People need to travel

In other parts of the world public transport runs all the year round.

In the North East of England it grinds to a halt at Christmas and New Year.

No buses and trains (both Metro and Northern services) on Christmas Day is something we are used to and probably manageable for people without their own transport.

It does mean, though, that the only form of transport for the public that operates 24/7 – every day of the year – is the taxi.

It is time buses and trains ran again on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day and operated later on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

People do want to travel, as the limited bus services on Boxing Day acknowledge.

There are services elsewhere in the country on both Boxing and New Year’s Days.

The shops are open for their sales; football matches are played; “Star Wars” was showing at local cinemas and airlines operated their services. The demand is there. To be truly public transport, buses and trains need to operate all the year round.

Only the private taxi currently does that.

It is time for Nexus to sit down with bus and train operators to give Tyne and Wear the public transport it needs. Coun Peter Wood, Conservative transport spokesman, Sunderland City Council