Transport

Effective transport networks are a key to economic growth and opportunity for all.  This includes links within the North East and connectivity with the rest of the UK, Europe and the rest of the world.  The North East Combined Authority’s ambition, as set out in its Transport Manifesto is to provide affordable, attractive, reliable, safe, healthy transport choices for businesses, residents and visitors while enhancing the environment.

Working with partners, the North East Combined Authority:

  • Provides leadership and a united voice on key strategic transport issues
  • Links strategic transport planning with economic priorities
  • Provides strong representation on transport issues of national significance including rail, air travel, strategic road network and our ports
  • Provides more effective co-ordination and enables improvement to the area’s public transport network.

NEXUS

NEXUS manages the functions which it previously delivered within the Tyne and Wear area.

NEXUS is the trading name of the Tyne and Wear Passenger Transport Executive. NEXUS is an independent organisation.  It was created in 1969 by the Tyneside Passenger Transport (Designation) Order 1961 in accordance with the Transport Act 1968.

Previously overseen by the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Authority, in 2014 the responsibilities and assets of the Integrated Transport Authority were transferred to the North East Combined Authority.  From that date the Tyne and Wear Integrated Transport Area was dissolved.

The North East Combined Authority shares responsibility that previously fell on the ITA with the North of Tyne Combined Authority through the North East Joint Transport Committee and the Tyne and Wear Sub Committee and, in summary, is responsible for overseeing NEXUS’s work and ensuring good governance.

Following the Order that was created on the 2nd November, the majority of the functions of the former ITA have been transferred to NECA–

  • The discharge of all the functions, duties and responsibilities of the former ITA.
  • The discharge of all functions of the former ITA that are provided for within the Transport Acts 1968, 1983, 1985 and 2000, the Local Government Act 1972, the Transport and Works Act 1992 and the Local Transport Act 2008.
  • The appointment of members to Nexus in accordance with Article 16 of the Tyneside Passenger Transport Area (Designation) Order 1969 (as amended).

Functions have been delegated to the Joint Transport Committee.  This is detailed in the NECA constitution (and the second Order). Detail of the committee’s remit can be found in the NECA’s constitution and records of the proceedings of the Committee are published on this website.

Some responsibilities, such as the setting of transport levies and the approval of the regional transport strategy are discharged by the Authority’s principal decision making body – the NECA Leadership Board.  A record of the proceedings of the Leadership Board are published on this website

A Forward Plan detailing the forthcoming key decisions of the Leadership Board and all NECA Committees is maintained and the current version can be located here.

Transforming Cities Fund

The government recently launched a Transforming Cities Fund worth £1.7 billion nationally.  The funding is to be used to improve intra-city transport in the largest urban areas in England, outside of London. Half of the fund has been allocated to pre-existing Mayoral Combined Authorities and the remaining £840 million is to be allocated to other city regions such as ours via a competitive process.

NECA submitted a bid on behalf of the seven local authorities which aims to obtain in excess of £100m in funding which will be invested in major improvements to sustainable transport in our area.

You can read our submitted bid application here and our supporting appendices here.  Additionally, the free format version of the bid application can be found here

Our vision is: ‘better connectivity, more mobility’, making sustainable transport the natural choice for people moving around our city region and banishing congestion and its polluting effects.

Our ambition through this bid is to help close our area’s productivity gap through better connectivity and more mobility, enabling growth, reducing congestion and improving air quality and public health as we do so.

In October 2018, NECA was informed that it was shortlisted for a share of funding for transport improvements, you can read the full news story here.

Go Ultra Low North East

The Go Ultra Low North East programme is an initiative designed to raise an awareness of Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs) across the region. The initiative which is managed by Transport North East, is funded and supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) programme 2014-2020. You can read more details here.