Ministers have been urged to bailout North East bus operators before they "fall off a financial cliff edge" in a matter of weeks.
Local leaders have pleaded with the Treasury to extend Covid support funding that has propped up the ailing Tyne and Wear Metro network since the pandemic hit, but so far their requests have gone unanswered.
Blaydon MP Liz Twist raised the issue directly with transport ministers in the Commons on Thursday morning, warning that without continued support the North East bus network could be plunged into a "crisis".
Read more: North East's public transport facing big cuts unless government U-turns to plug £20m black hole
