(01 Sep 2023, 9:18 pm)Ambassador wrote Is it really an infrastructure development of note though? 

You’ve (well not you directly of course) built an interchange station nobody wanted. Buses served the centre, the metro station is what it is and the ferry is so badly integrated you’d be better off swimming. 

The compelling reason to visit has to be the retail or bespoke offering which doesn’t exist. Fish Quay is car and taxi heavy and North Shields town centre is an utter dive.

The sensible investment would have been to lower rates, encourage investment in the town, open up bespoke retail, leisure etc then think about a shiny new interchange.

It's a waste of money imo, the only place where bus stations should exist is where people are realistically going to swap methods of transport. Beyond that does it really matter. The vast majority of people won't spend more than 10 minutes there anyway and if they have to walk further it's arguably it's a negative in the case for North Shields.

Personally, I'd much rather be able to get off at Nile Street then have the choice to get on at Bedford Street or near the library, now I wouldn't have that choice and must use the bus station miles away from the library for example.

It's a very British thing to build bus stations, similar could've been said for South Shields aswell which arguably could've been built as a massive loop around the town letting people choose where they actually want to be rather than being told where to go.