Bus routes across the North East could be cut by almost a fifth as a devastating cash crisis engulfs the region’s public transport networks.
Both private bus companies and Tyne and Wear Metro operator Nexus are set to take major hits at the end of March when the government ends Covid bailout funding that has helped cover losses caused by reduced passenger levels during the pandemic.
Council leaders issued a warning earlier this week that resulting cutbacks would amount to a “decimation” of the North East’s bus network and the ChronicleLive now understands that operators could slash up to 17% of their pre-pandemic mileage over the coming months.
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Transport bosses fear that the result will be less frequent services into central hubs like Newcastle and Sunderland, while outlying areas could lose some routes completely.
In an email seen by the Chronicle, Go North East reveals a series of potential cuts to services in Newcastle and North Tyneside that will come into force on March 27 – with a warning of more to follow across the rest of the region in May.
The Tyne and Wear Public Transport Users Group (PTUG) warned that the 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 the focus should be on cutting emissions.
Nexus spends around £10m of public money a year paying private bus companies to keep running services that are deemed unprofitable and Go North East says it is “likely” that the body will step in to save at least some of the routes that are on the chopping block.
But Nexus has its own severe money troubles, with a £21m shortfall predicted in 2022/23, and says it cannot fill the gaps caused by the biggest shakeup of local bus routes in decades.
Huw Lewis, Nexus’ customer services director, said: “Commercial companies currently provide 90% of bus services in Tyne and Wear. Nexus provides the last 10% to fill gaps in the network, and the scale of cuts to commercial routes and frequencies we expect, in terms of the number of buses lost, is greater than our whole publicly-funded provision.
“The cuts being suggested represent, when taken together, the biggest change to local buses for at least 35 years.
"We cannot replace routes like-for-like at the scale being suggested but we will seek to minimise the impact as far as possible by recasting our publicly-funded network to cover some of the gaps commercial operators will leave, within the existing budget we have.
“We need to understand the final plans of commercial bus operators, but we are already speaking with them, and with local councils about what will be possible.”
Go North East is proposing the following cuts in Newcastle and North Tyneside from March 27:
- Little Coaster 11, 19 and 42/42A withdrawn;
- 33/33A withdrawn;
- QuayCity Q3 to operate between Great Park and St Peter's only, and diverted via Osborne Road to replace service 33/33A.
- Evening journeys on Coaster 1 withdrawn;
- Evening journeys on Cobalt and Coast 311 withdrawn, with service 310 operating via Hadrian Park during evenings;
- Little Coaster 41/41A revised to operate between Hadrian Park and Wallsend only, additionally serving Wiltshire Drive.
In a notice sent to stakeholders this week, Go North East commercial director Stephen King said that the fact that passenger levels remain up to 30% below normal means “a number of services will become unsustainable financially and we are now at the point of needing to take action”.
He added: “It is important to note that many unprofitable services will continue to be operated commercially by us even after these changes, as we have worked to take a long term view on recovery potential, but we can no longer sustain the operation of the very worst performing services and it is important that we reflect the changes in people's travel patterns and demand as we emerge from the pandemic. ”
Stagecoach and Arriva, the region’s other two main bus operators, are yet to announce their proposed cuts.
PTUG spokesman Alistair Ford said: “We need joined-up policies from our local authorities that increase public transport use, such as a workplace parking levy that would raise revenue to support services and deter car commuting at the same time.
“But we also need national government to fix our broken transport policies. Private companies continue to make vast profits from bus services, and they are driven by what's best for shareholders, not the travelling public.”
As part of budget cuts due to be signed off next Wednesday, Nexus will itself slash £7.5m from the funding it gives private bus companies to reimburse them for carrying passengers with free bus passes.
Tyne and Wear’s five local councils have confirmed that they will reluctantly agree to an “unprecedented” £4m increase in the levy they give Nexus – but this will only balance the books and avoid deeper cuts, rather than offering extra resources.
