Following research by the , , MP for Washington and
Sunderland West, has called out the Government for their failure
to fix the broken bus industry.
At the current rate, the threat of five more years of a Tory
Government will mean consumers will see:
- Fare
rises to 59% more than in 2010.
- Failing
operating costs and rising revenue caused by higher fares leading
to growing profit for private bus companies. Operating profit
will grow by £3.5 million over the next parliament, rising to
£5,156 million more than 2010.
- A
reduction of nearly 5000 bus routes between 2010 and 2022.
- Higher
fares and cuts to bus routes will see bus passenger numbers fall
by 13% compared to 2010, with the number of elderly and disabled
passengers who use local bus services falling by nearly
20%.
As a result, buses are becoming increasingly inaccessible and
unaffordable for many people across the region, especially in
Washington and Sunderland West.
Labour has a plan to fix the broken bus industry by extending the
powers to re-regulate local bus services to local councils or
combined authorities and also overturn the Tories’ ban on
municipal bus companies, so councils have the power to establish
a community bus company.
The importance of local bus services and wider local public
transport is an issue which Sharon has campaigned on over the
years, including her campaign to extend the Tyne and Wear Metro
to Washington, but also being a supporter of the proposed Quality
Contract Scheme which would have given powers to the North East
Combined Authority to set ticket prices, routes and travel times,
which would have ultimately improved bus services and their
affordability in the region; however, this was rejected when it
was considered a few years ago.
MP said:
“It is important that we ensure our local public transport is
accessible to all. That is why it is appalling to see passengers
paying more for their bus journeys whilst bus routes are cut or
those that are not cut have become less frequent.
“This state of affairs is problematic for those people who
rely upon buses to get around, including the disabled, the
elderly and young people, and more must be done to fix this
broken industry and ensure it works in the interest of local
people.
“Labour have called for an improvement in local public
transport, and this has been something I have campaigned on for
numerous years from pushing for the extension of the Metro to
Washington and also on the Quality Contract Scheme.
“For too long, local people here in our area and across the
North East have suffered poor transport infrastructure at the
hands of Conservative Governments. It is unacceptable that time
and time again, our region is simply forgotten about.”
