A Tory minister has urged caution over plans that could see the North East’s bus services brought back under public control.
The new £4bn devolution deal for Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham will give a regional mayor the power to take control of bus routes, timetables, and fares back from private companies under a franchise model. It is expected that the new mayor will follow the likes of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham in pursuing such a scheme, with frontrunners for the job having pledged it in their manifestos.
However, roads minister Richard Holden warned on Friday that the idea presented an “inherent risk” to taxpayers and urged mayoral hopefuls not to “get sidetracked with the nature of the operation” and to instead focus on practical measures to upgrade bus services now. Mr Holden, who is the MP for North West Durham, was speaking on a visit to confirm £45m of Government funding for bus services in the North East – the final allocation from a £163.5m package that was originally announced in April 2022.
