Overview of the Proposal
Most bus services in Tyne & Wear are run commercially by private bus companies. Services which are not profitable, but which still serve an important social need are then paid for by Nexus. We regularly review all the local bus services that we pay for to ensure that they continue to provide value for money and meet the needs of the communities they serve.
In March 2025, Go North East started to operate Monday to Saturday daytime trips on service 342 commercially. They anticipated minor changes to the route and timetable would deliver growth that would make the previously secured service profitable for them to run. Unfortunately, expected growth has not occurred and Go North East have now formally notified us that they will not be able to the service commercially after March 2026.
We therefore plan to fully fund service 342 once again from March 2026, but with a revised route and timetable in place.
Following recent customer feedback and operational monitoring, we are proposing the following changes to service 342:
- Revised route between Hazlerigg and Kingston Park
Monday to Saturday daytime trips would be amended to operate between Hazlerigg and Kingston Park via Dinnington, Newcastle Airport and Bank Foot. This change is designed to improve access to local facilities for residents in this area. Evening & Sunday trips would continue to operate direct between Hazlerigg and Kingston Park, as now.
- Revised timetable
Service 342 would operate hourly throughout each day, but with a revised timetable in place. Monday – Saturday daytime trips between Wallsend Metro – Benton Rise would be reduced to hourly (currently half-hourly) to better reflect the level of demand on this part of the route. The resource saved by this reduction would then be reinvested to deliver the proposed route diversion at the wester end of the route.
Service 342 Consultation Update – March 2026
Following public consultation, we can confirm planned changes to Service 342.
What’s changing?
- New hourly timetable, route and fares will be introduced from 22 March 2026.
- Improved access to local facilities for residents in Dinnington:
- Monday – Saturday daytime trips will now additionally serve Dinnington, Newcastle Airport and Bank Foot.
Other feedback
Dinnington residents also told us that they would like to see evening and Sunday trips to Kingston Park. We have been unable to accommodate this request from March 2026. However, we’ll be monitoring demand for the new daytime service and will then use this data to help inform if evening and Sunday trips can be extended to serve Dinnington in future.
We would like to thank everyone who took the time to provide us with their views and help shape the future of this service.
For further information please visit nexus.org.uk or call Nexus Customer Services on 0191 20 20 747