QuayLink was conceived as a frequent, high quality bus service, for the newly developed and expanding Quayside area. Despite being located a short distance from the town centres of Newcastle and Gateshead, the area was poorly served by public transport. In June 2002, Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council, along with Nexus, invited tenders for operation of a proposed Tyne Quayside Link, as well as the manufacture of eight alternatively-fuelled buses for a Quayside Transit System. The proposed project, scheduled for launch in 2004, would cost £5 million – with £3 million coming from the local transport plan, £1 million from regeneration funds for Gateshead, and £1 million 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. QuayLink brand was launched in July 2005, using a fleet of ten Designline Olymbus turbine-electric hybrid vehicles – a project costing £8 million. Prior to the launch, all ten vehicles were pictured, along with local dignitaries and partner representatives, at an opening ceremony held on the Quayside.
won the contract to operate the service, with a fleet of ten Designline Olymbus turbine-electric hybrid vehicles, built in New Zealand. A prototype arrived in October 2004, subsequently touring across the country as a demonstration vehicle, until April 2005. Delivery of the remaining nine vehicles to the depot at Walkergate followed, after the completion of upgrades to the depot, necessary to receiving the new vehicles. The vehicles were substantially modified for operation in England, notably using a leaf door design, over the plug design. Vehicles were dual-doored, with the middle door used only for wheelchair access. Initially, the vehicles were turbine-electric hybrids, in which the wheels were driven only by electric motors, powered by on-board battery packs. The batteries were charged overnight, and then re-charged while the bus was in operation by a liquid-fuelled turbine-generator and through regenerative braking. Even with the turbine running, the buses were credited with a markedly quiet ride, when compared to regular diesel-powered vehicles. By the end of 2008, the turbines were unable to keep the batteries charged for the whole day, leading to some instances of service cancellations, and vehicles being temporarily withdrawn from service. Stagecoach North East announced its intention to replace the turbine and generators with a diesel engine as an alternative charging system, with the modification planned to be completed on one vehicle on a trial basis, and evaluated in early 2009. The anticipated cost of modifying the whole fleet was estimated to cost around £200,000. Following contract changes in July 2010, the vehicles were withdrawn from service – aged just over five years old. They were later sold for scrap, with plans by Nexus to use them on other routes not coming to fruition.
Service, routes and frequency
A partial service launched on 22 July 2005, with QuayLink operating as a free shuttle service, coinciding with the 2005 Tall Ships Race. Full service commenced on 29 July 2005, with two routes, operating at a 10 minute frequency:
Both routes combined on a short section between Grey Street and the Quayside, with stops at Theatre Royal, Grey Street and Guildhall. Initially, passenger numbers were low, with QuayLink carrying around 11,000 passengers each week. Ridership later increased, with one million journeys having been made by May 2007. In September 2007, following the re-development of the Ouseburn Valley, Q2 was extended to Hoults Yard and St. Peter's Basin.
Prior to the re-awarding of the QuayLink contract by Nexus, in July 2010, it was decided that the service should receive new vehicles, owing to the overall poor reliability of the existing fleet. Go North East was awarded the five-year contract to operate QuayLink, with operations transferred to the company's Saltmeadows Road depot in Gateshead, in July 2010. The fleet consisted of nine Euro 5 diesel-powered Optare Versa vehicles, which entered service in August 2010. Operations were later transferred within the company, following the opening of the new Riverside depot in Gateshead, in February 2015. The vehicles provided increased seating capacity, when compared to the former fleet, as well as on-board next stop audio-visual information displays. In 2017, the QuayLink fleet was fitted with free on-board WiFi. As of March 2020, vehicles are in the process of being upgraded from their current Euro 5, to Euro 6 standard, ahead of the introduction of Newcastle's Clean Air Zone in 2021.
Service, routes and frequency
Under Go North East, the service operated to the same routes and frequency as previously operated by Stagecoach North East. At the end of 2014, it was announced that Newcastle City Council and Gateshead Council would no longer fund QuayLink beyond the end of the contract, due to finish in July 2015. Go North East opted to continue to operate the service on a commercial basis, with minimal funding from Nexus, which itself would also end three years later. In late July 2015, Go North East relaunched QuayLink, with a new look and significant route changes:
Q1 was merged with the existing Orbit branded 51 and 52 circular services, and renumbered Q1 and Q2. These changes extended the reach of the QuayLink network to East Gateshead, with the circular route connecting Felling, Heworth, Leam Lane Estate, Wrekenton and Low Fell.
Q2 was merged with the existing Great Park & Ride branded X40 route, and renumbered Q3. This extended the network north, beyond Haymarket, to Gosforth and Great Park. The route was later extended to Walker and Wallsend, in July 2016.
The relaunched services continued to use the existing QuayLink fleet, in addition to additional Optare Versa vehicles formerly used on the Orbit services. A new yellow and purple livery was introduced for the Q1 and Q2, with a yellow and green livery for the Q3. As of March 2020, 23 Versas were painted in Quaylink livery.
