Travelling around Newcastle on public transport will be faster and easier with new timetables adding more than 160 services from Sunday, 3 April 2022.
Minister for Transport and Veterans David Elliott said additional services will improve journey times and increase service frequency outside of peak periods and on weekends.
“We are excited to be improving services across all Newcastle Transport modes including bus, ferry, light rail and on demand to encourage people back on to public transport,” Mr Elliott said.
“The new express route, the 10X, is a game-changer and will take about 20 minutes to travel between Charlestown and Newcastle Interchange during the morning and afternoon peaks.
“It will take the same time as an individual car trip travelling along City Road – without the stress of finding a park.
“We have also extended the operating hours of the on demand service until 6pm on weekdays, connecting in with the new express route.
“Extra light rail services have been added to weekends, with services now every 15 minutes from 7am to 1am on Saturday and Sunday, and there are more ferry services across weekdays and Saturdays.”
Keolis Downer Hunter General Manager Emmanuel Genlot said details on the improvements including the new network map and timetables could be found on the Newcastle Transport website.
“Bus timetables, including some school bus services, have had their timings tweaked to improve reliability of the network for our customers,” Mr Genlot said.
“I encourage our customers to head to newcastletransport.info or their favourite travel app to plan their new trip.
“Our Customer Service Officers can also provide personalised assistance, to help both existing customers and those new to public transport via our virtual travel concierge or at the Newcastle Interchange.”
Customers can plan their trip, find out more about the improvements or get in touch with the Newcastle Transport team at http://newcastletransport.info
Service improvements from 3 April 2022 will include:
- Introduction of a new express route, the 10X, between Charlestown and Newcastle CBD – an additional 90 bus services each week
- Extending the On Demand hours from 4pm to 6pm on weekdays – an additional 10 hours of services each week
- Improving the frequency on the light rail on weekends to 15 minutes between 7am and 1am – over 20 additional trips each week
- Improving the frequency on the ferry from Monday to Saturday – over 50 additional trips each week.