(06 Aug 2023, 5:39 pm)Rapidsnap wrote To be honest no matter which way you go into Newcastle during the peak hours you are going to get stuck in traffic somewhere. More so now that the council have closed of certain roads. Also just because they Metro is there, people aren't going to use it due to a number of factors, be it reliability or down to Anti-Social behaviour, and to be honest even if the reliability improves with the new trains, they still going to suffer from Anti-Social behaviour. Most people avoid the Metro around the North Tyne loop because of the reputation it has for being a no-go zone.

Looking at the 355, I think GNE have pulled off a clever move with it, instead of battling with the crossroads North and South of Four Lane Ends, it only has to deal with one and to add to it, it doesn't need to wait it's turn to cross the line of traffic to access Goathland Avenue. Instead the bus just carries straight across to the other side of the junction. It has the additional bonus of service the Longbenton Shopping centre and an area where car use is a bit lower than the current route of the 55 where houses do look a bit more upmarket, plus the fact the DWP isn't going to be operating from there for much more longer once the Newcastle City Centre offices open.

Plus people saying it's no good as it's going to Haymarket and it's out of the way. That part of town is still busy, and Eldon Square is just a short walk away. Plus previous versions of the routes terminated there, so the passengers will be used to services going to this location, plus it's a familier location for them to catch a bus from, it will especially pay off over the winter months, potential passengers are probably more accepting to wait undercover at the bus station at Haymarket (maybe even browse around M&S) rather than try and crowd into a tiny bus shelter on Pilgrim Street seeing a 38 come around the corner and seeing it's only going as far as the Freeman Hospital.

Plus Stagecoach haven't exactly been great in Killingworth either, my friend who lives up there has made numerous complaints about buses disappearing or being ran off when only a few minutes late to a point where he is using the Arriva services to get to Newcastle. At the end of the day, for any operator to succeed at this, they need to bus to turn up, and more or less turn up on time. The Stagecoach 37/38 being cross-city is a double edged sword, on one side it provides better links, however on the other side because it's a long route it's going to get snarled up in traffic. Especially on the West Road around the shops on the West Side of the route, and going along the Cradlewell Bypass isn't exactly quick in the peaks.