LOW-income households in the North-East are receiving much lower transport subsidies than those in London and the South-East, a new report claims.

According to a report by the Equality Trust, North-East households benefit from £63 per year in rail subsidies and £78 for buses.

However, London families get subsidies of £158 for rail and £193 for buses, the campaign group claims.

The Equality Trust says Government public transport subsidies are being delivered unequally throughout the UK and are failing to adequately support the low-paid.

The report, Taken for a Ride - How UK public transport subsidies entrench inequality, states that across the country the poorest ten per cent receives £297 million in government subsidy, while the richest ten per cent receives £978 million.

Duncan Exley, director of the Equality Trust, said: “Transport is vitally important to provide people with access to good jobs and a decent living. At present the government is spending a lot of money helping those on pretty good incomes reach jobs in London that provide such good pay. But it’s not helping half as much those in regions like the the North-East.

“When the government is allocating money to subsidise our rail and bus networks, it should consider how it can support hard working families on low incomes and those desperately looking for a job. And in doing so it also needs to look beyond London towards other regions."

“We need a drastic rethink of how Government supports effective services that allow those on low incomes in regions outside of London an opportunity to succeed.”

Campaign for Better Transport (CBT) said the report showed that public transport subsidies were not getting where they were needed.

James MacColl, CBT head of campaigns, said: “Across the country, rail fares have become unaffordable to many and bus services are being lost because of devastating cuts to funding.

"The Government needs to do more to tackle transport inequality. Instead of throwing money at wasteful road building schemes which worsen congestion and pollution we need to see a national strategy to save our buses, and action to ensure rail fares are more affordable including meeting the commitment for season ticket discounts for the ever growing army of part time workers."

In response, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: “The government is committed to transforming the North East’s transport infrastructure as part of the Northern Powerhouse. This includes widening the A1 Western Bypass of Newcastle and Gateshead, providing up to £350m to renew track and trains on the Tyne and Wear Metro system and introducing more frequent rail services to the North East’s cities and towns.

“The transport improvements will support jobs and make journeys better, faster and more reliable.”

The Northern Echo has launched the Right Lines campaign to push for a better deal for the region's rail passengers.