(26 May 2024, 9:53 am)Shrek wrote I remember back in the late 90s and early 2000s sitting on the 44 for more than half an hour before we'd manage to get out of Newcastle as the traffic was that bad. That was a weekly occurrence for me on a Friday.

Aye not surprised, it used to be bloody awful. Sure some have some rose tinted goggles where everything was perfect and traffic has just appeared the past few years or so (or more importantly are too young).

Tuesdays and Thursdays were always the worst aswell, why who knows and sitting on a 10 year old Cityzen with water leaking down the windows which stunk of damp or alternatively some ex London cast off which had enough leg room for a dwarf didn't exactly make things better.

Ignoring the driver issues, buses are much better nowadays (from a passenger perspective) really. Arriva, in particular, around 2006 - 2009 were especially bad.