North Tyneside is split by the A19: the west of the borough is more urban, and is mostly contiguous with the city of Newcastle. The towns in the east of the borough are more separate from the central part of the Newcastle urban area. Many of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Tyne and Wear are found in the coastal part of the borough.
The council has sixty elected members, three from each of the twenty wards in the borough. Elections are staggered into thirds, with one councillor from each ward elected each year for three consecutive years, and the mayoral election held on the fourth year.[6]
North Tyneside lies in the coalfield that covers the South-East of the historic county of Northumberland. It has traditionally been a centre of heavy industry along with the rest of Tyneside, with for example the Swan Hunter shipyard in Wallsend, and export of coal. Today most of the heavy industry has gone, leaving high unemployment in some areas (over the borough, 5.1% compared to 3.7% for the UK in 2022).[8]
The A19 which leaves the A1 north of Newcastle and runs through the borough and then through the Tyne TunneltoSouth Tyneside, Teesside and towards the South.
The Coast Road (A1058) runs from Newcastle to the coast. For most of its length it is grade-separated.
North Tyneside is served by 17 stations on the Tyne and Wear Metro on a loop from Newcastle through Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Benton and back to Newcastle. Trains operate at least every 15 minutes, with extra services in the peak hours. Most of the stations serving North Tyneside fall into fare zones B and C.
There are no National Rail stations in the borough, despite the East Coast Main Line and Blyth and Tyne routes passing through. The nearest National Rail station is Newcastle, which is also served by the Tyne & Wear Metro.
North Tyneside has an extensive bus network, with most areas benefiting from direct services to Newcastle. Many areas have direct bus services to Cramlington, Blyth or Morpeth. The principle bus operators in the area are Arriva North East (all areas), Go North East (most areas) and Stagecoach in Newcastle (Benton, Forest Hall, Killingworth and Wallsend).
The Shields Ferry links North Shields to South Shields, in South Tyneside.[9]
The Stephenson Railway MuseuminNew York, named after George Stephenson and Robert Stephenson who hailed from Tyneside and lived in West Moor in North Tyneside 1802–1824.
^"Ferry - Nexus Tyne and Wear". Nexus. Retrieved 30 January 2016. The Shields Ferry operates a daily passenger service across the river Tyne which connects the local communities of North and South Shields.
^"Newcastle ferry". Direct Ferries. Retrieved 30 January 2016. The Newcastle to Amsterdam ferry route is operated by DFDS Seaways and the sailing itself is from around 15 hours 30 minutes.
