A NORTH-EAST heavyweight in public transport is calling on the Government to bring back bus regulation.
Mike Parker, director general of Nexus, which runs buses and the Metro service in Tyne and Wear, made the call as he took up his new role as president of the Rail Study Association yesterday.
He told the association that bus use in Tyne and Wear had dropped by 50 per cent since the bus industry was deregulated in 1986.
"I don't believe the Government will be able to keep their head down for much longer on this issue," he said.
"It is bus services that are a lifeline for most people on low incomes. A good, cheap bus network is a vital ingredient in combating social exclusion.
"Letting the market decide what the bus network should look like frankly hasn't worked."
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