(01 Jul 2023, 8:30 am)BusLoverMum wrote It was the Metro that really let people down, here. In a perfect world they'd have been running extra services on the central lines and accepting bus tickets but in reality, there was a longer list of service cancellations than ever.

I need to visit Newcastle in the next few weeks but I shan't be bothering until it's sorted.

To be honest, the Metro seems like the main issue in general in T&W. 

I live a 2 minute walk away from a Metro station, I should be the target market, but I cannot remember the last time I even thought about using it. 

• The reliability, and communication of it, is shockingly bad. The last time I did use it, I needed to catch an early train from Central. I went to the station for 3 Metro's ahead of the one I actually needed. The first two didn't turn up, then there was a Twitter post that trains were having issues leaving the depot. No information on that in the station for people buying tickets, at which point they could have potentially gone to a nearby bus stop and caught a bus. 
  
• The stations and trains are beyond scruffy at this point. Many key stations look like something straight from the Soviet Union, how Monument and Gateshead haven't had a refresh is ridiculous. 
  

• I personally also find the fare system a bit bonkers, and that I can't use my bank card to tap in/tap out is a tad annoying. 
  

So much public money goes into the Metro, and the people running it don't have a clue. 

On the other hand, I use an hourly bus service to commute to work daily. It's reliable (maybe 2 or 3 times per month it runs 5+ minutes late - even then I can just check a map on my phone and see where it is), cheap, the buses are clean and modern, and relatively quick. I can use the Metro to get into town, but I will use the bus because, again, it is cheaper, more reliable, and more convenient.