NORTH East leaders have signed off on an £18 million investment in almost 100 new environmentally-friendly buses.

Mayor Kim McGuinness and her cabinet have backed plans that will mean one in 10 buses in the region will produce zero emissions by 2025.

A total of £17.6 million will be pumped into the purchase of 95 new zero-emission buses, as well as the infrastructure to keep them running.

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The North East Combined Authority (NECA) also approved a further £2.1 million cash injection for 92 electric vehicle charging points.

Gateshead Council leader Martin Gannon said that the two projects were “substantial” measures that had taken years of work to secure money for, but that it was “frustrating” that plans for further investments had been delayed due to restrictions in the pre-general election period.

Ms McGuinness was elected as the first mayor of the North East in May and her manifesto has promised major reforms to the region’s public transport.

That includes a creation of an ‘angel’ bus network, with the mayor proposing to take back control of bus fares, routes, and timetables from private operators through a franchising model.

Cllr Gannon, appointed last week as Ms McGuinness’ deputy, said as the investment decisions were made at a NECA cabinet meeting on Tuesday (June 11): “This is only a fraction of the agenda that we want to put forward, only a fraction of implementing the manifesto that the mayor was elected on. 

“They are here in front of us today by necessity because the contracts need to be approved. I can’t wait for next month and for the rest of the agenda so that we can get on and implement that manifesto.”

Funding for the zero-emission buses comes from a previously-announced £10.25 million from the government’s Levelling Up Fund and a further £7.4 million from the Department for Transport’s Zero Emission Bus Regional Areas (ZEBRA) programme.

The installation of the proposed electric vehicle charging points will also be paid for via a grant from the Levelling Up Fund.

Conservative transport secretary Mark Harper announced a £143 million second round of the ZEBRA initiative in March, promising almost 1,000 new zero-emission buses across the country.

He said at the time: “As part of our plan to improve local transport across the country, we’re providing a further £143 million to improve journeys for bus passengers particularly in rural areas, with almost a thousand brand new, zero-emission buses due to hit the road.

“This latest investment into our bus fleet comes on top of the £3.5 billion we have invested into our bus network since 2020, protecting and improving bus routes into 2025 as well as extending the £2 bus fare cap until the end of 2024, made possible by reallocated HS2 funding.”