Durham’s broken bus services are one of the major casework issues raised with Mary. Unreliable, slow, and fragmented services make it incredibly hard for passengers to reach work, education or healthcare.
That’s why after meeting Arriva and Go North East to express constituents’ concerns, Mary has recently taken this issue to Westminster.
After welcoming the introduction of capped £2 fares, Mary stressed the need to focus on reliability to encourage more passenger to buses. (Mary Kelly Foy MP says ‘buses don’t turn up’ as £2 fare extended | The Northern Echo)
Sadly, since 2016, County Durham has lost over one million miles of bus journeys; all under the Conservatives watch. Cuts to vital evening and weekend services continue to be announced. Consequently Mary has called on Transport Secretary Mark Harper MP to end his Governments Ideological ban of Councils to create Municipal Bus Companies to ensure vital routes can be continued.
Asking in the House of Commons:
” Recently, Arriva gave up its subsidised 57A route, which goes through my constituency. The council has struggled to find an alternative operator because the Government have banned it from creating its own bus company—one that could serve the local community, which is left struggling to access key local services and even to get to work. Does the Minister agree that it is long overdue and common sense to end the ideological ban on municipal bus companies?”
