How come you can't get a bus from Team Valley to Newcastle?

Sep 16 2003 By Bill Midgley, The Journal

There is a danger at this time of the year in becoming something of a holiday bore, as we tend to recount with somewhat rose tinted spectacles our all-too-brief summer experiences in far flung parts.

Having said that, I am afraid I am falling into that particular trap. Having enjoyed for a short period the delights of the Tuscan hills, I was quite amazed at the way in which the Italians deal with what passes as service in some of their fast food establishments.

Trying to buy a coffee, a sandwich and a bun is quite an exercise. A selection has to be made of what is wanted, items then have to be paid for, a ticket issued, and a visit to three counters where the various purchases will be handed over by an all too keen assistant. That may seem fine, but it means that four people are employed when one (or perhaps no more than two) would have carried out the exercise. Fine in terms of customer service, but hardly an efficient way of running such an establishment.

It may be something to do with job protection, and if it is alarm bells should be ringing. Perhaps there is a different reason in that personal service is much more the norm than in the UK.

But Europe does have to be careful that its costs remain under control, and that such use of labour hardly makes competitive economies. Of course, such practices would never exist in the North-East, would they! What did, however, interest me about our European cities is the way in which they can move people conveniently and quickly.

We have much to learn, particularly the way in which public transport is provided to get our workforce to their destinations.

I am informed that there is no direct bus service between the Team Valley and Newcastle city centre, the former being a major place of employment.

That means that many people (and I would be one) would have to take two buses, or in my case two buses and a Metro, to get from home to a workplace on the Team Valley. That hardly ties in with the wish to see more people use public transport, and use our own vehicles somewhat less.

Business parks and the like may offer pleasant working surroundings, certainly far better than some of the older offices and factories that many of us have been used to, but nevertheless they have to be accessible.

It is also such accessibility that will attract or retain a workforce, and excessive job turnover is something which any company would wish to avoid.

If the driving force for public transport is to make a profit, and no more than that, then the car will still remain paramount. If, however, we are serious in providing what has for far too long been referred to as an "integrated transport system" then we need to see that it is exactly that, and not merely pay lip service to it.

So, perhaps good lessons and bad from Europe. But on the basis that any good business should not be deterred from stealing other people's ideas and developing them, whilst casting out that which does not work, this might just be a spur for us to provide better means of getting our workforces to and from their places of employment.

Transport providers and policy makers please take note.