Go North East responds to bus petition

Martin Harris, Commercial Director of Go North East has responded to the petition of over 300 signatures from residents in Lobley Hill and Dunston Hill which was handed in to the company on Monday 24th April.

He wrote to Susan Craig, the petition coordinator, and also to the four lead petitioners, residents from Larchwood and Cheviot Gardens in Lobley Hill and Knightside Gardens and Mountside Gardens in Dunston Hill, who wrote to Go North East with specific details of the issues.

In his letter about services to the Beggarswood side of Lobley Hill, Mr Harris says, "Several customers have commented that they would like or expect a service directly to this particular part of the estate.

"However, the places that people ask for a direct service from, include the Metrocentre, Gateshead and Newcastle. It is increasingly difficult to provide direct links that meet all customers’ needs given the rapid rises in costs of providing public transport. Nevertheless, we will again review the services to this area this year and seek to provide sustainable services that meet the needs of the majority of customers."

About the reliability of existing services, he says, "We no longer have any driver shortages contributing to missed journeys and the reliability of services in recent months is much improved.

"There are still too many occasions when the fragile road systems of central Newcastle and central Gateshead are exposed by incidents resulting in major disruption to bus services.

"However, I would welcome specific details of any gaps in services as they arise so that we can investigate them effectively at the time and where possible take action to prevent further recurrence."

Susan has asked residents who contact Go North East directly that they also contact her so that we can keep track of the issues and responses.

Mr Harris ends his letter by saying, "Thank you for bringing your concerns of the residents to our attention once more. They will be given serious consideration as we tackle reliability issues further, and look afresh at services in this area during the year."