Park & Ride facilities open for commuters

A new Park & Ride facility is now available to drivers in Gateshead as the council works to offer alternative transport into central areas while the Tyne Bridge is operating with reduced capacity during restoration work.

Gateshead Council has worked with Metrocentre and Go North East to establish a new Park & Ride site in the existing coach and staff car park at Metrocentre.

Funding for the new venture has come from the Government-funded Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

The Park and Ride is located off A1114 Riverside Way, NE11 9SY. The entrance to the car park is from the roundabout of A1114 and Mandela Way, as shown on the attached map.

It is free of charge for drivers to park in the designated Park and Ride area of the car park. Then they just need to pay the relevant bus fare to use the bus for onward travel.

At the moment fares are £2 per person each way, £1 if you are under 22, or free of charge from 9.30am if you are a concessionary bus pass holder.

Anneliese Hutchinson, Service Director for Climate Change, Compliance, Planning and Transport at Gateshead Council, said: “This is an important facility to help more drivers switch to public transport.

“Our road network is congested, and there are limited river crossings which creates bottlenecks at peak times, especially while the Tyne Bridge is being restored.

“Taking the bus also allows you to read, or send emails and make calls, where you can’t while driving.”

Drivers can catch existing service buses which pass by the Park and Ride. Buses leave every few minutes and go to destinations including Central Railway Station, Quayside (morning drop off only), Eldon Square and Gateshead Interchange.

Up until 10am on weekdays, buses can be boarded from the bus stop next to the Interchange entrance.

After 10am, passengers will need to go into the Interchange building (next to the bus stop), across the bridge and catch a bus from Stand L in the Metrocentre Interchange.

There is also a railway station at Metrocentre Interchange and the site is close to the Keelmans Way riverside cycle route linking Metrocentre to the urban area and beyond.

On NUFC match days, Go North East will continue to run the dedicated X50 service from the same car park as the Park & Ride. The X50 buses pick you up from within the car park and drop you off outside St James Park and can bring you back after full time.

For drivers approaching Gateshead from the east along the A184 Felling Bypass, there is also the opportunity to use the Park and Ride at Heworth Interchange to avoid congestion, where you can transfer to the Metro or a bus into Newcastle or Gateshead. For more information, go to Metrocentre Park and Ride - Gateshead Council.

Map showing the location of the new Park & Ride at Metrocentre