Airport Masterplan 2035 LOW RES

Masterplan 2035
Smart Ticketing and Booking
9.42 Transport for the North is developing an integrated ticket
program with operators for use across the North, with
an aim of being operational within the next 4 years. It is
intended that the scheme will provide clear route options,
simple pricing to ensure that the lowest price is paid, and
easier ways to pay. It is intended that this ‘smart travel’ will
increase efficiencies, improve the passenger experience,
and provide a familiar system across Northern England. We
consider this to be a good opportunity to improve rail usage
to travel to the Airport throughout our catchment.
9.43 Alongside this, there is an opportunity to increase both rail
and Metro use with improved facilities to buy integrated
tickets. Having a ticket machine at the Airport Station would
allow for arriving passengers to purchase tickets for their
onward journey on national rail and include their transit
on the Metro as part of the single ticket purchase. It would
provide improved convenience, time savings, and in relation
to visitors to the area could make it easier to negotiate an
unfamiliar public transport system.
9.44 Rail travel perhaps gives us the best opportunity to use
our website to promote it and other forms of sustainable
transport for passengers to travel to the Airport. We will seek
to implement the following to achieve this –
l Improve the information content on our website for public
transport and make it as visible as possible;
9.45 In addition we could work with airlines partners to similarly
promote sustainable transport options when passengers
are booking directly through their websites, and rail
operators to promote improved routes/fleets as an Airport
connection.
Key Actions and Investments – Rail Travel
By 2025
l Support transport planning bodies to gain policy priority
and funding for improvements to the East Coast Mainline
and Tyne Valley Line;
l Work with operators to ensure that fleet renewal
programmes and timetable improvements enhance
connections to the Airport and it is advertised as such;
l Support Transport for the North in the development and
delivery of a smart ticketing system throughout the North;
l Ensure all rail operators offer integrated ticketing with the
Metro and explore the possibility of ticket machines being
located at the Airport Metro Station;
l Deliver improvements to our website to promote rail travel
and offer an integrated booking platform
Beyond 2025
l Reintroduction of passenger services to the Leamside
and Newcastle and Northumberland Lines with good
interchanges to the Metro System;
Bus and Coaches
9.46 The Airport currently has a single bus stop immediately
outside of the terminal building. Two additional stops are
located next to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel, on the B6918
about 400m from the Terminal, and linked by a footpath.
There are currently 6 bus routes regularly serving the
Airport.
Improved and New Services
9.47 The use of buses to travel to the Airport for both passengers
and staff is relatively low at only 1% of those surveyed.
However, buses form an important element of a sustainable
transport offer, and we will seek to increase the number,
frequency, and geographic scope of bus services serving
the Airport. There is particular opportunity to introduce
better services to distant areas of the region, especially
where rail travel is not available or necessarily the quickest
mode of public transport. Dedicated express services
from Teesside or Carlisle, for example, could be viable
options if services are coordinated with peak times at the
Airport, and are promoted through our website and booking
partners. The Airport could also become a stop on long
distance routes, for example for routes to Scotland after
leaving Newcastle City Centre. We will build closer working
relationships with operators to identify opportunities and
interventions from them and the Airport to deliver new
viable services.
l The introduction of a booking widget rather than a web
link, to allow passengers to do everything they need
to on the Airport’s website to plan and book public
transport to the Airport.
l
l
Support Nexus in utilising national rail infrastructure and
interchanges to expand the local reach of the Metro System;
Improvements to Central Station to provide better
interchange to the Metro system;
l
Reinstatement of infrastructure on the ‘Benton Curve’ to
allow for direct heavy rail services to the Airport.
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