NECA JTC Meeting 16th Nov 2021 – Transport Plan Progress Report

Transport North East’s Managing Director gives a report to each ordinary meeting of the North East Combined Authority Joint Transport Committee. This covers a range of topics, but in relation to BSIP, the update published is as follows:

6.1 Bus partnership development

The Bus Services Improvement Plan (BSIP) has been submitted following approval at last month’s JTC meeting. Full details of the Plan were set out in the report to last JTC, however some key proposals include:

  • A single ticket capped at between £4 and £6.80 allowing daily unlimited travel across all bus, Metro and ferry services in Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Northumberland, plus rail services between Sunderland, Newcastle, the Metrocentre and Blaydon
  • Cheaper tickets for under-19s, with a £1.20 fare for single tickets and a £2.50 region-wide cap
  • Upgraded stations and shelters, with more real-time service updates and improved CCTV and lighting
  • More early morning, evening and overnight services, and improved access to the most rural areas of County Durham and Northumberland
  • New bus stations in Durham, Alnwick and Bishop Auckland as well as an additional Newcastle city centre bus station
  • Buses given priority on the busiest routes in and out of city centres and to five new “major” out-of-town park-and-ride sites

Next milestones

Following publication of the Plan at the end of October 2021, ongoing work will then be undertaken in the development of the Enhanced Partnership Scheme, which must be in place by 1 April 2022.

Key risks

Failure to comply with the requirements of the National Bus Strategy would risk the removal of existing bus funding support and therefore potentially cause severe damage to the existing bus network within the region.

There are also risks in relation to the provision of future central government funds by not complying.

The actions and improvements proposed by the Bus Service Improvement Plan as well as the ongoing development of the Enhanced Partnership are intended to mitigate these risks.

RAG rating: Amber

Meeting pack and report can be found in full by clicking here.