AN MP is supporting a new Labour party campaign to give communities and passengers more control over their local bus service.

Sedgefield MP, Phil Wilson, is backing the ‘Passenger Power’ initiative which involves handing powers back to the people of County Durham to save crucial bus routes.

According to the party, over 1,300 bus routes have been cut across England since 2010 with people living in rural areas seeing the number of miles of local bus service dropping by 23 per cent in comparison to that year.

The party says the bus market is “broken” which they plan to fix by giving more control to communities so they can have the ability to determine routes, set fares and integrate bus services with other forms of public transport.

MP Wilson said: “Transport is a regular issue for people from my constituency, we have a number of rural areas and the poor availability of bus routes can add to the isolation and poverty that many people from these areas are experiencing.

“Local bus services are the lifeline of our communities and yet routes are being slashed while this current Government says everything is fine.

“A Labour government would tackle this, by putting passengers in control of local bus services, ensuring communities get the bus services they need.”