Go North East response to Quality Contract Scheme Board final report

Go North East welcomes the findings of the Quality Contract Scheme Board report on the proposal for a Quality Contract Scheme in Tyne & Wear which was released today.

Kevin Carr, Managing Director of Go North East said “The report, which follows the formal board hearing in July at which Nexus’ plans were independently scrutinised, confirms our belief that the proposed scheme for Tyne and Wear would not be good value for money for bus passengers or council tax payers when compared to the partnership proposal.

Go North East has always believed that it already provides good quality, value for money services that meet customer’s needs at no risk to the tax payer. This is supported by one of the highest passenger satisfaction ratings in the UK, of 90%, by the governments own independent watchdog Transport Focus.

Collaboration and partnership working are particular strengths for Go North East and we believe that this approach provides the best foundations for a good public transport network. We will therefore continue to work with our key strategic partners, including the North East Combined Authority, to continually improve services for our customers and the north east economy”

Over the last three years Go North East has invested almost £40 million to improve services for its customers in new buses and equipment. The company has one of the most popular smartcard schemes outside London, over a third of buses now have free customer wifi, power sockets and next stop announcements, and thousands of customers are using the mobile app to get information and buy tickets. With the exception of smartcards, none of these real improvements for customers were recommended under a quality contract scheme.