Plans which will see millions of pounds pumped into transport priorities have been approved by the North East Combined Authority cabinet.

This includes £4.58m to safeguard the future of the Shields Ferry, £8.6m on a business case to extend the Metro to Washington and £100m to deliver a wide range of transformative schemes including affordable fares and cheaper multi-modal day tickets through the Bus Service Improvement Plan.

North East Mayor, Kim McGuinness, said: “I am determined to make the North East the home of real opportunity and to do that, we must invest in our transport infrastructure so we can meet the needs of local people and connect our communities like never before. For too long, the region has lacked major investment needed to deliver on our transport ambitions.”

The Mayor and cabinet also agreed to progress with the next step of the process to bring buses back into public control – preparing a Franchising Scheme Assessment (FSA).