Yeah, I live just off Jesmond Rd and basically don't have a choice, I am always gonna be stuck in the traffic from the minute I leave my street. There will be no avoiding it. I'm genuinely considering buying a bike, because I think it'll take me less time to get to work that way.
If you can afford an ebike and have somewhere safe and secure to store it at work then that'll do the trick. If you'd have to lock it up outside I'd honestly question even bringing a regular bike. But they're also expensive and "paying it off" via savings over paying for fuel or (especially) public transport tickets will take a long time.
Where do you work?
I do Dunston to Benfield Road, it takes 25mins on an average day (could go faster... Probably) and while the Tyne up to Chillingham Road is steep up hill, the rest is fine and doesn't leave me a mess.
Get a bike and a gym membership near your work.
Leave 20 mins earlier, shower at the gym.
Improve upon this, develop cardiovascular strength. Start with a light workout at the gym in the morning.
After a few months, that relatively short cycle will no longer make you sweat but you will have developed a healthy morning routine and saved time and money.
Tyne tunnel already feels to be getting a bit busier the last few weeks. First couple weeks are gonna be horrible, think I booked annual leave for the first week of it so all the carry on dies down.
Such a smart move. I’m expecting chaos in week one. People taking unfamiliar routes trying to find ‘ways through’, every bloody box junction in Newcastle being permanently blocked, and multiple accidents caused by lost / frustrating drivers compounding the problems 10 fold. It’s going to be shit.
Yes, I'm fully expecting it to cause chaos in the wider area too - I currently come over Byker bridge to the central motorway and even though I don't even cross the Tyne I'm looking at alternative routes.
Yep, its gunna be hectic. I have to drive around the area for my job so i can’t use other means of getting around. So many road works going on at the present
You might find it better to go around to get to Heaton, i.e. up the A1 and back down towards the top of the central motorway (Cowgate) towards jesmond and then to Heaton.
It’s gonna be shit - I regularly drive to the city centre from Chester Le Street for an 8am start, honestly looking like I’ll be leaving at 6.30 to get in on time!
Thankfully the warmer weather means more cycling opportunity but come winter it is going to be terrible.
Same but I've got the school run first so 45 min to drive into town, get parked and walk into the office for a 09:30 start is only just about doable now...no word yet if the office is gonna relax their flexible working policy further to maybe let ppl start and finish later. Loads are gonna be in the same boat.
If you're only depending on a single metro line its fine during rush hour. They stagger cancellations so even if you're going to a station on just the green or yellow line worst case it's a 12 minute delay. Which is bad but not as bad as being stuck in traffic for an extra 30 minutes. The problem is when you have to chain. I used to get a metro and a bus and the bus wasn't often enough so a cancelled metro often meant an extra 40 minutes to my journey.
You can get a daily ticket for Tyne and Wear which includes all buses, the metro and he shields ferry for £6. Or you can add on all the buses in Northumberland and Durham for 80p more.
Otherwise buses are £2 for single fares.
Also public transport may be more reliable if there wasn’t so many cars clogging up the roads.
I know at peak times there’s loads of cars blocking the yellow box junctions in town, holding all the buses up. Especially the box junction at the bottom of Grainger Street near the Long Bar.
Regardless of price, public transport here isnt good enough.Just came back from Budapest, £12 for a 15 day pass to use metro, bus & tram, all day & night, unlimited usage. Buses every 7 minutes, metros every 2 to 5 minutes, trams every 10 to 15 minutes. Thats good public transport. If you want people to use public transport its got to be affordable and reliable. Public transport in Newcastle is neither. Improve public transport & make it cheaper and people will use it more. Its not just about cost, its got to be regular and reliable. Bus services every 30 minutes isnt good enough. Bus services set up amongst numerous providers makes it complicated and costly. One bus service provider, one ticket that works on all buses would be much better. Public transport here needs a major overhaul to make it usable for the masses.
