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
She said: "We have a crisis in our bus services as a result of Covid-19. Can the Secretary of State say what action he can take to support our bus services from being reduced as a result of that cliff edge in funding in March."
Transport Minister Robert Courts told MPs there was funding for bus service improvement which would be allocated "by the end of February".
Initially around £3bn was to be allocated to bus improvements nationally, but a letter sent to Local Transport Authority directors by the Department for Transport last month made clear that the budget for the “transformation” of buses has now been halved to just £1.4bn for the next three years
Shadow transport secretary Louise Haigh blasted the move, she said: "Last year, the prime minister promised great bus services to everyone everywhere because of new funding to support this.
"We've now learned the truth about transformation funding. Why have they broken their promise and downgraded the ambition of communities?"
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps refuted the allegation saying the figures were "incorrect".
He added: "I ask her to take into account the full amount of money being spent on buses, a record never achieved before by any government as far as I can see."
