Climate Action Newcastle’s Urgent Appeal to Newcastle City Council and the North East Combined Authority (NECA)
Climate Action Newcastle warmly welcomes the commitment to a franchised bus network and recognises the complexity of the legal processes involved. However, with the full benefits of Bus Reform projected for 2027-2029, and the climate crisis intensifying, we believe decisive, immediate action is both possible and necessary.
We urge Newcastle City Council and the NECA to accelerate the implementation of the following high-impact policies to ensure progress on transport emissions and social equity in the interim:
Prioritising and Funding Active Travel
We must capitalise on the fastest routes to emissions reduction by making walking and cycling the default choice for short journeys.
- Fast-Track the £500 Million Pipeline: We ask the Authorities to commit the necessary resources and political will to rapidly deliver the identified active travel schemes, focusing on building a safe, connected, and segregated cycle network without further delay.
- Widespread Safe School Streets: We urge the Council to implement a rapid, fully supported School Streets programme across the city to protect children’s health, cut local pollution, and encourage active travel habits.
- E-Mobility Incentives: Introduce a new scheme to incentivise the purchase of e-bikes and cargo bikes to overcome the region’s hilly terrain and make sustainable transport accessible to more people.
- Nexus Action: Active Travel Integration: Nexus must immediately upgrade cycle storage and parking facilities at all Metro stations, making it safer and more convenient for passengers to cycle to and from the network.
Strategic Traffic Reduction and Management
Addressing the volume of private car traffic is critical, even with the move towards Electric Vehicles. Effective management will free up funds and space for sustainable alternatives.
- Commence WPL Consultation Immediately: We strongly encourage the NECA to commence the formal statutory process and public consultation for a Workplace Parking Levy (WPL). This is a crucial opportunity to secure a dedicated, long-term funding stream for the region’s transport transformation.
- Smart Parking Policy Reform: The Council should use its parking powers to implement progressive pricing for city centre and commuter parking to manage demand, while simultaneously reallocating surface space for active travel infrastructure and public benefit.
- Align Budgets with Climate Goals: We ask the NECA to ensure all regional transport budgets are strictly aligned with climate targets by formally ruling out further spending on schemes that increase road capacity for private vehicles.
Immediate Enhancements to Public Transport
We must make the existing bus network and the wider public transport system as reliable and appealing as possible now, to build ridership and public support for the long-term franchised system.
- Rapid Bus Priority Expansion: We urge the Authorities to quickly implement and expand bus priority lanes and traffic signal adjustments on key corridors to deliver immediate improvements in service reliability and journey speed.
- Seamless Ticketing Integration: We ask the NECA and Nexus to use their combined leverage with current bus operators to enforce the immediate introduction of a fully integrated ticketing and fare-capping system that works across all local modes—bus, Metro, and rail—to simplify travel for all users.
- Prioritise Zero Emission Fleet: Allocate existing Bus Service Improvement Plan (BSIP) funding to dramatically accelerate the deployment of Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs), targeting routes that pass through areas suffering the worst air quality.
Nexus Action: Decarbonising Metro and Ferry Operations
Nexus has a direct responsibility to cut emissions from its own network operations.
- Accelerate Metro Energy Efficiency: We urge Nexus to maximise energy regeneration and quickly commission the new, highly energy-efficient Metro fleet, ensuring all associated infrastructure upgrades (like the Gosforth Depot) are completed on time to minimise operational carbon footprint.
- Shields Ferry Transition: Nexus must commit to a clear, accelerated timeline for the decarbonisation of the Shields Ferry service, transitioning to a low-carbon propulsion method (such as electric or hydrogen) well before the 2029 deadline.
Climate Action Newcastle anticipates swift and decisive action on these interim measures. The climate emergency cannot wait for bureaucratic timelines; decisive leadership is required today to safeguard our future.