The North East has been awarded more than £160m to improve bus journeys and slash fare prices – but it is just a fifth of what local leaders had wanted.
It was revealed by the Department for Transport (DfT) on Monday that a Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) for the region has won £163.5m of Government backing, a huge investment hailed as “great news” for passengers. But while the allocation has been largely welcomed and is among the highest in the country, it is dramatically lower than the original £804m proposal that the North East had lodged a bid for last year.
That plan featured a massive collection of measures such as new stations and park and ride sites, more services running to rural areas and outside peak times, and the creation of a multi-modal ticket enabling seamless travel across bus, Metro, rail and ferry services. Decision-makers will now have to choose which projects go ahead and which are shelved.
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