Following the Chancellor’s Budget today West of England Metro Mayor Dan Norris said:
“I welcome the formal announcement of half a billion pounds for local transport. This is money only available to Metro Mayors and was secured because of our strategic bid. We will spend it predominantly on buses as the quickest way to begin to tackle congestion and pollution locally. This is the biggest per head transport investment in any region of the country. That’s a big vote of confidence in our amazing region”
On other parts of the budget the metro mayor was less complimentary. He said.
“The Chancellor declared an ‘Age of optimism’ but I was hoping for a good plan. Sadly optimism won’t pay the sky high fuel bills, fill up the gaps on the supermarket shelves, or sort out the chronic shortages of HGV drivers.
“We need a plan to fix the cost of living crisis, rebuild the public services the Tories cut to the bone, and answers on how, as a nation we tackle the huge challenges of the day like climate change.
“I also worry this will all be for naught if covid is not controlled.”