QuayLink

Quaylink

QuaylinK Olymbus in March 2008, operated by Stagecoach North East
Parent	Nexus
Founded	2005
Locale	Tyne and Wear
Service area	Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead
Service type	bus service
Routes	Q1 Central Station–Gateshead Interchange Q2 Haymarket–St Peter's Basin
Fleet	10
Daily ridership	2,383
Fuel type	Hybrid diesel-electric 2005–2010 Low-emission diesel 2010–present
Operator	Stagecoach North East 2005–2010 Go North East 2010–present

QuayLink is a bus service in Tyne and Wear, England, connecting the city centres of Newcastle upon Tyne and Gateshead with the Quayside area. Conceived as a high-quality environmentally friendly operation, it was launched in 2005 as routes Q1 and Q2 using diesel turbine hybrid electric buses (Designline Olymbus) operated by Stagecoach North East under contract to the local authorities, who funded the purchase of the buses and other improvements. After problems with the hybrid buses coping with the hilly terrain, when put out to re-tender in 2010 new buses were specified, and the contract transferred to Go North East using eco-friendly diesel buses (Optare Versa Euro V EEV). Following budget cuts, in 2015 the service was operated by Go North East on a commercial basis, reaching further into the suburbs as a renumbered Q1/Q2/Q3 route network. From 31 July 2016 Q3 was extended to run to Wallsend Metro.

The Quaylink service was conceived as a high quality service for the redeveloped and expanding Quayside area, which, although extremely close to Newcastle and Gateshead town centres, was outside the traditional operating area of existing bus services and was dominated by car usage.

In June 2002, Newcastle and Gateshead councils and the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive (Nexus) invited tenders for operation of a proposed Tyne Quayside Link, and for manufacture of eight alternatively-fuelled buses for a Quayside Transit System. The total project, scheduled for launch in 2004, would cost £5m, with £3m coming from the local transport plan, £1m from regeneration funds for Gateshead, and £1m from the Quayside developers. As well as new buses, the project involved the construction of a bus lane and improvements to some bus stops, making them fully accessible.

Stagecoach won the tender to operate the service, with the buses chosen being the Olymbus model built by Designline in New Zealand and which had been introduced into service in Christchurch in 1998. Stagecoach boss Brian Souter had arranged the purchase of a prototype Olymbus while on a visit to Stagecoach New Zealand. It arrived in October 2004 and toured the country in Stagecoach corporate livery on proving trials until April 2005. A further nine buses followed, with the fleet of ten being allocated to the Walkergate depot, which received the necessary upgrades to accommodate them. They were substantially modified for operation in the UK, notably using a leaf door design over the plug design. While the buses were double doored, the middle door was only provided for wheelchair access. Prior to launch, all ten buses were pictured on the Quayside with local dignitaries and partner representatives.