MAP: How North East bus services have lost MILLIONS of passengers in Covid

While the pandemic wreaked havoc on bus usage, with the number of journeys made in the North East dropping by more than 100,000 in 2020/21, there has been more than a decade of decline in passenger numbers.  

Darlington has seen the steepest decline in the number of passengers using bus services, with usage falling by almost 80 per cent since 2009/10, from 8.2 million journeys a year to 1.7m. 

The town also had the steepest drop in usage between 2019/20 and 2020/21, when journeys declined by 69 per cent, from 5.5m to 1.7m.

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The figures are published by the Department of transport, with the latest available for 2020/21.

Figures have declined nearly every year – except for in 2018/19 ­– though the decline during the pandemic dwarfs previous drops.

Prior to 2020, usage had fallen by just over 20 per cent in the North East since 2009/10 to 162.3m journeys a year. 

That was higher in Darlington and Middlesbrough, where the figure stood at 33 per cent, and in Redcar and Cleveland, where usage dropped by about 40 per cent.

In County Durham, the number of journeys fell from 26.3m in 2009/10 to 21.1m in 2019/20 and to 7.7m in 2020/21. 

In 2020/21, just 61.7m journeys were made across the North East. 

Bus company Arriva is trying to encourage people to return to public transport through a series of initiatves.

A spokesperson said: "Even prior to the pandemic, over the past ten years we have seen passenger decline, generally.

"Arriva and other bus operators have with responded with various initiatives to address this decline, such as: improved vehicle specification and more flexible ticketing ranges.

"We, like many other bus operators around the country, are focused on post-Covid-19 recovery, encouraging people back onto bus again."

It is working with local authorities and passenger transport executives to develop bus service improvement plans across the region, and said it has signed up to "enhanced partnerships to benefit the region.

The spokesperson added: "These Enhanced Partnerships, which are supported by significant levels of government funding to Transport North East, will help to to deliver initiatives such as; regional fare improvements, new and enhanced bus services, better bus infrastructure and improved bus priority."

Gateshead councillor Martin Gannon, who is also chair of the North East Joint Transport Committee, said the bus market as fundamentally flawed – describing it as overpriced and fragmented.

He said: “I’ve been saying for many years that the bus market is fundamentally flawed. Ridership levels have been declining for many years and this trend has been accelerated by the impact of the pandemic.

“Whilst we have ambitious plans in partnership with local operators, which we have outlined in our region’s Bus Service Improvement Plan, this doesn’t change the underlying problem that the bus market is overpriced and fragmented. We hope our plans will deliver major improvements and welcome many passengers back to the network.

“Buses are an essential part of our public transport network and are a lifeline for many local people to access opportunities for work, education and leisure. They provide a sustainable transport choice and it is imperative that we continue to grow public transport usage to achieve our region’s socio-economic goals and drive down carbon emissions.

“In the longer-term, we will be looking to address the market failure in the bus sector.”

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Earlier this year, the boss of Stagecoach North East Steve Walker said it was likely passenger numbers would never return to pre-Covid levels without Government intervention.

But he told the Northern Echo he hoped with the right policies and funding they could attract more people to get out of their cars and onto public transport.

He said: “Buses remain absolutely fundamental to re-booting our economy, levelling up our communities and decarbonising the country. 

"At Stagecoach, we are continuing to invest in greener vehicles and new electric buses, new technology, simpler ticketing, and the training and development of our people to make bus travel a more attractive option. 

"We are excited by the opportunities ahead because of the government's National Bus Strategy. With the right policies, funding and partnership working at national and local level, we feel confident that we can attract more people out of their cars and onto public transport."

A Go North East spokesperson said: “Prior to the pandemic, thanks to a series of initiatives including investment, fare offers, and marketing, we began delivering the first growth in bus use in a decade, but the pandemic has obviously reversed that as patterns of demand for travel now change up and down the whole of the UK.

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