The psychologist, R.D. Laing, once said that:-

"We live in a moment of history where change is so speeded up that we begin to see the present only when it is already disappearing."

The purpose of this page is to capture some personal experiences of public transport in the Outer West of Newcastle before they disappear!

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Your stories of
public transport
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where ever you
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Many of my stories about public transport have came from other community members which have included young people, people with disabilities the elderly and parents and carers with young children.
One particular story is when a disabled person was left stranded late at night because the the bus which arrived although easy acces it was broken. However, several passengers who were standing in the queue assisted the gentelman and lifted him and his wheelchair onto the bus.
Several young people have expressed great concern about the appauling state of their school buses.
By the time some get on their is spit on the seats and floors and are often the oldest buses that the company appears to have.
The children and young people wonder why after paying for a service do they get poor quality buses with drivers who appear to dislike all young people.
Sharon MacInnes

many parents and carers of young children would like to know why when they go shopping or the doctors, dentists etc can use an easy access bus but often cannot get an easy acces bus back home making the journey more difficult.
Mandy

Since the 316 was withdrawn the residents from the moor park estate are missing the service badly - particularly pensioners and young mothers.
The time keeping on the 325/326 is atrocious. This morning i went to catch a bus and it came at 33minutes past the hour but it's supposed to be there at 38 minutes past the hour so I missed the bus because it came too early. At Rake lane where the hospital those people must have missed the bus and had to wait another twenty minutes or so. It feels like the drivers do not know how to read the time.
A Gentleman from Phoenix Court

This morning I went to the busstop on norham road. There were two pensioners standing and a mother and her daughter and the baby and they had got there at 9.25 for the 9.35 bus to newcastle and it did not arrive until five minutes passed ten (X44). And then immediatly another X44 followed - the two buses came together at the same time. The child was freezing by this time.
Tomorrow I want to go to the funeral of an old friend for eleven o'clock - there is no bus which would take me there directly and in good time without waiting for a long time in the rain. The funeral is at Tynemouth Crematorium by public transport it's impossible and by car it's about 10 to 15 minutes. If it is not raining I'll walk but if it is raining I will have to miss the funeral of a dear friend and that will really distress me.
Two pensioners from Moor Park's Explorer Club along with Steve were able to do a trial run to Tynemouth crematorium as a very close friend is being buried tomorrow. They used a car to do the journey and it took 20 minutes. Without the use of the car and given the poor routing and poor service levels of the public transport system the journey could only be made by walking.
Resident from Moor Park

My son who is fifteen attempted to acces the last bus from North Shields to return home which we believe is about 11.45pm. He waited at the bus stop for a considerable time but the last bus never turned up leaving him to walk home alone.
Moor Park Resident

On many occasions when waiting for an easy access bus which has been scheduled to arrive at a designated time does not arrive causing great distress to parents, carers and their children as often they are left in the rain and extreme cold as bus shelters are limited.
Moor Park Resident

There is great difficulty for many residents of all abilities and disabilities to access transport to the nearest city which is Newcastle. Problems consist of availability of easy access information as it is not readily available. This makes it extrememly difficult for parents with children and people with disabilities to move around as freely as other residents.
Moor Park Resident

Many parents are angry that buses turn up 10-15 mins late and although it is supposed to be easy access this is not always the case.
Moor Park Resident

With the build up to Christmas I am looking forward to going to Newcastle to do some late night shopping. However, although I can get there it is extemely difficult to return as the bus I use stops at 6.00pm and the shops close at 9.00
Moor Park Resident