Tyneside PTA/NBC integration from April 1
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• The Tyneside Passenger Transport Authority at its meeting on Monday approved general terms for the "basis of agreement" between its Executive and the National Bus Company as to the organization and integration of bus services in the Passenger Transport Area. It is expected that the formal Agreement will be effective from April 11971.
The eventual Agreement will give the Authority, through its Executive, the same power of determining NBC services and fares in the PT Area as it has at present over the Executive's services.
Fuller details of the proposed Agreement will be made soon through a joint statement of the NBC and the PTE.
Also from April 1 travel concessions for the old, the blind and disabled people will be available in the Tyneside PT Area on Executive and NBC buses. NBC vehicles are those provided by Northern, United Automobile, Tynemouth and District, Tyneside, Venture, Sunderland District and Gateshead and District.
Concessionary pass holders will travel at children's fare; that is half the adult fare rounded up to the nearest penny. Some local authorities have, however, entered into special arrangements with the Executive whereby special passes have been purchased for blind and disabled people enabling those people to travel without cost at any time on any day.
Meanwhile changes to many of the Executive's bus services in and around Newcastle will be introduced on Sunday (March 21), following a detailed study which has been made of the existing pattern of services. A comprehensive information campaign has been launched to tell the public about the changes.
The prime object of the Executive is to provide the public with a much more convenient network of services, with improved reliability. Well over half the services in the Newcastle division have been amended in some way. Generally, the whole pattern of service provision has been adjusted to meet new demands having in mind changes that have taken place in recent years in housing and other developments.
The Executive is confident that the revision will result in a more logical grouping and routeing of services for passengers, with greater flexibility and efficiency for management. A number of services are being converted to one-man operation in an effort to achieve more reliability.