Nexus has stepped in to maintain a local bus service for communities in the north of Newcastle after the commercial operator of the route said it was withdrawing.
The public body has let an emergency contract for a new bus route, the X46, which will operate hourly between Featherstone Grove in Newcastle Great Park, Gosforth Garden Village and Newcastle city centre from 31 October. Click here for timetable.
Commercial operator Arriva announced last month that it was withdrawing the existing 46 and 46A routes due to an ongoing shortage of drivers.
Nexus has stepped in as a short-term measure until March 2023 during which time it will review services in the area.
Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director of Nexus, said: “We have been working to find a solution that protects the bus service for local people since Arriva made the decision to withdraw the 46 and 46A routes.
“We have been able to afford to step in as an emergency measure for now so people in Newcastle Great Park and Gosforth Garden Village have an hourly bus service until March. This means people still have local public transport while we review local services and the future level of funding the Government provides for buses.”
Nexus has so far this year put together two large scale rescue packages for local bus services, between them worth more than £10m, in response to cuts made by commercial bus companies in the wake of the pandemic.
It did this after analysing local bus and Metro services through consultation with passengers and local councillors to put in place a revised network. Its aim is for homes across Tyne and Wear to be within 400 metres of a Metro station or bus service, whether operated commercially by one of the region’s three big bus companies or through a subsidy or contract with Nexus.
Nexus now contracts 20% of the bus network in Tyne and Wear but has said that the Government’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, a national fund local authorities can bid into to grow local public transport after the pandemic will be crucial to supporting the region’s revised network of services beyond next year.