(14 Apr 2025, 10:32 am)Storx wrote Posted this here rather than the other thread as it's where it should be really:
Yeah agreed there to be honest, the North / South routes are the routes which I'd be more interested in though, could you maybe look at merging something like the 21 and 43/44/45 together and give a massive cross city route just to pluck something out.
Similar case could be made for the Coast Road and West Road maybe, would open up space at the bus stations for more terminating routes, the likes of the 71 etc if they still exist. The 1/22 is the most obvious though for merging though since they duplicate each other between Howdon and Newcastle bar a small variant in the Walkergate / Walkerville area.
I know this is a bit off topic but I'd be tempted to change the whole network around there and do something like:
62: Every 20 Minutes, Terminate at Longbenton (do a loop)
63: Every 20 Minutes, Additionally serve Benton Square, and terminate at Forest Hall (do the Meadway Loop)
64: Every 20 Minutes, Extend direct to Killingworth via Quorum and loop around Killingworth
37: Every 20 Minutes, Run direct to Killingworth via X63 route from South Gosforth
38: Every 20 Minutes, Extend to Killingworth via 63 Route from Four Lane Ends
18: Every 30 Minutes, Extend to Cramlington via 37 Route from Four Lane Ends
X37 (Current X63): Peaks only - daytime replaced by 37
There's no lost links but just tidies things up a little bit, there's an awful lot of duplication currently if you ask me, and gives a faster like from Byker and beyond to Quorum and Killingworth which is the only place they're likely to be going rather than having to wander around Benton or Longbenton and opens new links from Cramlington and Burradon rather than duplicating the X8 pretty much on a longer route.
What needs to happen, is go back to pre 2003 when Stagecoach butchered the 60's group of services, theres bits of those old services that probably would do better now in 2025 than the did lin the late 90's/early 00's, your 64 suggestion isn't a million miles away from what the old 63 did
The 61 used to do what your 62 suggestion
Then there was the 62/62A that went through Longbenton, can't remember what the 62B used to do
The 63 went straight down Benton Lane then picked upits current route from Southgate- Killingworth Bus Station
The 64 was Chapel House- Forest Hall (Glebe Road)(the 38 also terminated/started here)
And the 64A was evenings/Sundays only and pretty much did what is now the current day 63, what else is also funny, is your 64, i suggested that exact route to Stagecoach in 2009, they weren't interested