(03 Sep 2023, 10:10 pm)Storx wrote Bridges shuts earlier, it's quite a detour through some pretty unpleasant areas in an evening when arguably you want to be there.

Leeds is a really bad example btw, quite a lot of buses don't serve the thing at all and do the Leeds loop instead. Leeds is actually one of the better examples of buses serving more areas. The only buses which serve the bus station mainly come from the West, so already serve the city on the way. Not to mention there's quite a lot of cross city links.

https://bustimes.org/services/163-castleford-leeds#map - See the 163 for an example.
https://bustimes.org/services/x98-sky-cl...eeds-2#map - or X98 from Wetherby.

Like, if stuff like the E1/E2/E6/56 served the bus station there that's fair play as they already serve the city but stuff like the 60 etc would be better doing a loop still imo. Maybe serving a stop nearby so people can still change there if needed, it's the best of both worlds like Leeds.

Which unpleasant areas? Even when the Bridges is shut, it's more or less a straight line through Green Terrace/Low Row, if you leave via the other end of the Interchange. 

I used to drink in Sunderland most weekends for years, and like most folk there, we'd walk back and forth between bars most of the night around the City Centre. I understand some can't, due to mobility issues, but it's as if we're making out that the vast majority of the population are incapable of walking 500/600 yards.

56 does serve the bus station, but I agree the E1/E2/E6 should revert to doing so, being City terminating services. 

I don't think Leeds is much different to Newcastle or Sunderland, in terms of what serves the bus station and what doesn't. You can see from their own guide that the bus station is extremely well served: https://www.wymetro.com/media/9699/leeds_wtcyb.pdf

(03 Sep 2023, 11:34 pm)DaveFromUpNorth wrote Creating bus hub interchanges etc is a scam...

Nexus knows this and it is why they milked the pot

We have cllrs elected locally by residents


Some cllrs get out onto committees to approve white elephants

Nexus proposes white elephants 

It is approved to build

Bus stations make a profit and the money is hidden within Nexus

Sunderland interchange is a classic example

No stagecoach goes into the bus station... why? Because every bus that enters the station is charged 60p-80p  for the pleasure

Same as Haymarket and Eldon Sqaure and every other bus station...


And you wonder why Stagecoach oftens opts to using stops outside of bus station due to  operational issues" or altering routes to avoid  bus stations like 317  for example...

Now... as an example

Haymarket bus station ...

How many buses depart an hour  and times that by 70p as a ball point average...

Mitigate that with the cost of Nexus manager to run the site (goes home after 5pm) we often see arriva staff managing the site not Nexus...

Combine the income with the rent of Greggs Arriva pub M&S

And general expenses is a Nexus employee working 9-5 and electric for the lights  (bins are local council)

There is a reason bus stations are built....and that is to claim  poverty.

This is almost conspiracy theory level stuff. 

There's no scam in bus hubs/interchanges; they exist. 

Your accusations towards Nexus are completely unfair. The Interchange is part of North Tyneside Council's Town Centre and Fish Quay regeneration masterplan. 85% of the funding came from the Government's Transforming Cities Fund (TCF). Nexus are only involved, because they're the PTE for the area. 

On councillors voting for 'white elephants'; let's at least acknowledge that the masterplan has been through public consultation. As has the plan to move the North Shields ferry landing. It's one thing to not like the decisions taken forward as a result of consultation, but it's another to accuse it of being some kind of racket to raise funds for Nexus.

I agree with ne14ne1, in terms of the reasoning why Stagecoach don't serve bus stations. It's most likely down to practicality, not cost, when most of their services operate on a cross city basis. Somewhere like Eldon Square or Haymarket, you're adding at least 5 minutes on to a journey time to get in and out of the bus station. 

As for the service charge for using the bus station, I don't think that is too dissimilar to anything else, where we have either public/private partnerships or wholly private sector operation? Train operators pay a whole host of costs to run their services, Greggs pay money to set up shop in most buildings they lease, and domestically we pay money to 'rent' access to mobile phone networks. It pays towards the maintenance and upkeep of the infrastructure. Whilst the examples you quote are nothing to do with Nexus, if you look at examples that are (e.g. the Newsagent at Heworth Metro or kiosk in Monument), then surely this is a good thing? Your customers are able to purchase goods that they want, and the rent goes towards the cost of running the interchange. You make it sound like it's going into someone's back pocket.

Not sure what your link is between bus stations and poverty, but I probably don't want to know!