A bus company lost 120,000 passengers because of a controversial road closure caused by Newcastle’s Christmas markets.
Stagecoach has revealed that its passenger numbers dropped by 19% when services had to be rerouted away from stops on Blackett Street for six weeks, with more than 30,000 of those lost customers being elderly or disabled.
And as council bosses unveiled plans to permanently shut the busy shopping area to traffic, the bus firm said it was “clear” that doing so makes it harder for vulnerable people to get into the city centre.
More than 600 people have now signed a petition launched by the Newcastle Independents group to “save” Blackett Street from closure.
A Stagecoach spokesman said: “Buses are a modern, accessible, environmentally friendly means of connecting people and joining up communities, as well as providing a critical link to employment, education, health and leisure facilities.
“At a time when Newcastle City Council are seeking to improve air quality within the city centre, encouraging the public to travel by bus into the city should be a priority.
“Throughout the Blackett Street consultation process, Stagecoach North East has repeatedly expressed concerns over the likelihood that closing one of the city’s key corridors would have a detrimental impact on the level of accessibility for vulnerable bus users, and it is now clear that those concerns have been realised.
“We continue to work with council officers to improve bus priority within the city centre and on key strategic roads; helping to reduce journey times, improve reliability and make buses a better choice.”
Newcastle City Council said last month that it was “simply not true” to claim the closure was wholly unpopular with shoppers and resulted in widespread disruption.
But Stagecoach says that it saw a decline in passengers of almost 120,000, with 31,696 of those being elderly or disabled.
Newcastle Independents founder Jason Smith added: “It appears that the closure of Blackett Street had a disproportionate impact on elderly and vulnerable people using buses, with a high number of concessionary travellers boycotting the city centre, which fits with what people told us.
“During the closure, there were significant problems with congested roads, delaying buses, and congested pavements, forcing pedestrians to walk on roads to get past people at bus stops.
"Newcastle’s Labour spokesperson accused us of lying about the impact and that there had been little impact but the experience of bus passengers who use that route and Stagecoach’s own figures show the true story.”
A council spokesman said: “Public transport is a social good and we fully recognise its importance to our city.
“We want to prioritise public transport and ensure it is the first choice for more people in order to reduce car journeys and make our city cleaner and healthier.
“We are launching a consultation on ambitious proposals that are aimed at transforming our city centre – providing cleaner air, a stronger economy and a more pleasant and attractive destination for residents and visitors.
“These proposals include making permanent changes to vehicle access on Blackett Street and we are keen to hear from people, businesses and organisations across the city so that we can understand the range of opinions, needs and requirements.”
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