blaydon it does, despite being little further than Scotswood which has the direct 6 and 7. For me and whoever else uses GNE tickets in Stagecoach territory because they cover the most areas it means walking or waiting for a less frequent service.
Personally I care about everyone, and think convenient travel is vital (who drives from Westerhope to Newcastle onto to Blaydon to just get to Blaydon?). Gateshead is popular and serviced can operate either side of Blaydon through Gateshead into Durham.
The reason Throckley, Chapel House and Westerhope have services which link one another is because the conduit is more or less linear and doesn't involve moving through an impassable object, namely that blue squiggly thing on the bottom of the map: The River Tyne. Gateshead is popular because it is a municipal centre for the Borough of Gateshead, just like Newcastle City Centre is for suburbs of Newcastle. Both are linked by a series of bridges that cross the River Tyne. Newcastle is also a regional capital and hub for people wishing to travel onwards to other regional hubs via train or coach, so it makes sense to have buses from the hinterlands of Gateshead (ie: Blaydon, Ryton, Winlaton and so forth) into Newcastle but not from suburban Newcastle (Westerhope, West Denton, Chapel House and beyond) into Gateshead as there would not be much point.
There may well be others, aside from yourself, who use opt GNE tickets within Stagecoach territory. However, I'd wager there use is specific to one service at one particular time of day for the purposes of commuting to/from a permanent place of work or education (not because they fancy a jolly on the bus to the furthest outreaches of the network). I would also wager these people are in the tiniest fractional minority. If people need to use two operators, there are multi-operator/mutli-modal tickets available for that specific purpose. Once this alleged BSIP comes to fruition, it is mooted that the cost of this ticketing will significantly come down in price thus benefiting passengers who use this type of ticket or pass. As for the rest, they will be happy to use Stagecoach tickets because that is the operator who, by hook or crook, are the most dominant in the area. They won't walk miles just to use another operator due to some bad experience. There may be issues with reliability here and there, but there are with all operators and I don't think the sudden introduction of a GNE service into the territory will solve that because, guess what, they can be unreliable too (as evidenced by threads elsewhere on the forum).