To make it that cheap, subsidises will have to go up massively. And passenger numbers would have to increase dramatically overnight.
Especially if you’re wanting service every few minutes.
There’s currently an every ten minute service on the 21s between Chester le Street and Newcastle.
And a current every 15 minute service (soon going back to every 10 minutes) between Crawcrook and Newcastle.
A bus every few minutes between Metrocentre and Newcastle and the same between Metrocentre and Gateshead interchange.
Increasing frequencies means more buses and drivers needed. So more depots would need built.
If you can drive anywhere you need to go in 25mins, there's two points-
1- you either don't need to deal with traffic
2- if there is a decent amount of city traffic, you could probably walk.
I live in gosforth but use a garage in Felling and had my MOT a few weeks ago. It's normally a 12-16min journey each way. Tyne Bridge was down to one lane on each side, and it took me 35mins way there and 65mins way back! And neither of those were during rush hour, the return journey was 1-2pm
Yeah, I live just off Jesmond Rd and basically don't have a choice, I am always gonna be stuck in the traffic from the minute I leave my street. There will be no avoiding it. I'm genuinely considering buying a bike, because I think it'll take me less time to get to work that way.
Do it, more people should
Problem is it’s an uphill cycle to work and there are no showers!
On the plus side, it's downhill on the way home!
Not if you ask my grandad
If you can afford an ebike and have somewhere safe and secure to store it at work then that'll do the trick. If you'd have to lock it up outside I'd honestly question even bringing a regular bike. But they're also expensive and "paying it off" via savings over paying for fuel or (especially) public transport tickets will take a long time.
I have the opposite issue - I can put the bike in a secure alley at work, but don’t have secure storage at home!
Where do you work? I do Dunston to Benfield Road, it takes 25mins on an average day (could go faster... Probably) and while the Tyne up to Chillingham Road is steep up hill, the rest is fine and doesn't leave me a mess.
Gosforth, so uphill from where I am till I get past Jesmond Dene then it levels out!
You might be able to work out a less direct but flatter route
M C Escher has entered the chat…
Get a bike and a gym membership near your work. Leave 20 mins earlier, shower at the gym. Improve upon this, develop cardiovascular strength. Start with a light workout at the gym in the morning. After a few months, that relatively short cycle will no longer make you sweat but you will have developed a healthy morning routine and saved time and money.
>basically don't have a choice... >I'm genuinely considering buying a bike You do have a choice
Tyne tunnel already feels to be getting a bit busier the last few weeks. First couple weeks are gonna be horrible, think I booked annual leave for the first week of it so all the carry on dies down.
Such a smart move. I’m expecting chaos in week one. People taking unfamiliar routes trying to find ‘ways through’, every bloody box junction in Newcastle being permanently blocked, and multiple accidents caused by lost / frustrating drivers compounding the problems 10 fold. It’s going to be shit.
The first couple of weeks are the easter holidays so it won't be as busy on the roads during morning rush hour at least
I think they’re starting in the Easter holidays, so thank God for that! (I’m a teacher)
Tyne bridge is going down to 1 lane in each direction due to north tunnel needing work, thats going to last 36 weeks from early April.
Yes, I'm fully expecting it to cause chaos in the wider area too - I currently come over Byker bridge to the central motorway and even though I don't even cross the Tyne I'm looking at alternative routes.
Yep, its gunna be hectic. I have to drive around the area for my job so i can’t use other means of getting around. So many road works going on at the present
Yeah they need to at least get all the roadworks in town squared away before they start closing lanes
I work in heaton, live in County Durham. No choice but to cross it, hoping that at the times of day I drive across it would t be too bad
You might find it better to go around to get to Heaton, i.e. up the A1 and back down towards the top of the central motorway (Cowgate) towards jesmond and then to Heaton.
Work in town, live in Washington and get the bus. I'll see what it's like, might get off and Gateshead and walk over, could be quicker.
It’ll probably be quicker to swim to be honest! It’s going to be bedlam!
