Nothing changes

Today we have the A19 trunk road but once a medieval pack horse road that ran through County Durham to Sunderland came through here.  There are still lengths of cobbled tracks through the woods that we walked today that can be traced back to maps of the late 1700s.  

Things changed with the abandonment of the Turnpike Trusts in the 1890's and county councils took charge of developing roads and bridges instead of private owners.  By 1928 County Councils had set up Highway Committees that ensured the same standard of road making was followed throughout the UK.

Better roads, shorter journey times, more reliable vehicles and fair pricing (many turnpike tolls were notoriously corrupt) lead to the rapid increase of bus passenger use.