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- 11th Sep 2026
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Here’s your last chance to have your say on North East buses
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The North East bus consultation closes at 9am on Monday 28th September 2026, and if you haven’t had your say yet, this is the reminder to actually do it.
Whether you catch the bus every day or never at all, the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority wants to hear from you before the window closes for good.
It takes two minutes, it’s free to enter, and once you’ve completed it you’re in with a chance of winning one of three treats as a thank you. Here’s everything you need to know before time runs out.
THE CLOCK IS TICKING
There are just three weeks left to respond, and once 9am on Monday 28th September 2026 passes, that’s it, the survey closes and your view can’t be counted. This is the biggest change to the region’s bus network in four decades, and it’s being decided now, not at some vague point in the future.
It’s easy to assume someone else will fill it in, but the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority makes its decision based on who actually responds, not on who simply has an opinion down the pub.
IT TAKES TWO MINUTES, NOT TWO HOURS
You don’t need to read the full 114-page consultation document, and you don’t need to be a regular bus user. The public survey is written to be completed quickly, asking straightforward questions about the proposed Bus Franchising Scheme and how you currently get around.
There’s also a longer, more detailed version aimed at bus operators and local authorities, but for most people the short public survey is the one to go for, and it really is a couple of minutes at most.
A QUICK REMINDER OF WHAT’S ACTUALLY BEING DECIDED
The consultation asks whether more than 500 bus routes should move from the current system, where private operators decide routes, timetables and fares, to a franchising model where the North East MSA sets the network and bus companies bid to run it. We’ve covered why the shake-up matters and what franchising means for passengers in more detail, but the short version is fares, routes, safety and how buses connect with the Metro and rail could all change.
Fares could stop rising above inflation for 10 years, routes and timetables would be planned by one authority instead of several private operators, and safety standards would apply consistently across every route rather than depending on who happens to run your bus.
WHY YOUR ANSWER COUNTS, EVEN IF YOU NEVER CATCH A BUS
It’s tempting to think this consultation is only for people who use the bus regularly, but the MSA has been clear it wants to hear from everyone, because the decision affects funding, roads and journeys across the whole region, not just the 317,500 people who board a bus on a given day. If you drive, cycle or walk instead, your view on what a better-connected North East looks like still matters here.
HOWEVER YOU WANT TO RESPOND, THERE’S A WAY
You can complete the survey online in a couple of minutes, request a paper copy posted out with a free return envelope, complete it over the phone, or respond by email or letter. There are also consultation events running across the region right up until the deadline, so there’s genuinely no excuse not to be counted. Paper forms, phone responses, audio versions and other languages are all available by calling 0191 277 4223.
WHAT YOU COULD WIN FOR TAKING PART
Once you’ve completed the survey, you can enter our prize draw as a thank you for having your say. Up for grabs is a luxury two-night stay in either Brock or Howlet at TipToe Retreat, a one-hour Tyne Cruises city cruise for two, and a three-course lunch for two at Blackfriars with a glass of fizz each to toast whichever way you voted.
Winners are picked at random once the consultation closes, and entry is for taking part, whatever your view on franchising.
SPREAD THE WORD WHILE YOU’RE AT IT
If you’ve already had your say, the most useful thing you can do next is make sure the people around you have too, whether that’s a parent who relies on the bus for the school run, a grandparent who doesn’t drive, or a mate who’s never given it a second thought. The bigger and more varied the response, the stronger the case for whatever the region decides.
DON’T LEAVE IT TO SOMEONE ELSE
More than 16,000 people responded when the Mayor’s Local Transport Plan went out to consultation in 2025, and this is the next chance to have that kind of influence over how the North East gets around. If you’ve got an opinion on your bus service, good or bad, this is the moment it actually counts, and it won’t come round again.
Once the deadline passes on Monday 28th September 2026, that’s it. Have your say now, and you could be toasting the result with a glass of fizz at Blackfriars.
Rachael Ellis
Head of Content
After gaining a first in her BA Media and Journalism degree at Northumbria University, Rachael worked at Newcastle’s leading regional newspaper with her stories being picked up in national and global newspapers. She spent two very successful years giving a voice to those communities across the North East who otherwise…
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