Private bus companies should “look in the mirror and in their accounts” before making deep cuts to vital North East services, Newcastle’s council leader says.
Nick Forbes hit out at the region’s bus operators ahead of devastating cutbacks due to be made over the coming months, once the government’s Covid bailout funding for public transport is withdrawn at the end of March.
It is feared that, with passenger levels still well below pre-Covid rates, bus operations across the North East could be slashed by up to 17% – potentially meaning less frequent services in both cities and rural areas, or the least popular routes being axed entirely.
