‘Geordies left to shiver at bus stops’

CITY MP CONDEMNS STATE OF REAL TIME BUS SYSTEM

Labour MP for Newcastle Chi Onwurah

Reporter

A Newcastle MP has condemned the state of real time bus information in the North East, telling Parliament passengers are being left “shivering” at bus stops.

Labour MP for Newcastle Central, Chi Onwurah, raised the issues during a debate in Parliament with the Minister for Roads and Local Transport, Guy Opperman.

Ms Onwurah called the debate in Westminster Hall after years of frustration with bus information in Newcastle, where buses can disappear from journey apps or bus stop live boards at short notice.

Labour MP for Newcastle North, Catherine McKinnell, and Labour MP for the City of Durham, Mary Foy, also spoke in the debate to echo criticism of the standard of information provided to passengers in the region.

Ahead of the debate, Nexus told Ms Onwurah that real time systems are “fragmented and need both investment and harmonisation.”

Currently, the different bus companies in Newcastle run their own apps and feeds to different standards.

Ms Onwurah said: “For me, the unreliability and unpredictability of bus services in the North East is a continual frustration.

But for many of my constituents, it is a blight on their lives, a barrier between them and their work, their loved ones, their studies, and their pastimes.

“It is disgraceful that whilst real time bus information has been standard in London for years, we in the North East still don’t know when and if a bus is going to turn up.

“It shows what Tory levelling up really means, Geordies left to shiver at bus stops, in the dark literally and metaphorically.”

Responding to Ms Onwurah, the buses minister and Conservative MP for Hexham, Guy Opperman, admitted that the current service was a “work in progress”.

He said, despite the points made by Ms Onwurah and others, that apps like Google Maps do help passengers in every major region across England.

Catherine McKinnell, MP for Newcastle North also spoke of the importance of accurate and consistent real time data for buses in the North East.

She said: “There are constitu

Roads Minister Guy Opperman ents who are left stranded regularly, schoolchildren left standing in the dark, people missing hospital appointments or, like she says, having to walk”.

Ms McKinnell highlighted that those residents not served by the Metro network rely on bus services as the only form of public transport, leaving them paying for costly taxi services if buses do not arrive on time or according to stated schedules.

She added: “Does she agree with me how important this real time information is so that people can rely on public transport and that we can grow our public transport service as well because it has a regular customer base that trusts it.”

Following the debate, Ms McKinnell said: “Reliable bus services are essential for many residents in the North East but at the moment too many are left let down, and too frequently stranded, by a bus network that doesn’t work for them.

“I have heard from residents with children stranded after school when buses don’t turn up as scheduled, or missing hospital appointment or work.

“The minister offered nothing to residents to reassure them that the Government understood the issue and would take action.

“Labour would put people back in control of public transport, with the power to set bus routes and fares.

“The new North East Mayor offers the opportunity to take action and Kim McGuinness has set out a plan to create a fully integrated transport network with integrated real time information.

“This means that real time information will be provided by one source instead of multiple confusing apps, giving residents the reliable and clear service they deserve.”