THE number of Northumberland bus journeys nearly halved over the last decade, new figures show.

The Government introduced a £2 cap on bus journeys outside London last year, encouraging more people to travel by bus.

Initially slated to end in March, the scheme was extended by three months from April to June 30, while a further £80 million in funding was provided to protect bus services during the same time period.

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Department for Transport figures show passengers took 5.8 million bus journeys in Northumberland in the year to March, an increase from 2.9 million the year before, impacted by the pandemic, but was down significantly on pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019 to 2020, Northumberland passengers took eight million journeys, while over the last decade, services dropped by 46 per cent.

There were 17.9 journeys per person in Northumberland in 2021 to 2022, increased from 8.8.

Elderly or disabled passengers accounted for two million (34 per cent) journeys.