(9 hours ago)DaveFromUpNorth wrote What about extending/ altering the 301 service Metrocentre- Whitley Bay
After leaving gateshead Interchange towards Metrocentre - head to Team Valley instead of turning right at the bottom continue along Team Valley like the 93/94 service do a mini divert via one of the avenues to stop next to the mcd at Team Valley. (Less face it the Team Valley bus station is like it it is from cold war era!) Then head to A1 loop into Sainsbury Team Valley bus stop (omit the stop one hour after (closure) or Sunday after 6pm etc using common sense then up the A1 onto its current route and vice versa in the opposite direction
Why and what are the benefits? You may ask...
Quite a few... we all know it is a slow bus every passenger knows it is a slow bus but it is a vital bus connecting areas that don't really have a service
Which is one of the reasons it is good to use this service to create additional links
For the seasoned generation this is the modern 638 visit everywhere...
Putting the service along Team Valley services all the stops for workers but gives a "regular" direct link" from Newcastle City Centre
We also have Gateshead College there and the retail park with Home Bargains opening up soon.
I did consider diverting an X service but thought against it as it was long enough from Stanley at present
The links create a work service, a regular service for leisure (shopping at Team Valley) Sainsbury has a link for shopping but most of all workers have a regular direct link to Newcastle City Centre (abit via Gateshead Interchange) but we also create a regular link to Whickham and Team Valley.
Potentially with franchising we could actually save some work service buses money contracts by tweaking existing services
Even a X stanley service to go via Team Valley full length and then direct via A1 and Redheugh Bridge like the 91 could be beneficial sorry in the interest of passengers
imo if you're doing that you'd be better splitting the 93/94 (it's not a loop anyway) and sending it across the water to North Shields imo with the 307 doing the North Shields to Whitley Bay (it'd be horribly long otherwise).
For the Team Valley - Metrocentre links; you'd be better extending the 82 through imo - something like: https://www.google.com/maps/dir/54.89949...?entry=ttu
It does the same links without a horrid dog leg and opens a lot of links to Team Valley / Metrocentre from the South.