(21 Feb 2022, 2:12 pm)MurdnunoC wrote I haven't missed your point. My initial post was a direct response to Streetdeckfan's inference that all buses terminated at Gateshead/FLE/Heworth/Jarrow (or wherever); and people would be forced to change to the Metro regardless when, as seen in the examples I've listed subsequently, it really wasn't the case at all as it was possible to travel to Newcastle from your local bus stop without having to alight at any of the interchanges I've listed.

For the record, I do believe there should be a holistic approach to transport in the Tyne and Wear conurbation which involves all stakeholders working together to complement rather than compete against each other. As you correctly point out, this was the case prior to deregulation, where you had Buses and Metros working in unison. However, I'm not sure whether the frequency of the Metro has drastically changed since 1986 - the frequency is currently meant to be every 12 minutes on both routes, which gives a headway of around every 6 minutes on the core section between South Gosforth and Pelaw during the day with a few extra trains chucked during the peak. Like yourself, I was using buses in the 1980s and I can certainly remember having to wait what seemed like ages for a Metro after alighting at Gateshead from the 648/649 with my 10p Transfare in hand. The only example I can think of where a more frequent service may have ran was on the St James to North Shields section where you had the Blue Line - I'm happy to be wrong if you can prove otherwise.

While there may not have been 16 buses crossing the Tyne Bridge into Newcastle, there still would have been a fair few operated by Go North East (or whatever its NBC equivalent would have been known as today) heading into town. The 21 is probably the most frequent but, based upon the 1985 understanding of what might be considered to be a 'long-distance' service, the argument might be made that it should still cross the Tyne based upon that reasoning. The same goes for the X1. The only services that would be realistically affected are the 27/53/54/56/57/58/96/97 - which, I agree, probably shouldn't serve the city-centre, although I suspect there might be a lot of people upset if they didn't. Also, the Tyne Bridge isn't solely responsible for all the pollution which has prompted Newcastle Council to introduce a CAZ. Blackett Street is a well-known hotspot too, and the buses operating along that stretch of road are currently not too dissimilar than what would have been operating prior to deregulation.