£24 million secured for better buses across the North East
Emma Foody MP welcomed the Labour Government’s transformative plans to deliver better buses across the North East by providing £23.7 million in funding in the North East Combined Authority transport area.
One of Emma’s key election pledges was improving public transport and this investment from the Labour government will help residents across Cramlington and Killingworth get around through enhancing popular routes, protecting rural services and support people accessing local services, shopping, socialising and commuting. This is especially important in areas places like Seaton Valley and the villages in the North West of North Tyneside and North of Newcastle where buses are often the only option for residents to travel.
The Labour government have said the funding will help prevent service reductions on at-risk routes and improve punctuality, to bring an end to the current postcode lottery of unreliable services.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Emma Foody MP said “For 14 years, the last Government failed communities with a lack of investment in our bus services, leading to fewer services, reduced timetables, increasing unreliability and, ultimately, less control. In 2023, in my area alone, tens of millions fewer bus miles were travelled than in 2010” adding that “our towns, villages and rural areas depend on our buses, and that the almost £24 million announced for the North East combined authority will turn the page for my community, which was let down so badly by the previous Government”