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FIVE more years! Five more years! No, it's not part of Labour's general election campaign, but a celebration of another major contract winging its way to Nexus. The company's call centre began work last week on a new contract to run the Traveline services - after beating off fierce competition from across the country. That five-year deal kicked in on February 1, and Hood Street staff are cock-a-hoop. Nexus has run the contract on behalf of Traveline North East since the scheme's birth in February 2000 - and the decision to keep the public transport information service at its Newcastle home is a massive boost to the company. Traveline North East is made possible through a partnership between the transport operators and local authorities in the region. Paul Matthews, Chair of Traveline North East, said: "We are delighted that Nexus has retained the contract. It's important that people have access to high quality travel information and Traveline provides that." And it's a testament to the professionalism and commitment of the Hood Street staff, who work from 7am to 9pm daily to bring travel information to the region. "This is great news" said Bernard Garner, Director of Development for Nexus. "We have a large amount of staff who work on the Traveline section and this secures their roles for another five years. "This contract is for a long period of time and it brings us stability, securing the future of the Hood Street centre itself. "We can now look to the future positively, to build on this and looking for new initiatives, knowing we have the Traveline contract secured." Traveline services - the scheme was introduced as part of a government initiative five years ago - now account for 40 per cent of Hood Street's output. But call centre staff are also kept busy running the Care Services section - which provides transport for disabled and elderly passengers - and the Demand Response Transport service, which is designed to fill the gaps left by commercial bus routes. The Traveline number is 0870 608 2 608.
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