'Eco buses' get £18m investment sign-off

Labour's Martin Gannon said the eco-buses were just the start of the reform of the North East's transport network

Council leaders have signed off a £17.6m investment to pay for 95 environmentally-friendly buses.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) backed plans to see one in 10 buses in the region provide zero emissions by 2025.

NECA also approved plans to spend £2.1m on 92 electric vehicle charging points.

North East deputy mayor Martin Gannon said the two schemes were just the beginning of the plans the combined authority wished to put forward.

Funding for the zero-emission buses has been sourced from a previously announced £10.25m investment from the government's Levelling Up Fund and £7.4m from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme.

The installation of the proposed electric vehicle charging points will be paid for with a grant from the Levelling Up Fund.

Conservative transport secretary Mark Harper announced a £143m second round of the ZEBRA initiative in March, promising almost 1,000 new zero-emission buses across the country.

Transport reform plans

The North East Combined Authority covers County Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

The deals have been agreed following Kim McGuinness' election as North East Mayor.

The Labour politician has promised to carry out stark reforms to the region's public transport.

Her plans include the creation of an angel bus network, with the mayor proposing to take back control of bus fares, routes, and timetables from private operators through a franchising model.