A COUNCIL has outlined changes needed to improve bus services across rural parts of the North East.

Durham County Council is now asking for support for the North East Joint Transport Committee’s (JTC) Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP).

Leaders said the plan should reflect the rural nature of County Durham and address the current inequalities in the region and it comes following a debate about the issue earlier this week in parliament.

Councillor Elizabeth Scott, the authority’s portfolio holder for economy and partnerships, has written to the county’s six MPs, outlining the Joint Administration’s ambitions for the bus service network, encouraging them to work with the county council and other organisations to deliver change.

She said: “A sustainable bus network remains vital for County Durham, and across the North East, allowing communities access to employment, education and essential services.

“Achieving that relies on the success of our BSIP in attracting the required funding allocation.

“On behalf of the Joint Administration of Durham County Council, I am asking for the support of our MPs and look forward to working hard with all of them to promote this document to those making decisions on funding allocations, and to do all that we can together to improve bus services in this county for everyone.”

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The North East JTC Bus Service Improvement Plan will feed into the Government’s National Bus Strategy ‘Bus Back Better’.

The BSIP outlines how the JTC proposes to use its powers to improve bus services from April.

Durham County Council wants to: protect the current bus service network, introduce more affordable and inclusive costs for under 19s, create a regionwide cap for adults at £4 a day and enhance the public transport network with improved vehicles and services.

The MPs’ debate held in Westminster Hall on Wednesday was secured by Blaydon MP Liz Twist.

She said: “We are still suffering from driver shortages, and we are experiencing increased congestion on our roads as many people, even previous bus users, use their cars to avoid the risk of catching covid. Congestion, even pre covid, and now, affects our buses and can reduce their reliability, which is so important to increasing bus usage, and also has an effect on our environment and air quality.”

Easington MP Grahame Morris said timetables in his constituency were more ‘aspirational than informative’

He said: “The bus will arrive when it comes. Making plans that rely on the bus network in my constituency is what separates the optimists from the pessimists.

“The only thing more unreliable than the buses is the Northern Rail coastal train on a match day, a most appalling service of two carriages, once an hour.

“Public transport is too important to fail. Whether moving people to support the economy, to shop on our high streets or to work, unreliable and expensive bus services can have a significant bearing on an individual’s life chances and living standards. We need a change in mindset from the Government.”

Durham City MP Mary Foy bus services in villages such as Pittington or Waterhouses were ‘non-existent’ at times.

She said: “Bus travel is particularly relevant to my constituents in the city of Durham, which has a small city centre surrounded by many rural former pit villages that rely heavily on an underfunded and insufficient local transport network.”

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