In the era of integrated transport, the road, rail and bus network in the North East presents a daunting prospect: at least 184 different ticket options across the Tyne and Wear Metro, the Shields Ferry, Northern Rail trains between Newcastle and Sunderland, and the bus network.

Achieving a coherent region-wide transport body is more complex than the government would like people to think. For example, the regional assembly holds responsibility for spatial and transport strategies, yet it has no executive power over transport. Across much of the region the responsibility rests with local and planning authorities – although responsibility for local roads is shared between district and county councils.

For those reaching for the emergency exit at this stage, remain seated, there is some joined-up thinking. In metropolitan Tyne and Wear the passenger transport executive, known locally as Nexus, works with the five metropolitan councils to deliver public and community transport. Councillors nominated by each of the constituent districts form a passenger transport authority to oversee its work. But Nexus has no direct control over the local roads and local transport plans – which remain the responsibility of the individual councils. Tees Valley has in part mirrored this model, but unlike Nexus, its transport partnership has no funding or executive authority.

But set against this background of managed complexity, the North East is slowly making progress towards a fully coherent, efficient and integrated transport system.

Major announcements have been made nationally on increased airport capacity, and commitments to massive expenditure on railways, but critics point out that the approach to roads has been “ad hoc and short-term”. Campaigners welcomed the long-fought-for commitment to the upgrading of the A1 from Morpeth to Alnwick. Plagued by congestion, the route is a key economic channel between the North East and Scotland and, despite the commitment to action, pressure has built for the urgent widening of the route.

But the region’s transport problems present a paradox for local decision-makers. Given that the region has the lowest car ownership rate of any in the UK, the public transport agenda is arguably more critical here than in any other part of the country. Department of Transport data reveals a higher number of bus trips within the North East than anywhere else in the UK – although the numbers are falling rapidly at a time when other regions are seeing a renaissance in bus use. Commuters of the North East come second only to those from the South West when ranked in terms of their average rail journey. The average journey in the region is 80 miles, compared to 35 in the West Midlands and just 20 miles in London. Within the region traffic congestion is not as big a problem as it is in other areas, but with car ownership accelerating at the fastest rate in the UK, it may be soon. 

On the plus sides are projects such as the Tyne and Wear metro system, now being further developed into a fully fledged modern tram network through the Orpheus project, which forms the central plank of Nexus’ ‘Towards 2016’ strategy. The first phase of Orpheus intends to deliver “metro reinvigoration and significant bus-based enhancements”, followed a decade later by the introduction of trams on some of the key traffic corridors in Tyne and Wear.

Central to the new transport dilemma is the modern pattern of working, living, playing and shopping. “Many new houses have been built away from traditional centres,” says Nexus. “Whilst problems of traffic congestion are not as severe in Tyne and Wear as they are already in some other parts of the country, this situation is changing fast, with Tyne and Wear currently having the highest rate of growth in car ownership in the UK.”

The Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) is currently engaged in a detailed study of the links between deprivation and transport connections. Poor access to public transport has a clear impact on access to ‘life-enhancers’ such as work, education, healthcare and leisure facilities. As a result accessibility has risen up the agenda for a region which still comes bottom of the league when set against its rivals on key economic and employment criteria. Newcastle is now the subject of a major accessibility study to access how greater access to a coherent transport network can deliver wider social and economic wins.

Edinburgh’s recent decision to vote against a £2-a-day congestion charge was a setback for the wider road pricing lobby. Until such time as the public mood changes, policymakers have to look at ways of making public transport more efficient and affordable, to reverse the rapid rise in car use. Public transport is for everyone, and the more people who use it, the greater the reduction in vehicles on the road. A double decker bus carries the same number of people as 20 fully occupied cars, but takes up a seventh of the road space.

In Durham, public transport operators are investing in new vehicles, while bus stops and stations in the county are being improved to increase comfort and information provision. The council also promoted a campaign entitled ‘On Yer Bike’, to encourage and enable cycling in the area. “The campaign represents a key strategic link between the health agenda and sustainable transport agenda,” says the council, “and is contributing to objectives and targets of both the Health Improvements Plan and County Durham Local Transport Plan.”

Whilst small projects can help weave an integrated transport policy, the absence of a fully fledged regional assembly gets in the way of a holistic approach. For that, many local authorities are looking for national leadership and national direction. With transport having risen up the public’s priority agenda, and an election now looming, that leadership and direction may finally be en route.