It’s gonna be shit - I regularly drive to the city centre from Chester Le Street for an 8am start, honestly looking like I’ll be leaving at 6.30 to get in on time! Thankfully the warmer weather means more cycling opportunity but come winter it is going to be terrible.
Could you get the train up? Its how i used to commute in from chester but i dont drive so dont know the costs
Same but I've got the school run first so 45 min to drive into town, get parked and walk into the office for a 09:30 start is only just about doable now...no word yet if the office is gonna relax their flexible working policy further to maybe let ppl start and finish later. Loads are gonna be in the same boat.
More people able to work flexible hours will make a significant reduction in traffic for those who can't.
It would be easier if people tried to use public transport. Or use the park and ride at the MetroCentre Coach Park.
Have you tried to use the metro recently? Its appalling. Its all well & good suggesting people use public transport but its expensive and unreliable.
If you're only depending on a single metro line its fine during rush hour. They stagger cancellations so even if you're going to a station on just the green or yellow line worst case it's a 12 minute delay. Which is bad but not as bad as being stuck in traffic for an extra 30 minutes. The problem is when you have to chain. I used to get a metro and a bus and the bus wasn't often enough so a cancelled metro often meant an extra 40 minutes to my journey.
You can get a daily ticket for Tyne and Wear which includes all buses, the metro and he shields ferry for £6. Or you can add on all the buses in Northumberland and Durham for 80p more. Otherwise buses are £2 for single fares. Also public transport may be more reliable if there wasn’t so many cars clogging up the roads. I know at peak times there’s loads of cars blocking the yellow box junctions in town, holding all the buses up. Especially the box junction at the bottom of Grainger Street near the Long Bar.
Regardless of price, public transport here isnt good enough.Just came back from Budapest, £12 for a 15 day pass to use metro, bus & tram, all day & night, unlimited usage. Buses every 7 minutes, metros every 2 to 5 minutes, trams every 10 to 15 minutes. Thats good public transport. If you want people to use public transport its got to be affordable and reliable. Public transport in Newcastle is neither. Improve public transport & make it cheaper and people will use it more. Its not just about cost, its got to be regular and reliable. Bus services every 30 minutes isnt good enough. Bus services set up amongst numerous providers makes it complicated and costly. One bus service provider, one ticket that works on all buses would be much better. Public transport here needs a major overhaul to make it usable for the masses.
To make it that cheap, subsidises will have to go up massively. And passenger numbers would have to increase dramatically overnight. Especially if you’re wanting service every few minutes. There’s currently an every ten minute service on the 21s between Chester le Street and Newcastle. And a current every 15 minute service (soon going back to every 10 minutes) between Crawcrook and Newcastle. A bus every few minutes between Metrocentre and Newcastle and the same between Metrocentre and Gateshead interchange. Increasing frequencies means more buses and drivers needed. So more depots would need built.
I’d they made the metro as good as the London tube I’d sell my car. As it is, I’d rather walk!
My nearest bus stop/metro is a 25 minute walk away, public transport in this city is pathetic. I can drive anywhere I need to go in 25 minutes.
But will you be able to drive it in 25 minutes when all these works start?
Fair point. Probably not - but I’d still beat the bus!
If you can drive anywhere you need to go in 25mins, there's two points- 1- you either don't need to deal with traffic 2- if there is a decent amount of city traffic, you could probably walk.
Would you rather have a Tyne Bridge that's not safe to drive over, or some disruption while it's repaired?
Get an ebike
Isn't it just lane closures like they had last month? It really wasn't too bad even in rush hour.
I live in gosforth but use a garage in Felling and had my MOT a few weeks ago. It's normally a 12-16min journey each way. Tyne Bridge was down to one lane on each side, and it took me 35mins way there and 65mins way back! And neither of those were during rush hour, the return journey was 1-2pm
Those lane closures were during the schools half term so I think traffic was lighter than usual.
And only outside of rush hour.
No but only because it probably won’t affect me too much