(02 Jul 2023, 5:12 pm)L469 YVK wrote I think the big sticking point with the new routes & times will be the loss of connections from Killingworth to NT Hospital.
I think one of the 353/354 needs dropped from Cobalt and instead doing a loop down and back up Rake Lane.
Even better......GNE, Stagecoach, Arriva, Nexus and Northumberland CC sit down and assess all "local / secondary" routes to better utilise resources come the next tender process for next March. Could give a hell of a lot more stability too rather than the constant chopping, changing and cuts. A prime example was the merger of the Wallsend - Howdon section of the 41/41A and the former 11 into the new 317. That looks to be a pretty stable route now.
Nexus might well provide something for the low number of passengers travelling to/from N T Hospital, rather than adding a loop to the 353/354.
Indeed, it is time that the operators and local authorities did, what they legally can, to plan jointly the secondary routes.
The fact that the Nexus 335 overlaps the Arriva 53 in several areas can't help with the viability of the 53.