Moor Park Explore Club

Voices From The Community

On the 25th and 26th September 2001, communities monitored their public transport provision in Lemington and in NewYork / Moor Park in the North East of England. See North East Action on Transport

Mothers with infants - pushing the pushchair against public transport cuts and rapid fare increases.

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.

My son who is fifteen attempted to access 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.

This morning I went to the bus stop 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 (route 44). And then immediately another 44 followed - the two buses came together at the same time. The child was freezing by this time. It is supposed to be a half hourly service.

Since the 316 was withdrawn the residents from the Moor Park estate are missing the service badly - particularly pensioners and young mothers.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 33 minutes 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 there is a 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.

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

Several young people have expressed great concern about the appalling state of their school buses. By the time some get on there 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.

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 bus which arrived, although easy access, it was broken. However, several passengers who were standing in the queue assisted the gentleman and lifted him and his wheelchair onto the bus.

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 extremely difficult for parents with children and people with disabilities to move around as freely as other residents.

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.

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 extremely difficult to return as the bus I use stops running at 6.00pm and the shops close at 9.00. What's the use of that?

What about your experience of public transport? Email us to share them.

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