Extra cash could be pumped into vital bus links for remote communities.
The Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Authority (PTA) is planning to add £400,000 to its bus budget.
This will go on secured bus services - those services which the commercial bus operators have stopped running but which the PTA considers need to be operated to meet social needs.
On the Metro, there will be more money spent on cleaning and graffiti as well as safety and security. Included is the monitoring and maintenance of digital cameras at stations and interchanges.
It is expected the Metro will carry roughly 39 million people this year, an increase of 2m.
The budget proposals will be discussed at a meeting of the PTA on Thursday, Jan 29, in Newcastle civic centre.
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