(02 Jan 2025, 6:40 pm)Adrian wrote You've made this point previously. Are you suggesting that because it's private land, they can prevent a commercial bus operator registering a service there? 

I understand that in the NGP Master Plan, the developers have a number of planning obligations around public transport, but they can't make the area exclusive to their chosen operator. A private road can still be a public place.


I think the point is that public transport has to be attractive, if you're ever going to encourage more people to use it. Whilst you're never going to please everyone, I think the modern attitude of forcing everyone to go down one corridor, instead of having choice, has long-proven to not work. 

NGP actually have a planning condition to 'increasing the attractiveness of local facilities, by providing high quality public transport and by making proper provision for  cycling and walking.'; and whilst I'd agree that is subjective, if nothing else, they've hopefully learned a lesson in how to not plan public transport changes.

imo the biggest issue with public transport especially at the West side of Tyneside is the complete lack of radial routes, it's all good funnelling everyone through Newcastle / Gateshead but it's not use if you're travelling from Chester Le Street to Team Valley, Ryton to Newburn Business Park or West Denton to the Airport.

It's not like there's nothing there either considering one of the biggest shopping centres in the country and one of the largest industrial estates are both on it.

We keep wasting BSIP on other rubbish but one service I'd see restored is some form of the old X22 or X88 running around Gateshead but instead serving Team Valley and parts of Dunston rather than being express, and a similar service to the North running from the Metro Centre to the Airport via the West End and Kingston Park and get better buses to those deprived areas wanting better links where there's potential for leisure travellers aswell.

The fact the West End has a better service to the airport in the middle of the night sums up how broken the network is in certain places.

Maybe something like this - https://www.google.com/maps/dir/55.03589...?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI0MTIxMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D, for the Northern route. There's probably demand for a bus between places like West Road and Benwell anyway, which also don't exist.