Fears for Northern transport funding as Department for Transport reveal cuts

Plans to roll out contactless technology across the North’s transport network are in jeopardy after the Department for Transport have revealed funding cuts.
Plans to extend contactless payments across travel in the north are now in jeopardy.Plans to extend contactless payments across travel in the north are now in jeopardy.
Plans to extend contactless payments across travel in the north are now in jeopardy.

Transport for the North (TfN) were planning to roll out the technology on trains, buses and trams to help travellers feel safe and confident making journeys after the pandemic.

But in documents seen by The Yorkshire Post, the DfT have said they are planning to cut funding to its Integrated and Smart Ticketing programme.

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TfN received £15.8m from the DFT for the project this financial year.

But according to the plans, the funding will cease entirely for the next financial year, leading to fears that technological advancements making transport easier across the region will stall.

A pilot scheme run by the programme last year introduced smart tickets across the Leeds to Harrogate lines.

But plans to extend the pilot scheme across the North are now in jeopardy.

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The department have also told TfN that their core funding for office costs, policy work and infrastructure costs will be cut 40 per cent from £10m to £6m next financial year.

A letter from Barry White, chief executive of TfN, to the DfT read: “The decision to cease funding the programme entirely is incredibly disappointing – particularly given the identification of key contactless initiatives that could be developed quickly and have been awaiting this funding decision for several months.”

Mr White expressed concerns that the funding cuts will hamper efforts to level up transport in the north with that in the south of England.

Iain Craven, Finance Director at Transport for the North, said:

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“Transport for the North has clearly indicated it’s disappointment and concern that, at a time when the Government’s levelling up agenda is needed most, funding is being cut, putting northern investment and jobs at risk.

“It falls substantially short of what we outlined the North would need to level-up infrastructure, help our economic recovery and accelerate benefits to the North

Contactless technology was introduced by Transport For London across the capital in 2012.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, introduced a £4.8bn Levelling Up fund in his Spending Review last November.

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The planned cuts will be discussed at a Transport For The North board meeting on Thursday.

A DfT spokesperson said:

“TfN was allocated up to £150m at the 2015 Spending Review to support its Integrated and Smart Travel programme. To date, £24m has been utilised to enable the roll-out of smart ticketing across the north.

“We are focused on delivering more modern journeys for passengers, so are now considering how to deliver a more rapid and effective rollout."