MP COLUMN: More Government funding needed to help public transport

There is much good thinking in the analysis prepared by our civil servants for the recent government paper on increased investment and opportunities in regions like our own.

It is clear that the UK is geographically unequal. We often feel and are neglected 300 miles from the wealthy south. We need more big cities in every area. Wealth, power, and investment should be shared more equitable.

Otherwise, we will continue to suffer a debilitating brain drain, the loss of talent and spending, when young people from the North East feel the need to up sticks and move on.

And moving around in the North East is also part of the long term strategy. The government says that by 2030, local public transport connectivity across the country will be significantly closer to the standards of London, with improved services, simpler fares and integrated ticketing.

Bus services are central to this laudable aim but that’s a long time to wait for a decent bus service.

In the meantime, bus services are going backwards in the North East.

Sadly, the number of bus routes could be axed by nearly a fifth in just a few weeks time with maybe more cuts to come in May.

Private bus companies and Tyne and Wear Metro will soon lose government funding that reduced their losses when passengers weren’t using their services due to Covid.

The Tyne and Wear Public Transport Users Group rightly says that these changes will be devastating for public transport users, leaving some people stranded in public transport deserts and pushing more people into car ownership at a time when we should cutting emissions.

Local people are organizing petitions and it’s my top priority to help seek to stave off bus service cuts. Fine words from the government are just so much hot air if we are left waiting longer for buses or losing them altogether.