 |
|
| Type | Passenger Transport Executive |
|---|---|
| Founded | Transport Act 1968 (as Tyneside PTE) |
| Headquarters | Nexus House, St James' Boulevard, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England |
| Area served | Tyne and Wear |
| Key people | Bernard Garner, Director General |
| Parent | Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority |
| Website | nexus.org.uk |
The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (TWPTE), using the brandname of Nexus, is the Passenger Transport Executive for the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England.
TWPTE is the operations arm of the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority (TWITA) (formerly the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (TWPTA)). The ITA is made up of fifteen councillors from the county: four from each of Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland, three from Gateshead, and two from each of North Tyneside and South Tyneside.
The Nexus Business Intelligence Annual Report 2008/09 provides analysis of public transport statistics and sets this in context with wider socio-economic factors and is freely available at nexus.org.uk.
Contents |
Operations
Tyne and Wear PTE are responsible for the following aspects of the Tyne and Wear transport system:
- owning, maintaining and operating the Tyne and Wear Metro;
- owning, maintaining and operating the Shields Ferry;
- coordinating local bus services;
- subsidising socially necessary, but unprofitable, bus services, including school buses;
- subsidising local rail services between Newcastle and Sunderland;
- running the concessionary travel scheme for people aged 60 and over and eligible disabled
- subsidising public transport for children aged under 16 and further education students
- providing public transport information;
- maintaining bus stops and most bus stations.
- running Taxicard, a subsidised taxi service for disabled people
- running LinkUp demand responsive transport
Tyne and Wear ITA are responsible for the following aspects of the Tyne and Wear transport system:
- administering the concessionary travel scheme;
- setting fares on secured bus services, local rail, metro and ferry services;
- maintaining and operating the Tyne Tunnel.
Policies and programmes
Nexus is pursuing a number of major programmes aimed at improving public transport in Tyne and Wear. These include the £300 million Metro: All Change programme to modernise the Tyne and Wear Metro over nine years. Funding has been secured from government dependent on the train and station operations sections of Metro being offered for commercial tender. Nexus will continue to own all infrastructure, set fares and service frequencies through the ITA, and control this contract through a performance regime. The 'revenue risk' from passenger numbers falling will remain with Nexus, unlike in UK rail franchises. Most of the capital money will be invested in renewal and upgrade of infrastructure, with modernisation of stations and trains also included. Trains will not be replaced within this programme, but are expected to be replaced in around 2023.
In April 2009 Nexus launched a Bus Strategy aimed at improving the bus network in Tyne and Wear, which accounts for around 77% of all public transport journeys in the area. Nexus said it wished to work in partnership with commercial bus companies which operate 90% of services in Tyne and Wear without regulation, using partnership opportunities created in the 2008 Local Transport Act, as well as with local authorities which control highways. Priorities include increasing the punctuality and reliability of bus services, improving information and ensuring the network offers a high level of access to local shops, services and workplaces.
Nexus seeks to reduce social exclusion, particularly for disabled people, through a number of overlapping schemes. These include subsidised taxis, weekly community bus services between sheltered accommodation and supermarkets, a 'companion card' allowing free use of public transport by caretakers, and specialist training and mentoring for people with learning difficulties. This programme has won several national awards.[citation needed]
Tyne and Wear Zoning System
Fares on PTA-regulated bus, metro and ferry services (and also those for transfare tickets) are based on a system of zones, with the fare determined by the number of zones passed through.
Zones are denoted by 2-digit numbers. Some examples are:
- Newcastle International Airport - Zone 07
- Whitley Bay - Zone 19
- MetroCentre - Zone 25
- Central Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead - Zone 26
- Heworth - Zone 36
- South Shields - Zone 38
- Washington - Zone 46
- Central Sunderland - Zone 57
- Houghton-le-Spring - Zone 58
- Easington Lane - Zone 60
Travelshops
Nexus runs ten travelshops selling season tickets, providing information, etc. These are located at:
- Four Lane Ends Metro station
- Gateshead Interchange
- Gateshead MetroCentre Bus Station
- Heworth station
- Newcastle (Haymarket Metro station)
- Newcastle (Monument Metro station)
- North Shields Metro Station
- South Shields 34-36 Fowler Street
- Sunderland Park Lane Interchange
- Newcastle Central station
|
|||||
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive |
- Nexus (Tyne and Wear PTE)
- Tyne and Wear PTA
- Map of Tyne and Wear zones
- The Tyne & Wear Public Transport Discussion Forum
|
|||||||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
