£50million-plus investment is just the ticket for bus passengers

North East bus services are to receive a £50million-plus injection create substantially cheaper tickets for adults across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland.

The investment will also allow major improvements to road and traffic management systems to speed up every day journeys in congested areas.

The North East Joint Transport Committee (JTC) approved the release of Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding at its meeting yesterday, Tuesday, July 18, which will help to make sustainable travel more affordable and quicker for millions of passengers a year.  

The region has secured £163.5million in government funding to deliver its the plan, which aims to make bus travel much more affordable and enjoyable, boosting the number of people travelling by sustainable public transport. 

The committee will release £17.5million of the funding for the new fares including:

*A brand-new adult day ticket price for unlimited travel by bus, Metro and Ferry in Tyne and Wear for only £6. The existing equivalent is the Network One Day Rover ticket which is currently £9.10 - meaning passengers will save 34% per day of travel; 

* New adult multi-operator day tickets covering unlimited travel on buses in Northumberland (£5) and County Durham (£4);

* A region-wide multi-operator day ticket will be introduced at £6.80 for unlimited travel by bus, Metro and Ferry across all of Tyne and Wear, Northumberland and Durham.

The existing equivalent – the North East Explorer ticket - currently costs £12.70, meaning passengers will save 46% on this fare alone;

* Extending the benefit of the North East’s new £1 single bus fare for those aged 21 and under – young people will also be able to buy a £3 day ticket for unlimited daily travel by bus, Metro and Ferry;

Subject to final agreement with bus operators, the fares are intended to launch in September, and will run alongside the government’s £2 bus fare cap scheme (in operation until October before then increasing to £2.50.)

In addition to the major fare schemes, £33.2million will also be invested in bus infrastructure programmes including:

* Around £20.25million to deliver bus priority measures in high demand areas which will greatly speed up buses across the region, improving reliability and connectivity for bus users and reducing journey times;

* A £13.04million investment in Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), with technology upgrades at traffic signals to prioritise buses, making millions of passenger journeys quicker and reducing bus delays by an average of 25% in the areas covered.

Coun Martin Gannon, Chair, North East Joint Transport Committee, said: "I am delighted to bring forward this transformational £50.8million investment in our region’s buses which will help make travel significantly more affordable and reliable for millions of public transport journeys each year.

"The bus network is going through a difficult time at the moment and we’re doing what we can to make it better for passengers.

"Alongside cheaper fares we will also inject a massive £33.2million in new infrastructure programmes which will help to greatly improve journey times on buses in congested areas and reduce delays by an average of 25%.

"For people who rely on buses to get to work, this is sure to be welcome news and I look forward to the schemes coming forward in the coming months.

"The North East is determined to deliver a better bus network that works for local people and this is further evidence of our bold ambitions for public transport."

Ben Maxfield, Chair of local operators association NEbus, added: "We are excited to welcome the introduction of these new multi modal adult tickets. This is an example of the BSIP investment in our region flowing directly through to the customer, and I hope it will make a real difference to people using public transport in the North East.

"The cheaper fare,s in combination with improved bus priority and intelligent transport solutions, are set to make bus travel a much more attractive proposition for daily use.

"The enhanced partnership between operators and Transport North East has been central to securing and delivering these initiatives so far, and that great work is still going strong."

For further information visit www.transportnortheast.gov.uk