Northern leaders say cuts to Transport for the North are "levelling down" as contactless travel faces scrap

Transport for the North (TfN) would see a 40 per cent reduction in its core funding and the scrapping of its programme to roll-out smart ticketing and contactless systems across the entire transport network if the Department for Transport's proposed cuts go ahead.

The strategic transport body - which is reliant on central government for funding - is planning to urgently challenge the cuts with Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

It comes after Mr Shapps - who has described TfN as a "talking shop" - set up his own Northern Transport Acceleration Council to make faster progress on major schemes.

At a board meeting of TfN to discuss the funding settlement Sheffield City Region metro mayor Dan Jarvis criticised the decision, which may also lead to redundancies at the organisation.

Mayor Jarvis said: “These cuts counter the government’s commitment to the North, and to levelling up.

“They will inevitably undermine the work of Transport for the North, at precisely the time we need to be investing in our transport systems. I hope the government will look at this and think again.”

Speaking after the meeting he said: “Such a massive cut suggests that the government has no faith in TfN’s mission, or has an issue with its independence and advocacy.”

And Manchester mayor Andy Burnham expressed fears that some will interpret the cuts as the end of TfN, which is also responsible for producing strategies to improve travel across the region.

Mayor Burnham said: “This is a critical moment for the North of England. If anything this is the time we should be strengthening this board, and we shouldn’t be accepting having our capacity effectively cut in half.

“This all brings into question the role of TfN. Is there a wish to weaken it at this critical time? Some people will make that conclusion.

“It looks like levelling down, and it looks the government is saying from on high what the north will be getting rather than allowing us to articulate what we think is right.”

Coun Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “It’s particularly disappointing at a time when the government has been telling us they’re going to prioritise investment for the North.

“It really is extraordinarily frustrating.

“The proposals just go against everything we’ve been saying about more devolution needed to a local level.”

A representative for the Department for Transport told the board: “We recognise that members will find this disappointing, particularly the lack of further funding for the smart ticketing programme.”

TfN had been hoping to introduce a London-style 'pay as you go' transport system across the North where passengers could use multiple forms of transport on the same journey with one contactless card.

Lord Jim O'Neill, a former Treasury Minister and vice-chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership lobbying organisation said:

“It’s extremely disappointing to see the contactless ticketing - one the North’s flagship transport projects - scrapped.

“The idea of a modern, contactless, Northern updated version of the oyster card, a n'oyster, was central to the transport element of the Northern Powerhouse concept. This decision should be reversed.”

Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman tweeted: “As ever, Tory promises and the Northern Powerhouse ‘Pie in the Sky.’”

And think-tank IPPR North said: “For the avoidance of doubt, this is not levelling up.”

The DfT denied the cuts signal any lack of commitment to the government's "levelling up" agenda, or that Shapps' Northern Transport Acceleration Council was being lined up as a replacement for TfN.

A spokesperson said: “We are committed to levelling up every part of this country, investing in schemes improving journeys and boosting economic growth.

“That includes accelerating the delivery of vital transport schemes, and the Northern Transport Acceleration Council was launched to support this commitment.

“The Council acts as an advisory forum to progress and unlock existing priority transport projects, speed up the delivery of vital infrastructure and improve connections between communities across the North.”