Making a difference to travel

Mar 20 2008 By The Journal

High quality bus routes into business parks extend choice in travel, opportunity and workforce flexibility. Bernard Garner, Director General of Nexus, looks at some of the new initiatives to support economic growth.

EVERY weekday more than 2,000 commuters climb on board a modern, fast and frequent bus straight to the heart of Cobalt office park. Many of these people do not have access to a car, or want to do without the expense and hassle of driving to work every day. The Route 19 bus – funded by the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority through Nexus – is just one example of how Nexus supports economic growth in North East England through planning and providing the right travel choices.

Launched in 2004, Route 19 has grown along with Cobalt itself – it helps bring jobs and money here.

Nexus invested heavily in the service, building dedicated roadways to speed journey times and a new Metro station at nearby Northumberland Park to connect with the wider travel network.

Does it make a difference? A recent survey showed 75% of new passengers had sought work at Cobalt because they knew of its excellent public transport links. This is solid gold to any employer considering relocating there.

The success of Route 19 is being repeated in other parts of Tyne and Wear.

January saw the launch of the new Team Valley Clipper, whisking passengers non-stop from Newcastle city centre to the trading estate in less than 10 minutes, four times an hour at peak times.

Nexus supports the Clipper’s rush hour services in partnership with commercial operator Go North East to build a big improvement in access to Team Valley.

And we work closely with Sunderland City Council to promote a number of fast frequent bus services and cycling routes to Doxford International.

We also work with employers and staff to travel plan daily routines effectively – making people aware of the options, including walking and cycling.

At Cobalt, for example, we worked with one large contact centre that needed an early Sunday morning bus service to get a weekend shift into work. We now provide one of our LinkUp community transport vehicles to pick up staff and get them in on time.

The days when tens of thousands lived within a short walk or bike ride of riverside shipyards are long gone. The homes are still there but the jobs have moved away.

Remember the old “workers’ service” buses? They’re still just as important but now provide a targeted, personalised service unrecognisable from a few years ago.

If you’ve got an appointment at Cobalt or Team Valley in the near future, why not try Route 19 or the Team Valley Clipper, and find out for yourself?

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Metro modernisation on track METRO carries almost 40 million passengers a year, and is vital to the economic well-being of the region. Without it 15 million more car journeys would be forced on to Tyne and Wear’s road and 10,000 fewer journeys would be made into Newcastle city centre as frustration with congestion grew.

Funding for the first phase of Metro Re-invigoration – a £600m plan to secure the future of the urban travel network over 20 years – has been completed by Nexus.

A Government pledge of £12.9m for new ticket machines and gates goes alongside investment already won to fund the modernisation of Haymarket and Sunderland stations, a new station for Simonside in South Tyneside and CCTV and electronic information on all trains, among other things.

Nexus is waiting to hear from the Government on around £280m for Phase Two, which would pay for the entire operation and maintenance of Metro over the next decade, including modernisation of all stations and refurbishment of trains.

Nexus figures show every £1 spent on Metro is worth up to £8 to the local economy compared to letting it decline and fail.

The new Haymarket Metro station, now taking shape in Newcastle.