From Sunday 31 August 2008, a number of Stagecoach in Newcastle bus services will be changing. These revisions have been carefully designed to reflect changes to customers’ travelling patterns and support our continuing investment in new vehicles for Newcastle.
Details of the revised services are shown below (to view the new timetable, please click on the appropriate blue service number)
Service 1: During Monday to Saturday daytimes, alternate buses will once again operate a terminal loop in Benwell, running via Buddle Road, Atkinson Road and the east end of Armstrong Road. To improve facilities to the new Excelsior Academy and Rye Hill College, morning buses before approximately 0900 will run to and from Slatyford, and will not serve Buddle Road. Please see timetable for more details.
To improve the co-ordination of buses in the City Centre, and improve customer choice, westbound buses will be revised to stop on Pilgrim Street (outside the old Odeon), and will no longer stop on New Bridge Street west.
Due to the installation of security barriers at Coach Lane Campus East, during evening and Sunday times, all Service 1 buses will be revised to operate to and from Four Lane Ends Metro, with minor timing changes.
Service 3: To further improve reliability, afternoon buses are revised. The journeys at 1615 and 1725 from Regent Centre, and the 1651 from Wallsend, will be revised to run 10 minutes earlier.
Services 4 and 5: Due to continued uneconomic levels of patronage, these services will regrettably be withdrawn after operation on Saturday 30 August 2008. Intending customers from the west end are advised to travel onto a frequent service into the city centre, and then change onto Service 100, every 8 minutes.
Services 6, 7 and 8: Following expiry of Nexus’ contract, Monday to Saturday daytime buses on Service 6 are rerouted to operate via Fawdon Metro and Jubilee Road and will not serve Broadway West or Regent Centre. To further improve reliability, Monday to Saturday buses before 0900 will generally operate around 5 minutes earlier, and afternoon buses after 1600 are revised. To accommodate increasing demand for travel to and from MetroCentre, during Sunday daytimes Service 7 buses will be increased to run every 15 minutes between Westerhope – West Denton – Lemington - MetroCentre.
Following remedial works to road infrastructure by Newcastle City Council in Kenton Bar Estate, we are delighted to announce that during early 2009, new low-floor easyAccess buses will be introduced onto Services 6, 7, 8. This £1m investment will significantly improve facilities for disabled customers, the elderly, and parents with small children, and open up a range of fully accessible orbital links between city suburbs.
Service 12: Following customer requests, the Sunday daytime timetable on Service 12 will be increased, with more buses during the main daytime period. Buses will run every 15 minutes between Two Ball Lonnen and Wallsend. During the late evening each day, the 2142 journey from Two Ball Lonnen will terminate at Walker, and the 2223 journey from Wallsend will be revised to commence from Walker at 2227.
Services 15 and 16: Due to continued poor passenger numbers, Service 16 journeys will be withdrawn between Kenton Shops and City Centre. In their place, Service 15 will be revised to provide facilities into both Blakelaw and Kenton Bar Estates. To maintain local links, alternate journeys on Service 15 will be numbered 15A, and these trips will operate an anti-clockwise terminal loop from Kenton Bar roundabout, running via Montagu Estate, Kenton Shops and then Kenton Bar Estate. Service 15 will operate via Kenton Bar Estate, Kenton Shops and Montagu Estate in a clockwise direction. Customers may board or alight at any stop on these new terminal loops. To reduce congestion at the eastbound 'Morrisons' bus stop on Shields Road, Service 16 buses towards Four Lane Ends will observe a new stop, closer to the Byker Morrisons store. Service 16 journeys towards the city centre, and all Service 15/15A buses in both directions, will continue to use the current bus stop.
Following the introduction of a resident’s parking scheme in the Jesmond Vale area by Newcastle City Council, slightly bigger buses will operate on Services 15/15A. These buses have lower floors than the obsolete minibuses, and this will greatly improve access for the elderly customers that utilise these routes. These ‘midibuses’ will also allow for improved capacity at peak times.
