(07 Jun 2023, 8:40 am)mb134 wrote In fairness at peak times you'd hope it would be, especially for a service running every 20 mins. Most of the Q3s I see outside of the peaks on the Great Park to Newcastle section have a handful on, but it's rare I see one I'd call busy.
For most people from Brunton Lane to Gosforth High Street going to town, they'll jump on any Arriva service given they're more frequent and quicker. The last I knew, a return between Gosforth and Jesmond was more expensive than an Arriva return from Gosforth to Newcastle (so you'd assume the GNE return to town would also therefore be more expensive).
The Q3 has definitely lost passengers along the GNR. Why get that when you can get the any arriva service and not have to visit up market Jesmond to get there. Add traffic jams in the Jesmond are must be easily 10/15 minutes extra on the journey??