(08 Apr 2026, 7:39 pm)Adrian wrote I lived in the area for 8 years, so I know of the significant issues caused by the lack of service to Tursdale & Integra61, Old Quarrington, Sunderland Bridge, Hett and Fishburn in particular. Buses would always be a top 3 topic whenever Councillors held their surgeries in these areas.

I assure you I want to be ambitious for all public transport (but my user name is because I think buses tend not to get the attention they deserve). I agree with the concept of bus services (etc) as part of the infrastructure of society. I do hope the conversation in forums like this is ambitious, but realistic - otherwise it can only lead to disappointment. And there are other things that are equally part of community infrastructure that also need funding (youth services? the Further Education sector? higher quality nursery care? etc etc), so it is impossible to duck choices.

I was taking "places" to mean communities. Even in rural Northumberland, I still think it is fair to contend that (almost?) all places with no regular service have only very small populations and would be very expensive to serve, especially with a meaningful impact. (See also TeesFlex - a good level of service but unsustainably expensive ...) 

To keep the thread grounded in examples, I have investigated the places you named (have a look on Streetview).  

• Tursdale: about 25 houses. Old Quarrington: about 10 smart houses (down a dead end road..).   
  
• Hett: about 60 houses - so I agree is one of the modest number of places perhaps unlucky to have nothing - but it would be highly subsidised/low demand.
  
• Fishburn: is a large village, but is not "cut off altogether" - it has 3 buses per hour, though still room for feeling it lacks links (restore X21? Extend X22 to Middlesbrough? Both problems of crossing NECA boundaries ...)
  
• Sunderland Bridge: about 15 posh houses and almost all within Active Travel's standard walk distance from stops with 9 buses p hour!
  
• Washington: I confess its a place I struggle to get my head round; but clearly road layouts are difficult. Somewhere I would have ambitions to serve better.
  
• Aykley Heads (Durham). Most of the employment is within a modest walk of excellently served bus stops. The houses are an example of what I referred to, but not easy. (Perhaps 61 could go there instead of its current route?)
  
• Serving major employment better would also be on my wishlist. 
  

Basically, my point is there will be a need to choose, as having all the toys in the shop is simply not fundable. I hope a higher priority is given to enhancing services at places like Fishburn/ Washington and issues like serving major workplaces better than doing much at the likes of Old Quarrington or Hett or the rural hamlets deep in Northumberland etc).