(03 May 2023, 10:02 am)busmanT wrote The boundaries aren't arbitrary - they are political boundaries, with elected politicians (representing the voters) deciding what applies in their own political area.
For example Tees Valley has Tees Flex, but there is nothing similar in the Transport North East area.
It's complete absurd though. The whole North East should be one transport area not two. There's not a sudden change travelling from Newton Aycliffe to Darlington it's all one community pretty much.
The political boundaries are a complete mess especially when it comes to places like Bishop Auckland and Newton Aycliffe which are massively connected to Darlington with 2 trains and at least 6 buses an hour.
Now those corridors will be ignored as they're both 'out of zone'. It's questionable how connected Darlington is with the rest of Teesside aswell, there's more buses and trains to Durham than there is to Middlesbrough for example.