Newcastle Upon Tyne City Transport Undertaking 1901 - 1969
The brochure published and issued to celebrate the 68 years of 'independent' operation of the municipal transport undertaking in the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1969. It was written to commemorate the transfer of the department to the new Passenger Transport Authority and Executive - something the City Council had fought tooth and nail to prevent. This was not because they doubted the requirment for a more overarching strategy to an integrated transport plan for the Tyneside conurbation - indeed they had in 1967 created a combined Traffic, Highways and Transport Committee to try to integrate the approach within the city - but they objected to their own still profitable undertaking being transferred as the other major operations who played a major role in provision across the region, were excluded from operation by the PTE apart from South Shields CT that also joined in from 1 January 1970. I suspect it niggled more given they ran various cross-boundary and joint services. In 1974 when the new County was formed Sunderland's fleet and operations were added.
Anyhow, it happened and in the next decade Tyne & Wear PTE would, arguably, make a good fist of the integration as they not only built the first phase of the Metro but did introduce an integrated fares and route structure that was sadly swept away post-deregulation in 1985. The booklet shows the progression from trams to trolleybuses and buses - the former having only been finally scrapped in 1966. The Leyland Atlantean had become the standard vehicle from 1967 and they were early operators of the double door Alexander bodied type as seen here.
Newcastle Upon Tyne City Transport Undertaking 1901 - 1969
The brochure published and issued to celebrate the 68 years of 'independent' operation of the municipal transport undertaking in the City of Newcastle Upon Tyne in 1969. It was written to commemorate the transfer of the department to the new Passenger Transport Authority and Executive - something the City Council had fought tooth and nail to prevent. This was not because they doubted the requirment for a more overarching strategy to an integrated transport plan for the Tyneside conurbation - indeed they had in 1967 created a combined Traffic, Highways and Transport Committee to try to integrate the approach within the city - but they objected to their own still profitable undertaking being transferred as the other major operations who played a major role in provision across the region, were excluded from operation by the PTE apart from South Shields CT that also joined in from 1 January 1970. I suspect it niggled more given they ran various cross-boundary and joint services. In 1974 when the new County was formed Sunderland's fleet and operations were added.
Anyhow, it happened and in the next decade Tyne & Wear PTE would, arguably, make a good fist of the integration as they not only built the first phase of the Metro but did introduce an integrated fares and route structure that was sadly swept away post-deregulation in 1985. The booklet shows the progression from trams to trolleybuses and buses - the former having only been finally scrapped in 1966. The Leyland Atlantean had become the standard vehicle from 1967 and they were early operators of the double door Alexander bodied type as seen here.