Passengers paying price for congestion
BUS FIRM CALLS ON POLITICIANS TO TACKLE TRAFFIC
ONE of the region’s biggest bus operators has called on politicians to tackle traffic problems after hold-ups meant the firm had to buy extra buses.
Stagecoach North East has called on councils to do more to tackle congestion and air quality, despite the authority recently helping to secure funding for 28 low-emission engines for its buses.
The bus company says it had to add 10 extra buses to peak-time routes in Newcastle city centre because traffic congestion left their services stuck in traffic jams and unable to keep to timetable. It estimates the extra services cost an extra £2m to run.
Stagecoach North East Managing Director Steve Walker said: “This is not specifically about Stagecoach, or any other bus company – it’s about the impact of congestion on bus passengers and other road users in the area, and the situation simply cannot continue if we are to continue improving the local bus network and improving the local environment.
“Our passengers are paying the price for short-sighted policies that have led us to this point – we urgently need politicians to take practical action to get our towns and cities moving again.”
The firm has written to councillors and MPs about the impact of congestion both on its business and services but on air quality in the region.
Councils across Tyneside have been working together to find ways to tackle Air Quality after DEFRA named three areas in the region as pollution hotspots.
Pollution levels were found to be too high at the stretch of the A167, between the Tyne Bridge and the Swan House roundabout, stretches of the A1 past Swalwell, Whickham and Blaydon and the Coast Road near Wallsend in North Tyneside.
The region very narrowly avoided being forced to introduce a mandatory Clear Air Zone and fears have been raised that the Tyne Bridge motorists could be slapped with a ‘toxin tax’ if the pollution problem continues.
Newcastle City Council’s Cabinet member for transport and air quality Councillor Arlene Ainsley said that the authority is already working with bus operators to secure funding for low emission bus engines, the majority of which will be fitted on Stagecoach buses.
She said: “Buses and other means of public transport are very much part of the solution to the problem of congestion on our roads, which is a major cause of pollution. We are working with bus operators following a successful funding bid, which will see 43 buses in Newcastle – 28 of which are operated by Stagecoach – fitted with new engine technology that significantly reduces levels of pollutants from the vehicles, and on a new round of the Ultra Low Emission Bus scheme.”
Coun Ainsley said that the roads were simply not designed to cope with the volume of traffic which now exists at peak time.
She said: “We are also making the biggest investment in our transport infrastructure in over a generation to reduce congestion, create more efficient and reliable routes for buses to use, as well as improved cycling networks, so that people have viable alternatives to the car. Our roads were simply not designed to carry the heavy volumes of peak time traffic which currently exist and one of the biggest ways people can make a difference to air quality is by getting the bus, or walking or cycling, instead of taking the car.
“It is important to note that operators also have an important part to play in encouraging people to use the bus by ensuring that services are comfortable, affordable and reliable.”