Around 250 people took advantage of a new initiative to combat loneliness last week (29 January) as Go North East’s 10-strong team of ‘chatty champions’ boarded over 30 buses travelling across the region in a bid to get people talking.
Their one-day mission was to encourage passengers to strike up conversation and have a natter with a neighbour, in response to research revealing that three in 10 Brits go at least one day a week without speaking to anyone.
Chatty champion Pat says: “One lady told us we’d made her day and she wished we were on board all the time.
“Another, called Lauren, explained she had mental health issues and autism and that we were the only people she had spoken to in over a week. She thought the chatty bus was a fantastic idea that she would love to see happen again.”