To combat increasing traffic congestion, the times of most journeys will be revised, with morning journeys operating up to 10 minutes earlier, and afternoon journeys operating up to 10 minutes later.
Service 18: To improve reliability, the timetable will be revised.
To reduce the harmful effects of serious traffic congestion in the South Gosforth and Longbenton areas, most Monday to Friday peak time buses will run to new timetables between Freeman Hospital and Benton Estate in both directions, and buses will be retimed by up to 10 minutes. During these times, Service 18 will no longer operate the section of route between Benton Estate and Forest Hall. Customers travelling between these areas are advised to catch Service 63, every 15 minutes, and then interchange at Four Lane Ends Metro. To reduce the extent of losses sustained during evening and Sunday times, Service 18 buses will no longer operate between Wallsend and Walker, or between Four Lane Ends and Forest Hall. During these times, buses will also no longer serve St.Peters Basin or Stoneleigh Avenue in Longbenton (buses will instead operate direct via West Farm Avenue). To minimise congestion and passenger confusion at the Byker Morrisons bus stop, buses towards Four Lane Ends will observe a new stop on Shields Road, closer to the store. Buses towards Walker and Wallsend will continue to use the current Morrisons bus stop.
Service 32: To improve reliability, most Monday to Saturday daytime buses will operate to a revised timetable, with some morning peak time buses operating up to 10 minutes earlier, and some afternoon peak time buses operating around 15 minutes later. However, the basic frequency continues unchanged, with Service 32 continuing to operate every 30 minutes during the main Monday to Saturday daytime period, and every 30 minutes during the evening and Sunday times. Please see timetable for full details.Service 33: In an attempt to reduce the losses experienced on Service 33, the “short journeys” between Jesmond and the City Centre will be withdrawn. As a consequence, Service 33 will operate every 30 minutes between Hollywood Avenue and Pilgrim Street. Customers should note that Service 33 was to have been withdrawn from September 2008. However, following discussions with Nexus and the local councillors, we have agreed to retain it until March 2009, and hope that the numbers of passengers using the service increases dramatically. We therefore urge all intending customers that if they want Service 33 to remain operational beyond that time, they really need to “use it or lose it”.
Service 35: Most buses will be revised to operate 2 minutes later in both directions. Due to the poor number of customers, the Monday to Friday journeys at 0659 from Fawdon Mormon Church to Market Street and the 0726 from Pilgrim Street to Fawdon Mormon Church are both withdrawn.
Service 38: During autumn/winter 2008, this service will be converted to double-deck low-floor operation. This investment of over £1.5m will help to accommodate the increasing numbers of customers using this major bus route. There are no changes to the timetable, with buses continuing to operate every 10 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes, and every 20 minutes during the evening and Sundays.
Services 62 and 63: The 1816 journey from Killingworth Morrisons to North Walbottle is revised to depart at 1811, and will operate up to 5 minutes earlier as far as the City Centre. However, basic frequencies remain unchanged, with Services 62 and 63 continuing to operate every 15 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes - and combining to run every few minutes between West Denton and Four Lane Ends. To minimise congestion at the eastbound Byker Morrisons bus stop, buses towards Four Lane Ends and Killingworth will observe a new stop on Shields Road, closer to the store.
Service X63: Buses on this route are revised to operate every 15 minutes during the main Monday to Saturday daytime period. Please see timetable for full details.
Service X79: The Monday to Friday journey at 1550 from Newcastle Eldon Square is revised to no longer operate via Kingston Park Shops. Alternative frequent services to Kingston Park continue to be provided by Service X47, every 10 minutes. All other journeys on Services X77/X78/X79 continue to operate unchanged, providing a handy link between Newcastle and Ponteland/ Darras Hall.
All other Stagecoach in Newcastle services continue to operate unchanged.
For more information on these changes, please contact Traveline on 0871 200 22 33
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