Go North East keeps moving with website launch

For over 100 years, Go North East has connected the region’s towns and villages with the cities of Newcastle, Durham and Sunderland, but very little in their century of history could have prepared them for the effects of COVID-19. Despite the sudden shift in travel patterns and the unprecedented situation that the UK public transport industry finds itself in, Go North East, working alongside Passenger, ensured that the delivery of a sophisticated new website for users remained a priority.

Launched ahead of schedule, Go North East’s new website is powered by Passenger’s digital services platform Passenger Cloud. With live bus tracking to help make vital emergency timetable information even easier to access, it is beautifully branded to complement the operator’s stylish bus routes. It also acts as their link to the Department for Transport’s Bus Open Data Service system, so their feed can be directly indexed by the DfT – a quick and easy way to comply with upcoming Government regulations.

Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director for Go North East said “We’re delighted to be launching our new website. It’s something we’ve been working on for a while and with the team at Passenger, we’ve been able to bring the release forward to provide our customers that are making essential journeys with better tools and information during these challenging times. The team at Passenger have been a pleasure to work with, making the whole process run smoothly from start to finish and we can’t thank them enough.”

The new site includes interactive maps and gives users to ability to favourite bus stops, journeys and timetables – features that will encourage users to keep choosing bus travel when other options are presented.

Passenger CEO Tom Quay attributes the success of the project to the focus and commitment from both organisations, explaining “Over the last few months, things have changed quickly and drastically. Something that has remained steady throughout is the dedication of both the Go North East and Passenger teams. Being able to launch the website ahead of schedule has helped those making essential journeys needed to keep critical services functioning – something we are all pleased and proud to have helped make happen”.