Newcastle and Sunderland bus route cuts announced as North East mayor hits out at Stagecoach

New cuts to bus services in Newcastle and Sunderland have been branded “disgraceful”. Stagecoach has confirmed that it plans to reduce some of its services on Tyneside and Wearside from the week of May 11. Its number 7 bus, which runs from the Freeman Hospital to the Metrocentre via the west of Newcastle, will see its evening services cut.

Meanwhile, the 18 and 18A services between Gilley Law and Sunderland city centre will be axed entirely. North East mayor Kim McGuinness took aim at Stagecoach on Friday, calling the changes “simply wrong”. She said: “Stagecoach takes millions of pounds from North East passengers and significant public subsidy and yet today they are planning disgraceful cuts to community bus services.



” The Labour mayor added: “These services provide vital bus links to hospitals – including Sunderland Royal Hospital and the Freeman Hospital – as well as local shops and jobs. Stagecoach can afford to keep these services running. Their decision is absolutely about maintaining their high profit margin.

"I’m saddened to see that, despite their commitment to do so, Stagecoach has not even consulted the passengers they will be leaving stranded. This isn’t good enough.” Stagecoach has blamed inflation and the Government’s increase in National Insurance contributions for employers for the cuts, claiming the at-risk services had become “unsustainable”.

The last three journeys on the 7 bus will be removed Monday to Saturday and the last five on a Sunday. That means there will be no direct links from the outer west estates in Newcastle to the hospital or Metrocentre after 8pm Monday to Saturday or after 6pm on a Sunday. The withdrawal of the 18 and 18A will cut off direct bus links between Seaburn and Southwick, while Gilley Law residents will lose their bus connection to Sunderland Royal Hospital and will instead be forced to travel into the city centre to change buses.

Steve Walker, MD of Stagecoach North East, said: "These decisions are only taken as a last resort, when all other options to keep the routes running have been exhausted, and we are sorry for the disruption this will cause our customers in the region. "We first notified Nexus of routes that have been operating at a loss in August 2022, and we had been able to absorb these losses. But with recent changes to National Insurance contributions on top of general inflationary pressures, the losses on these services have become unsustainable.

“We have been in discussions with North East Combined Authority over the last few weeks to explore the subsidy of the services or a support agreement but unfortunately haven't been able to find a solution. As a result, we have no option but to withdraw services 18 and 18A, and make some amendments to service 7." Ms McGuinness has pledged to b ring the North East’s bus network back under public control for the first time since the 1980s.

Her franchising plans, which could still take several years to come to fruition, would mean that the North East Combined Authority would be able to set fare prices, routes, and timetables – with private companies having to bid for contracts to run services. The mayor added on Friday: “Cuts to services like this show that the current bus system is broken and not meeting the needs of our communities. Buses are a public service and should run for local people - not profit.

This is why I have already started the legal process to bring buses back into public control. Stagecoach is today demonstrating exactly why it is so crucial we do this for the people of our region.” Join our Breaking News and Top Stories WhatsApp community for all the latest news direct to your phone.

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