£15m lift for bus stops and stations

THE North East mayor has announced almost £15m worth of funding to upgrade hundreds of bus stops, carry out a major revamp of two busy city roads and modernise a County Durham bus station.

- By DANIEL HOLLAND

Plans unveiled by Kim McGuinness on Thursday include enhancements to 325 bus stops across Sunderland, Gateshead, South Tyneside and North Tyneside.

A total of £7.1 million will be used on measures including the replacement of brick, stone and metal shelters dating back to the 1970s, as well as new lighting, seats, timetable information, wider pavements and raised kerbs.

Ms McGuinness, who has previously backed the installation of hundreds of new bus shelters in villages and towns across County Durham, said: "I promised in my manifesto we would put in new bus shelters in streets and neighbourhoods right across the region and now we're going to do that in places like Winlaton and Birtley, Dudley, Doxford and Hebburn.

"The local bus stop is where we all start our bus journey and this £7m investment will mean safer, brighter and more accessible places to wait for the tens of thousands of people who use the bus."