North East public transport could 'fall off a cliff', say councillors
Chiefs are calling for a radical shift in how the services are paid for
Public transport bosses in the North East have warned that vital services across the region could "fall off a cliff" if funding is not made available.
Operating across Tyne and Wear, transport company Nexus is set to make a loss of over £20 million in 2022/23, which could put many services and routes in jeopardy.
The cause of the loss is a dramatic reduction in travel as a result of the Covid pandemic, as well the ending of a £50 million bailout for the infrastructure by the government in April.
If the government does not offer another bailout, Nexus will need to cut millions of pounds towards the funding of the services including free bus passes.
Liberal Democrat Councillor Greg Stone said that unless a dramatic shift in how Metro services are funded, “the direction of travel is over a cliff edge”.
“Unless we change our overall strategy on this, we are going to have the same next year and beyond," he said.
“We are looking to spend most of the reserves this year and beyond 2024 I don’t see there being any reserves left.
"I may be a lone voice on this, but I am desperately concerned about the situation we are in and if we don’t get a deal back from the government or councils don’t step in with more funding for the transport levy then we are in very dire straits.”
However, other local councillors have said that “putting the begging bowl out” is not financially feasible for the transport network for the region.
Nexus' Head of Finance, John Fenwick, admitted that the pandemic had been the cause of many of the company's financial problems, but said that the reliance on tickets and government funding had exposed a hole with the company.
Mr Fenwick added that talks with the government over a new bailout are continuing and that local representatives were pressing the case that “this is a very serious situation for the future of public transport in the North East”.